李瑞麟弟兄／張芬蓉姐妹

弟兄姐妹們，大家好。此刻我們的心情格外的激動和興奮。
我們按照神的心意，藉此聖禮受浸，歸入耶穌基督，認識了神，信了主，
從此成了基督門徒，進入了神的大家庭裡，
活在神的恩福裡，讓我們接受聖靈的重生。

自決志信主到受浸之前，我一直徘徊：『我為什麼要信耶穌？又怎麼決定受浸？』

孫素鳳姊妹

女兒有天問我：
「如果可以選擇回到以前年輕的時候，沒有皺紋，沒有白頭髮，
沒有身上的贅肉，沒有臉上的大黑斑，我要嗎？」
嗯，聽起來還滿誘人的。
可是要我回到生命裡沒有主掌權日子，即使是青春與美麗我也不換。

年輕時，除了有人羨慕的外表外，其實並沒有什麼自信。
不管遇到多麼無理或不合理的對待與要求，一直都是忍氣吞聲，委屈求全，從不會說不。

許澎澎弟兄

是神改變了我
我的父母、大哥、大嫂、弟弟和弟妹和我的太太都是基督徒。
但我因從小在中國受無神論教育，自己的理性思維無法跨越，
一直在教會的大門前徘徊多年。

自從聽了遠志明牧師佈道和寇牧師的証道，以及藉新天地團契弟兄姐妹的幫助。
我居然跨越了，信了耶穌！相信耶穌是人類唯一的救主。
只有藉著祂，我才可以回到天父那裏，認識真理，得著永生。

我明白以往我因不認識上帝，我的人生方向和路線都錯了。 
我是個罪人，如今決定回頭，不再走自己的路，
願意一生跟隨耶穌，做一個討神喜悅的兒女。

Ken Zhu, 9th grader/Lynn Chen

Dear parents, supporters, and dear friends :)

Today's update comes from:

Today the mission team went to a city near Danshui River and ate a special food spicy tofu with noodles inside. The team also went to the Shisanhan Museum to learn about the native people’s culture. After going to the city and going to the museum we went to visit some Taiwan colleges bordering the Danshui River. After having a fun experience near the river we went to the night market. Weather was bad at the night market because it was raining but overall it was really fun. Many of the team’s people enjoyed buying food and clothes. Going to the Danshui River is a really memorable experience for the team. Today I learned to stick together as a team. Please pray for a safe flight back to California tomorrow.

It is hard to believe that two whole weeks have passed. We praise the Lord so much for all that He is doing and all that He has done! What an amazing missions trip it has been and all the glory belongs to God alone. :)

We thank the Lord so much for all of your support and loving encouragement ^_^ We look forward to coming home and will see many of you all soon!

In His love,
Lynn :)

Kristin Ho, 11th grader/ Lynn Chen

Dear parents, friends, and supporters! :) 

Today was the last day of our VBS and it ended with a lot of laughter as well as sadness as our official VBS missions drew to a close. But we are confident in our Lord Jesus Christ to complete the good work He has started in the hearts of those we have ministered to these two weeks and look forward to seeing many (if not all!) of the children who we have preached to one day in heaven. :) :) Today's update comes from Kristin Ho, 11th grader: 

 

Hello dear parents!

 

This morning we rose early, as usual, and traipsed to our final day of VBS. We had our daily worship songs and skit, small group lesson and memory verse memorization, and crafts and English lesson.  In all honesty, this last day of VBS did not seem to contain the same attachment and emotional intensity as the last day of the Tai Dong VBS – for me.  My group of kids in Taidong seemed to be comprised of half little angels and half little demons, but in the end, since the group was so small, it actually felt like leaving MY kids, and in Taidong, we were able to witness a lot of growth, or at least change in attitude and the kids’ relationship with us.  There was something kind of unforgettable about them.  The Taipei children, though, were mostly good-natured and well-behaved during the whole VBS.  Some of my kids were really loveable; they did hilariously weird things and played with each other with easy-going attitudes, even when they accidentally hurt each other.  

 

About two thirds of the kids in general had been to church before, but those that did not were exposed to the gospel repeatedly throughout these past four days. I learned, though, that you really do get out what you put in. In Taidong I really put in all my effort and felt like everything that could have been done was done, and leaving was a glad occasion as well as a sad occasion.  In Taipei, mostly the whole team began the VBS feeling unusually tired, and I did as well – the week continued in a more subdued way because of its beginning.  Many of us were also hit with stomach aches.  The kids and us counselors did become closer as we spent time teaching them gospel and Bible truths in small groups – by the end everyone knew how to do Jesus stretches and to call Nancy “Granny”. 

 

At the end of the day’s VBS we had a parent presentation, in which we had the kids perform songs/English/skits and played a video of the past four days’ VBS activities. The kids and us counselors parted ways, half the girls in our team left, and we went to dinner with the Taipei team at an extremely fancy buffet chosen by the Taipei coworker, Chris. Dinner was great; there was smoked shark and smoked salmon and made to order pasta and other tasty dishes.  Most of the guys tried a wasabi-heaped cracker each and two of the guys had wasabi-lemon drinks.  Ray looked 20 pounds heavier after he finished eating.  We then walked for about an hour back to the church and parted ways with Taipei team again before spontaneously deciding to go to Teacher Alice’s house for a little to rest.  When we came back, everyone was tired and in strange tired-high spirits; it feels to me like we’ve spent a lot of a special sort of energy. 

 

Please pray for everyone’s safety – the team split into various different places this evening – and for the souls of the kids from this week and last week’s VBS.  Also pray that we stay healthy and that the kids and their parents who haven’t gone to church before consider coming to church for the first time.

Again I want to express my deepest appreciation and thanks to our incredible prayer supporters on behalf of this missions team. I thank God so much in every remembrance of the people back home who sent us here and who continue to faithfully pray for us! It is my joy and honor to be a part of this team and see the amazing work God has done in the children we have ministered to as well as to see the work God is doing in each of our youth. 

The youth have the day off tomorrow for touring and shopping, it will be a well-deserved and much-needed break for everyone! ^_^

In His love,

Lynn :) 

Daniel Cha, college junior/Lynn Chen

Dear parents and supporters and friends :)

Thank you for your continued prayers and fellowship in Christ! 
Yesterday's update comes from Daniel Cha, college junior:

Today we woke up at 6:45 A.M. and prepared ourselves through devotional sharing and prayer. Various people shared what God had said to them the previous day and we prepared ourselves for the upcoming day. Jerry and Daniel went and got breakfast at a local bakery well known for its specialty breads.  After a few drinks were purchased at “7-11”, breakfast was eaten and a brief period of down-time was given. (For those interested, a wide variety of breads was available—some had egg with a kind of sugar in it and others had some kind of meat powder with cheese on top. All the food was very good.)  At around 8:50 A.M., we headed over to the church and started our V.B.S.

By the time we got there, a few kids were already there. As time progressed more kids came in, they started getting into line one by one. Once we got started, we made a couple brief announcements and awarded points to the groups that were most attentive. After a while,a lot points were awarded to certain groups and then we began praise. 

By now the kids knew four songs pretty thoroughly. The kids were all very excited to sing the songs. Looking for another opportunity to award points, we offered rewards to the teams who were brave and willing enough to go on stage to dance. After we competed in singing songs for a while, we concluded praise and proceeded to the next phase of the program—the skit.

Today’s skit group was composed of Jasmine, Michael, Kristin, Ken, and Hyde (a Taipei helper). Their skit was centered on the story of the faithful and un-faithful servant. After the skit team conducted their performance, the kids were then asked several questions. We then broke off into small groups and went to our respective areas.

During small group, we discussed the skit, yesterday’s sermons, and again taught the Gospel to our kids. We asked questions about the skit and what exactly they learned from it. One of the most memorable experiences of today was the fact that as we were reviewing the skit in our small groups, it really seemed that a lot of kids were beginning to develop a good interest in Jesus Christ. A lot of the kids that first seemed indifferent or bored about the Gospel all of a sudden felt far more interested and intrigued in the small groups.

After small group, we then had lunch which was very very good. After lunch, as usual, we had nap time and everybody slept very soundly (including the counselors). We then woke up and played a very fun balloon popping game. We proceeded to then do crafts, where we made little jet packs for the kids with cardboard boxes. The kids really enjoyed that and pretended that they were flying with their little jet packs. After crafts, we had snack time which was muffins and jello.

It was also very delicious. Afterwards, we taught the English lessons,our kids seemed to like us more and more as the days go by. Proceeding the English lesson was the large group message and worship. All the kids sang very very passionately and filled with joy. Uncle Chris (our Taiwan co-worker) gave a good sermon on why we should believe in Jesus and gave many reasons to believe in Him by faith. 

All in all, it was a very good day and we praised God for the fruit that we are already beginning to see in Taipei.

Prayer requests:
1.Pray for our last day of this VBS in Taipei, that God would make our day fruitful and filled with the Holy Spirit and do a wonderful work among the kids.
2.Pray for HOC in Taiwan, that as we leave, they would continue to do the great work faithfully.
3.Pray for the parents of the kids and for the kids themselves so that the kids would want to continue to learn about Jesus and desire to come to church on a weekly basis to HOC. Pray for their salvation.
4.Pray for our health, some members of the team are still very sick.
5.Pray for us, that all of us would continue to maintain this missionary attitude as we come  home as well.

We have seen firsthand God's incredible provision and blessings and we recognize that we are just half of the team. The other half of our very important team is back home interceding and praying hard for us! We feel the mighty effects of your faithful prayers and look forward to sharing more about our trip when we are home on Sunday. :)

Edwin and Daniel worked very hard to put together a video of our past three days in Taipei for the parents of the kids to see as well as for us to share with all of you! :) You can see the video here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151309883076679

In His love,
Lynn :)

__._,_.___

Ray Chen, college freshman/ Lynn & Aaron

 8/8/2012 Taipei
Dear parents and supporters :) 

Today was our second day of VBS and the youth are feeling really comfortable with their roles and responsibilities. Today's update comes from Ray Chen, college freshman: 

Today we had a similar schedule as yesterday.  We woke up pretty early and shared our devotionals at 7 am.  Every single person had something interesting to share.  Then we had some breakfast consisting of some weird pancake egg mix.  By 8:50, we left for VBS.  When we got there, we waited while the kids slowly poured in.  When most of the kids had arrived, we started by doing our praise.  We taught the kids 2 new songs, Remarkable and Once Again, in addition to singing the two songs we did yesterday. 

Afterwards, David, Jeffery, Michelle, and Jenny performed a skit about Daniel and the lion’s den.  Jeffery was Daniel, David was the jealous official, Michelle was the female king Darius, and Jenny was the scary lion.  After the skits, we broke into our small groups.  I was with David, Ken, and Stephanie from the Taiwanese church.  In small groups, we talked about the lyrics to Remarkable and Once again, and we went over the skit.  Then we had the kids memorize Daniel 2:20, “Daniel answered and said, ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and eve, to whom belongs wisdom and might.’”  

When we finished, we played some fun games and then went to eat lunch.  Just like yesterday, lunch was delicious.  We had noodles with some awesome sauce.  Then, at 1, it was nap time not only for the kids, but also for the helpers.  When we all woke up, we were somewhat refreshed and ready to help the kids again.  Daniel led us in a group stretch to prepare us for a large group game.  Aaron led the kids in a game called red light green light.  When Aaron says green light, the kids would run, and when he says red light, the kids would stop.  It was fun until Aaron started calling random words like green lamb to try to trick the kids.  By then it became somewhat annoying.  Anyways, afterwards, we helped the kids make crafts.  Half the kids made lion puppets, while the other half made a lion hat.  All the kids had creative designs for their lions and some had too much fun with them.  Later, the kids had snacks.  This time, the church served us chocolate cake and some red bean soup.  The chocolate cake was good, but I never got to the red bean soup because I had 8 slices of the cake, which I do not regret.  

After stuffing ourselves, we went on to teach the kids English lessons.  The kids in my group were 3^rd or 4^th graders, but many of them were equally if not more proficient in English than in Mandarin.  Some could read English, but not Mandarin.  Consequently, teaching English was fairly easy.  Afterwards, we had the small groups perform one of the four songs we taught them.  My small group did Once Again.  Finally, we all listened to Aaron’s sermon with Uncle Jerry translating to the kids.  Basically, Aaron’s sermon was about how we are sinful creatures who constantly sin against an infinitely holy God.  However, Jesus came to the earth and was crucified and had all of our sins on placed on Him, giving us a perfect record.  Afterwards, when the kids left, we went back for some questionable dinner. 

My most memorable experience was the day we left Taitung to go back to Taipei. In my Taitung small group, one of my kid’s family’s name was Chen, just like me.  Therefore, we called him Xiao Chen, and I was Da Chen, or little Chen and big Chen.  The first day, Xiao Chen was really obnoxious.  He would run away, hit other kids, and hide from us.  He even made another kid cry.  By the last day, he was still really annoying, but we grew really close to each other.  When we left for the train, Xiao Chen jumped into my arms, and even gave me a flower.  We were both incredibly depressed that I had to go back to Taipei. 

From this trip, I learned many things.  For example, I learned how much kids, especially the ones from Taitung, need love.  Most of them come from broken families and poor living conditions, which may have contributed to their obnoxiousness, but once God showed His love for them through us, they started becoming more bearable.  From this I realized how we are kind of like the kids.  Even though we constantly sin against God, He will always love us.  

1.  Please pray for our health, that none of us will get really sick and that we will get plenty of sleep.2.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will reside in us, and that our words would pierce their hearts and that many souls will be added to God’s kingdom. Pray that God will work in through us.3. Please pray for the children in both Taipei and Taitung. This is so that the things we have taught/will teach them will be effective. I pray that they will love God with all their heart and believe and be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord.4. Please pray that we will all serve God in California as well, and be willing to dedicate our whole lives go God.

Thank you again for your wonderful thoughts and prayers! :) We love and appreciate them all :) It has been a joyous and blessed time with the youth missions team :)

In His love,

Lynn & Aaron :) 

Katherine Xiao, 8th grader/ Lynn & Aaron

8/7/2012 ~Taipei

Dear parents and supporters! :)
Today's update comes from Katherine Xiao, 8th grader　:

Dear parents, church members, and friends,
         Today was a very exciting day because it was the first day we taught VBS to Taipei children! We began the day with worship and prayer, preparing our hearts to serve the Lord. Afterwards, we headed to the church that we were doing VBS in. We first set everything up and made sure all the craft supplies and skit props were ready, and gradually, children started coming in. Jasmine Chang, Jennie Zhang, and I are leaders in the first group, who are the youngest children. They were all very cute, and their English is even better than the seventh and eighth graders in Taitung, mostly because many of them came from America or attend international school. We first taught them two worship songs, and then performed our skit. In our small groups, we made a team name and chant, and then played some icebreaker games. Little by little, the children started opening up to us. We asked the kids questions about the story, which was about Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan River on dry ground. Then, we taught them how to properly dance the praise songs. By the time we finished, it was already lunchtime. Time sure flies when you’re having fun! For lunch, we had curry. We were able to bond with the children and learn more about their interests. Unlike the Taitung kids, Taipei kids had trouble learning the games after lunch. They weren’t as competitive and spirited. After struggling for a long time to get them to understand the games, we finally started playing.  Crafts came afterwards. The kids in Taipei really liked doing everything in the crafts by themselves, while the Taitung kids just wanted us to do it. All of the crafts (which were fish mobiles), turned out BEAUTIFUL. The kids were really creative on their part, and each kid’s crafts had a unique style to it. There was a minor snack time, where the church served chicken nuggets and cream puffs. English lessons occurred after. As I stated previously, many of the children already knew English, so several of the leaders, especially the ones serving the older kids, had to try and make the words more challenging. However, since my group taught the youngest, the curriculum didn’t need be modified. The kids were really active when they learned, and it was a blessing to teach them. All groups then went on stage to perform the songs and dances they learned. It was cute. 
  
        My most memorable experience today was having lunch with the kids. They’re all very intelligent, and have very witty jokes, which I all laughed at. They loved the food they were eating, and espcially liked eating with us. We learned different variations of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and had lots of fun. Most of the kids finished their food, even their broccoli. It was amazing seeing how different each and every kid was. Some were shy, some loved games, others loved jokes, etc. God made each of us in our own image, and created each of us differently.
        Through this trip, I learned the difference of communities and why God loves children so much. Today, when we taught kids from Taipei, I noticed a distinct difference between the Taipei kids and Taitung kids. Taipei kids were quieter and more sophisticated, while the Taitung kids were very energetic and dragged us everywhere. I believe God put each and every one of them in different cities to glorify Him differently. Also, kids are very innocent and love you very much. As long as you love them, they love you. I loved the Taitung and Taipei kids, and I will and already do miss them very much. I can only pray that what we taught/teach them will be effective in their lives and that God will be glorified. I also pray that we will be able to meet again, whether in this life or the next. I would like to praise God for bringing me on this mission trip. I have learned so many things during this trip and have experienced amazing bonds with the kids. It was and will be hard to leave the kids, but I believe God brought us here for a reason, and that we will be able to take what we learned and experienced from this trip to California and serve as missionaries everywhere we go. This trip has truly been a blessing for me.
                      
       I would like to thank each and every one of you for praying for us every day. This mission trip has been pretty successful so far, for God truly works through prayers!

Please continue praying for us:

      1.Please pray for our health, that none of us will get really sick and that we will get plenty of sleep.

      2.Please pray that the Holy Spirit will reside in us, and that our words would pierce their hearts and that many souls will be added to God’s kingdom. Pray that God will work in through us.

      3.Please pray for the children in both Taipei and Taitung. This is so that the things we have taught/will teach them will be effective. I pray that they will love God with all their heart and believe and be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord.

      4.Please pray that we will all serve God in California as well, and be willing to dedicate our whole lives go God.

      This mission trip has been a success thanks to your prayers, and I am truly, truly glad that I came on this trip. Once again, thank you for your support!

      A few of us are still sick and many of us are tired, please pray for the Spirit to give us strength and energy to finish this week strong. :)
    Thank you for reading and journeying with us! :) All glory to our GREAT GOD! :)

    In His love,
    Lynn & Aaron :)

Jasmine Chang, 8th grader/Lynn & Aaron

8/5-6/12 ~Taipei

Dear youth parents and prayerful supporters!

Today was a day of rest for us as we got to sleep in a little bit (or a lot!) and started our preparations for tomorrow's VBS in the afternoon after lunch. We are in good spirits and pretty good health with a few people feeling a bit under the weather from the workload last week. We would love and appreciate your prayers for healing for those who are feeling tired and a bit ill as well as renewed passion and strength for this week. We want to finish strong and love much on and for our Lord Jesus! :) August 5-6th update is by Jasmine Chang, 8th grader:

Dear parents, church members, and everyone,   
    On Sunday, we were still in Taidong and we had a long 5 hours Father’s Day Sermon. (Father’s Day in Taiwan is August 8) We listened to why we had to respect our fathers, broken families, and how blessed we are to have fathers in (most of) our lives. We listen to the Village Chiefs sing their native songs and we watched a skit made by the teenage yuan zu ming; it was very touching. It’s about the lives of a happy family until their mom dies. The father starts drinking with his friends, but the eldest son was mad at his dad and they both got in a fight. The son learns from his dad and starts drinking too, but got blind when he got in a second fight with other drinkers. His whole family was really depressed; especially the dad. One day, the father met a Christian and she decided to evangelize to him. He started to believe in Christ and donates his eyes to his son so he could see. Many people started crying and it was touching, like I said before. After we ate lunch, I didn’t know what happened afterward because I went sleeping.  At 2:00, we went Taidong food shopping, which consists of mochi and other delicious food. We went bicycling afterward, although I didn’t go and I talked to Pai Lin Ah Yi. We went on a train ride for 5 hours, and said a really quick goodbye to all the Taipei helpers.
    On Monday, we had training. We got to sleep in, because we had to wake up at 6 o’ clock every day. It was a short training, since we had received it already in the past week. All we did was teach the new Taipei members the songs we sang and we made the crafts. We organized everything, made new posters, and cried because Candy was leaving (or so we thought.) We went to Sogo Department Store. They had food, clothes, appliances, and accessories. When we got back, we ate the cake that Pai Lin Ah Yi bought for my birthday.

      A memorable experience was my birthday with the Youth Group. I got cake from Pai Lin Ah Yi, soap from Daniel, and a huge, cute chicken pillow from David, Jeffrey, and Michael.        
      It was memorable, although I wasn’t feeling well. I would like to thank everybody for a wonderful birthday! I also think another memorable experience was the parting of the Taidong kids. They were all so friendly and we got along so well together. It was a pity that we couldn’t spend more time with each other. We were all mourning on the train and when they gave us their traditional accessories. I really hope they can learn more about the gospel and that God really is their true savior so that one day I could meet them again; maybe not on Earth.
       I learned about the importance of how truly lucky we were. The Taidong kids made me realize how fortunate I was to live in America for the food, shelter, weather, and the resources we have to get to know the gospel. Many children only have one parent or no parents at all. The day before we got there, there was a typhoon and a lot of the kid’s shoes got blown away. Many of them don’t receive the love and care they need for their age from their families. Meanwhile, back in San Jose, we receive lots of love from our families and many do not have broken families. One big thing that is different between the FMLC missionaries and Taidong kids are that they are thankful for what they have. They’re satisfied with the limited amount of food and shelter that they receive. In California, not focusing on our FMLC church is almost the opposite. Many of us are spoiled but we still aren’t thankful and we ask for more. It’s because we don’t know how lucky we are until we go to places like Taidong to see everybody that aren’t as fortunate as us. The Taidong kids are lucky to have a pastor like Brother You (Paster You) because he cares for them so much. He takes all the kids to church every day and sends each one back. The kids stay at the church sometimes because of the typhoon. Their resources of gospel are also limited because some family members aren’t Christians and some are only forced to go to church. Some of them really do not like to go to church, and that’s why I pity them. I hope when they grow up, they can realize that us, as missionaries, are really trying to help them so we can save them, rather than being bossy and mean.
    

There are a few things I would like if you could pray for us:

-Our health (Many of us are sick or not feeling well)

-The Taidong and Taipei kids faith in God

-That God will work through every kid and change their closed hearts ( Same as the  second prayer)

-FMLC missionaries will be enthusiastic with all the praise and talking about the gospel     

    Thank you for everyone who has been praying for us, we really appreciate it! Please continue praying for us. The mission trip is going very well and we hope future mission trips will be successful also. Thank you again!

                                                                                                                                                            Many of us have been under the weather and recovering so this update is coming a few days late, thank you for your continued prayers and bearing with us :)

In His love,
Lynn & Aaron :)

Rina Hung, college freshman / Lynn & Aaron

8/4/2012 Taitung

Dear parents and wonderful supporters :) 

Today was an especially eventful day and held quite a few surprising events! 

The biggest surprise and unplanned event was the spontaneous worship and praise put on by ALL the youth (Taipei Home of Christ and First Morning Light Church youth) after dinner at the restaurant we were at. :) It was an amazing sight to see 22 youth worshiping God with the VBS praise songs we had been teaching the kids all week in a very public and open restaurant. ^_^ All glory and honor to our great God! 

Today's youth update comes from Rina Hung, college freshman: 

Dear Parents, Friends, and family,

I pray that everyone back home is doing well! Time goes by so fast, today is the last day of our VBS program in Taitung. We had a great experience serving the Lord through spreading the Gospel to the kids. 

We began the day bright and early by preparing our hearts for missions with praise songs and life journal sharing. VBS then proceeded as usual, with group games weaved into the planned praise songs, crafts, and English lessons. The kids had fun making Bible verse jetpacks and tossing water balloons outside. We also tried to incorporate parts of the Gospel into our activities through the entire day in the hopes that these children would understand that the purpose of our being here in Taitung is to introduce them to the Lord. At the end of the program, Pastor You led the children in a farewell ceremony and presented us with parting gifts and an emotional song (tears all around). The day ended at a spectacularly indigenous-looking restaurant where we made a lot of spontaneous noise and commotion dancing to our praise songs on the dance floor. The guests seemed to appreciate our enthusiasm.

The most memorable experience of the day for me was easily the farewell portion. Though we have only known these kids for 3 days, we have all become very attached. It is always astonishing to be reminded of the strength of human relationships, and in the past few days the bonds that we created will remain a part of us long after we leave. In our sadness at leaving this wonderful place, I can only pray that in the short time we spent here, our messages about God made an impact on their lives and that they will turn to him as their savior and Lord. And if they do not walk away from this experience completely changed by the Gospel, I pray that this VBS camp has opened up their hearts to Christ so that they will continue to come to church to worship and become disciples of the Lord.

As we head back to Taipei, please pray for the following:

1)      That God will keep revealing himself to the Taitung kids through the church

2)      That our next VBS camp will be successful in making disciples

3)      That God will replenish our hearts so that we can give continue to serve him wholeheartedly

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, God Bless!

Please also keep in prayer for us continued good health for the team as well as travel mercies as we will be traveling back to Taipei today (Sunday). :) And lastly, here are a few photos from today. Please excuse the quality! They were taken on an old phone but we have good quality ones that we will be sharing later ^_^ 

The first photo is Aaron and Daniel from the back playing piano together. Our two Korean men did very well despite not speaking much Chinese besides "bao zi" and "xie xie".

The second photo is David, Edwin, and Jasmine's group of K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd graders performing their praise song for the rest of the group.d caption

The third photo is of a little girl tying on Rina's wrist the bracelets we were gifted with. The ladies received one for each wrist.

The fourth photo is our group photo with both the Taipei and the FMLC team with some of our VBS kids. We are all wearing the gifts we were presented with.

The fifth photo is all of the youth dancing and singing the VBS songs at the restaurant we were at.

The last photo is a view from the back where you can see other restaurant patrons taking video, photos, etc. Some of the little kids danced along with us :D

This was a long update, thank you for reading and thank you for your prayers!! :) 

In His grace,

Lynn & Aaron :)

Michael Cheng, 11th grader/ Lynn & Aaron

8/3/2012 Taitung
Dear youth parents and wonderful supporters,

The second day of VBS in Tai Dong was fun but very tiring. We feel your love and support through each of your faithful prayers. :) Today's update is from Michael Cheng, 11th grader:

To those interested,
               The 4th day in Taidong, the second day of VBS. The VBS schedule was mostly the same as yesterday’s, but it is picking up speed finally, now that our small group members have become more familiar with each other, things are really happening now although in a mixed way. The kids sometimes listen, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they sit like the good little kids that they’re supposed to be, sometimes they run around like they’ve got caffeine injected into them. It’s been fun, but also exhausting for many of the missionaries. Speaking of missionaries, if you haven’t known this by now our church, FMLCCC, teamed up with another church in Taipei in a joint effort to spread the gospel.  It all really is exciting, and we’re still praying that the people we are ministering to would have their hearts opened up by God so that they could come to accept Him as Savior and Lord. It’s a challenge, but rest assured, we are trying our best, with many memories being made and souls being touched.
                 A thing that really caught my attention was how much the children’s behavior could vary. As said before, sometimes they’re little angels, sometimes they’re little bundles of sin. But that’s the thing! They’re like us! Before we knew God, we were in total rebellion against him, being totally sinful beings not wanting to obey and listen to the Good God who loves us. But God opened up our eyes and ears so that we could see him, and when we did, we saw how evil we are and how good God is. Only now did we come to repent and finally listen to God and want to love him and serve him and give him our all. So like the kids, we were once all evil, unrighteous in the sight of God, but when God touched us and we turned to Him, we finally came to realize our sins and repent and receive salvation.
                The people whom we are ministering to need God to open up their hearts, and this is something we missionaries here still pray for. If you could also pray for that, it would be appreciated, for prayer really is powerful, and just for the mission as a whole, that God be glorified and displayed for all to see in our mission.
From a Brother in Christ,
Michael C.

We want to give glory to God for the amazing work He is doing in the lives of the kids we are ministering to and the work He is doing in us! It has been such a joy to be with this wonderful group of youth kids. :) I am so proud of them and want to thank God for the parents who have taught and raised them so well. All the youth are working so hard and so diligently with all their heart to bring the gospel to the Tai Dong children! :) :)

Thank you again for your loving prayers. :)

In His grace,
Lynn & Aaron :)

Jeffery Yan, 10th grader / Lynn & Aaron

8/2/2012 Taitung
Dear Youth Parents and supporters :)!

Yesterday was our first day of VBS and the first time we got to spend an entire day with the kids. It was a lot of fun but also very tiring for our youth team! Today's youth update comes from Jeffery Yan, 10th grader: 

Dear Parents, Family, and all else who may be concerned, 

Overall, today was busy but also an excellent educating experience. We began our day with a relatively early (in comparison to most people’s “normal schedules) morning roll call at 6:30 by singing a few praise songs, sharing life journals, and prayer. Following this included breakfast, devotionals, and final preparations for VBS until around 8:45­—attendees to the VBS began dropping in around 8:30, totaling around 50 kids towards the end. Until around 17:00, we commenced with various VBS activities, including worship, games, lunch, naptime, crafts, and English lessons. After dinner, there were no activities planned until 20:45 (the last activity of the day). At that time we sang a couple praise songs, debriefed our first day of instruction, and prayed for the next couple days to come. 

One memorable experience was seeing how the kids’ behavior changed for the better as the day progressed. When they first arrived, most seemed reluctant to do anything and lacked much enthusiasm. Later on when leading praise songs/dance, I was provided an opportunity to view a different side of the children—one bursting with energy and excitement. This soon morphed into slight rebellion, however, when meeting in small groups. But as we (the staff) grew more accustomed with the kids and vice versa, this tension was loosened and all was well by the close of the first day, evidenced by the students’ increased excitement and participation as a whole when performing various VBS songs. From this experience I learned, once again, that “you can’t always judge a book by its cover”. Managing my small group of six students (even with two other youth as co-leaders) was also no simple task. But the more we spent time with them, striving to show them God’s love, the more we were able to fully interact with them and even hold conversations. 

We kindly ask if you could support us in prayer at this time, for although we teach the VBS, nothing will happen without prayer for God’s hand working among both us and the children. 

Some things that we need prayer for at the moment are as follows:

1)      Unity amongst the missions team
2)      Strength to
a)      heed what God may have spoken to us
b)      to persevere even when physically or spiritually tired
3)      A willingness to learn to be found in the kids attending the VBS

4)      For God to do great things in Taidong, so that we can just marvel at how great  He is.

In Christ,
Jeffery Yan 

P.S.: I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors that you may find and I thank you for bearing with me as I have a difficult time making things seem interesting.God bless!

We are so thankful to God for His incredible provision in every way and we are continually thankful for your support and prayers! No one on the team has gotten sick and everyone has been in good health and high spirits even though the days have been long and tiring. 

We hope you are enjoying these updates and look forward to sharing more when we return! 

In His grace, 

Lynn & Aaron :)

Nancy Xiao 11th grader / Lynn Chen

8/1/2012 Taitung

Dear Youth Parents, 

Today was a long and very busy day but ALL of the youth kids worked incredibly hard to prepare for the Vacation Bible School (VBS) starting tomorrow. :) We are so proud of them and being here with them has been such an incredible joy. ^_^ 
Today's update is from Nancy Xiao, 11th grader:  

Dear parents,

How are you? I hope you are all doing well and are happy in Jesus. We are having a great time here, worshipping the Lord corporately and serving Him.

Today we began the day with an hour of prayer. We prepared our hearts through prayer as we prayed for our own spiritual wellbeing, our mission team, Taidong, and our VBS camp. Afterwards, we spent time alone with God as we read the Bible and did our daily devotions. We also practiced and perfected the big group lessons of the VBS camp, the skits, by memorizing our lines preparing props and costumes. In the afternoon, we prepared all the crafts needed for the VBS camp, mastered the worship songs and the dances that we will be teaching, as well as learned how to make all the crafts.

Though today was eventful and long, it was extremely enjoyable as we became closer to one another and the Taiwan team. Please pray for each and every one of our members’ spiritual wellbeing and that there will be a revival in Taidong. Also, that the Lord will work through us and in Taidong and that many hearts will be touched and many will turn to Jesus and become a believer.
Thank you for the prayers and your love for us. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. God bless you.       2012 Taiwan mission team

 I have also attached some photos from our day today for your viewing pleasure ^_^.

Alice Teacher is helping David with his costume for our skit, he plays the bad guy.

Ray has a beard because he is playing Joshua in his skit group.

The Taiwan and FMLC teams working together to prepare crafts for 70 kids. We worked on craft preparation for almost 3 hours.

It was so sweet and wonderful to worship together in Chinese and in English. :)

These two pictures were taken tonight as we learned and practiced our worship songs with Nancy, Michelle, David, and Jeffery as our praise leaders.

We also got some super yummy sweet potato chips.

Delicious. :D We hope you are enjoying these updates! :) 

In His love, Lynn :)