Spring-Summer 2014 pictures and prayer requests

Dear prayer partners,

Below are some pictures from this past spring and early summer of 2014. I hope they will give you a sampling of some of our labors.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  

In Christ,

Joel

Joshua Tân and his family. I have been mentoring Joshua for a year. He just graduated from the reformed seminary in Taipei. Please pray as he considers long term plans for church planting. 

David Li preaching at the Formosa Reformed Fellowship meeting. David and his coworker, James Chan (left) started a reformed church in Taichung, central Taiwan last summer. James also interprets for visiting American professors at China Reformed Theological Seminary. In June, he interpreted for Dr. Iain Duguid who was just hired as a professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He came out to teach a mini-course in Taipei. Not only have they begun worship services for their church plant in Taichung, but they also are starting a second church plant in Nantou County about an hour away in the mountains.  

New Hope Church in Taipei. Please pray that God will raise up Taiwanese men to be elders and that we can find a Taiwanese pastor to become the shepherd of the church. Currently my coworker, Daniel Cohee, is serving as the interim pastor of New Hope.

Here we hosted the children of another missionary family to join us in a home school biology lab that I was teaching our oldest daughter Faith.

Passing out gospel tracts to the Sunflower Student Movement rally participants.  These gospel tracts were translated into Mandarin by New Hope's pastoral intern, Tomas Wang, and then printed by one of New Hope's members. Please pray for a heart for evangelism among all of Taiwan's Christians, and particularly those in the reformed presbyterian church. Please pray for Tomas Wang who just graduated seminary as he considers his future plans.

Hosting the Formosa Reformed Presbyterian Fellowship meeting at my home. Please pray for this new fellowship as we seek to recruit more church planters and systematically plant churches all over Taiwan.

On the left is Wesley Chuang, a young church planter whom I have been mentoring. His Taipei church plant started Sunday afternoon worship services in March, and morning worship services in June. On the right is a graduate student in law. Please pray for Wesley's church plant, Ren Ai Reformed Fellowship, that God will establish it and bring it to a health, strength and maturity, and that it will be a church-planting church.

Our Tuesday men's business lunch discipleship group meeting at a coffee shop. We did not realize it was a vegan cafe, and so we all went away hungry. Please pray that God will raise up more Taiwanese men to lead the churches.

The Gospel Driven Fellowship church plant in Taipei. I have been helping this church to become organized. It has been meeting for two years. They do not have a pastor, but they do have a retired ruling elder who attended Westminster Seminary who leads them. Please pray for the Taipei church plant as they consider what to do in the near future.

With Joshua Tân outside the Gospel Driven Fellowship afternoon worship service meeting site in Taoyuan, about an hour west of Taipei. Please pray for the Taoyuan church plant as they are considering moving to a different area of Taoyuan. 

Teaching a singleness, dating and marriage seminar  in our home with people from New Hope Church in Taipei. Please pray for Taiwan's young Christians as the learn to be faithful in every area of their lives.

Preaching at a small reformed presbyterian church in Yonghe, a suburb of Taipei. Please pray for revitalization for many reformed churches that have buildings but do not have a healthy church membership or ruling elders. 

Formosa Reformed Presbyterian Fellowship church planting meeting in June. Please pray for Pastor Pak (presenting his vision) as he desires to begin a church plant in November. He is woefully short on funds and would like to find some Taiwanese coworkers.

Waiting for Judy's 100 year old grandfather to wake up to share the gospel with him. Please pray for A-kong as he is very weak. He seems receptive to hearing the Bible and he like me to pray for him each time I see him but he is not yet a Christian. He can understand me but he has trouble having enough strength to say words in reply.

On a short trip to Okinawa, my first time ever, I hiked up hill and visited a coffee shop. In God's providence, just at the right time, Mike Dewit (a P.C.A. ruling elder) and his wife Kristin happened to be there. We were able to arrange time to hang out with their family before we and they departed Okinawa.

Wesley Chuang sharing an update on his church planting work at the Taiwan Reformed Presbyterian Church presbytery meeting.

Men's Tuesday business lunch Bible study -- writing out the Ordo Salutis 

Gospel Driven Fellowship church plant in Taipei.

Some of Judy's infant care book readers coming over to ask questions. 

Formosa Reformed Presbyterian Fellowship lunch... On the left is David Li, a church planter in Taichung. On the right is Stephen Kurkinen, a English teacher considering the full-time ministry. Please pray for us as we seek to recruit more church planters and organize a funding structure for church planting works.

My daughters volunteered at the Hero Games, a special-needs sports event. I got a chance to share the Gospel with the father of these two boys while they were competing. Please pray for the non-Christian families we are befriending, that they would come to faith in Christ.