Dearest Friends,
GREAT DAYS
When the program goes well, I say “Awesome.” My Irish partner, Sam Shaw, says “Brilliant.” My Chinese pastor friend says, “Hung How” (spelling phonetically). Our French puppet director Anna says “Genial.” Silvana is from Brazil and she says “Maravilhoso.” In any language, today was wonderful. We were allowed to pray with the children at a Christian school, but most of the students were not from believing families. Today, we heard so many children praying loudly, asking God to be their Father and Jesus to be their King.
You may wonder if such an experience is really life changing. The Director told me that as a small child she had trusted in Jesus during a similar program for children many years ago. She grew up in a Buddhist family, but came to Jesus as a small child.
It is amazing to be traveling with friends from four continents and five countries. All of us are so blessed by all that we see God do. Each day is a great day as we share with hundreds of children, many of whom have no understanding of who Jesus is and how He can change them. I cannot imagine living a single day without Jesus. Here, people can live an entire lifetime and not hear His name. Please pray for Taiwan!
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
On Monday morning, we did two programs at a public school. As it is in most places in Taiwan, almost everyone was Buddhist. The children loved the program. As they were leaving the building, they were all shouting something. Peter told me that they were shouting, “We want you to come again. We want to see you again.”
Two years ago, we were at this same school. One of the teachers remembered our visit and more, she remembered the Bible story that she had heard. Please pray for all of these children to remember what they heard about “true love.” This was the subject that the school approved. What a great topic! There is no true love except through the cross of Jesus Christ and that is what we shared with them!
As usual, they would not allow us to pray with the children, but we could tell them how to pray. This always makes me laugh because God is the creator of the universe. They cannot stop what He chooses to do in the lives of the children.
BON APPETIT!
We all enjoyed the most wonderful meal with our friends Peter and Melody and their children. I always tell children that a missionary needs to be able to eat anything. We proved that statement as we all dined at a Hong Kong-style restaurant. We ate turtle blood jello and snake soup. After dinner, we went for a walk and shared a can of asparagus juice.
There is a delicious fruit here that is a cross between a pear and an apple. Our friend calls it a jingle bell, but we have decided it is a “prapple.” Anyway, it tastes great!
IN THE COUNTRY
Monday afternoon, we drove out of town to a school in the country. On the edge of the mountains, the school is beside an orange grove. The air was so nice and the view was great!
The best part of the trip was meeting a young boy named Joseph. He came up after the show and presented a small banner as a thank you from the school. Then he came to see me again. He wanted to shake my hand and tell me thank you.
I looked into his eyes and knew that Joseph was not just grateful for a good show. He had listened with his ears and his heart. Later, I spoke with him alone and encouraged him to remember the story. I asked him to please trust Jesus. He promised that he would. When a child reaches out to you as Joseph did and looks so deeply into your eyes, you see the need of his heart. Please pray for Joseph to pray and call on Jesus to save him.
TRAINING
On Saturday afternoon, we trained 35 Sunday school teachers. They got so excited about what they heard and were eager to learn. We did our best to encourage them. I shared with them how my Sunday school teacher touched my life when I was 5 years old. I still remember Mrs. Smith. Please pray for these teachers to be bright lights in the many churches that they represent.
Last night, we taught Seminary students at a Lutheran seminary. Some of those who came plan to work in a closed country, a place where you cannot openly go as a missionary. They will risk their lives to tell people about Jesus Christ. What a privilege to teach them!
PRAYER REQUESTS
Tomorrow and Thursday we have more shows in schools and at a hospital. Please pray! It is very dark here and all of us need you to pray.
In Jesus, Linda for
Sam Shaw – Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Jeremy Snow
Anna McIlwaine
Peter and Melody