We're here!

Hey Everyone! It’s Allison from Team A checking in to let you know a little bit about what is going on where we are. We arrived in Chigu Saturday afternoon and immediately jumped into preparations for the camp which will begin tomorrow morning (Tuesday). It did not take our team long realize that we face much opposition to gospel here.

Saturday afternoon the local pastor gave us a tour of the surrounding community, and we visited several temples. Chigu is deeply entrenched in idolatry and so the villagers openly object to Christian groups reaching out to their children. Many made it clear that they did not want our camp to take place this week.

I think the temples left a great impact on us as a team. These buildings are the most ornate and elaborate I have ever seen, and yet are still completely devoid of any true power to save. The pastor pointed out one wall on which were hundreds of small lights, like votives. Worshippers pay a lot of money to have their names etched on the glass so that the temple god will remember them and protect them. It grieved me, knowing their attempts are so futile.

I then remembered what the Lord says in Isaiah 49:15-16: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” What a God that we serve!! He loves us and protects us without us ever having to remind Him of our existence. I need not set my name before a light in a temple; He has engraved me on the palms of His nail-scarred hands.

As we work with the children of Chigu in the next four days, please be praying for us. Pray that the one true God would be revealed to these kids. Pray that they would be redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to them from their forefathers, and find life through the precious blood of Christ.

Joe's Update - First Impressions

So far so good as far as food and such. Last night we visited a "night market" in the town we are in (Suantou) which is an open street fair - like Stepping Out - except every night. Most of the food is deep fat fried and the Taiwanese college students we are with bought all kinds of food for me to try - candied tomatoes (small tomatoes dipped in hard candy, fried squid, fried fish patties, fried oysters or oyster balls with sugary syrup on top. This was our "dinner". Everyone is very kind and helpful in the church and team we are a part of. People usually stare at me and children at the market came up and asked me how tall I was. I'm learning a few Chinese phrases to ask them their name... I even have a part in a Chinese drama we are practicing for Tuesday's opening of the camp. I have one line that I'm memorizing over and over.

We are housed in a rented storefront facility that has air conditioned rooms we sleep in - I'm not sure how effective I would be during the day if our sleeping quarters weren't cool. I got close to eight hours of sleep last night, woke up only once after the a/c died and it was sweltering and I was sweating. The room Chuck, Tim, and I sleep in doesn't have any windows, not that that would help. Feel good today and have hopefully gotten over any jetlag.

The church we are working with is tiny - it has two storefront rented facilities, the smaller one is about the size of our kitchen, the larger the size of the high school Sunday school room. There are idols in many of the homes (the doors are all open and most of the homes have a room clearly devoted to idol worship). There are stores where you can by incense burners and other things for setting up your own altar in your house. A common practice in homes we walk by is to have a charcoal burner outside to burn “money” to your ancestors. The team we work with says that one reason they invest in this community is because of this practice that has most people captive - to convert to Christianity means you stop doing this and so "disrespect your elders". This is a big stumbling block to the gospel.

The believers here are very sincere and devoted... the local pastor was a business man in the US who moved back to live here and work. Pastor Joseph is his name.