Taichung STM

Right now, I feel heartbroken. Tired. I've already cried at least 3 times, but I just can't stop. I'm so desperate for a way to prolong our time here in Taiwan, but I know I can't. Only God could perform a miracle like that. But who am I to ask God for miracles when He is our Lord - a Father who has done so much for us this past week and who has revealed more than I could have ever expected, so much more than we deserve. And this year, I think a lot of those realizations were personal to each of us. Whether we were fighting sickness, temptations, distractions, or internal weaknesses, we each faced unique struggles that while may have led to similar lessons learned, gave us different perspectives as to how those lessons should be applied to our lives. I had a similar feeling of desperation last year when we were about to leave from the airport, with the youth surrounding us and seeing us off one last time. But this time, my desperation reached a different, perhap...

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58 " 所以，我親愛的弟兄們，你們務要堅固，不可搖動，常常竭力多作主工；因為知道你們的勞苦在主裡面不是徒然的。 " 歌林多前書 15:58 This is Angela, writing the blog for today. It is too crazy how fast the time could pass, now is the second last day for us to stay in Taiwan. When I think about how we had discussions in the basement, it all felt like last week and then "!" here we are at the end of the week A week is always too soon... 我是恩潔, 又來寫中英版的部落格了 很難想像今天居然會是這次短宣行程結束倒數的第二天  對我來說 和大家一起在地下室開會 感覺才是上個禮拜的事 結果這禮拜 '啪!' 的就過了 說明一個禮拜真的很短 But within this one week, we share the good news of the gospel to kids who probably have never heard of the gospel. We use the Wordless Book and teach Bible stories and build good relationships with the kids.  It can be hard to measure how much do the kids understand about the context, but I k...

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11 I can't believe how fast this week has flown by. Looking back, there were so many ups and downs, so many of God's blessings and lessons, that I'm not sure I can fit it all in my tired brain. But I'll start with today, the last day of VBS: Instead of playing games in the morning with the kids like we normally do, today we practiced the plays our kids would perform to their parents. Many of them had already memorized their lines the night before, but adding in stage directions and props created a pretty chaotic situation. We then had body worship with the amazing (as always) Chinese worship songs, including the Chinese version of Nothing is Impossible. Afterwards, I presented my Bible sto...

Dear God, I thank you for this day. It was great. Today was the second to last day of VBS and I can't believe how fast the time flew by. Thank you for giving us the energy to get through these past few days, I know that you will carry us through the rest of this week as well. God, thank you for helping me to deliver the Bible lesson today. You know how anxious I was over trying to get this message across to the kids. I really hope that through the story of Joseph, they can better understand your faithfulness and the goodness of your sovereign plan over our lives. But now that the lesson's over, help me not to think about it too much. Lord, I find comfort in knowing that the eternal impact of this lesson on the kids has nothing to do eloquence of my words but everything to do with the moving of your spirit within them. God, thank you for this awesome team of youth that you assembled to serve in this VBS. Thank you for Angela, Nicole, Adam, Jonathan, and Matt. Please he...

2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" Hi everyone! It's Matt here writing the Taiwan Missions blog! Today was the third day of the VBS program. Like the previous days, today was also very tiring, but it was fulfilling at the same time. This trip so far has exceeded so many of my expectations, and I am so sad to see it slowly coming to an end. Like I mentioned in the very first blog, I had my worries and doubts. I was afraid that this trip would leave me temporarily satisfied and then fade away as memories of this mission trip started to fade. But, as I started to experience the hospitality and kindness that the Taiwanese church and youth had to offer, I slowly started to realize how amazing the love of God is, and my doubts started to slowly fade away. The day started around 8am where the first group of kids started trickling in. Because today w...

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Hi everybody! Adam here writing my first blog post for this year’s Taiwan STM. Before I dive into today’s events, I want to thank everyone who has been following our mission. One of my biggest weaknesses is that I can get easily stressed, so your prayers and support means as much as the world to me as it does to the rest of the team. Thank you so so much for staying by our side even across the globe; we couldn’t ask for a better group of brothers and sisters in Christ to share this mission with. Also, I’d like to share one of my thoughts from the weeks/months going into the mission – just to give a clearer picture of our team dynamic. After learning that I would be one of the "leaders" this year, I felt pretty burdened. Losing last year...

1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when glory is revealed” Hi everyone! It’s Nicole here writing my first Taiwan Missions blog! Today was the first day of our VBS program. It was very tiring, but at the same time extremely rewarding. For me, the past few days have been filled with so much joy and excitement, and I’m looking forward for the upcoming week. To be quite honest, the weeks leading up to this mission trip were full of self doubt and worry about my place on the team and what I could contribute. The days leading up to the trip as well as our travel day contained many sleepless nights of anxiety and hesitation. Many thoughts of “am I good enough” or “how could I possibly contribute anything to this team” kept running over and over again in my head, creating this barrier that I couldn’t overcome in the moment. I have since then learned how to slowly prevail over this barrier starting with mee...

這是 Angela 恩潔, 本日是我第一次寫關於台灣中科短宣的部落格 This is Angela, today is my first time writing the blog for 2019 Taichung STM  今天是主日, 我們女生群 Amy, Nicole, 我 早上8就出發往教會去 Amy 還有 Nicole 在今天早上第一次體驗了台灣的麥當勞早餐 和美國的麥當勞非常不一樣, 他們覺得很驚奇 也很喜歡 Amy, Nicole and me we head for the church around 8am, Amy & Nicole tried their first-time breakfast at Taiwan's McDonald. It was surprisingly good and satisfying.  吃完早餐後我們3位女生一起靈修 歌林多前書 第13章 After having breakfast, three of us do devotions together, (1 Corinthians 13)  " 我若能說萬人的方言，並天使的話語，卻沒有愛，我就成了鳴的鑼、響的鈸一般。 我若有先知講道之能，也明白各樣的奧祕、各樣的知識，而且有全備的信，叫我能夠移山，卻沒有愛，我就算不得什麼。 我若將所有的賙濟窮人，又捨己身叫人焚燒，卻沒有愛，仍然與我無益。 "- 歌林多前書 13:1-3 " If   I   speak   in   the   tongues   of   men   and   of   angels ,  but   have   not   love ,  I   am   a  noisy gong  or   a   clanging   cymbal .   And   if   I   have   prophetic ...

Hello, everyone! It's Amy here. I am currently writing this blog post with my eyes half-open and a smile on my face because today has been a very tiring, yet joyful day. Praise God! I was woken up this morning by Nicole and Angela's beautiful faces, after having passed out for seven hours straight upon our arrival here last night. We started off our day by walking to a local breakfast vendor and eating some traditional Taiwanese breakfast foods together. And, oh my goodness, I had almost forgotten how amazing the food in Taiwan is! This was definitely one of my most favorite breakfasts ever. After eating, we went to the church together where we met up with all of the other youth. There were lots of hugs and laughs as we reunited with old friends and met some new ones. Observing how readily we all bonded with each other was quite a sight. I am thankful for the connection that we share as brothers and sisters in Christ and as eager laborers in this year's CCA VBS. As he h...

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 Hi everyone! Jonathan here kicking off our blogs for a brand new year of Taiwan Missions! I can barely believe that we're already back in Taiwan, seeing/meeting the Taiwanese youth and ready to teach at VBS again. I'm feeling excited, nervous, and of course, tired, but before we jump into our 24-hour long journey, I wanted to recap everything we've done so far. The preparations leading up until now were filled with many challenges, but through it all, God has really shown us His grace and mercy. This year, we experienced many changes from previous trips, starting with team selection. Due to miscommunication and poor judgment, this process ended up taking much longer and being more difficult...