posted by Esther on 06/16/08

We are so blessed with a righteous father   who leads his family in the ways of the Lord! Thank you Dad! In so many ways you are a picture of who our Heavenly Father is to us. The following medley of revised lines from hymns and spiritual songs was compiled in his honor on Father’s Day. You should have heard us sing it to him last night! See if you can identify all 25 songs.

This is our Father’s Day

It is morning in our house today!
You will hear our father say,
“Rise up oh men of God.
You’ve been sleeping in your bedroom… long enough!”

Shall we gather in the Living room?
Oh come, oh come, and have the Wisdom Search.
And he sits with me and he talks with me,
And he tells me…
“The Bible stands like a rock undaunted
Mid the raging storms of time.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!”
He… says…
“Search me oh God, and know my heart today.”

I am so glad that our father has said:
“Come, children, join and sing,
“Sing, the wondrous love of Jesus, Sing His mercy and His grace;”
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Oh yes, he cares, I know he cares.
Blest be the tie that binds,
Our hearts in Christian love,
The fellowship of kindred minds,
Is like to that above.

Work for the night is coming!
Work thru the morning skies;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work for daylight flies.
Oh, happy day, oh, happy day,
Toiling on, toiling on, toiling on, toiling on,
It… will… be… worth it all
For all the saints, who from their labors rest
In darkness of night, God leads His dear children along.
There is a place of quiet rest…
(Slow) Silent night,
This is our… Father’s… Day.

4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Donald on 04/17/08

“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58:13, 14).

This verse was a particular encouragement to me years ago when I first began to study God’s design for time. Otto Koning’s testimony was a great encouragement also. Giving God the first day of the week however is only a way of telling Him that my whole life is His and that I seek to live for no one else but Him.

One part of His reward is that we would be able to ride, so to speak, on the high places of the earth, not caught up in distractions that can quickly become a burden. One way this was fulfilled recently was when a few of us had the opportunity to go hiking in Yu Shan National Park. It is one of Taiwan’s six National Parks and encompasses Jade Mountain, Taiwan’s (and in fact one of Asia’s) highest points. It was a short visit. We did not even see Jade mountain. But on the Walami Trail we got as far as the “beware of bears” sign and enjoyed each other’s company! May we learn as early as possible to enjoy the path of the One Who said “Follow Me”.

4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Donald on 03/19/08

Along with Easter, springtime is here and I’ve found an excellent method for successful spring birding here in Taiwan. Get up early. Stand on back porch. Look around.

Actually it reminds me of some of the first sightings I ever made, at home, from the kitchen window. It was like a photo blind! Birds would come through the yard or visit the feeder and hardly notice the observers at the window. It’s always thrilling any time you find a good location, settle in and watch the surrounding scenery come to life. The Lord has provided for some great sightings, not because I sought them, but because I kept my eyes open along the trail of life.

It would certainly be a colorful sight to post pictures of the birds seen here, but I’m going to have to go for second best and post some links. They are some really outstanding pictures nonetheless. Special thanks to Birding In Taiwan and the Oriental Bird Club Image Database.

Redshank
Common Kingfisher
Oriental Pond Heron
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
White Wagtail
Gray Wagtail
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Taiwan Bulbul
Black Bulbul
Brown Shrike
Black Drongo
White-rumped Munia
Pacific Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Taiwan Yuhina
Yellow Wagtail
Little Ringed Plover
Gray Starling
Formosan Magpie

Now for some stories! This morning, while things were still dusky, I barely caught a glimpse of the mystery bird. It’s lonely, descending, two-syllabled cry haunted me for several days. My chance to see it came this morning when a medium-large heron-like bird flew from where I had heard it nearby, knifed between two trees and disappeared from sight. When it did call again, it was from an area further away indicating that it was that heron (or egret) making the call. If it’s the Pacific Reef Egret, then I have seen it before, in flight, on the way to our school near the coast last November.

Speaking of that school, it’s early Tuesday morning that we usually leave to go and teach there. However this week, being up earlier than normal, I was rewarded (from the same porch vista) with the sighting of a crane flying over. Except for the long, outstretched neck, I would have mistaken it for the white egrets that are so common. Maybe it’s the Japanese Crane–our favorite origami creation, remember?!

Perhaps best of all was yesterday. I had more time than usual to investigate the trees out back and to my complete surprise found a quiet but colorful Taiwan Barbet. It’s Chinese name is the “Five-colored Bird”. To tell the truth it was hard to see at first and I thought it would probably turn out to be a thrush or bulbul. When I saw the heavy bill “Barbet” came to mind and I quickly prayed for it to come out from the foliage to where I could see it better. Praise the Lord. So it did. It was a great view.

May He continue to receive glory as we follow Him and keep our eyes open for the surprises He has in store for each of us along the way.

3 Comments » | posted in Family News, The Bright Side

posted by Donald on 03/5/08

“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23).

Taiwan is a land of opportunity and I’ve noticed recently that with everything there is to do, it is easy for me to become carried away even while trying to make the most of it. That is actually what iniquity is: doing good things–without the Lord. In contrast, learning how to do things with the Lord adds a fresh dimension to life situations that is oftentimes not only fulfilling but very enjoyable!

Such was the case with a trip to the Taipei Zoo. February 28 is a type of memorial day here and we had the day off. As a team we spent some time at a place I’ve enjoyed since as far back as I can remember, only this time with team members and Taiwanese friends. Although the weather had been cold right up until then, it turned out to be an excellent day. It was a large zoo too and the time was full.

I’m grateful for opportunities like this one to step back and remember the value of the current relationships God has granted with Himself and others. Moreover I have the chance to finally introduce you to some of the others who have been working on the team. This time photo credits go to Trevor Newhook who is the oldest of three brothers from PA.

Here are his two brothers. It was their suggestion to introduce one of our most team-building traditions from just about the first week: ultimate frisbee. Baseball-players at heart, they make good teachers too–since they “strike it off” so well with the children we teach.

This is Nathan, who rooms with Lucas and I. He’s one of the ones I’ve been able to get to know the best and I appreciate his heart for the Taiwanese people and their history. Hopefully he can continue his studies and ministry in the Orient on into the future. And here is Eric, a faithful worker, a willing helper and, by now, a great friend. He thought the leopard was noble-looking–but the tapir? Very ugly. Nathan and I on the other hand saw some exotic value.
In this picture Lucas and Shang make an observation. It’s not out of character for either of them to “point the way” for the team. I appreciate you looking out for us rookies Lucas!
Jean was another host and tour guide who has done a lot to facilitate trips and things in the past. I don’t know where we would be were it not for the friendliness and foresight of our Taiwanese tour guides!

God give us each the wisdom to make our fellowship with Him, and then with others, the main priority in each situation we find ourselves in. That way we’ll truly make the most of it.

6 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports, The Bright Side

posted by Michael on 02/21/08

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him: talk ye of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and His strength: seek His face evermore.

So what has Jehovah been doing in our family? He took away our computer! We suppose that a windows update we downloaded was incompatible. Anyway, the best we could get was the blue screen of death. I surrendered it to the Lord and asked Him to help us recover all our data. Robert, our family computer expert who designed our family web site hoped that it was only our central processing system and that our files were still in tact. However, he didn’t think we would be able to recover our email messages. Since he was not here, we hired an expert to come and give us a hand with it. Our expert had been the head of the computer department at Salem University and is close to getting his PhD in computer technology. He verified that our files were not harmed and helped us to reinstall windows on a new drive. We hoped to hook up the old drive externally and copy the files over to the new drive. Still he said it would be a miracle if we were able to recover the emails in our messaging system.

Well, miracles are Jehovah’s specialty. I continued to ask Him to help us recover everything, including our emails. The process of reinstalling our computer programs and copying over our files was a bit scary at times, and a couple times we came close to ruining everything again. Finally it was just about back to normal, and all we needed to do was set up our email account again. Although it didn’t work exactly as expected, we imported our address book and relocated the message storage… and now not a single message is lost; even our address book is complete!

It makes sense to me now that I think about it. Our email is very much a part of our ministry, and there is nothing in it that is displeasing to the Lord. The whole problem has worked out for good because we love God and pursue His calling for us. We have learned much and have lost nothing. It was like a very tiny glimpse of Psalm 106:1-8: Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all His praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people: O visit me with Thy salvation; that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory in Thine inheritance. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. …Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known.

6 Comments » | posted in Family News, The Bright Side