Church in Taiwan

I went to a church called Zion Church in the heart of Hsinchu. I haven't been so blessed in a very long time. The word to sum up the experience would be: family. From the moment I entered the church, I felt like I actually belonged somewhere since my arrival in Taiwan. Someone took the time to drive me to church, two random people took me under their wings, I exchanged emails with some guy that I met, I met tons of friendly young adults, and I was treated to - as someone described it - tofu pudding (doe hwa). God truly provided a means for me to be blessed today. He allowed me to meet Peter, s student from Tsing Hua, going to my home church who gave me the email of this professor. The professor invited me to the church he attended. Going to church was like a cup of fresh water. There are actually people who truly shine with the love of Christ.

Zion church is more charismatic in style. Generally, the people are very animated during worship (i.g. raising hands, a lot of alleluias and amens). There was a session of corporate prayer and a laying of hands at the end. I haven't heard an Asian congregation so adamant and unified in their amens during the sermon and prayer. To be honest, I haven't felt so much energy, excitement, and hope at a Christian gathering in a long while. God really energized and reinvigorated my soul. Even though Taiwan and Hsinchu are rather spiritually dark places, the church had so much hope to see God revive their city. The basic gist of the message was to trust and rely on the faithfulness of God to extravagantly bless his people. We must not sell short the desire of God to bless his people to the fullest. Man, God is good.

I'm also going to start meeting weekly with a student from NCTU who went to UIUC last semester to go over the gospel of John. He really is a great guy. He took me and Bernard around Hsinchu and to the night market for some delicious snacks. He is investigating Christianity and seems to be full of questions. He has a unique passion and perspective on life that I am drawn to. I hope to introduce Jesus to him without imparting my opinions and misconceptions. I think that "religion" has disoriented his conception of who Jesus is and what being a Christian is really about. My hope is to merely introduce him to the person of Jesus through the Word and let God do the revealing. I also hope to continue to grow deeper with Jesus as we meet. Prayer is always appreciated. Once again, God is good.

God has shown me that I merely need to be faithful in trusting that he will do the transforming work in people. I've always had this burden of needing people's acceptance of me and the Jesus I follow. During my stay in Taiwan, God is continually lifting my insecurities. He has taught me to share Christ crucified even in the midst of rejection. God is continually teaching me the principle of sowing seeds, but letting God do the growing in people's hearts. During my stay here, may my heart be as good soil for God's word, may I faithfully sow, and maybe I'll even be able to reap the harvest of the Lord.

On a final note, my arms are full of bug bites for some reason. Americans probably eat too much meat - attracts the mosquitoes. God is good.