| Updates from the Harvest Mission Group While in Taiwan |
| These are the updates that were posted online while the group was in Taiwan in January-February, 2009. |
| Trip Updates Sunday, February 1 It's Sunday here and we are done with church, done with lunch and home for the afternoon. It's about 2:00 AM there. The service this was morning was unreal. The place was packed and people were really energetic and loud. Lunch was pretty good too. Yesterday we did a worship leader training event for the Rukai village church. This is a tribal culture and could be compared to the Native American villages around the USA. The people speak a different language and the customs and traditions are totally different than Chinese. The Rukai culture is one of the districts sort of like Red Bird Mission. It was neat being out in the country of Taiwan - near the mountains. The day was really fun and there were about 90 participates in the worship leader training. But the evening was unreal. We were invited to go to a traditional wedding celebration. The feast we had at the church was amazing and included wild boar, fern, river fish, crawdads, banana leaves and lots more that we can't pronounce. The dance that followed was full of ritual and tradition. The wedding was between two different villages and the brides father was a county commissioner, so the event was spectacular. As you can see from the pictures, the dress was a huge part of the ceremony. If you didn't have the right attire, you couldn't participate. We were definitely outsiders, but the missionary was able to get us the right clothing and announce us to the village. We joined the circle which can't be broken during the entire evening. With the guys on one side and girls on the other, we did a slow line dance in a circular formation. The dance goes about two hours, of which, we did about 45 minutes. During that time, the head people (the parents of the wedding party) asked if Harvest would sing a song for the dance. We did a accapella version of Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee to a keyboard drumbeat. It was a night full of tradition, inspiration, and collectively, as a Harvest Group, we knew this was once in a lifetime. We will be arriving back in Illinois on Tuesday night.Music In The Night by Jackson Price Tonight we went to the Night Market--the biggest thing to do in Kaohsiung. It was great, but there were about 12,000 people in one spot and unfortunately I got separated from the group. After waiting at the entrance and looking for the tall figure of my brother, I walked the 4 blocks back to the missionary house. While I waited, I went to the second floor balcony and watched for the group to return. I saw an elderly man strolling down the street and when he got close enough I said "hello". To my surprise he began speaking in English to me and after some conversation, he said that he went to school in Chicago back in 1973! I immediately went downstairs to talk to him further about his schooling in Chicago. His name was Lin and as we were walking down the street he began to tell me how much in loved music. He loved music so much that each night for the past 10 years he gives a concert to his neighbors at 9:00 with his accordion. To my surprise he asked if the mission team would like to come to his house to receive a private concert, which of course, I enthusiastically accepted. After the team returned to the mission house, we walked two streets down and he was waiting outside to show us in. The house had a red, warm glow and was filled with musical instruments, comfy chairs and quite a bit of American collectibles. We all sat down and he got out his accordion and began to play some of the most relaxing and beautiful music that I have heard in a long time. He played love songs, Sunrise Sunset, and a Taiwanese Heritage song. After a short while his family came home from shopping and were completely amazed that a large group of Americans were sitting in their living room! They quickly got out some Japanese snacks and tea and were so hospitable to complete strangers! He asked us to play some music, and we did, but mostly we sat and listened to the music in the night. As I sat there, I couldn't believe that I was an American in Taiwan on Chinese New Year eating Japanese snacks and enjoying a peaceful, warm night with complete strangers uniting in the common bond of music. Seeing the Sights: by Justin Aymer We woke up on a free day and headed out into the city. We got to ride the new subway all over the place! It was most likely the nicest subway in the world since it just opened last year. The country is celebrating the Chinese new year so we got to watch some really cool events like the Dragon Dance. A group dressed up as dragons and did some amazing moves. Check out the pictures to get the idea. It blew us away. It was great walking around the city and seeing all the people. At the end of our day we walked home through a night market and it was slammed with people. Shoulder to Shoulder the entire way through the market. We are having so many new experiences that it is almost overwhelming, but we love it! The people here are so kind and the places we go are so beautiful. It will be hard to leave here! We miss everyone, please pray for the people of Taiwan. Fun Fact: The two hardest things for us so far (Besides the language) has been the currency exchange rate and trying to figure out what time and day it is at home!!!!. Exciting and Amazing Experience by Willie Jones (January 28) ITs been amazing here so far! One episode here at the Phillipine Church stood out among many! To see how the power of the Holy Spirit was moving last night and night before in such a powerful way! At the altar call when we Got To pray and lay hands on the young people and see them slain under the power of God! IT was charged with a annointing of Healing and Miracles! And many people those nights were healed spiritually, emotionally,mentally, etc; So Blessed be the name of the Lord, and to God be all the Glory! This is the reason and purpose in which we have come! Thoughts from Tim Price (January 28) I enjoyed the last two days sharing life with the migrant workers from the Philippines. And when I say, "sharing life", I mean "sharing life". Last night, we had a cookout in small groups - each one of the Harvest Team was part of a different group. The rules for the evening were 1) you could only speak in English and 2) you could not say "yes" or "no". It is tough to have dinner with a group and not use "yes" or "no" but it sure made it fun and interesting. The barbecue was amazing and as we sat around the table eating family style, I began reflecting on the love and camaraderie this group had for each other. The had been filled with smiles and joy all day long. In fact, one of them went by the name of "Smiles" and another by "Dimples". The Filipino migrant workers come to Taiwan to earn better wages. There are approximately sixty thousand workers here that stay in dorms, only ride bikes and work twelve-hour shifts. I ask some of them what they do in their free time and one guy answered, "I praise God". Many of them are married with spouses and children back home in the Philippines. One guy has a four year old son back home that he has only seen for two weeks of his life. Another guy is secretly married and his wife lives in the girls dormitory while he lives in the guys dormitory. The church, for them, is life. To me it seemed like they lived for getting together, having food, singing, hearing the word and spending time in groups playing games, praying and learning together. Last night when we sang, literally 100 % of the people were singing their hearts out, moving, and clapping to every song. I am not sure if I have ever seen that before... I am usually happy if 85% of the congregation is connected and I always assume that some just will not, but here it was every single person in the room and you could feel the spirit. Due to the global economy crisis, many are getting sent back home to the Philippines. We prayed for one girl last night who was leaving the next morning. She had become a leader in the church and had been here in Taiwan for a while. I asked her if she was glad she was going home. She answered "I will be happy to see my son, but I am sad for losing the work and I will miss this fellowship." In my small group, almost all of them have met Jesus since coming to Taiwan. The church here is made up of almost all English speaking Filipinos who come to work, and then get invited to come to church and become Christians. Since they can only stay for three years (which can be renewed three times) there is a constant turnover in the church leadership. So, there I was eating Filipino barbecue reflecting on the connection of these fellow foreigners. They were so loving, grateful and hospitable toward each other and me. It was like they lived for the church to get together, to worship, pray, have food and carry each other's burdens. And I wondered why I don't often see that level of community in our churches back home? It might be because we have enough to fill our time each evening and weekend. It might be that community comes in many forms and we have lots of people to schedule into our lives. It might be that we just attend the church and don't really feel like we belong. It might be somewhat cultural - we don't want to share food, experiences or engage in undignified worship with each other - someone might notice. I could have a great argument for each of those statements and have experiences each of those feelings and situations. But last night, I felt a part of the group... and I wondered if I could gain a new perspective to help this transfer back home?
The Retreat at Tree of Life by Theo Harden (January 27) We had an amazing conference at the Tree of Life Church yesterday. We learned that the people who attend the church are primarily migrant workers from the Philippines. They work very hard all day and attend church in the evening. They also live in small rooms with up to 10 people in bunk beds. The church welcomed and received us with open arms. They were very loving and hungry for the word of God. They hearts were always overflowing with joy throughout the whole day. The retreat made such an impact on my that I will definitely remember them for the rest of my life.
Clemente Hospitality by Tim Price It's been really fun being here with the Clemente Family. David, Sarah and I were all at Asbury the same time, but it really wasn't until this trip that I have gotten to know them. Their hospitality has been amazing. We are all staying in their home which is a three story three bedroom house. All the houses here (in this area) are tall and skinny. The first floor is the living room, kitchen and eating area. The second floor is the three bedrooms, and the third floor is the covered rooftop (outdoor). It's really neat. Jackson and I are staying in one room, Theo and Willie are down the hall and Justin and Abbie are staying across from them. Each morning, we wake up, get ready and then head down for breakfast. Sarah bought lots of different breakfast food at Costco (we were surprised too) and people just eat as they can. Most mornings, I have been having oatmeal and bagels. Sarah has also fixed a couple meals - spaghetti one night and tacos another. We appreciated the touch of home cooked American meals. Though, the food here has been really good! We have been in restaurants, churches, and have had catered meals. Yesterday we had fish, pork, rice and octopus for lunch and for supper we had pumpkin spiced shrimp, meatballs, rice and some macaroni stuff. Almost every meal is followed by fruit and the oranges have been really good. Typically we leave each day around 7:30 or 8:00 AM and we get home around 9:30 PM. We are really grateful for Sarah holding down the fort, going to the store, helping with laundry, taking the phone calls, and praying for the group! She is really encouraging and she laughs at all of our stories. David has been a great tour guide, photographer, translator, sound guy, van driver, and has really become part of the group! Carmen and Jacob are hilarious... Carmen spent the day with us on Monday walking around the city and she was a trooper. I sat across from her at McDonald and found out she likes ketchup as much as Ruby does. Carmen also played basketball with the Harvest guys for a long time a few nights ago. Jacob is just plain funny. He is a well mannered, energetic little kid who loves to draw. He's been fun to play around with. In addition to all the amazing things we have witnessed and experienced, being immersed in the Clemente family and faith has been inspiring! David and Sarah have showed us how to live with their joy, risk-taking spirits, passion and contentment. It's been refreshing.
Sunday in Taiwan by Jackson Price (January 25) It was my first Sunday experience ever outside the US of A and it was an amazing! We worshiped at the Feng Shan FMC with about 250 in attendance, just outside Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I first noticed that people came early and sat patiently for the service to begin. I don't know if this is what they usually do or if it was because this was their New Year's Eve? - the biggest holiday on the Chinese calendar. As one American embed stated, "the Chinese New Year's Eve is like Christmas times 100", so you can imagine how that changes things. The next thing I noticed was that they sang hymns that I recognized, "Crown Him" and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness", but when I tried to sing in English, I was distracted by the overwhelming force and veracity of their singing. It seemed like I could only utter out the chorus and a few words, but as I sang it, it really expanded my perspective of a God who was the same to all people, in every language, everywhere! After the singing, there were times for prayer. The first was a pastoral prayer from what looked like the worship leader. Then apparently, he invited everyone to pray aloud to God whatever they wanted to pray. It was such a beautiful chorus of so many hearts being poured out to God that I was sincerely moved. This happened twice - the second time was for people that were sick. During our part in the service, Tim opened his bible and read a short passage from John. Immediately the entire church flipped to the scripture passage just for two verses. It was great to see that. We were so honored by their hospitality during the service with their traditional "red envelopes" for the Chinese New Year as well as their hospitality afterward. It was great to be a part of their version of our Christmas Eve Services in the states. It is also amazing that members from the church took us out to lunch on a day of such significance. After lunch, we retired back to the rec room for some rousing games of Ping Pong. I lost, but it was a blast! The time is 11:59pm, 1 minute to go before the Year of the Ox and as I type, I can hear fireworks off in the distance and it is almost deafening! I deeply appreciate your prayers for me on this trip and for Jessica at home and as they say here in Taiwan, "Xin Nian Kuai Le" or "Happy New Year!"
January 24 -
Praise & Prayers - The kids at both schools really seemed to engage and connect. The skits and music have been great. Even with the language barrier, we have been communicating, having fun, and learning so much!
Pray for the worship conference
January 20 - They all seem extremely excited about this new adventure in ministry! Continue to pray for the team (Tim, Justin, Abbie, Theo, Jackson, and Willie), their health, travel safety, all the people they will come in contact with, and for strength and endurance. Tomorrow morning, we are taking the high speed rail, the bullet train, for a 45 minute ride, that by car would take close to three hours. We are going there to lead music for a high school. We will do a concert and then a workshop on the christian life. This high school is an english speaking missionary school. Friday we will be at a school teaching - we are teaching English for a mission english camp. We are also teaching songs to each grade - dividing up all afternoon, then doing a concert that night, including the english songs we teach. |
| This is a video that Harvest made with footage taken from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. |