Taiwan!
posted by on 09/6/07
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!
Exciting. Impersonating a banker sounds like it would be rather fun! Just like the games we used to play when we were younger (build our own little town out of chairs, blocks, blankets, etc.)!
Donald, I was so excited to see you got a post up and even more so when I read about the ways the Lord is blessing the work there! What an encouragement that prayer takes stress out of circumstances.
Donald, I concur with Daniel that you’d make an excellent banker.
Thanks for the encouraging report from Taiwan!
May you continue to be “instant in prayer”, constantly diligent in earnest perseverance to continually wait on the Lord!
That’s so wonderful Donald that God is blessing your time over there. I have been praying for you.
Your testimony of prayer strikes home. I appreciate the reminder. Yesterday morning as I was praying, an ‘urgent’ list of to-dos came to mind. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I was able to set those aside and pray. At the conclusion, God blessed by bringing to mind an important task needing to be accomplished that may of been overlooked if I’d of prioritized the former urgencies over prayer.
A simple reminder that re-emphasized the joy of serving a living God. You are in my prayers Donald!
Actually, there was one urgency I succumbed to during my prayer time. However, after trying to solve the ‘urgent’ problem to no avail, I later discovered the problem had already been taken care of. Oh how our priorities can aimlessly wander when not under the Spirit’s direction!
Donald! It is so good to hear some details as to what you are doing. And also details on how God is working! You’re an example and encouragement for me to rise early and seek the Lord first in the day.
What a great lesson, Josh! I have experienced similar lessons from the Lord. It’s so easy to let the urgent take the place of what is really important!
Enjoyed your news and the update from Taiwan – while we were reading it I could visualize being right there with you. Looking forward to your call this weekend.
Your all’s affirmations of prayer are the best comments you could make! Thank you too for the testimony Joshua. How similar our experiences are.
Hey Donald, glad you got the pictures up. It is quite a bit different than I had imagined. Many pictures are worth many thousands of words.
Thanks for your pictures!
[...] first trip to the Orient in 2004 definitely left me a bit wiser. Staying in Taiwan for two consecutive years has stretched me even more. Then recently, living for a few days in the [...]