Here I sit, it’s 11:28PM CST, but 9:28PM San Fran time… what’s weird is we got on a plane in Kaohsiung at 8:30pm Saturday night and right now I’m sitting in San Fran at 9:30 on Saturday night. I gotta be honest, the trip was a blast, but I am pooped. I’m processed out trying to process everything… wish my brain had an off switch I could hit for a few hours and then turn it back on. Nevertheless, wi-fi is not free here, and there is no TV to drain my brain near by, so here I go, blogging away trying to write about the final details of our trip. I guess tomorrow’s daylight savings time too, which is interesting. Doesn’t it seem a bit early?
So Friday, we went back to Southern Taiwan University, where we had gone on Wednesday. This time we rode the train from Kaohsiung to Tainan, which was an experience. We met Amanda and Lawrence, who we had worked with on Wednesday, and went back to the same spot we sat then. This time it was over the lunch hour. People began talking right away, and I didn’t see anyone standing around, so I went on a mission to find the Starbucks on campus, which I found. All I did was say, “Starbucks?” to a group of passerbyers and they said, “Follow me” … kinda felt like a disciple… their English was very broken, so we engaged in very little conversation, while all of them spoek to each other, probably making fun of the guy with funny hair… anyways, I found Starbucks and enjoyed a double tall latte, which hit the spot and I was ready to go.
I got back to where everyone else was and started talking with 3 fellas. They did not understand a lot, but I called Mike over and he began to translate for me. Turns out, they had never heard the story of Jesus. So I shared the Gospel with them. Though they had some questions, I encouraged them to keep asking them and seeking. I also shared how knowing Jesus has helped me through school since these guys were freshmen. We gave them some info on some English bible studies and parted ways. Pray that God would grow the seeds that were planted.
Someone from Campus Crusade had brought a guitar for me, so after the conversation, I began playing, and people began coming, and our people talked with them about Jesus. My dad and Lawrence had a chance to share with a guy named Rex who put his faith in Jesus. And my dad and Mike later began talking with a Vietnamese woman who had just recently come to Taiwan to study. She had never heard the Gospel before, but when she heard it, and they asked if she wanted it, her response was basically, “Why wouldn’t I want this?” And she put her faith in Jesus.
Jess and Rebecca had an interesting encounter in the girls bathroom, running into a girl on campus who was a Christian. They were excited about that, and hopefully one of them will write more about that.
It was a very eventful afternoon. We hopped on the train back to Kaohsiung and it was packed. Since it was a Friday afternoon, I think a lot of students were going home for the weekend. We got back, took a little break, and then were off to a celebration dinner.
All the missionaries and people we had worked with throughout the week came to this place, we ate Chinese, and we shared what God had done this week. It was a great time of prayer for Taiwan, for encouragement, for prayer for Minnesota, for prayer that people would see the work of God’s kingdom is not just keeping church doors open on Sunday mornings, but the work of the church is that she is sent. Her posture is a missionary posture, and if it is not, she is not functioning as the church. We prayed for awakening in people’s hearts. We also heard that the flier we passed out earlier in the week for Jim and Brenda’s English classes went over well. Their first study met Thursday night, 20 people showed up, and 10 put faith in Jesus after hearing what He had done for them.
This blog does not do this trip justice, nor do the pictures, or the stories. The experience can never really be put into words, although I try my best. All I know is serving Jesus is the best way to live life, the only way to live life. And it has been a blessing to just have a glimpse of His work in another part of the world.
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