Early morning light filtered in the window. The sun was rising in the Far East. Having just woken up, I stood at my desk looking at my watch and thought: “One hour till showdown.”
It was September 4 and after the long but beautiful 36+ hour trip, I was in Taiwan and about to embark on the first day of a Summer Camp held on a university campus in Shinchu, Taiwan. But before starting off at 7:30 I knew that Bible-reading, journaling and organization were in order. It was then I remembered a conversation that we had with the Wilkes about prayer: Knowing that “Prayer is a time-maker, not a time-taker” is one thing; doing it is another.” Immediately I lifted a petition to the Lord. I asked God very simply for time to do these things. When I looked back down at my watch, lo and behold, it was not 6:30 at all, as I had first thought! Very clearly the hands pointed to . . . 5:30! My joy was very full at that moment because I had asked and received.
Day one was an incredible day. Since then, prayer has taken the stress out of many situations from locating my deck of lost uno cards or finding internet connections to seeing energy for teamwork and teaching provided by the Lord.

Right now, as a team of thirty, we’ve settled into our long-term location in Taoyuan. We are hosted in the west wing of a very nice school facility and some very well-remodeled classrooms serve as rooms for us. It is an incredible thing to be a part of and each day we witness new things coming together for the curriculum, facility furnishings and an overall-more-well-refined teaching technique as we learn to co-teach each class.

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On the team are several very kind and very skilled Taiwanese staff, Wes Dudley and his wife Julianna (our American leaders and co-workers), Marlin Martin and his wife (science teachers), the Lyons family of five, nine young ladies from America and Canda, and six young men from New England/PA, Washington, Ohio and West Virginia!

It’s been an honor to be here at the beginning of such an incredible work. We are nearing the conclusion of our first teaching week and asking God to show Himself strong as we choose to humble ourselves, serve Him with perfection and leave the results to Him.

My role as banker has not been one made of carboard. In our classroom we have two tellers’ counters, our own ATM, and current foreign exchange rates on display. You should see the students when they walk in. It’s great to show them the simple technique of making a withdrawal and filling out a deposit slip. Without enterpreters, no Chinese is allowed (Chinese is more commonly spoken than Taiwanese) and it’s great to see the students immersed, possibly for the first time, in a must-speak-English situation. They enjoy the experience and I don’t consider it a coincidence that I decided to bring my bank book and papers!
Evening by evening and morning by morning, the Lord’s faithfulness and His lovingkindnesses remind me that I am working on His timetable.

Almost without interruption I will awake at 5:30am, see the light of morning as it begins to sweep our earth and remember that first morning in Taiwan. It is a refreshment to know: certainly prayer is a time-maker, not a time-taker, and I am grateful to be part of a much larger team, working together by daily and incessent prayer before a gracious God!