Autumn 2001

Dear Friends,

We are continuing to dry out here after two severe typhoons which dumped lots of rain on Taiwan. There has also been a great deal of concern expressed by the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan to the American church and people about the terrorist attacks. The General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan called me at midnight on September 11 to let me know that he was praying for the American people and for the world.

Yesterday was Taiwan’s national day, which means parades and speeches by government officials. It also is considered an auspicious day to be married or engaged. At noon I attended an engagement party of an aboriginal friend, and in the afternoon took part in a wedding of a Christian couple. Living as a Christian is not easy in Taiwan, and these two celebrative events show the real challenges.

My aboriginal friend is an elementary school dean and teacher in Taipei. He is a member of the Lucai tribe from southern Taiwan and left his village for education and then to begin working in the school system. He comes from a Christian family and truly seeks to put Christ first in his life. His fiancée, a delightful woman, is a kindergarten teacher. She is from a Taoist family and, except for her fiancé, has had little exposure to Christianity.

Yesterday the couple met in the woman’s home. The whole family stood before the family altar where there is a statue of a Taiwan folk god. They burned incense sticks and asked the folk god’s blessing on their marriage. They then bowed to the pictures of the ancestors and asked their blessing on the marriage. My aboriginal friend was distressed about what he should do when the time came to pray to the folk god and to the ancestors. We talked about it, and I suggested that he tell his future in-laws that at that time he would be praying to God, the Father of Jesus Christ. That way he could participate, but it would be clear that he was not praying to the wooden statue.

After the ceremony at the home, the family hosted a huge banquet at a local restaurant. My aboriginal friend’s family came from their village in south Taiwan. The future bride’s family invited many friends and relatives. In addition to the faith differences, there were very evident differences in culture between the aboriginals and the Holo (non-aboriginal) people.

I left that banquet and took a bus to the other side of Taipei where the son of a Presbyterian pastor and his wife was being married to his long-time girlfriend. They had asked me to give a prayer during the service. The bride comes from a non-Christian family and at first her parents prohibited her from being baptized. Non-Christian parents here fear that if their children become Christian, there will be no one to worship them when they die. Finally, after a period of eight years, she was baptized.

The wedding service was held in the church and the church was full. Their former college classmates made up the choir. During the service the bride and groom gave a bouquet of flowers to both sets of parents. The groom hugged both of his parents, which is not common in a typical Taiwanese family.

After the service we went to another restaurant for another twelve course wedding banquet. The lights were turned down as the waiters and waitresses had a procession around the room with the first dishes illuminated by candles. Each dish has a special meaning and we ended by eating fish, which is the sign of abundance.

The brother of the bride came to talk with me. I had not seen him for three years, and while he was active in the youth group as a high school student, he has fallen away from the church. We set up a time to meet next week to talk about his faith journey.

So, the surrounding culture can often cause Christians to stumble. Many young people are asked to make offerings to the folk gods at their places of work because the boss believes it will help business. If they refuse, they can be accused of being disloyal to the company. Since Christians are a mere three percent of the population, they often marry non-Christians, which can lead to future struggles.

Please pray for these two couples and all the people on this island. I continue to count it a privilege to live and work among them. I receive great energy in teaching students preparing to be pastors and also teaching lay folks who are living out their faith in their daily lives.

May God guide and encourage us all in the days ahead.

Faithfully,

John McCall

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 187