June 2002

Dear Friends,

We had a joyous graduation ceremony this week as we prayed for the graduates of our seminary. One graduate has walked a long road to put on his cap and gown. Shin Chang Wu (Peter) is hearing impaired. He grew up in a family of seven children, two of whom also cannot hear. He attended a school for deaf children near his home. When he was 16 he had an epileptic seizure. His mother took him to the doctor and also to several Taoist temples to receive healing. One of his classmates was a Christian and invited him to a church for deaf people which was led by a Japanese missionary. The pastor and church members told him the story of Jesus Christ and prayed with him and for him. He became a Christian.

One night at dinner he prayed before eating. When his mother asked him what he was doing, he explained that he was thanking God for the food. His mother became very angry and told him that he should thank her, not God. She said, "I gave you the food. If you thank God, I won’t give you any more food." When his mother, a practicing Taoist, discovered that her son was going to church, she told him that if he didn’t stop going to church, she would commit suicide in front of him. She was very concerned because Peter is the eldest son in his family and has the major responsibility of making offerings to his parents once they die. His mother was concerned that if he became a Christian, he would not fulfill his filial responsibilities when she died, and she would be a "hungry ghost."

Peter’s classmate asked him why he had not been coming to church. He struggled to decide between Christ’s call and his family’s opposition. But his mother noticed a change in him, and finally said, "You can go to church, but I do not want you to be baptized." Many Taiwanese parents do not want their children to be baptized, because they fear it is the step of commitment to Christ and will prevent them from making the Taoist offerings.

But Peter is a strong-willed person, and decided he wanted to be baptized. In his baptism, he experienced a profound joy and began a new life in Christ. When his grandfather died, the whole family traveled to southern Taiwan for the Taoist funeral rituals. Each member of the family was expected to approach the casket on his/her knees wailing loudly. Peter refused. He told his family that he respected and loved his grandfather, but would only kneel before God. The extended family was furious. Peter could see his uncles and cousins shouting at him, but for once was thankful that he was deaf. He could not hear what they were saying.

Peter began to sense a call to serve God in the church. He began to preach using sign language. Finally, he met a young woman (Chen Tze Mei) who is not deaf, but whose parents are both deaf. They fell in love and committed their lives to serve God together.

When Peter entered Taiwan Theological Seminary, his wife attended every class with him, using sign language to translate. Both Peter and Tze Mei have the joy of Christ in their hearts and in their eyes. It has been a privilege for this seminary to have them on our campus. While in seminary, Tze Mei gave birth to a son who is not deaf and is now 9 years old.

Once Peter asked me to speak at a retreat for deaf Christians. Tze Mei used sign language to translate. The parents watched Tze Mei as she used sign language, but the children were all in the back of the auditorium. Most can hear and speak, so they played noisily, without bothering their parents. I was not used to speaking as children shouted in the back, but I quickly learned to focus on the deaf parents in front and ignore the noise in the back of the room.

Now Peter and Tze Mei will leave the seminary to work full-time as leaders of the Deaf Church in Taipei. They face great challenges and ask for your prayers. The deaf people are used to seeing. What they cannot see is hard to understand. It is hard enough to share the gospel with any Taiwanese, but especially difficult to share the good news of an unseen God with a deaf Taiwanese. Please pray for this committed couple as they seek to be the light of Christ among deaf people in Taiwan.

Thank you for your support, which allows me to continue to work with students like Peter and Tze Mei. Please pray for our graduates as they leave the seminary to serve in city and rural churches. Pray that the Spirit will use them to represent Jesus Christ in their communities.

Grace and peace,

John McCall

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 187