November 19, 2007

Isa’s story

One seventh of our students at Taiwan Seminary are aboriginal. Some come from villages in the high mountains of central and eastern Taiwan, and some have grown up in the cities where their parents moved to find jobs.

Since there is another Presbyterian seminary on the east coast that is aboriginal, I have often pondered our seminary’s role with aboriginal students. And I have come to discover that they bless us as a community with their presence, and we also bless them and help them prepare to be a blessing to the aboriginal church here.

Isa and his father in their village.

I have seen this to be true in the life of Isa, a member of the Tyral tribe from an extremely high mountain village in the center of the island. Isa’s parents are farmers. His father is an elder in their Presbyterian Church, and his older sister is a pastor. When Isa was in elementary school, his parents arranged for him to live with a family in the city so he could receive a better education. At time, he did not see this as a blessing, but as a curse. Since this family had their own children, he felt like an outsider. He did not even have his own desk to do his studies. Since there were few aboriginals in his school, he faced discrimination. When he went back to his village for vacations, he felt like he didn’t belong there either since he could not speak his tribal language. So Isa grew up without a real identity. He was not a member of the Taiwanese people, who have their ancestry in China (Han people), but he didn’t feel like an aboriginal either.

Isa’s village and home church in the high mountains of central Taiwan.

Last summer, after his first year in our master of divinity program, Isa went with a group of students and university chaplains that I led to Taize, France. The first three days in Paris, we spent time each day reading the Bible and praying together, and Isa shared with me his struggle of knowing who he really is. When we got to Taize, the European young people enjoyed our Taiwanese students and especially took to our aboriginal students. They celebrated their culture and asked many questions of Isa about his village and his background. Instead of facing discrimination, he found people accepting him and loving him.

Isa had a period of his life before coming to know Christ when he drank and smoked. He shared a story with a young man from Poland and one from Norway, who both smoke, about the freedom he now has in Christ. He told them that now he is free from smoking because of God’s love. Toward the end of our week at Taize, Isa and his Taiwanese classmates were playing soccer with their new European friends. The young man from Norway pointed to Isa and told me, “He is my role model.” I asked him why. He replied “Isa has an inner strength from God which I have rarely seen in anyone. I long for that kind of faith.”

I later told Isa what an impact he had had on his Norwegian friend. He smiled and said that God is amazing. He then told me that he had to come to France to discover who he really is. On the way back on the plane, he told me of his plans to do field education work during the summer in his home village. “At first I was terrified of the thought of returning to my village. But now I am ready. I am ready to help my people.”

He did return, and in September I joined the aboriginal fellowship’s mission trip to Isa’s village. I saw him at home among his people. I saw a young aboriginal man shaped in the image of God living out the good news of the gospel with his people.

I meet with Isa for continued spiritual direction. Recently he said to me, “I am grateful to God. I have this opportunity to study. I finally have my own desk where I can read books on theology and the Bible. I now know who I am.” Last month I was asked by a Taipei Rotary Club to speak about my work with aboriginals. I asked Isa to come with me. He was a bit overwhelmed by the hotel ballroom where the meeting was held, but he did a beautiful job in sharing his story.

It is because of your generous prayers and financial support that students like Isa are growing into the leaders God is shaping them to be. The aboriginal church here faces great challenges. But with leaders like Isa, I see God at work to influence a new generation.

Advent blessings,

John McCall

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 253