Missions Update

Show Notes

Adult Sunday School — Missions Update. Rev. David Doty.

What is Redeemer Church Sermons?

We exist to exalt, proclaim, and treasure the Lord Jesus Christ that He may have devoted followers throughout the world. A congregation in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) located in Hudson, Ohio.

Speaker 0: You're listening to an adult Sunday school class at redeem Church, a Pc congregation in Hudson Ohio io. For more information, visit us at redeem Ohio dot org.

Speaker 1: Well, good morning, Brothers and Sisters in Christ. It's great to you all again. Oh, we are so grateful for to God for your partnership with us over... What's been a little bit more than the past 2 years. After your prayers and support, guys has been enabling us to serve in Taiwan, spreading the gospel through church planting and music.

This summer we're on a 2 month home assignment to come and visit our ministry partners and has shared this in person update. Our plan is to return to Taiwan at the end of this month and get back to the work there. So today, I I recall, you do like to ask questions during the Sunday school hour. If you have a burning question feel free to, otherwise, we'll try to save some time at the end for q and a. So Taiwan, it's been in the news a lot lately.

Taiwan is in the pacific ocean. Just off the coast of China,

Speaker 2: by a little by about 81 miles

Speaker 1: at the narrow point on the Taiwan freight. Oh, that's the stretch of water between Taiwan and China. In 20 22, 44 percent of the world's shipping container shipments pass through this stretch of water. Of course, to the North of Taiwan, you see Japan, and to the South you you the Philippines, and so that's where we've been last 2 years. You know what?

I just realized it's morning. Is there I forgot to introduce family. I'm David. My wife Glorious is here. Our children are Eli, Timothy, William, rolling his eyes, and Abigail, and a fifth member, he's in the nurse 3, nathaniel.

Alright. Many people don't realize that today there are actually more Christians board believers in China than there are in Taiwan. And I don't have a statistic for you as to how many, but China's population is much greater than Taiwan. And also their Christian population is much greater too. For the past 2 years, we have lived and served in northern Taiwan, where Gloria was actually born and raised.

Our present home the home for the past 2 years has been in L district that you can see here, just outside of Taipei a city, the capital. In bad try traffic it takes us about an hour to drive into taipei a. Let's drive 15 miles, or about as long, writing public transportation. And if you're fan of public transportation that Taiwan is the place for you, because they're are much much further along than some other places world. Taiwan is 1 of Asia's most populated densely populated lands.

In 1 square kilometer, I know we use miles 1 square kilometer of new type a city in which Lin district lies, close to 2000 people live on top of each other. Once square kilometer. And this is a neighborhood in Lin that houses some 15000 and people. To put this perspective, Taiwan has twice the population of the state of Ohio. But only 1 third the size.

There's a lot of people. Today, the total population of Taiwan is a little over 23000000. But more than 21 and a half million people are not believers. They do not know. The Frost gift of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Joshua projects, which keeps tabs on peoples who have been reached by the gospel, puts the number of evangelical in Taiwan at a little over 3 percent. Now, our lord jesus gave us the great commission in Matthew chapter 28 and said all authority and heaven an Earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, ba them and the name of the father and of the son of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always to the end of the age. Da knows here that there isn't an explicit command to plant churches.

It's to make disciples of all nations? Well, let me ask you where are disciples baptized? Where do we receive struck in the word and grow together in faith and obedience. Answer of course is with other believers in the church. Enhance our mission is to plant churches in Taiwan and spread the gospel through music.

But to put this also in perspective, let me tell you a brief about a true person. I'll call Sue. Sue was a pre teen drawing up in a buddhist family in Taiwan. None of her relatives for chris, but then 1 day, a new church was planted in Sue neighborhood. The daughter of the church planter met sue and the 2 girls became France.

Ben the church planners daughter invited Sue to come check out the church plan. So Sue did. She kept coming. She became a believer of that church and today some 30 years later, Sue and her husband and their boys are still members of church. Now the daughter of the church plant pastor in this case was Gloria.

And this story illustrates why every neighborhood in Taiwan needs a new church. So that more and more people who have come from completely non christian backgrounds can be invited to come to church and hear the gospel. Today Taiwan is full of idol. It kind of reminds 1 of, what Paul found when you visited the city of Athens Acts chapter 17. He found that it was full of idol and his spirit was provoked within him.

Sometimes idol in Taiwan are literally paraded through the streets. As you can see in this have taken from, our apartment as a local temple drove some of their idol through the neighborhood as if to mark out their territory. Here's another picture of a parade in our town of idol from a local temple being driven around. It's in interesting. We don't tend to see too much in the way of evan going on other than these temple parades.

We do see missionaries from that from the mormon church, in Taiwan quite active, but not of the local religions which are predominantly buddhism, Da, and Chinese folk religions. We are reminded of what Wrote concerning idol, chapter 02:18. What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it. A metal image, a teacher of lies for his maker trust in his own creation when he makes speechless idol. Taiwanese by and large are also rather super dishes.

Fear of ghosts of the dead is quite prevalent. Here we see a business that is set out a table of food offerings for ghosts, spirits of the dead. And is burning in that fiery bucket, special paper ghost money. You pay real money to buy ghost money, so you can burn it for the dead. The bully belief is that doing so will keep the ghost happy so that they won't come and trouble the living.

Basically, it's a form of works based self salvation. It's part of the spiritual darkness we've see in Taiwan. Many Taiwanese are also devote worship of the Gods. By 1 count over 36000 different gods are worship in Taiwan, in iran around 11800 temples, and that number is growing. Building new temples is actually big business.

The temple interestingly are shared amongst the 3 most predominant religions, Buddhism Buddhist towers and Christian was china Christian. Mh Chinese spoke religions. Now when our district of Stands, 1 particularly large temple that I visited 1 day in order to learn about our neighbors, beliefs some religious practices. And it's interesting because you know you're near a temple when you smell inc, floating down the street. So inside the temple, I found a large covered plaza with tables of food offerings And many people just milling about waiting for relatives to to pray or whatnot.

In the background, in this photo, you can see and doorways leading to a kind of un... Of un, if you will, a room of idol, who are d identified heroes of the past. It's very pragmatic in their religious practice. They seek favors from the Gods, which really shows that idol in other countries are in a way just projections of the idol of the heart. The same idol of the heart that you and I might need to put to death by the holy spirit.

Things like comfort, things like security, things like relationships, love and prosperity or healing. Now, I found many worshipers offering in sense as they prayed to the idol. As we have taught our children about our neighbors beliefs and practices, I have often found myself quoting, some of Psalm 01:15 versus 7 to 8, which says of the idol, they have hands, but do not feel. Feet but do not walk. And they do not make a sound in their throat.

The Who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. Here's a look in that inside room of the idol at the front of the temple. I didn't seem like anybody went up there, but there was also no 1... No signs saying do not take a picture so I did. In a room of the temple, I saw this sort of another form of this idol tree in a room that was filled with idol and all the walls.

Tears shelves of different idol each with its own little name plaque. There was a woman in there, who I saw repeatedly casting coins to the ground. Like flipping point. She threw the coins to the ground and again and again because the belief was that if the coins don't lay and the way you want them to, then the God hasn't answered your prayer. But if you keep repeatedly throwing them to the ground, maybe God will eventually agree to help her.

She finally throwing the coins to the ground when she got a satisfactory answer. But again, these are really just idol of the heart, different projection of the same kinds of things, when we love God's, gifts, more than we love God, the give. But it's speaking of God the true in living God, he is at work in Taiwan. Just as he is at work, all of the world, carrying out his plan to redeem his elect. The first way we've seen got at work is through a new church plant, relatively New Church plant in and chong district, which is between where we've been in Link on the West and Taipei a city.

The districts in new Taipei a city. It is the district that has the few churches of any district. Christian churches. Cali Spencer is a teaching elder of the Wisconsin. He first went to Taiwan 12:13 years go as an English teacher with his wife Kate.

After college. After they talked for a number of years, they saw the need for new churches around them, and they turn planter instead. Together, they have planted San chong new blessing church, which is what that's sign says, below in the picture, Tan New blessing Church. Which phrase Lord has recently not only renovated and moved into a new meeting location, but they've also particular. Reason this context Yes.

We know what that means. Right? They have their own session, no longer a provisional session of elders from other places, but they're own ruling elders from the local population. Here is a picture of pastor Cali. Standing in front of their new meeting place.

Churches meet just about anywhere they can find room. The local public schools are unavailable to Christians to use as worship spaces because of conservative Christian views on a number of issues. So we find church planting spaces wherever we can. This used to be some kind of storefront, and you can see apartments above it there. Previous Lee, they were meeting in a school.

7 story school building at rented to Doom Space and Sundays. Now San Hasn't been our primary place of service over the last 2 years, but we were invited to help them lead a musical Christmas pro graham seen here at their 20 23 Christmas celebration. Here is the San new blessing church in their newly renovated facility. Gloria has been a part of Para in Taiwan, and Para held a lunch with families. So we got to enjoy their newly renovated space.

So he praise the Lord for seeing got at work in that church as new people or new believers are being baptized, and the congregation is growing. The other place where we've seen got at work is in the new church plant that we have been blessed to be a part of. It's been our primary place of service since we landed in 20 22. And since we lived since February of that year. Now, Lin is an interesting place there's a disproportionate number of expat patrons there.

1 of the reasons for that is because Link has 4 international schools Now we got connected with this church plant, an international bilingual church plant, which means everything's in English gets translated into Chinese and vice versa. We were connected through a friend at glory its home church in Taipei, who connected us with the lead planter of a... What's now become delinquent International church. It was a partner work between friendship presbyterian and church, Taipei and another pair church organization. When we went to church planter assessment in 20 19 in Atlanta to our church plant assessor recommended that before, go and I go out and try to plant our own church that we work with others to help plan a church.

And so when we learned about this opportunity to join others and planning an international church in Link, we said, great. Now when we first arrived in Taiwan in 20 20 do. You may recall there was a bit of a pandemic on. Taiwan has some very strict quarantine... I'm sorry, pandemic prevention measures, which meant for teen days of quarantine.

At that time, we were lucky because it was the Chinese New Year. So they only made us coop up in a hotel room for 10 days. And then we got to spend 4 more days in a different place with a breath of fresh air in between. After we got Quarantine, we started attending the delinquent link church plant and on a typical sunday morning. It looked about like that.

A small group about 40 meeting in and off this building. Just after groups it started being permitted to meet in person again. Got sustained both the san hunters church but and Bell national church plant through the pandemic. Says 20 20 attendance said the church has grown a lot. 6 months after we arrived in Taiwan, the congregation moved to a new office building, the new meeting space could hold more people and god sent more people to be a part of the church.

So we praise god for bringing together so many people to parts paid in this new church plan. And for allowing us to be a part of it. So here, gloria Are taking a turn to lead in the song leading rotation, at international church plan. This fact, picture is actually taken on June second. When we have led congregation singing whether at Link or or anywhere else.

I usually have singing a microphone and Gloria plays to know basil that Gloria grew up playing piano in church and god has enabled her to use her piano playing gifts in many different ways and we think god for enabling me eat songs in English and Chinese. We also praise God for enabling recruit some of the youth at the church plant to join our song leading team. Today, the youth have their own band that shares in the song leading duties. Most of the time... Actually, all the time we use projected Lyrics on a stream to sing songs So know him knows.

But serving at the Link International Church plan has also provided the opportunity to preach a number of times and here to administer the sacramento of the Lord's Supper, which was my first time doing so as Nord teaching other of the presbyterian, Ohio presbyterian. Now evenings, in the summer months in Taiwan can be quite hot a little us hot than the daytime. Taiwan is a very humid place. The t of cancer runs up through the middle of the island So north of that where we have been a sub tropical below that is tropical. And yes.

This It's unbearable the summer months. So... Hey, we're here. Praise Lord. This is a number of folks from the international church plant joining us in the evening, are 1 summer doing some public him singing is kind of an outreach Now glory has been blessed to be a part of Para.

As I mentioned previously, they have a monthly gather ring. For those of you may be unfamiliar, Para Kale is a ministry of the wives of church planter and pastors. Started here in the states by Abuse. Some of these sisters in Christ are the wives of local pastors. Others are, wives of church planter.

Para ale has great plans this fall to expand to include the winds of more. Pastors in the fall Glory has also been diligently homeschooling our kids. Our kids started home going just before we left for Taiwan. And this has helped our family become more mobile, which is useful not only for moving over seas, but also as we look to move around Taiwan to reach more people of the gospel. Here, Eli and Timothy are posing with their first easy cards, As I mentioned earlier, public transportation in Taiwan pretty good.

These easy cars allow you to ride the mass rapid transit which you can see the station in the background or the boss or to make small purchases at convenience stores. Now after we had been in Taiwan a year in 20 23, we saw that the attendance at the delinquent international church plan had grown pretty dramatic. I still and still today need to continue improving my ability to speak in mandarin Chinese language that most people in Taiwan will speak. So I was looking for an environment that would be more immersive than the international church plan, which has a lot of expat patriots and a lot of spoken English. So in 20 23, we just decided to participate in glorious home church.

That church that her father planted, some 36 years ago or so now. And Gloria grew up in Bet district, which is a a part of actually Taipei city. There you see to the north As part of our involvement at the what's called Ship Xi Tang, Ship French a presbyterian church. I joined the choir. It's a great way to meet friends and practice Chinese.

And here we are seeing Christmas Carol on the street of Bet strict in taipei. Above us, there is the mass rapid transit line. Are I sing in the choir before Easter and through Christmas in 20 23. And for our kids, it was also an experience for them to become better acclimated to Taiwan. During choir rehearsal in Sunday afternoons, which lasted a couple of hours.

The kids we get to play with the children of other choir members and run around the church building, which by the way, was on the eighth floor of an office building, great view. But the kids had a lot of fun, meeting friends whose primary language was mandarin, and I think their mandarin in Chinese is improved as a result. Place. The choir of Glorious home church also hosted a Christmas outreach event in the Northern District of Dha, which is actually off the map. Just have to trust the arrow.

It's North, a very historic suburb of taipei. Back in the 18 hundreds, it's actually 18 71. Was when Canadian presbyterian missionary, George Leslie Mack mckay first went to Taiwan. And he was active in the dense Dun region. Working partly as a a dentist as a way of doing evangelist eventual outreach outrage.

He pulled teeth to spread the gospel pool. I'd rather plant traders. No. God used George has to mckay to raise up a, a host of pastors and plan a bunch of churches. And George M mckay is still known in Northern Taiwan.

There's actually a hospital, that bears name in Taipei. City, and it's still only 3 percent of jungle. As several of the Christmas Carol that we saying we're in English, here is yours truly conducting the choir at Dan. The conductor asked me to rehearse and, leave the English Carol's at the outreach. Glorious home church is actually planted the number of other sister churches in the area, including Dan and some of their members were able to join us for the outreach in Dan.

At this same Christmas outreach. I was also invited to share a Christmas message, and this shows how Gloria and I usually work where I'm preaching and gloria stands at my and interprets for me because her Chinese is much better than mine. So Moses Aaron comparisons, Yeah. Okay. No beard.

The Lord granted me 2 occasions to preach at Glorious Home churches as well. And again, for glory to interpret for me, as well as at a handful of other churches around Northern Taiwan. These included a storefront church, another storefront church, very small congregation on Taipei south outside, as well as an aboriginal church. When George Mc mckay came to Taiwan, he found many of the aboriginal actually were receptive to the gospel. Now, a church was planted by Pc missionaries in Taipei in 2003 called a new hope Church this church is church is in need of a new pastor.

Last summer, their latest were passed latest pass to return to the states, and a couple of other Pc missionaries, and I have stepped in to help with pulp at supply in their season of pastor search. This is a picture of where they meet, where I've preached a half dozen times in glory is interpreted for me. Their search is complicated by the fact that they are looking for a fully bilingual pastor. So if you know of any fully bilingual pastors, there's an opportunity in taipei a for you. Now in 20 23, I so took 3 months of mandarin Chinese instruction at the national Taiwan normal universities mandarin training center.

Along with participating in Gloria Home church that year. This experience enabled me to improve my ability to speak in Chinese. Give me a boost. And, praise Lord at New Hope Church, the dolores granted me opportunities to practice using Chinese to these simple children's messages. So pre sermon, have a children's moment.

Most of the children who come, some are very kids, They speak a little English, but most of rest do not. So hence the Chinese sermon... I'm sorry, the children's sermon has to be in Chinese. Here again, the lord enabled me to lead a simple children's sermon in Chinese at new Hope Church in Taipei. Lord Wang, my ambition is to become fully able to communicate in Mandarin Chinese so that I can be more effective in planning churches in Taiwan.

At this point, Although I've had some instruction, I would be better suited to help another church planter come alongside and maybe help with, music sick. And that, part of our mission to Taiwan has been also to produce music for the church to spread the gospel. God has enabled me to produce some musical recordings and resources, and these Have been produced largely on the computer. The comment for these recordings have been produced using software and music sample libraries to purchase produce the recordings. Some of these have been posted to Youtube.

You see in this picture. The international Church plans Children's ministry had asked me to produce some bilingual bible verse songs for a children's sunday school. And so you can see these and laugh at them on David Dot music. I 2. Laugh at the dancing.

It's nothing special. 1 of the Pc missionaries who's been helping with a new Hope church in Taipei is D g Eric Pi. Eric has been running a cafe in 1 hud address district that you see pointed out on the map there, for a number of years. He started giving away from a cart just as a evan adventures, method and this now moved into a cafe, and he has been leading Saturday morning. Outreach reach activities for children, come some English.

Here's some gospel. And also leading a prayer meeting and some bible studies at his coffee shop. He he invited me to lead a couple of Saturday morning outreach. Here's the poster for that. Opportunities for children to learn Just the second language.

I'll outside out of what public schools offer are very popular amongst parents. Believe it or not that after school, a lot of children will go to a cram school, where they do more our school until their parents come after work to pick them up. Some of those cra schools being focused on learning in english, but not everyone has that opportunity. The ability to communicate in English and Taiwan is seen as a status marker as well as a tool for getting better employment opportunities. Most apartment buildings will have a front desk attendant.

Someone at the front who receives packages for you. Might hold on your keys for you if you need. At our building, there was a late night attendant, who told me he wanted to learn English so that he could get a better job, a a job that would actually have going to work in the daytime instead of the nighttime. But praise Lord, we were able to have, many late night conversations and getting getting into talking about the gospel, through his interest in learning English. And my inability to speak much Chinese but I could teach him some english if he taught me some Chinese.

I also offered to pray for him 1 night and just just a little story. When I offered to pray for him, he asked how much does it cost? How would you answer that question? How much would it cost to pray? Well, it cost the blood of our lord jesus Christ.

On the 1 hand, but that means it's free. So in in the the folk religion, if you want to favor from the gods, you have to do something to pay them back. Depending on which God you go to, that could be something beneficial to society or not so beneficial. And we praise Lord for our free access to the throne of grace. I amen?

So here's a picture of our English with music outreach. At the the cafe there in 1 while. In this picture, the man in yellow holding his baby daughter is my friend mister John Tel, John also is musical and we collaborated at a number of bible verse songs that we then used in this outreach. The lord also enabled me to produce an album of songs. I set the first 38 questions and answers of the Westminster mister shorter cat in Chinese.

To music as an aid to memo, both for my own language learning, and as a tool for the edi identification of the Chinese speaking church around the world. What I was in seminary, and then later preparing for coordination, I found other people's settings of the shorter cat to music was very beneficial, to prepare to memorize and prepare. Bruce Benedict was the... Those of those settings. You can find them online, and you can also now find these settings.

If you'd like to learn them in Mandarin Chinese or just take a list and in the fall of 20 23, we also formed a homeschool schoolers choir to practice Christmas carol together. I conducted Gloria coming on piano. Some of these homeschool, we're the children of other missionary families. So 1 of our hopes it going to Link what that was that we would be able to minister to other missionary families. Some of whom were serving in other places in the east Asia, and we're suddenly required to relocate somewhere else.

So some of these missionaries were in our homeschool school children's homeschool school choir. Other homeschool school children were from local Christian homeschooling families. Now as a family we meet knit many new friends in the park near our home, and we have found blowing large bubbles using scored like bubble wands, is quite popular. We can gather quite a small... I'm sorry.

Quite a large crowd of children, when we blow bubbles for parents gather around to film and photo our after kids playing. And it's quite a magical phenomenon, and we'd like to do some more we can meet some more of our neighbors, perhaps use it as a a way of gathering a group. Now the lord also blessed our family by enabling glory to give birth to our born, a son, Nathaniel. The day after Christmas in 20 22. We named him Nathaniel, which means the Lord gift.

Now, pregnancy and childbirth were not part of our original plans for mission in Taiwan. As 1 way to plan, honestly, it has certainly added to the complexity of life in Taiwan. Life is church planners. But we praise God for his sovereignty. And we found that being, missionaries has really helped us to feel the need to lean into god's sovereignty.

We get thanks for the Lord's providence and immerse see. Now interestingly, Taiwan birth rate is extremely low. I think the Us's birth rate has fallen to 1.6 Taiwan is even lower. What it is on slips my mind at the moment. But being so, super low, we many more stroller in our neighborhood that have dogs, pet dogs in them rather than babies.

Therefore, our families unusual size, often draws his attention. Through this, God has given us numerous opportunities to direct it's founded on to the lord who has blessed us with grace Christ. Wow. They had so many kids. They be crazy.

Sometimes, I have to agree. We also give thanks for the help god sent us through gloria mother, Who now lives not too far away from us and through my parents who have visited us a couple of times. By the way, if you ever are traveling, we welcome you to visit us in Taiwan. Now what's next for us? Careful.

Holy God knows the future. So we cannot boast of anything we will accomplish, but we can share our hope for plans to return to Taiwan at the end of this month. It came at the beginning of June, and Spent some time in Wisconsin visiting partners there, and we are looking for it actually to returning at the end of this month. We're in the process of setting up more mandarin tutoring for me with a friend and gloria plans to help Para Expand in the fall. So that Para can or to more wives.

In a way, the Christian population in Taiwan is so small, all pastors wise, really be a part of Per with church planter wise. We also hope we can begin partnering with friends in 1 squad to begin a new church plant. The Link International Church, Planter. Lead planter is actually called and assistant to come in and help with him. So we praise the lord for seeing that worked well on its way.

And now we're looking forward to another work, a second church plan. Us letting out in Link code this may require a move for us into the city into Taipei. That's so be it. I also hope to begin producing another, cat album in a bilingual form. Chinese and English so that it can be used as an outreach tool.

Come learn some more English through music. Okay. Now we have a series of qr codes coming up for you. If you don't like to use qr codes, don't like to scan them with your phone. We can also give you, internet links to these resources.

But first, we just wanted to share again, the link to the cat songs like this in some mandarin Chinese. Right now, they're on a website called Band camp, which independent music artists used to sell their music this album, however, is free. So if it ever asks you for money, say, no. Say I wanna pay 0 for this. You can download songs for free.

Don't pay any money. Second, we have been published seeing most months, a monthly update, I know a lot of you are receiving. If you have not been receiving, but you would like to, go ahead scan this code to see our most recent update. There's a subscribe button on the upper left hand corner of the window. You can click that.

To subscribe, fill the form, you know, start receiving the monthly updates. Finally, we are, missionaries with presbyterian mission International. We do have a webpage on their web side. Presbyterian mission international is small. Very few people have heard of it.

They only send graduates of covenant theological seminary to home countries to serve and international marriages. So that's how we serve with them. Press presbyterian Mission International. That's our webpage. Okay.

It looks like we still have about 5 minutes for any Q and a? And back.

Speaker 3: I have 2 questions for. First of all, do you have or there and mechanism for training time these pastors. So they can come in and then after the church plans. That's what you learn. And question 2 how do you the other christians general population of taiwan on, feel in the face of the red China.

Speaker 1: Great questions. First question, you put it in terms of pipeline. So the plan for church planning is not to plant 1 church and then pastor for the next 30 years. That's great in certain cases. Our ambition would be to be used by God to start multiple church plants.

To do that requires bringing in a local pass to then take over. In the case of the international church, there was a malaysian seminary student Malaysian Chinese seminary student who came to Taiwan and attended Chinese reform theological seminary. I don't know the size of the student body. I have a feeling is pretty small. But that would be the primary place we would look for candidates to come and pastor her, a new church plan.

Pray for more men to go through seminars. In Taiwan, churches will send students to send seminary, they will sponsor them. So churches need to have the vision of, training up men to become pastors. But then also from what I understand, a lot the student body, don't get me wrong. Everybody should go to seminary.

But have a lot of women. And so we would seek those who could become or ordained for pastor Ministry from men, and so we need to pray that there would be more men going seminary. Now the other question of concerns, global politics, which I actually tend to steer away from as much as possible, largely because does the Taiwan question is it's often called is a contentious issue. And so what I like to tell people is when Jesus christ comes, The government will be upon his shoulders, and that's the only government I will speak about. Yes.

Speaker 0: What is your financial meeting apply right now?

Speaker 1: Financial need? Praise the Lord, that he has provided for our needs. As we look to move to taipei possibly likely to begin a new church plan. Rents and Taipei are more expensive than they've been delinquent. A lot of young families move out to Link because they can commute in to to taipei a and actually afford to to have a child.

So we may look at some increase expenses, but the lord has provided for us. The lord really blessed our box off when we were preparing to go to Taiwan. I once thought that, you know, it takes missionaries of here, 2 years to raise raise support, and he provided it for us 6 months. So we know that the lord will provide for us wherever he has this go next. Thank you for your question.

I was over there there was respond up 2 cycles water. Is it still very. Yes. Actually, I was reading a an English news article Columbus the other day. In Taiwan.

In our part in northern Taiwan, the air is not so bad. In southern Taiwan, rounds cities like Ga. There's a lot of manufacturing train. There's some pollution that drifts across the Taiwan strait as well, and it said that the their air pollution kills more people than smoking does. With terms of cancer things.

So southern Taiwan, air, not so good. Thankfully, Air Taiwan... Northern Taiwan. So bad. The back Good question.

Primary just practice. It's kind of a a combination of buddhism, da, and Chinese folk religion. I give a sense that amongst the younger generation, there's more nuns not buddhist nuns, N0NES. Right? No religion.

And perhaps even more rec to the gospel pull. But especially in Southern Taiwan, the indigenous religion, the the Buddhism, it's very strong. Another mission married friend posted a video of a an annual procession of 1 of the idol in 1 of those fancy boxes and people rush to line up before this box comes down the street. The people carrying it, don't know where they're going. They are are...

Well, they think they're being led by the idol. Perhaps they're being led by demons. And people were rush to bow down before this idol as past is hoping that the box will pass over so they can receive her blessing. Yeah. It's quite as strong there.

It's it's more than cultural, but that way. Certainly resistance from the government to machine. By large, no, at least not hourly, other than say, if a church plant wanted to rent space in a public school, they could not do that or a public community center depending on the district might not be able to do that because of that resistance to conservative K christianity. Specifically, Christians views towards marriage. Walmart more quest As say the idea, Sabbath doesn't exist amongst Taiwan use people by and large, but that's a judeo, Christian, judeo Christian background belief, and, no.

Sunday is business as usual, by large. Schools do take off. There is an understanding of of fat, but know lots of commerce and everything else. Alright. I think we're out of time for today.

Thank you so much for coming. Let's pray as we close. Great. Alright. Let's pray.

Relief there you are the living, and almighty God, the true living God, the only God, who was and is and never shelby, and we were you today. Thank you for this day. 1 and 7 of rest and worship. And for our brothers sisters and for this church where we can come together and worship should you. Thank you for blessing our partnership over the last 2 years.

Now for the ways we see you moving in Taiwan and here in the states. But we pray that you would do the work because it is you who who do it. Thank you for including us in your great plan of redemption. Both as recipients of your grace and tools in your hands. With bless us now as we go to if you together brain jesus this amen.

Speaker 0: Thank you for listening. For more information or to connect with us, visit us at redeem Ohio dot org.