Day 3- 7/2/17-The Lord's Day

( Before I start with the day's blog, I would like to add a personal account of my flight over to Taiwan. This year, we did not reserve seats on the plane, so we found out where we would be sitting at the airport. Josh and Edward happened to get assigned seats next to each other, but the rest of us were all split apart. That being said, once we found our respective seats, we asked the neighboring passengers if anyone would be willing to switch so we could sit together. No one wanted to switch to a middle seat, which was understandable, so we all settled in next to strangers. About a third of the way into the flight, I had just groggily woken up from a nap, and I looked over at the woman sitting to my left and caught the words "Samaritan Woman" on one of the papers she was looking over. Registering that it was a Bible term, I took a mental note, but soon fell back asleep. After waking up fully a while later, I forced myself to start a conversation with this stranger, which according to plane-etiquette, is not a normal thing to do. In fact, this woman was also on a missions trip to Taiwan. My mind was already blown by then. But, I kid you not, it gets even more crazy. After some more talking, I realized that she was from our home church's other Taiwan missions group! God truly performs miracles. Last year, we had the Fan Family helping us through the airport, and this year, I happened to be sitting next to a fellow worker of Christ who was from our very own Trinity! Bear in mind that this was one day out of the entire year, one flight to Taichung, one seat amongst hundreds of others, and I had gotten this seat randomly assigned to me. It was truly an amazing moment as we both came to the realization of God's mighty hand. Mrs. Cheng Yinting (oh also, we have the same last name!) shared some great advice that she has learned from over 10 years of missionary work. She said "we should seek to become co-workers, not just guests" to the people we share the Gospel to. Instead of going one place one year and another place the next year, she said it was important to stay with a group for a long period of time to establish a strong relationship. This is a matter of life or death, and we should not treat a trip as a once and done thing. We are a community with a purpose to support one another and to keep each other accountable. Jesus left the herd behind and went after that one sheep that had gotten lost. The least we can do is try to follow in his footsteps and help those who are in need. It is a matter of not abandoning one another, sticking together, and fighting the good fight as a team.

So next time you're in a similar situation, whether on a plane, train, bus, or wherever, I challenge you to reach out and take the time to hear someone else's story as well as share your own. You never know who the Lord will put in your way! )

Alright, back to the blog:)

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God"

The fellowship that is described in the above verse was very tangible today; the Lord's Day started with Bible reading, included singing with thankfulness, and ended with fruitful communion.

This morning Katherine and I woke up at around 7, surprisingly sleeping through the entire night. The light from the window right next to the bed was our natural alarm, awakening us to the beautiful Taichung skyline. Along with our host mother, Xu Mei, we went to the Chungke Assembly Church bright and early, just in time to meet Joseph, Kevin, Cherry, Peggy, and Evangeline for breakfast. We walked a short distance and found ourselves in a quaint, little corner cafe. Not knowing quite how to decipher the menu, Katherine and I used google translate to read the menu, much to the amusement of the other youth. While we waited for the meal, the seven of us talked about everything from our favorite movies, to the sports we enjoyed, to possible card games to play later. Rendered breathless after all the talking and laughing, we gladly devoured a delicious meal of fresh egg pancakes and sandwiches.

Our church service started off with a small group meeting of the youth. Today we read 1 Samuel 16:7, which reads "But the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" This is a great reminder for us to live only for God, as nothing else in the world matters. Albert shared how he struggled with math in high school and tried to reach the societal standards of his peers, but after receiving Christ, there was a transformation. Looking back, he says he no longer puts himself down for the grade he receives, but reminds himself to do the best he can, and leave the rest to God. Evangeline also shared that individually, we all struggle with things of this world, but as a church and as a whole, we support each other and raise one another up. God values this fellowship and discipleship infinitely higher than a mere test score.

After this meaningful discussion, we all went downstairs for a beautiful worship session. The entire Lin Family lead the worship with songs glorifying God and thanking him for His sacrifice. I've noticed that their worship is much longer than ours, ranging a whole variety of songs and meanings. It was really nice to have this time dedicated to the Lord, letting everything else go and just focusing on praising Him. As worship came to an end, the youth filed out into an adjacent building for some team building activities. We also invited a newcomer to the church, Angel. Together, we played a relay race tic tac toe game, a duck-duck-goose spinoff, as well as a card game. During lunch, we were blessed to meet many of the church members who were very warm and welcoming. In particular, we talked with Shelly, an English teacher, and her daughter, Jennifer, as well as Juna. Praise the Lord, as Jennifer is a new Christian, and Juna may be joining us in the following days for our camp!

The next few hours after church was spent running through the upcoming camp schedule, from singing the children's worship songs, to playing games, to running through the first English lesson. The youth even treated us with a performance of their dance routine, as shown below. We were blown away to say the least!

The eventful day ended with a group dinner. It has been my favorite meal so far! The dishes were very delectable, from crab meat with eggs, to zong zi, to almond covered shrimp. While we waited for the dishes, Amber suggested a game to pass the time. Every person would be assigned the same object, except for one person who had a different one. We would go in a circle and say a characteristic about our object and then vote on who we thought had the odd one out. It was a great opportunity to re-connect with the youth!

We are so grateful for this opportunity, and we trust that God will do His will during this week's camp. Please keep us in your prayers!

Prayer Requests:
-New Christians/ newcomers Jennifer, Juna, and Angel, that they will continue to grow in Christ and feel the love and support of their brothers and sisters
-Tomorrow is the first day of our camp, please pray for open hearts, flexible thinking, and focused hearts and minds on God
-Overcome jet-lag quickly and strength for the upcoming week
-Prayer of thanks to our amazing hosts and the welcoming family that is Chungke Christian Assembly