June 21, 2005

Gospel Celebration

“When the early evangelists arrived on Taiwan to proclaim the gospel of Christ,” explained the Reverend Dr. C. M. Kao, former General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, “local people greeted them with rejection like throwing stones, spittle, knives. Church buildings were torched, clergy and lay members killed, and every kind of threat was made. But the gospel was fearlessly proclaimed.”

On June 5, 2005, Christians packed Hualien Stadium in Hualien to celebrate 140 years of the spreading of the gospel in Taiwan. The event, organized by the Taiwan Presbyterian Church (PCT), was simultaneously held in six cities, with the celebration in Hualien attended by over 7,000 people. Six delegates from PC(USA) traveled to Hualien for the event, including Elder Carol Adcock, Chair of Ecumenical Partnership Committee of the General Assembly Council; Will Browne, Associate Director for Ecumenical Partnership; and Insik Kim, Area Coordinator for East Asia and the Pacific. On May 31, they came to our mission center to learn about our programs before the PCT’s consultation on mission in Taipei.

As you know, we returned to Taiwan on March 30 after our interpretation assignment in the States. We have not had time to write a letter to you since then because of our many activities. On April 1, we had the gospel song contest at the Buddhist Nursing College auditorium. We had volleyball and basketball tournaments at the Ta-Han Technical College in April and a praise night at the Ami tribe church in May. Besides these activities, Choon had to preach (in Mandarin) every Sunday at College Church and lead Bible study groups at each Christian group. Now we are preparing for our summer college retreat from June 26 to 30 at the Bunun tribe village. During our next four-year term of service, our prayer is to find a full-time worker. Choon hopes to find an aboriginal minister. As Choon is getting older, not getting younger every day. So sooner is better. Please pray for it.

As all our college students are preparing for their final exams now, we have time to write you all. How blessed we are! We still feel the warm hospitality and the love and care you showed to us during our furlough in the States. We can’t write in this letter the names of all the people we met and the names of the twenty churches we visited, but we have not forgotten you all. We just want to let you know that our encounter was powerful. The energy and love you gave then we are now using for our ministry. The overflowing love goes to our college students, and our students have felt the love. Whenever we have had an activity, lots of students have come and participated. We know this is beyond our power. We believe that some people behind us have prayed for our ministry and us. That is why when the PC(USA) delegates came to Taiwan and met the Reverend William Ro, the PCT’s General Secretary, he personally told them about us and thanked them for sending us to Taiwan. This credit has to go to you. Therefore, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us to do God’s mission with all our hearts and with all our strength.

Yen Hee and Choon S. Lim
Hualien, Taiwan

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 253