October 2016 Newsletter
Hello from Barth and Janine in Taiwan,
“What you have heard from me in the presence of many
witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” - 2Ti 2:2
In this letter, we want to share something different; one
of our special friend’s newsletter. Sister Huang Yuhui has attended Janine’s
small group for some years and you could say that she is Janine’s disciple.
While attending Janine’s small group she received her calling to be a
missionary and since then she has started to attend the Hsinchu Chinese
Seminary. This summer the Lord opened the door for her to spend two months in
Thailand ministering in churches, teaching in a Bible School and an orphanage. Bible students typically travel with a group,
spending only two weeks in foreign countries, when participating in a short
term missions trips. The Lord also
opened the door for YuHui to spend time with an elderly, long term underground
missionary. We believe this is evidence of the call upon YuHui’s life and the
fact that the Lord is leading her in a special way. The following newsletter is
the story of this trip:
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Dear Pastors, Brothers and Sisters,
Praise God! I have finished
my two month summer internship in Thailand and have returned to Taiwan. This
missions trip brought me to a deeper understanding of God's love and His
greatness, and helped me to learn more about myself.
As I previously had no experience in short-term missions, this
experience was very valuable to me. At the beginning of the trip, an older
missionary talked with me and helped me to face the challenges ahead, and let
me once again realize God's heart for missions. I also started to face the
challenge of learning new languages.
Sister Yuhui (pink shirt) at Bethel
Bible College
Originally, I felt inadequate as a teacher, but while
teaching in Bethel Bible College, this attitude changed. I had a very good experience. I taught
a class with 26 students from many different ethnic groups: Myanmar (Burma),
Thailand and Yunnan (China), all with very different backgrounds. Listening to them
talk about their difficult lives and reading their self-introductions, I gained
a preliminary understanding of them, but also was very impressed with their
desire to learn and return to help the communities from which they came.
I liked the interaction with students in class time, asking
them questions, and the following discussions. Teaching students from so many different
nationalities is a very interesting thing. One time in the classroom, the discussion
became very enthusiastic, and suddenly they all stopped speaking the Mandarin language
and began speaking their mother tongues. I just sat in my seat looking at them, not
understanding a thing! So those who were speaking had to explain what they were
saying to the others who couldn’t understand in the class. It was a very
interesting picture. Here I could see kids from different nations, because of
the love of Christ and the grace of God, working together to learn. This
teaching experience changed my understanding of myself, and I became more committed
to following the calling God has placed
upon my life to be a missionary.
When I participated in the local Mangang Church service, what
impressed me the most was the evening family gospel meeting. People
gathered together in a house in a mountain village, and we shared the Word of
God with them. This kind of meeting is common, because some people here work every
day during the daytime. They have no way
to attend church meetings, except at night. Going up the mountains at night, with
the pastor holding a flashlight, reminded me of the scripture: "Your word
is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Although the local people did
not need the flashlight, we know that in life, all of us need God's word as a
guide.
Kids at Mangang Church
The house next to the meeting place was a thatched roof
house, showing such a contrast of classes. The pastor’ wife explained to me
that the houses here are divided into three kinds: the tile-roofed house, the tin
walled house and thatched roof house. By their home you can clearly see people’s
economic situation. In fact, the population here is generally poor. However, in
this I see the love of God. God raised up His people, calling them to this to
serve the these poor people, to live with them and to preach the Gospel of
Christ. I silently pray for these people in my heart, I hope the people here
can understand the life, hope and joy that comes from the Lord Jesus.
In conclusion, during this short term missions trip to
Thailand, I preached my first sermon and taught my first Bible course. These all
needed a lot of preparation. The more I prepared, the more I realized my own
weakness. I realized that in all ministry the most important thing is the
presence of God. Coming to a foreign country, seeing the great cultural
differences in these different groups, helped me to understand myself better. Facing
the many different cultures and lifestyles, at the beginning was a great struggle
for me, but as I went on I gradually adjusted. In this we see the hardships of mission
work. However, God allowed me in these “hardships” to see His grace. The grace of
God is greater than these hardships, greater than the difficulties we see. Through
experiences and the people I have met, I learned many things worth learning.
The most valuable thing I learned was only the power and love of God can
accomplish true good works. Thank God for His leading!
Preaching at the Mangang church
This September (2016) I'm going back to the Hsinchu Chinese
Seminary, to continue prepare myself for further work. Blessings to all and
thanks for your prayer support in Christ.
Prayer Requests:
1. Since I am entering the second year of seminary, please pray
for me for a clear mind, and good physical strength to learn.
2. Please ask God to help me in church service (note: all
students must serve in a church while taking classes), that I
would do a good job and get along with all the co-workers.
3. Pray for mercy, that God would give grace to my father
and mother, that they might be believe in Christ and be saved.
The Lord be with you,
Respectfully in Christ, Yuhui Sept. 4, 2016
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Hello Family and Friends,
Pictures of Christmas Evangelism:
Barth and Janine here, just to share the good news that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached here in Asia, and that there are people who are accepting it. Although there has been resistance from idol worshippers, even death threats, we have seen people pray the prayer of salvation, and show their faith through baptism.
Thank you for your faithful support with finances and prayer!
- Rev Barth and Janine Chapman
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