Story 668 Gathered from Many Nations (July 25)
   The Tainan Community Church is a group of people drawn from many nations who worship in English on Sunday afternoons, but we're not usually part of it. The leaders, however, are out of Taiwan for big chunks of the summer. One is at home in Africa, and the other went to visit relatives in England. So Dave was asked to preach for five weeks straight, beginning today.
   About 25 people gathered. Taiwanese, Thai, Indonesian, American, Russian, Japanese and Filipino.  We sang American, Argentinian, Aboriginal, Indonesian and Russian music, and shared the Lord's Supper.  In the Kingdom of God they shall come from East and West, South and North. Today was a little taste of that, in Tainan.

Story 667 Shaken! (July 25)
   Char and Grant went to church in the afternoon, but skipped the morning service in Taiwanese because, with Dave away, there would be nobody to translate for Grant.  They listened to a service sent to us on a CD from one of our supporting churches in the USA.  As the sermon ended, they were moved.
   An earthquake had struck, 15 miles deep and about 35 miles away from home. It was five-point-something at its center, but only 3-point-nothing in Tainan. Enough to be felt, enough to shake people up. They'll let the preacher know how powerful his words can be in a day or two!

Story 666 Lost (July 25)
   This morning Dave went on assignment, his third this month, to preach and raise money for the Taiwan Church Publishing House. Of the three churches he has visited recently, this was the nearest, but the hardest to find.  He got directions from the church locator on the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan's web site, but early in the morning someone from the church called and gave him a different set.  The second set included names of roads and ended "Turn left at the 7-Eleven Store and the church is 100 meters down the street."
   On the way, he got lost. He kept turning left whenever he saw a 7-Eleven store, but it was always the wrong one.  He stopped by the side of the road, phoned the church, and was given yet another set of directions. Following where he was told to go he still felt lost, but saw a man with a Bible in his hand getting onto a motor scooter. Stopping and asking "where's the church?" he was told, "follow me." It was only a block or two away.
   On time for the service (but just barely), he spent 15 minutes cooling down before having to preach. It turned out that the internet directions were faulty, too. Praise God for a man with a Bible in his hand who knew the way! May we all follow such people.

Story 665 Incomplete! (July 23)
   When Dave asked the incoming year's international students to provide documents needed for processing government things, he gave them a deadline of July 15th.  Of six students, four have "made it".  On Friday the 23rd he and the school secretary sat down to do translations and other processing to get application files ready for the government office that has to approve things. That's when one student's incompletion came to light.
   This student, from India, was first to have his college diploma certified as true by a local Indian government agency then re-certified (authenticated) by a Taiwanese diplomatic office in New Delhi, and last of all send to Taiwan.  Two other Indian students had followed this instruction exactly, but this guy sent the certified document and skipped the authentication process in New Delhi.  Now his entire process will be put back for the couple of weeks the authentication will take, not to mention the time the documents will be in transit.  We hope and pray he can make it.

Story 664 Employed (July19-22)
   Grant has been at home since he returned from high school, whiling away the hours with the internet and a guitar. Last Monday he began three weeks of employment as a counselor and protector at Tainan City's International English Village, a school for elementary and middle school children.  It was not the easiest of weeks for him. Children, he is discovering, are not naturally cooperative.
   The International English Village is designed to teach children practical skills with English and in an international environment. Others doing the counseling job are all Taiwanese, but most of the teachers are foreign. The children learn the English to use when checking into a hotel, having a health examination, ordering in a restaurant and things like that.
   With only a high school diploma and legal residency to offer an employer, Grant is happy to have any job at all this summer. In this one he's learning that he is not likely headed into the teaching field that both of his parents occupy, at least not with children.

Story 663  Off to India (July 21)
   As Reformed Church missionaries, we work in partnership with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, a denomination that traces its origins to English and Canadian missionary founders.  This Taiwan Church is part of the Council for World Mission (CWM), a network centered in London that includes the Church of South India, another Reformed Church partner. CWM arranges lots of kinds of exchanges and arrangements, including many of the international students whom Dave works with every year.
   Last year Dave announced a CWM program for short term cross cultural exposure of theological students, and two Taiwanese applicants were selected to spend several weeks in India.  This year another student sought him out. Sheri (to whom Char provided extended help with her English-language Old Testament Theology textbook a year ago) asked Dave to proofread her application and asked Char to provide a reference letter.  She was awarded a travel grant and scholarship to spend the next 6 weeks at United Theological College in Bangalore, India. This school is part of the Church of South India.
   All of us are at various points in the wonderful network, or web, of relationships in God's Kingdom. We are excited, as Reformed Church missionaries, to be at one of those points where several strands cross.  Sheri dropped by to say thanks and give us a sack of fruit as she prepared to leave.  Bon Voyage!

Story 662 Char's Connections Spread (July 20)
   A little more than a week ago one of Char's former students at the theological college asked if Char could meet with a friend who wanted some help in English. Though the opportunities are limited, Char agreed, and met a graduate student from Chang Jung Christian University, Emma, in the theological college library one afternoon early this week.
   Emma has just finished her nursing degree at Chang Jung and has enrolled for a graduate degree in social work to supplement it. She feels her calling is somewhere at the intersection between the two fields.  She and Char will be doing work on English Bible, because Emma, an enthusiastic Christian and active member of her church, sees this need. It looks to be a wonderful relationship and a further reach by Char into a department at the university where she's had no contact before.

Story 661 What Don't You Like To Eat? (July 18)
    Dave went out of town this morning to represent the Taiwan Church Publishing House and do fund-raising at a church about 50 miles from here. It's not unusual in these situations to be invited to lunch afterwards.  The church elers who hosted him (the pastor was in Thailand attending the dedication of a church building there) asked, "Is there anything you don't eat?"  Since eating is one of Dave's favorite past-times, he replied, "Of course not."
    The town where the church is located has a population of under 20,000. There are two churches: one Presbyterian and one Lutheran. The youth of both churches had joined for a 2 day education event on gender, sex and sexuality. Important stuff for teenagers, and topics that are not addressed very directly by their schools, and certainly not by their parents. One of the church elders told Dave that a recent survey in Taiwan found over half of the teenage population woefully uninformed about sexual matters, and what they had picked up on their own had no particular moral or ethical direction to it. In the town of Wantan the Christian churches have joined to address the situation, speaking clearly even the embarrassing parts of what needs to be said.
    Following the worship service and greetings at the gate (it was sunny out there, so one of the elders loaned Dave a chinese farmer hat, the round pointed kind), a group of about 8 people went to a restaurant that serves cow, not beef, but cow. Every part of it, from head to tail.  With the exception of some stir fried greens, a plate of cabbage and bowls of rice, everything on the table was made from various parts, muscles, organs and other bits, of cows.  Tasty. Just don't ask, "which part is this" and it's all pretty good.

Story 660 Jesus Was a Carpenter (July 17)
    Last summer when the theological college's dining hall was renovated, Dave scavenged a few wooden stools. He brought them home, painted them and put into different rooms. They're useful when we more guests than we have chairs. This year as the women's dorm is refurbished he has scavenged a couple of old park-bench style church pews which he and Grant dis-assembled last week. On Saturday they set to work measuring, sawing, drilling and assembling a new pulpit for the college chapel (what better use can YOU think of for old pews.)
    More than old pew pieces, there's a drawer that forms the base of the construction and keeps it square. The first uprights were fastened to it with nails. After Grant drove the first one in, Dave congratulated him on having become a pulpit pounder. In a couple of hours they put together a respectable frame which will be covered either with plywood (scavenged from the same source) or with cloth. 
    The point of the exercise is to give an example to theological college students of possibilities for creative use of resources. Taiwan can be like so many other places around the world where things must be made specially of new materials and to a high degree of finish or not made at all. Recycling old things into new uses for the use of the church and to the glory of God can only be a good thing. Theological students should also learn not to be afraid to work with their hands.  If there's any wood left over, perhaps an experimental pulpit and table building workshop can be arranged.

Story 659 The Sound of the Jackhammer was Heard in the Land (July 12 and following)
    Mu-lin Hall is one of the women's dormitories at Tainan Theological College. It was put up and furnished in the late 1960s. That's how it remained until last week.  The board of directors authorized a refurbishment costing over US$140,000 during the summer.  All residents were told to leave nothing in their rooms, which would be stripped to the bare concrete walls during their vacation. 
    The building is concrete and brick, and the outside was covered with little ceramic tiles to look like shiny brick.  All of those have been chipped off with jack hammers. All of the ceilings, doors, built in closets, tables and desks, have been put out of the windows on one side. They make an impressive heap of wood.... looks like a former forest. 

Story 658 Rains in the Evening and Lights in the Sky (July 14-17)
    A typhoon went across the Philippines on Wednesday and we got some heavy afternoon showers on the edge of it. The light was orange at sunset, the entire town looked rosy.  The typhoon moved on and the next day's morning weather report indicated clear skies all day.  But, again at about 5PM the heavens opened, there was thunder and lightning, the second day.  Friday dawned beautiful and sunny. Clear skies all day, until about 4.  Dave walked home from his office in the rain yet again. Saturday was brilliantly shiny, until at about 2:30 we headed out of town to pick up a friend at the bullet train station. The wind came so hard and the rain fell so heavily that it was hard to see!
    After a very dry winter and spring, we maintain that a week of rain in mid June and these July storms are a blessing. Farmers can plant, urban dwellers like ourselves can trust that we'll not suffer rationing, and the industries that use a lot of water in manufacturing processes can continue to keep people at their jobs and earning wages. All of that is good for a society and a nation. 

Story 657  The Sounds of Fruit (July 12)
    In the primordial past someone planted fruit trees on the land that is now the campus of Tainan Theological College and Seminary. Even back then the school was within the city walls, so was not considered farmland. Now things all around are completely urban, but the campus remains well fruited. Mango, longan, carambola, wax apple and even banana trees grow here. In recent days some of these have been sounding off.
    Longan, also known as "dragon eyes", are about the size of cherries or grapes. They have a hard shell and a large pit. Like the other friut trees around here, the Longan trees on campus have been treated as shade trees, so the lower branches have been lopped off and the fruit grows high above the ground.  Lately the fruits have been dropping off, especially when there's a breeze. They sit on the ground and dry out. When one walks across them, the sound is "snap, crackle, pop", like stepping on bubble wrap.
    The school's mangos are small, about the size of a man's fist. They hit the ground, whether soil or concrete driveway, with a solid "thunk".  In the lane behind our house there have been several "thunks" in recent weeks. The trees are now fairly bare.
    Carambola, when cut in a cross section, has five points and is coloquially known as "star fruit". There's a tree in our neighbor's yard. It's over a lawn, and the fruit falls with a "plop" onto the grass.
    Next to the library there's a hollow Java Wax Apple tree, the branches of which bear abundant fruit. The path to Dave's office runs under it. Since late in May it's has been dropping dozens of fruits a day on the concrete: "smack".  In the playground of the school's affiliated pre-school there's another wax apple tree. When that one lets loose, the sound is "boing, boing" as fruit hits the slide. 
    This year nobody has applied to join the undergraduate program in church music. There are students in the second and fourth years and a few in the graduate program, so we're not without tunes, and Mother Nature herself has seen fir to grace us with her own: snap, crackle, pop, thunk, plop, smack and boing. Now, if we could only get it all harmonized!

 Story 656 Speed Surgery (July 9)
      Grant visited a dermatologist for a routine checkup on Wednesday morning. She looked at a mole on his hand and recommended that he see a plastic surgeon about having it removed and biopsied.  That afternoon we made an appointment with the plastic surgeon for Thursday morning. Grant was number 21 in line for that clinic.  He got in at about 11AM.  The surgeon looked at the dermatologist's note in the file, pressed a few keys on his computer, and told Grant to go upstairs for immediate surgery.  It's good that Char was along, because Grant can't sign for his own surgical procedures in Taiwan until he reaches 20, and he's only 18.
      At a total cost of US$11 and a total time, door-to-door, of less than 90 minutes, Grant had seen a doctor, been operated on, received 4 stitches, and was home with a bandage on his hand.  It's nice living next door to a hospital and having national health insurance.

Story 655 Student Evaluations (July 8)
      Among the many functions Dave performs at Tainan Theological College is membership on the student evaluation committee. This group meets soon after semester grades are finalized to discuss the progress of all students. their individual departments (theology, music & social work) will pass recommendations onto the committee, which represents the whole faculty, for decisions and actions. 
      When the committee met last Thursday each department had at least one special case. The music department recommended that one young man who had no interest in any location beyond the piano practice room not be allowed to return to school in the fall.  He ignored or slept through all of his classes, including those in music! The social work department recommended that the studies of another young man, who had been disappointed with the school from the time he began here a year back, also be discontinued.
      In theology it was a graduate student. She is a mature woman from an Aboriginal tribe who has done well in her studies and field work, but who had failed the Old Testament portion of her entrance examination last year. She was re-tested at the end of a year of study and still, even after having passed her Introduction to Old Testament course, failed the test. She was given one more chance. She'll re-take that examination with the applicants for the incoming class (who will be tested later this month) and must get 70 points (out of 100) in order to continue.
      The personal concern shown for all students here, in a small school, goes far beyond that which their age-mates at giant Taiwanese universities receive. It speaks to the continuing need for a place like Tainan Theological College and others like it elsewhere in this nation.

Story 654 Ripples from A Stone Dropped into a Pond (July 7)
      Years ago, in one of her classes at Chang Jung Christian University, Char put students into random pairs for a conversation exercise. Vincent and Judy began an acquaintance in that class that developed into romance and blossomed into a marriage.  Vincent and Judy reconnected with Char last year on Facebook. Several weeks ago Char noted that it was Vincent's birthday, and sent him a note.  Last week he responded, mentioning that Judy is expecting their first child.
      After Char congratulated them, Vincent mentioned that an ultrasound has revealed the expected child is a girl. Although his 'head' says he just wants a healthy baby and the gender doesn't matter, he mentioned that he's afraid of what his mother will say, and that he had secretly hoped for a boy with whom he could play ball. Char has assured him that he will soon fall deeply in love with his daughter, and that, who knows, nowadays girls play a lot of ball, too.
      Patriarchy has long been a feature of Oriental societies with sons desired above daughters. While a lot of progress has been made in Taiwan, the feelings Vincent is having are still not uncommon.

Story 653 Give Me More (July 6-8)
      Tainan Theological College admitted and gave a scholarship to a pastor from South India last April, to enable him to come here and study beginning in September. He will not only have free tuition, free room, a book and a shipping allowance, but also a generous monthly allowance to pay for food and other expenses.  He has already sent all of the documents needed to process his trouble-free entry when the time comes.
      It was surprising, though, to have a note from him early in the week asking for more. He has priced the air-fare from India to Taiwan, and asked for the school to pay his ticket. He also mentioned that he needs money to support his wife, child, and widowed mother during his study.  Those items are NOT part of the scholarship.  The director of international studies, an Indian himself, has written to this pastor asking him to get the money from his bishop or to tell us very soon that he will not be coming, so that we can give his scholarship to someone else who WILL join us. 

Story 652 Accreditation News (July 6)
      Theological and Bible Colleges here have typically declined accreditation from Taiwan's Ministry of Education because during the many years Taiwan spent under martial law, that meant government control of admissions, hiring, curriculum and the assignment of political security officers to the school. But in recent years, with the coming of democracy,  things have changed. All three of the schools affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan are at different places along the way in the accreditation process.  At least two schools belonging to other religious groups, one Buddhist and another Baptist, have achieved accreditation. Representatives of both were on campus in Tainan on Monday to talk about the process that they went through. 
      Dave missed these presentations due to a committee meeting in Taipei, but participated in all-day discussions between faculty and staff on Tuesday about things. The discussions were led by Dr. Huang Chao-hsin, who was our (Dave and Char's) direct supervisor from 1987 to 1989 when we were assigned to university student evangelism.  Chao-hsin is a good and trusted friend, and an excellent facilitator of discussions of this type. 
      Many of the college staff were of a mind that accreditation had to do with the president's office and the board of directors, and were content to leave matters there. During discussions a lot of opinions were shared and much was learned. Though we are not yet "there", and, in fact, will probably be in process for another 12 to 18 months, this train has left the station. It's only a matter of time.

Story 651 Re-evaluation Coming (July 5)
      Last Monday the Ecumenical Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan met to take care of its business, which includes leadership development, international relationships and missionary personnel issues. Dave is the only foreign member of this committee, which has 10 members.
      The main item of business was planning for an ecumenical leadership development conference to be held in October. Rev. Lai, the moderator of the General Assembly chaired the meeting. He insisted that the dates, location, topics to be covered, persons to be invited and numbers expected all be clearly stated before he would allow the motion to go through. Dave likes working with and for him.
      On missionary personnel issues there was a report from the General Secretary and one other member who had met with Reformed Church staff late in June. They mentioned that all three RCA missionaries in Taiwan are up for re-evaluation by the RCA Global Mission Unit. We ask that you pray for church leaders in both Taiwan and North America, that they listen closely to the Holy Spirit's leading as they move towards substantive discussions and decisions to be made in October.

Story 650 Fruit Overload (July 4)
    Dave was appointed to preach at Yu-chin Presbyterian Church, located in a fruit-growing region of Tainan County, to raise money for the Taiwan Church Publishing House. Introducing himself, he mentioned his joy at being in Yu-chin because it is "the home of the mango." Eighty percent of the members of the church are involved in agriculture, so we left church with several baskets of mangoes, papayas and guavas. This largesse has been shared with several other families on campus, and our refrigerator overflows.

Story 649 ECFA (June 29)
   The government of Taiwan has entered an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with the government of China. This trade agreement, which still must be approved by the legislature, is not without controversy; over 100,000 people marched in an anti-ECFA demonstration in Taipei on the 27th. The government went ahead and signed it anyway on the 29th at a ceremony held in the same Chinese city where, in the 1930s, it had signed up to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party against the Japanese during World War Two.
    Though the party currently in power here claims this will be good for Taiwan's economic future, many others fear it is the first step towards gradual surrender of Taiwan's economic and political sovereignty. China has over 1,300 missiles pointed at Taiwan and claims this nation to be its "province in rebellion." The government's haste to push the agreement through has ignored the fears of Taiwanese who struggled for decades to bring democracy here and who stand for Taiwan's independence over against domination by a powerful neighbor's imperial desires. Among those at the forefront of the opposition are leaders and members of Taiwan's Presbyterian Church, among whom we number ourselves.

Story 648 CJCU (June 28-July 2)
    Char spent the week mainly at home drinking her semester at Chang Jung Christian University to the dregs. She corrected examinations, computed grades and submitted reports. Even with Grant's help correcting some of the examinations she was still busy through Thursday night, when she posted the grades to the registrar's office online. Friday dawned with the final requirement - printing out hard copies of the grades, signing them, and sending them in the mail. She's done. Summer can begin!

Story 647 TMF (June 28-July 2)
     The Taiwan Missionary Fellowship, a group of evangelical and pentecostal foreign missionaries, held its annual conference last week. We've not usually made it a part of our lives, but this year a request was made for someone to facilitate workshops on story telling, so Dave volunteered. Many of those who typically attend the conference have believed negative things said about the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and Tainan Theological College because of the stands both have taken on social and political issues. Besides putting a friendly face on the church and the school, Dave met and fellowshipped with lots of friendly folks from North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere in Asia.

Story 646 Hold that Thought! (June 28)
      Since last September, if he wasn't attending church elsewhere, Dave has been translating everything that happens at Tung Ning Presbyterian Church into English for a few foreign students who have been there.  Now that graduation has passed, he thought he would be free to listen to the points in the sermon, the matters in the prayers, and the announcements of church life instead of just turning the sentences from one language to another. God had a different plan.
      A son of the church who had emigrated to Singapore decades ago was in attendance with his wife and two teenage sons. None of these three understood the Taiwanese of the service, and since the equipment for translation was in a sack on the front pew, Dave was back at work.  Next week, when he's the guest preacher elsewhere, he won't be translating, but then the question is, will he even listen to his own sermon?

Story 645 Wet Enough for Mushrooms (June 26)
      We've mentioned in the past that an old wooden rocking chair graces our front yard. Sometimes it gathers people who are walking through the campus taking pictures of each other. On Saturday mornings it is the place where Dave lays out our place rugs in the sun after giving them a good shake.  It was the site of discovery recently.
      A slow-moving set of weather fronts has brought us much blessed rain over the past few weeks. Sometimes the downpours are truly torrential!  Everything is damp. The rocking chair is sprouting mushrooms! After all the years we've had it, and all the indignities of children, paint and neglect it has suffered, it can yet host and foster new life.  There's a sermon in that chair.
 
Story 644 A Different Kind of Job (June 23 and on)
      With no international students to watch over, Dave's job has become more desk-bound.  He is preparing a course for the Summer Intensive Language Program and is "on watch" for the possibility of teaching an elective course in Catechisms beginning in September.  Invitations beginning the first Sunday of July and carrying through the end of September for preaching and lecturing have him drafting away at more than a dozen other things. But it's lonely work. There are no "morning prayers with the student body" in the chapel and there is much less coming and going in the hall outside his office.  For the next 6 weeks or so he will have to be intentional about people things, lest he become a hermit.

Story 643 Departures and Rememberances (June 23 -27)
      Dave was glad to see the international students off, knowing that each of them was eager to re-connect with friends, family, wives and children left behind for 9 months and 1 week.  Both of us were sad, though, to escort Ted and Betty Siverns, our Canadian friends, to the train station on Saturday morning for the first leg of their return trip to Vancouver.
      Ted had been the visiting professor at the Theological College this year.  He taught the international students two courses, and managed, using English, to teach an elective course in Biblical Exegesis to local (Taiwanesse) students.  Betty joined the college choir, a community choir, and tutored several students in English. They became like a beloved extra set of older parents (or younger grandparents) to lots of people. They became our dear friends.
      We will long remember their presence among this community and their contributions to it.  We will hope to model our own retirement (when it eventually comes) on things we learned from them.  The word of God has gone out in sundry and diverse manners. Through the testimony of Ted and Betty, it reached us.

Story 642 A Trying New Nickname  (June 22 & 23)
      During her lunch hour on Tuesday Char had to attend a meeting  with a handful of other teachers who deal with basic level students in the Translation Department. One of these teachers, Paula, is a devout Christian. Another, Steve,  exemplifies the kind of secular people the university gets when it hires on the academic market. Steve advises about 50 of the students whom Char has been teaching this year. Upon entering the meeting, Steve joked somewhat sarcastically that he had a new nickname for Char. "The New Mother Teresa", because his students kept telling him how kind and encouraging she is to them.  He then proceeded to tell both Char and Paula a somewhat off color joke.
      Steve is a professional with a Ph.D. degree. As a teacher he is part of what the university needs. But he has no faith connection to what the basic mission of a Christian university is about.  Char doesn't have a Ph.D. degree. She got into the university on a missionary appointment and is now secure there because of her many years of experience. That students find her kind and encouraging is an outgrowth of the faith that has formed her way of relating to people.  The nickname Steve gave her certainly is a stretch, but it shows something that even secular folk can see.
      A day later it was put to the test. During interviews on Wednesday three women asked for and received special "grace" from their teacher. Linda had not completed the hours of conversation practice that the department requires for passing class. Char arranged those for Wednesday afternoon.  Coco was short more hours of practice than Char could comfortably arrange and a considerable number of outside listening hours. Char gave her half of the practice hours and arranged an extended due date for completion of the listening. Then there was Phyllis.
      Phyllis is in two of Char's classes, and was failing both of them. When Char told her that there seemed to be no reason to give her a passing grade (she had missed more than half of the sessions of one class and performed poorly in the other) she was allowed to "make a case". When the "case" arrived, it was based on the idea that, in order to make payments on her motorcycle, she had taken on a second part-time job, so was forced to miss class. She thought that passing mid-term and final exam results would allow her to pass. Char has decided to fail her in one course and give her a few days to do some extra credit work for the other. She's not feeling much like Mother Teresa, either the old or the new.

Story 641 Graduation and Sendoff (June 23)
      The theological college's graduation ceremony took place on the morning of June 23. Nearly 60 students marched across the stage. 31 took the basic degree for ministers (the M. Div.) and 8 took the advanced, D. Min. degree (one of these had already retired!). Besides those, there were a dozen or so taking Bachelor's degrees and about 10 others in various other Master's level degrees.  Before the ceremony was even finished, one of the international students, nervous about reaching the airport in time, had left Tainan.  Soon afterward another was put onto a bus to the airport, and by midnight two others had gone. 
      Each student had his own worries, many of which centered around having to change busses on the way to the airport.  Dave had a regular speech, naming all those who had already gone, reminding the student before him that the others hadn't gotten lost, and saying, "You're as clever as him/her, so don't worry."  Whether they worried or not, none came back or called in asking for further directions.  In the succeeding days Dave received notes from many saying, "I'm home now." 

Story 640 Finals  (June 22& 23)
      Students often come to the end of term dreading the final exams that they must take. Teachers approach the same date with double or triple worries. The exams have to be prepared, then given, and then scored.  Char worked until the day finals at Chang Jung Christian University getting exams written, laid out, and printed. During the hours of giving them, she could only watch. She came home with large stacks of papers that need to be graded. Thankfully, this time, she only needs to give scores, not make corrections so that students can look them over and learn from their mistakes.
      In her two Wednesday classes the exam was by interview. Preparation required checking each of her 47 students' records so that she could warn any who were in danger of failing to be prepared.  As often happens on these days, some people came late, some stayed a few minutes over, and she was wildly behind schedule much of the time.
      BUT, she's through. Now it's a matter of scoring exampapers, computing final totals and turning in the grades. That will clear her with the university. Then there's filing away the useful papers and culling the useless. The whole cycle will begin again in September with fresh faces and new adventures.

Story 639 A Need for Local Missionaries (June 22)
      In the 1960s, Reformed Church missionaries were instrumental in establishing much of what has become the ministry to university students in the Presbyterian Church in Tainan. This included a LOT of what went into building up Luke Hall, a residence for college students next to the Kaohsiung Medical College.  Char lived and worked there in 1978 and '79. The building still stands today, but it is being eclipsed by a new facility nearby, and there is a call out for people to come and be campus ministers.
      Decades ago a donor gave a large parcel of land just a block away for the use of a local congregation with some vague stipulations about campus ministry and other mission uses.  Lack of funds, then disagreements between possible users, kept the land from being fully utilized until now. A new building, about 9 stories high, has gone up. The bottom 2 floors are for the church, the 3rd for the local Presbytery (classis) to use for administrative purposes, and the rest are divided into 90 dormitory rooms to be rented to students.
      This week's edition of the Taiwan Church News noted that all but about a dozen rooms have already been rented for the coming semester (beginning in August) and there is a search on for ministry staff.  Some things churches and missionaries do take time to come to fruition, yielding thirty-fold, fifty-fold, and even a hundred-fold.

Story 638 An Invitation to Look West Street (June 21)
      On June 16th we joined a tour of a couple of historical churches in Tainan. As Dave chatted with the pastor of Look West Street Church he learned that the congregation sponsors a neighborhood college, offering enrichment classes to the people who live thereabouts. Its curriculum committee was scheduled to meet the very next morning to map out the Fall offerings and schedule.  First thing the next day, Dave sent a set of descriptions of things he could teach for them if they were fitting.
      They didn't fit. Dave designs things for full time students and for the lay training division of the theological college. They were too narrowly focused for the people who come to the neighborhood college, a much more secular lot. However, he was invited to deliver a 90 minute talk on "faith and life" on September 20, and told to remember that those who will attend will mainly be people from outside the church, so though he will speak of faith, he cannot assume that they will understand biblical or other "inside" references. 
      He's considering this a chance to do pre-evangelism. 

Story 637 A Mysterious Smell (June 21)
      Coming into our house by the front door (our usual route) puts us into a room about 14feet by 14 feet, from which one can go either to the kitchen, the living room, or up to the second floor. It's too large to be called the entry way, but not particularly distinctive enough to be called anything else.  The phone is there on a table. A bench is at one side where one puts on or takes off shoes, and there is a catchall shelf for various things.  There's also a coat rack in one corner.
      It was from that corner that a progressively stronger nasty smell began eminating a few weeks ago. We wondered if it was coming in through the window. Were stray cats meeting and mating in the flower bed in the middle of the night? But, there was no smell outside the window.  The mystery continued, and the smell grew, until Char put her nose to our cat's leash, which hangs from the coat rack when not in use.  AHA!
      Every morning Dave takes our cat out for about half-an-hour.  He (the cat, not Dave) is in a harness with a cloth leash attached.  Unless there's another cat around Dave lets ours wander and the leash drag along behind, through whatever water, mud, dirt, crud or other things that may be about. It picks stuff up.  Apparently it had absorbed enough on a damp day to start internal rot.  A hot-water wash (of the leash, not of the cat or of Dave) put things right.

Story 636 Overfed (June 15,18,19, 20 & 24)
      It's the end of the year. Besides the Hospital Anniversary Celebration banquet on the 15th we've also joined the international students for sendoff meals almost every day. Dave always gets included. Char is in on more than half of the events. On Monday the 21st we'll have the "last breakfast" in our house before graduation. We've been hosting 8 to 10 people on alternating Wednesday mornings since September.      

      Some serious attention to diet will have to be taken in coming weeks and months.

Story 635 Serenaded (June 20)
      Tuvalu (population 12,000) is one of the few nations on earth that have formal diplomatic relationships with Taiwan. This nine-island nation in the South Pacific is the third smallest in the world ( only the Vatican and Nauru are smaller.). Much of Tuvalu's income is from selling fishing rights to Taiwan and other nations. Other than what could be gotten from near the shores, Tuvalu was unequipped to get fish from its further economic zones. Last year Taiwan gave a deep sea fishing boat, and this year is training a crew for it in Kaohsiung.
      98% of Tuvalu's people belong to the church. Several of the trainees came to church in Tainan today and sang at Tung-ning Presbyterian Church, where we attend worship. Dave was called on Saturday and asked to translate the printed bulletin for them. During worship he did oral translation. Though the church has only six radio receiver sets, the deacon in charge of such things rigged up 20 headsets so everyone could hear. In addition to these trainees, six other Tuvaluans (five university students and one theological college student) joined the choir.

Story 634 Employed (June 18)
      Grant has been out of high school for two weeks. Time has been spent saying goodbye to friends, watching the World Cup, and resting up from the final push. On Friday he visited an "International English Village" in a nearby elementary school. This "village" is run by the city department of education and attempts to give children an environment where they can learn practical English language skills outside of an "English language classroom" situation. Grant asked for a teaching assistant job for the summer, and was hired on for several events in July.
      The pay is lower than the standard for other English teaching things around here, but, Grant doesn't like teaching English. So an assistant job, basically leading kids around in a group and attending activities with them, is just right for him. With those days and hours "locked in", he can now do other things that become available during his remaining 6 or 7 weeks at home.

Story 633 Loss (June 17)
      The computer that Dave uses at the theological college has been adequate for his use for 6 years and he has no intention of changing. In recent weeks it began to have little glitches, which always sorted themselves out, so he didn't worry about them when he should have. On Thursday morning it refused to start up. That afternoon the fix-it guy made a call, and Dave cleared out for him. Two hours later he came back to a computer stripped of all his old e-mail and address lists, most of the documents concerning international students, and many other things that he regularly uses.
      There are many ways to respond. One is anger at the computer (fruitless), another is anger at the fix-it guy (pointless) and a third is anger at oneself for not having heeded the signs and backed things up at the first sign of trouble (instructive but not comfortable). So, besides mourning his loss, Dave is trying to see this as a chance for new beginnings. He didn't need ALL of those old messages and e-mail addresses. He didn't need most of those documents. Whatever he can reconstruct will be enough.

Story 632 Afternoon Wedding (June 16)
      Seven years ago a married couple called at mid-life to a career change, arrived at Tainan Theological College and began studying for the ministry. Mr. Yang, the husband, already had a college degree, so took the three-year course to prepare for ordination. His wife, Ms. Chen, started from the first year of a 7 year program leading to ordination. A couple of years later their son joined the college to study for a degree in social work. Today being a holiday, their daughter, an elementary school music teacher, was married in the school chapel. Two choirs sang, elementary school children played in a flute ensemble, and all manner of good things were said by professors, preachers and friends.
      This family are a force to be reckoned with in the church they serve. Rev. Yang is the pastor, Ms. Chen, the pastor's wife, will soon be officially a probationary minister, having to serve two years before becoming eligible for ordination. Their daughter, who was married today directs the choir, and the new son-in-law (surnamed Lin), is one of the Sunday school teachers.

Story 631 Last Week of Regular Class (June 15)
      Char celebrated a bit on the 15th because it was her last day of regular classroom teaching this term. The 16th was a holiday and next week is final exams. But she didn't get time to do too much celebrating. Students from her Wednesday class who had missed quizzes came in for makeups during her lunch hour. A few from her morning class stayed into the lunch hour to complete a quiz that they were having trouble with. She also had to go to an office, turn in a key, and change to a classroom in a different building during that lunch hour. So she hardly had time for a bite.
      This kind of busy-ness is not uncommon. She will be glad to have a summer off from it.

Story 630 Celebrate the Missionary Contribution (June 15-16)
      Sin-lau Christian Hospital, next door to Tainan Theological College, grew out of a small clinic established in Tainan by the first Protestant missionary to this island. To commemorate the 145th anniversary of Dr. James Maxwell's arrival, the hospital invited foreign missionaries who serve the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (from Wales, Japan, Korea, India, Canada and the USA) and the international students and faculty of Tainan Theological College to 2 days of programs. These included a program detailing the history and current role of Sin-lau, speeches, a banquet, and a worship service. Char had to teach on Tuesday, but joined for the evening banquet and the activities on Wednesday, which was a holiday.
      Dave was asked to translate where necessary. Some things were done in casual enough atmospheres to allow "line by line" translation, but for an outdoor worship service in the driveway in front of the hospital on the morning of the 16th he had to get creative. No equipment (transmitter and receivers) was made available, so he stood behind some of the international guests and spoke along with whoever was in the pulpit. Later, on a tour, he translated history talks at two churches that the group visited. At both of these, much was made of their historical connection with the work that Dr. Maxwell initiated in 1865.
      Sin-lau used its anniversary to celebrate long term mission service. The two of us were among the longest serving in the group (Judy Estell, another RCA missionary here, was unable to attend). The gratitude expressed, along with the hopes that "you'll stay on for years and years more to come", are a wonderful affirmation.

Story 629 Dragon Food (June 14)
      The Old Testament people of Israel celebrated three big festivals every year. The Taiwanese are like that, marking the Spring Festival, the Autumn Festival and Dragon Boat Day according to the lunar calendar. This year Dragon Boat Day falls on June 16th (according to the solar calendar). On the morning of the 14th the college president, Wu Fuya, came up our front walk and presented us with a bag of Bah-chang (as they're called in Taiwanese). These are the traditional dish enjoyed with this holiday. Two more larger Bah-chang were given to Char by her students at the university.
      They are balls of sticky rice with meat and other things inside, wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied into an interesting four-sided pyramid shape. In our house, the only person who eats Bah-chang is Dave. Usually he has one a year. A few weeks ago he had one at a school dinner. That was enough. But for dinner on the 14th, he had a few more. He seemed to have forgotten what they do to his digestion.

Story 628 Reach (June 14)
      On Monday morning Manirajan, an international student from India, brought Dave a photocopied page from the most recent issue of the magazine of the Church of South India. On it was a poem that Mani had written in English (he usually writes them in Tamil) and that Dave had edited for him. The subject of the poem was the loss of homeland by his classmates from low-lying Pacific Islands due to sea-level rise.
      Had Manirajan not come to Taiwan, he would likely never had met the students from Tuvalu and Kiribati. Had he not been made to do his studies here in English, he probably wouldn't have written that poem. Wild, wonderful and interesting things happen when people are thrown together in Taiwan. Some of them are even poetic.

Story 627 Orchestral Accompaniment in Church (June 13)
     Tung-ning Presbyterian Church, where we worship on Sundays, is a musical place. Several pianists take turns accompanying the congregation and choirs from Sunday to Sunday, and from time to time string or woodwind groups provide preludes, postludes and offertories. Today a 24 member chamber orchestra, about half of them children, took over for accompanists and choirs. Nobody sat at a keyboard anywhere. We sang traditional European church music, a Colombian hymn and our usual Taiwanese offertory prayer to the accompaniment of clarinets, flutes, violins, violas and cellos.
     God is praised in many ways. When music is used, whether drums and guitars, pianos and pipe organs, or strings and woodwinds, voices raised in concert and lives tuned in harmony are powerful testimony to the One who gave us life, and gave himself that we might live eternally.

Story 626 Framed! (June 12)
     Last Christmas Kate gave us one of those computerized picture frames that shows digital photos. She loaded it up with picutres from our collection, but we neglected to change or update anything. BUT, Grant's graduation kicked us into gear to change the contents to recent photos from Christmas through the end of his high school. Now that we've been motivated to learn how to do it ourselves, we might be more regular in making use of the resource.

Story 625 In Print Again (June 11)
     The fourth printed collection of these stories, beginning on December 29 of 2009 and carrying through May 29 of 2010, came off the photocopier on Friday. If you'd like a copy, let us know. There are only 40 in all, and some are already reserved, but we'll share what we have. A few copies of the earlier collections still clutter up a shelf in Dave's office. If you'd like any of those, say so. They might as well clutter up your space!

Story 624 Multinational Music (June 11)
     Edgar Macapili, a Filipino musician, lives in the foothills of Tainan County. He met his wife, Ban Siok-koan, a Taiwanese pastor, when they were both students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas a couple of decades ago. Edgar spends a few hours a week at Tainan Theological College where he directs the choir. He also composes music and directs a community choir. That group presented a concert on Friday night at the college assembly hall, and it was GOOD! The director is Filipino, at least two of the singers are Indonesian, three are Canadian, one is French and the rest are Taiwanese. We heard things as diverse as "Home on the Range" at one end of the musical spectrum and some of Edgar's own compositions in Taiwanese at the other. Even nicer, it was only a 4 minute walk from our front door.

Story 623 Hot and Dark (June 9)
     Char usually joyfully anticiptates class at Chang Jung Christian University on Wednesdays because the language laboratory where she teaches is air-conditioned. On Tuesdays her classes are held in a regular classroom which has ceiling fans and an air conditioning system that only works when someone pays the meter.
     This week she arrived at the lab to discover that the A/C was on the fritz. The lab has NO ceiling fans. "It's OK," she was told, "you can open the windows." EXCEPT, part of what she had planned for the day was to see the final 20 minutes of a movie the class had begun last week. That required absolute darkness (doors, windows and curtains tightly shut). After her morning class endured 20 minutes of sweating in the dark, frantically fanning themselves with whatever was at hand, the room failed to cool off when things were opened up. She let everyone go 10 minutes early.
     She hoped all would be fixed before the afternoon class convened. BUT she learned that the repair crew was scheduled for the next morning. The afternoon was a repeat of the morning's hot darkness. She returned home ready for the shower.

Story 622 Pre-Doctoral (June 8-10)
     Kate, far from us in body, was much on our minds this week. After three years of preparation she took comprehensive exams in three areas related to Chinese Literature at the University of Chicago where she's in the Ph.D. program. Three examinations in three days, each lasting four hours, kept us focused on how she was doing. We thought of her, prayed for her, and sent encouraging notes daily. She, in turn, sent the exam questions and answers she had written. We understood neither the questions nor her responses, but we're not the ones getting the degree, either.

Story 621 Work Study (June 9)
     We had thought that once the college applications and financial aid forms were submitted, all Grant had to do was say "Yes" to someplace. But over the past few weeks the e-mail inboxes have been regular recipients of notes from Lake Forest College, where Grant will begin to study in August. Most recently it was an application for work study to fill out, and then a note saying that it has been received and filed. In August they'll let him know what he's to be doing. Perhaps adventures in sanitation or food service await him.

Story 620 The Invigilator (June 7 & 11)
     We learned a new word this week. Four of the international students at Tainan Theological College had to take a pair of 3-hour comprehensive examinations on material they've been taught this year before being allowed to proceed with writing Master of Theology thesis papers. Their professors wrote the questions. Dave sat with them in the room while they took the examinations.
     Americans know this job as "the proctor", which sounds a bit like a medical specialty. The professor who wrote the instructions here studied in the British educational system so he gave it a different title. Dave sat in the exam room totally devoid of medical connection and connotation, keeping vigil as "the invigilator". It has the ring of someone who prays. We like it.
     On Thursday, after two readers had looked at the papers, it was announced that all four students had passed and could proceed with their degree programs. The director also said that the school had learned from the process so that teaching would be altered in years to come to take account of the new requirement for these examinations.
     Having crossed this Rubicon, their next challenge will be to write and complete a Master's thesis while surrounded by the distractions of home in the next year or so.

Story 619 Updated (June 5)
     Before going to Taichung for all the things about Grant's graduation, Dave sent a note to the president of the Myanmar Institute of Theology (M.I.T.) in Burma. Though Tainan Theological College had offered a full scholarship for the coming year to Ms. San Dar Win, a teacher at the Pyo-kayin (Karen) Baptist Theological College in Yangon, we had received no acknowledgment. The president of M.I.T., Samuel Ngun Ling, is a friend, so Dave asked him to contact the Pyo-kayin school on Tainan's behalf. (There was no e-mail address on the application and even Google couldn't find one.) On Saturday morning, slightly violating one of his principles for separation of home and office, Dave checked his work e-mail and found a note. Ms. Win will begin to work on a visa and plans to be here in September. We hope all goes well for her. We've had too few women in the international programme in recent years and those accepted from Myanmar have had a difficult time completing visa application procedures.

Story 618 Feted (June 4)
     The Board of Directors of Morrison Academy hosted a banquet and elaborate program in a hotel banquet hall at noon on Graduation Day. We sat with Grant, two of his classmates, their parents and one grandmother and were served another "tremendous amount of food". The program was less raucous than that put on by the theological students on June 1st, though. Besides a string and woodwinds ensemble that played throughout the meal, Grant's chamber chorale group sang, and there were slide shows of the graduates at various ages. Then the master of ceremonies called the 57 graduating students to come to the front of the room in the order of when they had joined the school. Grant was in the first group, who had been in the school since kindergarten. Slowly the crowd at the front changed and grew, with people shifting from campus to campus, and taking a year out here and there (Grant was outside twice). Each newly added student introduced himself/herself, parents and guests, then said where next year would be spent. They're scattering to Australia, Canada, Japan, England, Denmark, the USA and others are not yet decided.
     After the banquet we made a quick stop at a store to get Grant a white shirt with a collar for wearing under his graduation robe, then went to his dorm and loaded up the car with his stuff. We had about an hour to chat with his dorm parents, Steve and Penny, who have watched over him for the past two years. After Grant left for "ceremony setup", we spent time with the Chens, whose son, Brian, was Grant's roommate for two years (and who was in school with him since kindergarten. Then it was time to go to the auditorium for the graduation itself.
     Sometimes having a name that begins with "A" is an advantage. Grant was the first one to march in. He came down the aisle from the back, presented a rose to Char, and then moved up onto the stage. The school had hired professional photographers to snap these moments, so there weren't crowds of relatives clogging up the aisles to get their own snaps. Because Grant was first, we had seats in the very front row for the entire time. After all 57 grads were in and on the stage, and 55 mothers had roses (the class included two sets of twins), the ceremony began. There were lots of senior speeches, presentation of diplomas, Bibles and awards (Grant received a National Choir Award for the senior boy chosen as contributing most to the High School choirs) and a long closing prayer. For about an hour afterwards graduates, teachers, parents and well-wishers mingled in the school courtyard. One graduate's parents had arranged for fireworks to be set off from the school's athletic field. With boom and flash on June 4th, the class of 2010 marked its independence.
     Grant stayed behind for a school sponsored all night party and to go to church with friends for the last time at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, where he's been worshipping this year. He'll get home on his own in a day or two. The two of us drove a car full of a dorm-room full of Grant's life home, and were in bed soon after midnight.
A chapter closes. Another will open in a couple of months when he takes up residence in Illinois. By the grace of God, we are in this together.

Story 617 Boxed (June 3)
     At the end of their academic year the international students at Tainan Theological College can be reimbursed for homeward shipping of things they've acquired here, up to US$100. Of course, postage costs differ, so some can send much more than others. The student from India could afford to send almost 90 pounds of things, the one from Botswana a bit less. But mail to those countries can go by boat. The guys from the Pacific, where there are lots of boats, have to send their things by air-mail. They all got less for their dollar. On Thursday Dave took Tiaeke Takabau, a pastor from Kiribati, to the post office. He was able to send only 15 pounds of stuff, and even with that went "over" his allowance by a few dollars.
     When they leave, their international baggage allowance is 44 pounds checked plus 15 pounds in hand baggage. Tiaeke will have to choose wisely what to take, and what to leave behind.

Story 616 Informed (June 2)
     The college has "run out of"seniors who need to preach to the community in order to be allowed to graduate. Last Wednesday afternoon we gathered for worship, but the center was not a sermon by a student. Instead, we watched a film presentation about a former college president, Dr. Shoki Coe, who re-opened Tainan Theological College in 1948 after the Second World War. We've heard his name a lot since moving here, and have learned to hold him somewhat in awe. Dr. Coe finished teaching here in 1965, spent the next 14 years in London working for the World Council of Churches. He was known as an international voice for the aspirations of Taiwan's people during the time when this nation was ruled by a military dictatorship. He died in 1988. Rev. Tiu* Sui-hong, who heads the foundation that made the film, was one of his students. Now aged himself, he wanted the record put on film and published in a book before all of the surviving students are gone.
     The film was shown in the assembly hall, not the chapel. The setup for translating there is less than ideal, so the quality of interpretation for international students and guests who rely on it was lower. It's good to have a practice run, though, because graduation, on the 23rd, will be in the assembly hall, and knowing about equipment problems in advance gives time for adjustment.

Story 615 Feasted (June 1)
     The student body at Tainan Theological College held a banquet at a big restaurant to send off this year's graduating students. There was a tremendous amount of food, a lot of loud music and folderol, and a boatload of love. When one thinks that most of the graduates will be going off to serve as ministers of churches, Presbyterian churches no less, one expects a certain amount of gravitas. Not last Tuesday. The students who will continue at the school next year provided the entertainment, and "ridiculous jocularity" was the order of the evening.
     Churches need leaders who can rightly discern the Word of God, who can give compassionate care to people in need, and who know how to have fun. We think that the graduates from this school are capable in all of these areas.

Story 614 Told (May 31 & June 1)
     The International Studies Committee at Tainan Theological College, where we live and Dave works, has admitted several students from Asia and Africa for the upcoming academic year (beginning in September). Only two of them, a woman from Myanmar and a man from India, received scholarships, because that's all there were to offer. A very good candidate from Kenya was accepted to study, but didn't get any support.
     Last month a donor in Wisconsin offered to fund the man's study. Apart from sending thanks to America, good news had to be sent to Africa. Though there was an e-mail address on the application form, no replies were forthcoming. Dave tried sending notes through RCA missionaries in Kenya and through the dean at St Paul's Theological Seminary, where the man had studied. At last, on Monday, word came from the dean, "I've spoken with him. He'll contact you soon."
     The next day an authenticated graduation certificate arrived from a prospective Indian student. That is usually the thing that internationals have the hardest time obtaining in order to make an application for a religious study visa. We rejoice that things have started moving this early for African, Indian and one Korean student. With a lot of work, more understanding and a tremendous amount of grace, we hope to see them here in September.

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An Article for the Swiss Mission Organization, "Mission 21"

Confronting Taiwan’s Society, Community and Neighbor in Jesus’ Name

TEXTS: Luke 7:1-10 & Acts 17:16-21

David Alexander

Tainan Theological College and Seminary

June 2010

The example set by Switzerland, where multilingual and multi-ethnic democracy thrives, draws struggling people around the world to look to the Swiss as an example. The example set by the Basel mission, reaching out in Jesus’ name to nations and peoples far away from Basel, and continuing within Mission 21 to break down historical and confessional walls that have divided Christian from Christian, inspire the churches of the 19^th and 20^th century mission movements to recognize, appreciate and cooperate with each other.

In the New Testament we find examples set by our Lord Jesus and by many of his followers which are worthy of our notice and emulation. Among these are stories of how Jesus and St. Paul bravely stood up to “the way things were” in their societies, communities and with their neighbors.

The Social Jesus

In Luke 7 we meet Jesus on his way to his house in Capernaum. As he walked he was confronted by the need to be involved in a social problem. Capernaum, Galilee, Judea, all the “known world” of that time was filled with inequality. Power relationships were far from balanced. In this case, a Centurion, who represented Roman government’s military power, had a slave, very likely a Galileean. Master to slave is not an equal relationship. This Centurion cared about his property (because that’s what a slave is) and felt that Jesus could do something for him. Because he had power, he was able to order Jewish leaders to go call Jesus.

        Though there is little actual slavery around the world today, there are still many instances in many societies where power relationships are not equal, where some people feel they can order others’ lives just because the others have no power. In Taiwan this is clearly seen in two specific areas.

Though Taiwan is an independent and self-governing nation, it cowers in the shadow of its powerful neighbor, China. Taiwan’s current government is tilted sharply towards China. Under a previous government that was not “pro-China”, Taiwan’s neighbor aimed up to 1,500 ballistic missiles at my homeland to remind Taiwan not to oppose China’s agenda for annexation. Though the current government of Taiwan is friendly to China, not one missile has been removed.

Taiwan’s current president has entered into negotiations with China towards an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement that would yield a large part Taiwan’s economic sovereignty to China. This deal is being discussed without the involvement of the legislature. The people are told that the president and his supporters will do what is right and good, so there is no need to worry. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has joined social groups to call for a popular referendum on the agreement. Each week from church pulpits, church members are urged to sign petitions, giving their names and even Identification Numbers, so that the provisions of Taiwan’s law for a popular referendum can be fully met. The church is asking Taiwan’s people to stand together against the government in a peaceful and legal action for the sake of the nation. Some would say that the church has no business being involved in such an issue. Others would say this involvement exactly emulates the actions of Jesus

But government is not the only social institution that the church confronts. Taiwan’s economy and education have improved so much in the past 50 years that few unskilled people remain to do the dirty, dangerous, and disgusting jobs that are present in every society. The solution has been to bring in workers from poor countries of South East Asia. These workers are completely dependent on their employers for food and housing, for payment and even the right to continue working. In many situations, they are treated like property. Among its many social ministries the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, operates a workers’ concern center in one large city which offers shelter for abused foreign laborers, mediation in employment disputes, and pastoral care. The center was created by the church and depends on church support, but receives government funding for part of its operation because this social need has been acknowledged even by those in power in Taiwan, somewhat like how the centurion in Capernaum recognized and acknowledged Jesus’ ability to come to his need.

 

The Community Jesus

 When the Centurion wanted Jesus’ help, he did not go himself. He sent some of Jesus’ own people, Jewish elders, to him with the request. When Jesus responded positively to their summons, he was not just dealing with the larger social situation of power; he was meeting with the leaders of his own community. They told him that the Centurion was a good man who loved the people of the town and even arranged for the building of their synagogue. Jesus’ action was for the sake of his community, who had benefited from the man and wanted to pay him back with benefit.

    The proportion of churches in Taiwan is lower than it is in Switzerland, but most communities have a church or are not far from one. The problem is that churches are unlike the temples of Taiwan folk religion, which are almost always open (but have no meetings or services. Churches generally open only several hours per week for common meetings. Folk religion worship is an individualistic, Christian religious practice is communal. But that can be limiting. Church groups can become somewhat exclusive, saying that if people want to come at the stated meeting times, they will find the Christians. Otherwise the doors are shut, and often are locked.

In Taiwan, most towns and villages have places like the Athenian Areopagus where St. Paul confronted the philosophers. Traditionally this has been in the forecourt a folk religion temple. In recent years, Christian churches in many towns and neighborhoods have realized that their walls kept them separated from the people of the communities that surrounded their buildings. Some congregations re-interpreted their mission to include offering their facility as a community meeting space for all sorts of gatherings, many of which have no relation at all to anything religious. Traditionally it has been difficult for Taiwanese who are not Christians to enter a church facility. There is a feeling that by going through those doors, one is betraying one’s own gods and becomes liable to punishment or bad fortune. Entering a building, even a church building, for a non-religious purpose, overcomes some of this traditional difficulty. And for the Christians themselves, allowing “outsiders” into the building for a secular purpose, has helped diminish feelings of exclusivity.

       Some churches go beyond changing their understanding of their buildings and reach out to their communities as good neighbors. Sin-pi church is a rural congregation in South Taiwan. Its resources are limited, so it invited a youth group from a large city church to lead a neighborhood service project for village children. The urban youth saw the comparative poverty of the rural village and held a concert back at home to raise money so the local state school could provide meals to poor children. The school principal, himself NOT a Christian, then opened the school to church volunteers who teach a non-religious life-education programme that focuses on things like interpersonal relationships, self-respect, and confidence building. The community has more Buddhists than Christians, and a Buddhist organization had offered a similar programme, but the principal their programme and presenters exemplifying a sharp class distinction from the children in his school. The local parents have agreed with their principal’s decision to let the church run the life-education programme at the school. The sincerity of the church volunteers has opened doors in the village. Children now happily board cars at the school on Sundays to go to church and see their friends there. Because of the good community outreach and relationships, the gospel is preached where people are free to hear it, and it is lived in the public sphere where proselytizing is not allowed. 

        Certainly there are communities and situations in every nation under heaven where the social welfare structures fail to meet all needs. Those are the places where Christian people can live the gospel in compassionate action, and bring the people into the churches where the good news is spoken with conviction.

The Personal Jesus

        Jesus met the Centurion’s power and the elders’ plea, but there was still a sick slave waiting for him. But on his way to the Centurion’s house he was stopped. This military officer was powerful, kind and humble. He did not see himself as worthy that one so great as Jesus should bother with his home, he cared only for the healing of his slave, and he respected Jesus’ position.

        Jesus often preached about big things, “Consider the lilies of the field” (Matthew 6:28). “Do not judge and you will not be condemned” (Luke 6:37), but at this point in the story, he became very personal. Speaking of the Centurion, he said, “Not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Luke 7:9). That leaves only the slave, who, we learn in verse 10, was healed.

        Having a church confront a society, like the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan confronts it’s society about political power and migrant laborers, is one thing. Being involved as a congregation in a community, like the church in Sin-pi with the nearby elementary school, is yet another one. But getting personal, commending a person’s individual faith or healing a person’s servant, that is sometimes more difficult.

        We may be afraid to draw attention to ourselves, or to offend someone. Maybe we just don’t know what to say. This year, as part of a movement to double the church, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is training members in how to reach out to people. Seminars are held at several locations. At one recent event in the city of Taichung, an experienced visiting pastor and a hospital chaplain talked about “showing empathy, visitation techniques and inter-personal relationships.” Home visitations are foundational to all church ministries because no matter what churches do to attract people into its pews, follow-up visits are necessary after a person comes to church for the first time.

    Pastoral ministry in Taiwan involves a lot of visitation. All church members can get involved. Training helps them become more at ease in the situations. Much of the training is not at all religious, but about inter-personal relationship building. This is necessary if a faith testimony is to be offered or accepted. Without the relationship, the testimony is a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. What would it mean for your own neighborhood or church, if some of us would begin this kind of visiting? Could faith and healing, like happened between Jesus, a Centurion and a slave one day, be possible?

 

The Speaking Church

   The Gospel calls us to be involved at all levels. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is concerned for Taiwan’s social and political future, especially regarding the big neighbor state and its 1,500 missiles. The church speaks. The church is concerned for community needs, beyond the schools and children, many parishes send meals to isolated elderly people in their neighborhoods every day. The church is concerned for the individual needs of lonely and fearful people for faith and healing, and brings the good news of Jesus Christ to them. This is what happens where I am from. May we all learn from what is done in each others’ churches around the world.

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 Story 613 Dan at Home (May 29)
  As the end of the semester draws near, students at Chang Jung Christian University have become more diligent in scheduling appointments for out-of-class conversation practice with Char. This week she signed about a dozen cards certifying an hour with a teacher. On Saturday one student, Dan, even came to our home.
  With conversation practice essentially free flowing talk, they covered a lot of topics in the 1 1/2 hour visit. At one point Dan asked what it meant that Char is in Taiwan as a missionary, wondering if she was the leader of a church or something like that. She told him that we are, indeed, involved in church life, but that her missionary service is her work and presence with students at his school.
  Remembering that earlier in the year Dan had commented that listening to Christmas music made him feel peaceful, Char gently asked if he was perhaps part of a church. The answer was 'no'. Char then asked about his family's religion and learned that they are nominal followers of Taiwanese folk religion. While Dan doesn't believe any of it, he needs to participate in ancestral worship rites when required. His telling comment was that he didn't see his family's religion having any effect on the way they lived but thought their religious practice was more just a matter of habit and culture.
  Dan claimed to be touched by the lives and testimonies of Christians who have been his teachers and to admire Christian ethics and philosophy. God leads people to faith in Christ along many paths. Dan may be on one of them.

Story 612 Much, Much Music (May 27 & 28)
  Thursday evening we made our next-to-last trip to Taichung for a high school event (graduation, on June 4, will be our last). At this assembly several musical groups performed and academic awards were presented. Grant got two awards and sang 3 songs with the chamber chorus. The program lasted well over 90 minutes followed by a reception that included an art show and jazz band for another 30. There was a LOT of music. All of it pleasant.
  On Friday two of the music students at Tainan Theological College presented their graduation recitals. Both had majored in voice. We expected an event that would last about 90 minutes but were out of the house for more than 3 hours! Again, there was a lot of music. About half was oratorio pieces and operatic arias sung in Italian, German, French, and Latin, with the other half folk songs and hymns in Taiwanese. We enjoy live music in our lives, and are grateful for the two schools, Morrison Academy and Tainan Theological College, that have offered so much of it to us in recent years.

Story 611 Sermons on Request (May 26)
  A friend Pan Li-ju is going to Switzerland next week. She is on the board of an international mission organization, Mission 21, where she represents the East Asia churches. While there, she will preach in a Swiss church. (She'll use English and be translated into German). She sent her sermon to Dave for comments. He went through it and shortened sentences (something that translators appreciate), corrected wording and re-arranged some ideas. Li-ju read it over then asked for other ideas to be worked in.
  As he re-modified the text, Dave asked things like, "how many minutes do you have?" and "did they ask for a sermon or a report?" (What she had written was more like a speech). Getting answers to these questions, he set himself to re-writing everything, including changing her scripture text.
  We're grateful that Li-ju is a friend, because she received the new material gratefully. Now she has two things to choose from when she preaches in Basel in a couple of weeks, and can even merge the two.

Story 610 Municipal Missionary Commemoration (May 25)
  The first Protestant missionary to Taiwan, Dr. James Maxwell (a physician) stepped ashore in Kaohsiung City, where we used to live, in 1865. There's been a statue in his honor at a Presbyterian church near the site for decades. Last week the city government decided to put up a memorial of some kind near the actual spot where he came ashore.
  Dr. Maxwell stayed in Taiwan only 7 years, leading a team that established a clinic in Tainan (which later became Sin-lau Christian hospital next door to where we now live) and serving as the anchor point from which evangelists followed to start churches. Decades after his departure, his son arrived to continue the work and was here for more than 20 years.
  The city government in Kaohsiung upholds him not as an evangelist, but as a man who, motivated by sincere concern for people's welfare and out of devotion to his God, came half-way around the world for the good of Taiwan. We look forward to seeing what they will put up in his honor.

Story 609 Dramatics and the Day After (May 24)
  The Department of Translation Studies at Chang Jung Christian University, where Char serves, presents an evening of dramas every Spring. This year there were 6, each lasting between 20 and 30 minutes. Two, presented by freshmen and sophomore groups, were in English. The other 4, by upperclassmen, were in French, German, Spanish and Japanese. Thankfully, a big screen on the stage projects the translation of their lines in English and Chinese so that everyone can understand the plot. Char went on Monday evening to enjoy the show and support her students. She didn't get home until after 10.
  The dramas are a high energy event including music and dance routines, elaborate costumes, a big commitment of time for students who choose to get involved. Knowing this, Char planned a light day in class for Tuesday, telling her students the week before -- "no homework, no quiz, just come to class". Her morning class had 4 people missing (sleeping the evening off) and the afternoon 6. A slow day in the classroom but enough people were there.

Story 608 Rain! (May 23, 28, 30)
  It had been very dry in southern Taiwan for months, really since last August's huge typhoon dumped a year's worth of rain in 3 days. The reservoirs were low, irrigation water to farmers had been cut back, and there were warnings that if things didn't change there would be water rationing in the southern cities starting in June. Then, last Sunday, the spring rains (called the "plum rains") came, about 4 weeks late, but they really came. Water stood in our front yard for a while before the drains caught up. One theological college student, doing field education at a church in the mountains, was stuck for awhile because of a landside which closed the way out.
  After that we had sunny days, cloudy days, and humid days for most of the week, and more rains on Friday night and Sunday morning. Things are green again, farmers can plant again, and perhaps we won't face rationing after all. More rain is predicted for this coming week.

Story 607 Vancouver Visitor (May 21-25)
  Dr Wendy Fletcher, from Vancouver School of Theology, was on campus in Tainan over the weekend on a meet & greet tour and looking at developing formal ties between the two schools (thanks to an introduction by Dr. Ted Siverns, our visiting professor from Vancourver). Both of us were at a faculty dinner given in her honor on her first day here, and Char drove her to the bullet train station on her last. In between, Dave did a lot of tour guiding around the city and translated when she spoke at morning prayers in the chapel on the 24th.
  What it seems will come of the visit is an agreement by which the ministerial (M.Div.) students at each school will be able to take courses at the other. Those from Tainan who are able to do coursework in English can take a semester in Canada, and those from Vancouver who want to have a semester abroad will be welcome to take theology courses taught in English to the international students here. We look forward to a wonderful exchange.

 Story 606 Back to Pingtung (May 23)
     In 1977 and '78, before we were married, Dave lived in Pingtung City for a year. He was a Reformed Church Intern in Mission living at the campus ministries center run by the Pingtung Presbytery. During that year he taught in a couple of local colleges and at two local churches. Other than to see a few friends early in the 1980's and to attend a funeral in the 1990's, he hasn't been back.
     On Sunday he preached at Pingtung Presbyterian Church, a big old place that fills half a city block. Like a week ago, he was raising funds for Yushan Theological College where Judy Estell, another Reformed Church missionary, serves. Being Pentecost, his lesson was Acts 2:1-13, and he spoke on the miracle of hearing the mighty acts of God in one's own language.
     As he started preaching, he mentioned the decades' gap between visits, and later one of the elders mentioned that she remembered him when he had hair on top of his head.
     Unlike last week, when the church where he preached handed him the contributions directly, this week he has no idea how much was given. Pingtung Church does things more formally than the country church where he was on the 16th.

Story 605 Out to the University (May 22)
     Three busloads of high school students arrived at Chang Jung Christian University on Saturday afternoon to take an English language assessment test, tour the campus and divide up into groups to meet with a university English teacher to discuss their tests for 50 minutes. Having agreed to help out, Char went to school the previous Monday to be the female voice on the recording for the listening portion of the test. During the week she reviewed the whole test to choose questions for inclusion in a power point show put together by a grad student, Peter, who was her technical assistant and translator on Saturday.
     Char had done this program with a slightly rowdy group in March, so was less than looking forward to the repeat. But this time, though she and Peter had a large group of about 70, things went more smoothly (the earlier experience must have helped). At the end of their time together Char invited them to consider Chang Jung Christian University when the time comes to choose a college. Then she told them that she had been the female voice on the recording and asked if she had spoken clearly and slowly enough for them. They complained of an echo that made it difficult to understand. (So much for fishing for compliments.) Since she wasn't responsible for technical things, she promised to report what they said.
     Afterwards some students asked her to pose with individuals and groups for photos taken on cell phones. She's glad that it's done, until next semester, at least.

Story 604 Up to Taipei (May 22)
     Morrison Academy, where Grant attends high school, regularly declares closed dormitory weekends and sends all residential students home or to friends' houses for 48 hours. Grant made plans to do something other than home this weekend, so he came to be with us a week early. This weekend he stayed with the Stellicks, missionaries from the Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church on Friday night, and accompanied their daughter, his classmate Hannah, and a couple of other friends on a trip to Taipei for the day on Saturday. They returned that evening and Grant again spent the night in their house, and went to church with them on Sunday.
     The ease with which people can move around Taiwan on trains, busses and subways makes it a good place to be a teenager without a car. The fact that the driving age here is 18 and the license examination is very difficult is another factor in encouraging use of public transport. For college, Grant will go to Chicago, where he can continue his urban ways!

Story 603 Over to the Doctor (May 21)
     After taking a fall and landing on hands and knees a week ago, Char struggled with pains in her left arm all week and finally decided, on Thursday afternoon, to seek medical attention. On Thursday night we used the internet to make an appointment at the hospital next door to see an orthopedist the next morning. That only took a few minutes.
     The next day at the outpatient clinic she merely told what had happened and the doctor ordered her down to the hospital basement for a couple of x-rays. That took some time (there was a line at the x-ray department), but when she was finished she returned to the doctor and watched the computer monitor with him as he viewed the pictures and pronounced, "no fractures". His advice, beyond give rest, was "don't fall again." She went out, paid her bill (US$11) and walked home to lunch. The arm still hurts but at least she knows it's not broken.

Story 602 Into Office (May 20)
     The student association of Tainan Theological College developed into an independent organization years ago. When the students are holding their semi-annual meetings, professors and staff members are not even allowed into the hall! The officers for the coming year are generally elected months ahead of taking office, and are installed following the final association meeting of the academic year, which took place on May 20th. The newly entering president brings together several "firsts". Tashi is not Taiwanese, he is Aboriginal, from the Amis Tribe. He is an older student, in his 40s with a wife and teenage daughter. He is not in the theology course, but in the undergraduate social work department. This may be the first time in history that an Aboriginal person has been head of the student association here. It is also likely the first time someone in a department other than theology has led things, and as for being an undergraduate... because of the way programs have been structured over the years that's hard to say, BUT, that he's only been here two years so far is CERTAINLY unique.
     Tashi was one of Char's students in 2008 and 2009. He started in the summer intensive course she taught, terrified of failing after so many years away from school. He passed though.
     He has impressed everyone, and though coming with almost no English at all, his essential friendliness, leadership ability and "wicked" sense of humor has led to him befriending all of the international students and everyone else around here. May the student association continue to make wise choices like this for years to come.

Story 601 Off to Sleep (May 19)
     Meetings characterized Dave's week. On Wednesday the theological college's counselors met over lunch to catch up with student life matters. One of the music teachers mentioned that students were falling asleep in her morning classes. They said that since the weather has turned hot they have trouble sleeping at night in the non air conditioned dorm rooms. Someone else said, "if we turned off the school internet connection at midnight, the problem would be solved." Many students are up half the night on their computers. That led to discussions of how pervasive air conditioning has become in Taiwan, and how students are beginning to expect a cool atmosphere wherever they go.

Story 600 Out of Luck (May 18)
     Dave serves on the Ecumenical Relations Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. On Tuesday the first meeting of the current year (the new committee is appointed in April at the General Assembly meeting, so it generally first meets in May) was held. Our friend Natalie Lin, whom we met while she was taking a Master's degree at Western Theological Seminary in Michigan 11 years ago, is on the committee, too. She has also just been named to the executive committee of the central committee of the Christian Conference of Asia. She brought issues of those relationships to the committee. Other issues included exploring new ways to relate to the church in China, which generally cold-shoulders anyone and anything from Taiwan. Dave was interested in securing a scholarship from the ecumenical committee for a student from Tuvalu who has been accepted to Tainan Theological College for the coming year. BUT, the General Secretary of Taiwan's church pointed out that this man's application had to be approved by his own church headquarters before our church in Taiwan could fund his study. The next day Dave wrote to the man with a copy to the general secretary in Tuvalu and received a strong "NO" in reply. It seems that new graduates from the Evangelical Church of Tuvalu (this fellow finished his studies at a seminary in American Samoa) must first serve the church in the home islands before being allowed to go outside for further study. Perhaps he can come in a few years' time.