Well, as most of you know by now, we made it safe and sound to Taiwan on July 23rd. Our trip was generally good with only a three hour delay in Detroit for some minor repairs. We were greeted at the airport by ten smiling members of the Toufen Church. We arrived late and the airport is an hour and a half away from Toufen, so we really appreciate the sacrifice they all made to meet us. After living in temporary quarters for about two weeks, the church moved us into our “permanent” place, a pleasant, spacious house overlooking vegetable gardens and rice paddies. The people from the church here have been most gracious in paying our rent and giving us a decent used car for transportation.
The church in Toufen consists of approximately 70 people and is run by three native Taiwanese elders. It is an independent work affiliated with the Ming Dao Seminary, located the City of Zhunan. The church is very much like the early church in the Book of Acts, in that the members literally go from house to house eating, praying and transacting church business. The church does hold regular services in the Hakka dialect and in Mandarin as well. The people of the church have been wonderful in attending to our needs and making us feel at home.
We are in a very unusual position for foreign missionaries in that we have been called by and are serving under the leadership of native Christians. This has enabled us to assimilate rapidly into the local community. After giving us a reasonable time to settle in, the church put us to work. On August 16th and 17th, the church held two revival meetings. The church was filled to capacity. Barth led worship and Rev. David Wang spoke. People fell on their faces before God at the end of the meetings, crying out to God. Four people accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. The presence of God was felt in a powerful way.
Barth is now responsible for overseeing worship during the meetings. That means he will play and minister in music, but he will also teach worship leading skills to the other musicians in the church. He also has been asked to teach worship at the Ming Dao Seminary, a matter we are committing to prayer since we don’t want to spread ourselves too thin. He will assume pulpit duties at the church on a revolving basis, starting in September.
The church has asked us to launch a youth outreach to high school and college students. This will be primarily Janine’s responsibility. Initially, she is planning to draw from the church’s existing youth group as well as the church’s soccer outreach. The meetings will probably be held on Saturday nights on the first floor of our house. The worship style will be contemporary. Barth will play his keyboa
rd; Janine will play the guitar. Some of the young people play other instruments, so we hope to form a band. Janine plans to lead the Bible study. She handles day-to-day communications in Chinese quite well, but will need translation help from Barth for the Bible Studies. We will be kicking things off with a dinner after church on Sunday afternoon.
rd; Janine will play the guitar. Some of the young people play other instruments, so we hope to form a band. Janine plans to lead the Bible study. She handles day-to-day communications in Chinese quite well, but will need translation help from Barth for the Bible Studies. We will be kicking things off with a dinner after church on Sunday afternoon.
We need prayer. “Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it.” (Psalm 127:1) Taiwan is a needy place. The spiritual darkness here is great. The month that just ended on August 12th of the Chinese lunar calendar is known as “Ghost Month.” The people here believe that the ghosts of their ancestors are especially active during this month. On the final day, the people hold “Da Bai Bai” or Big Worship. In front of virtually every house is a table piled high with food offered to the ghosts. Fires blaze up and down the streets as people bow and offer money to the ghosts. Even the large department stores like Carrefour and RT Mart (pictured below) participate. 
This is not just a benign Chinese custom that Westerners should respect. According to the Christians in our congregation who used to participate in the same practices, “It’s Satanic.” The people are in terrible bondage to fear, fear of offending the ghosts, fear of curses and bad luck.
This is not just a benign Chinese custom that Westerners should respect. According to the Christians in our congregation who used to participate in the same practices, “It’s Satanic.” The people are in terrible bondage to fear, fear of offending the ghosts, fear of curses and bad luck.
Before we conclude, we once again want to thank our friends in the United States for their wonderful show of support before we left. We are grateful that we had the opportunity to minister in your churches and say good-bye. Please consider us to be your heart and voice to the lost people on the island of Taiwan.
We love you all.
In Jesus’ Name,
Rev. Barth and Janine Chapman
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