The Glory of God

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)

Is God at work in my life? Is he revealing his glory in and through me, even in my weakness? One episode this past week gives an affirmative answer to these questions. Wright had told me of a friend, Mrs. Han, living in Taipei who may help me find a university teaching job and could share about her ministry to college students. So I called this woman and left a message in English as plainly spoken as I could manage. I subsequently lost her phone number and was unable to find it from anyone else. It seemed that this contact would lead to nothing. Yet I got an email from a friend I met at the English Bible Study saying she had just met with this woman I had been trying to contact. Keep in mind that I know very few people in Taiwan at this point. This person Mrs. Han was meeting with was one of the very few people in Taiwan who had my contact information. I came up in their conversation and the friend shared my information with Mrs. Han. Now, it turns out this Bible study was at Mrs. Han’s church. She had been unable to understand the message I had left her and I had lost her phone number. I was precluded from using ordinary means to connect with Mrs. Han. So I had basically given up hope in this connection. But as it turns out, God had rendered ineffective ordinary means so that he could use extraordinary means for his glory. At this point, I would ask you to pray for God’s guidance for me in the context of this church and a potential job opportunity at a nursing college here through Mrs. Han.

This account reminds me of the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. Mary and Martha had sought healing for a sick Lazarus; yet Jesus delayed his coming by two days. Because Jesus had delayed, the glory of Lazarus’ restoration, even resurrection from the dead, became so much more wonderful. Likewise, the means that I sought in the story above paled in comparison to the ones that God used to make his glory known.

An English-language Bible Study

On Sunday I visited an English-language Bible study sponsored by a Mandarin-language church near Shi Da, the Normal University. Someone I met in Boston encouraged me to visit this group, so I did. The group consisted of mostly Taiwanese students, and a Taiwanese American. They spoke better English than most people I’ve met, albeit somewhat mixed with Mandarin. The group seemed spiritually hungry as far as I could tell from our simple Bible study about the original sin of Adam and Eve. It seemed I was able to make a good contribution to the group for one night.

Please pray with me if I should have some role in this group. What leadership there is in the group is now intermittent. This may be just the right ministry for me, similar to what I did last year in Boston but in a new context. I saw God do great things in the student ministry in the last year, and I do see God may be leading toward such a ministry in the future. Also, this would not be to enormous a task when put alongside my English teaching and Mandarin learning. It would be much more manageable than another ministry opportunity I encountered, someone asked me to pastor a 70-person church. Now I think that would be too much with all my other goals for this year. Pray for discernment and guidance I look for places of fellowship, ministry, work, and residence.

An Experience in Culture Shock

The other day I moved to a new place in another part of Taipei, Yong He. I didn’t think anything of going to Chinese class for the first time from my new place. Well, that was my first mistake. I guess turned down the wrong street at some point. For I could not find the subway station no how much I walked. So I started to ask some people for directions. Most of them understood what I was asking. Some gave me directions in Chinese, others made gestures, or just wondered at my bewildered state. At one point, I went into an eye glass store to ask for help. Five or six of the employees gathered around me, talking to each other. Eventually, one of them pointed in some direction and I was off, mind you to no avail. I then had the idea to get on any bus, hoping it would take me to a subway station. It didn’t; it took to some bus terminal and the driver told me to get off. So I took a bus back the way came, trying to retrace my steps. Finally, I had the idea of calling a taxi to take me to a train station. I had not hailed a taxi before because I cannot explain to a taxi driver where to go. Thankfully, I was able to communicate to the second taxi driver I hailed the subway location, and I was back on track.

One of the things that caused me trouble was the similarity between the road names and their different spellings. According to one of my friends, the system used to write the Romanized spellings of the names varies according to what party is in power when the sign is erected. The KMT use one and the DPP another, hence a part of my confusion.

First Days in Taipei

I am now finally getting settled in Taipei. Praise God! It has been some time in leading up to this, beginning perhaps in March '08 when I began praying for the church in China. Now, suffice it to say, I am here.

When I left Boston last Friday, I had little certainty about anything. It seemed I had lost my first place to stay due to the swine flu scare and I still had no job. It was somewhat frightening to be going to this foreign land with so many unanswered questions. But everything was already in motion, I had to trust in God to provide.

The day before I arrived Wright with China Institute managed to find me a place to stay temporarily with a wonderful Christian family in central Taipei. Having arrived on Friday I began Mandarin classes on Monday. So now I have had three whole days of class, three hours a day of private instruction. I have learned quite a lot already, but my diaphragm is sore from trying to learn the tones. One China missionary once said you need lungs of brass and the wisdom of Solomon to learn this language. We shall see. With God's help, it is possible.

I am now in a new place. I can settle in here for at least a month, and hey, it's free. So now I need to work hard on my Mandarin, seek the Lord's guidance in finding a job and Christian fellowship, and try to adapt to this new culture.

You may also see my latest photos at the following link: photos.