April 22, 2008
Dear Mission Partners in Christ,
We greet you with Easter blessings. We celebrated Easter Sunday with an Easter-egg hunt after our college worship service. Our students didn’t know the meaning of the activity, so Choon explained that the egg represents the new life that Christ gives us as we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We had 48 students on the Sunday, and they really enjoyed it. We prayed that they would find new life.
There are 13 aboriginal tribes on Taiwan. They speak 13 different languages. Sixty-five percent of aboriginals are Christian, while Taiwan as a whole is only 3 percent Christian. In our last newsletter we mentioned that we saw a transformation in our students’ faith, and we reported that this year our attendance in worship increased from 20 last year to 40 students, even though most students have to drive a long distance by motorcycle to get to our center. We thought about what made such a big difference. The answer was the “Fast and Reading the Bible” program.
The program started unexpectedly at the beginning of this year. Choon was thinking about a Bible-reading program because he was concerned about the students’ lack of interest in and knowledge of the Bible. One day when we had the college student committee meeting, he mentioned his concern. One of officers suggested reading the Bible while fasting. We have not done any fasting activities before, but we all agreed to do so. At the beginning of the semester, we did it with only our officers. During the program, we sang gospel songs and then prayed together. After that, we read the book of Genesis, beginning at nine in the morning and finishing at five o’clock evening. We divided the book into 10 parts and then followed the same order: singing, praying, and reading. Each student came to the pulpit and read one chapter. While we were doing it, the Holy Spirit touched our hearts and we felt blessed by this activity.
We would never have guessed that an all-day fast while reading the Bible would attract so many students.
After the program, participants shared their experience with their friends. The following Sunday two students asked Choon if they could participate in the next one. Choon explained to them that he was afraid that the students might not want to fast while reading the Bible. They insisted that the next time we did a fast and Bible reading, they wanted to join. So on Good Friday we did it again and opened it to all students. It was a long weekend, like spring break in the United States, and a lot of students went home, but 18 students stayed to participate. Since there was so much interest, Choon decided to do it again on June 8, right before their final exams.
Through this experience we truly believe the Holy Spirit adds more people to our church every Sunday (Acts 2:47). Church growth is the work of the Holy Spirit. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, a lot of students have joined in our ministry. When we prepared to go to a local church to do a special gospel praise night, many students volunteered to be a part of the praise team, even though they had to practice for it for two months. Last year we had to look for volunteers to do this, but this year we had to turn down several students due to the transportation and other expense problem.
The fifth annual Gospel Song Contest was held last week in the auditorium of Buddhist Nursing College.
Last week when we held the fifth “Gospel Song Contest” at Buddhist Nursing College, all the Christian college groups and seven local churches participated. It took three and a half hours for all the performers to present. It was a very good way to witness to non-Christians, as the hall was packed with nursing students. This week we will have a volleyball tournament at Dong-Wha University. We already know that all the college groups are looking forward to it.
We remind you that Taiwan’s population is only 3 percent Christian. Most churches in Hualien have only 30 or 40 members. In this context, more than 40 college students gathering in our center to worship and participate in programs is the result of something beyond our efforts. We truly believe that your prayers are responsible. We have trouble putting into words what is happening here, but we trust the Holy Spirit leads you to understand it.
With our whole hearts, we thank you for your support and prayers. We also pray that you have the same blessings from the Emmanuel God in you, your family, your work, and your church. We feel truly blessed to serve our aboriginal college ministry as you support us. Again, thank you.
Faithfully in Mission,
Yen Hee and Choon Lim from Hualien, Taiwan
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 108 |
