Dearest Friends,
MACKAY HOSPITAL
Around 1850, a Canadian missionary came to Taiwan and saw the need that people had for good medical care. So, he went home to Canada to become a doctor so that he could help the people of Taiwan. Today the biggest hospital in Taiwan bears his name and that is where we were today.
Hundreds of people stood for an hour listening to Bible stories, watching puppets, enjoying juggling, and listening to the young people’s testimonies. We were on the center stage in the main lobby with spot lights on us. However, the crowd spread across 3 floors, many watching from balconies on the second and third levels. Some people were in wheel chairs and others had IVs attached to them. People of all ages were at the puppet show including many sick children as well as many visitors.
Best of all, we had complete freedom to talk about Jesus, as this is a Christian hospital. The chaplain was so delighted with the program, that she wants to schedule us for multiple shows at the same hospitals next year. She also treated us to lunch on the sixteenth floor, where we had an incredible view of the city of Taipei.
Please pray for the hundreds of people who heard the gospel today to put their trust in Jesus Christ.
ONE LITTLE GIRL
A little girl named Ling came to the puppet show at the hospital today. After we finished she kept coming up to me and wanting to talk. She used her cell phone to take pictures of us, so I gave her one of my business cards with a picture of Mike and I on the back. She continued to stand around, long after we had finished tying balloons for all of the children. Clearly, she just wanted to talk.
I encouraged her to remember the story that she has heard. We began to talk about God’s promise of heaven. Then she told us that her mother was in the hospital being treated for diabetes. She was only eleven years old but she was there to take care of her mother. We made her a bouquet of balloon flowers and one of our friends offered to translate her Chinese emails into English if she wanted to write to me.
Please pray for Ling. Ask the Father to call her to faith in Jesus Christ. She was a very sweet little girl who was hungry for attention and worried about her mother.
A BAG OF RICE
Every time we eat a meal, we have the opportunity to fellowship with other believers and are able to really get to know our brothers and sisters here in Taiwan. We especially love listening to their stories and testimonies. Today we heard a true story about a husband and wife in Mainland, China. It is a GREAT story! The wife came to faith in Jesus Christ but her husband did not know God. She was very kind and always offering to feed other people. The family was very poor and the husband began to complain about her giving away so much of their food.
She told him not to worry, that she knew that God would provide. So one night when the rice bag was empty he decided to test God he locked the empty bag in a room and told his wife what he had done. Then he said "If God is God, He will fill the rice bag", but he was sure this would not happen. However his wife was absolutely sure that God would provide.
The next morning he went in the room expecting to find nothing, but to his amazement the rice bag was full. Immediately, he believed that God was God and asked Jesus Christ to be his savior. My friend met this couple, this is a true story of great faith.
DELIGHTS AND WONDERS
Today our driver bought jasmine flowers from a street vendor to tie inside our van. It made the car smell fantastic. As we drove to Taipei we past many rice patties. The water in them reflected the beautiful blue sky above. Tonight we enjoyed sunflower soup that was made from an actual sunflower. Chinese is a very difficult language to speak but it appears even harder to read, especially when you see directions written in Chinese. Yesterday our friend stopped and treated the team to ice cream. Apple was the flavor that Hannah enjoyed.
Love in Jesus, for the Team
Sam Shaw-Assist. Director
Heather Kelley
Mykayla Kelley
Jon Bova
Hannah Sager