Prior to this trip, my outlook on oversees missions was based primarily of that of K. P. Yhannan is his book, “Revolution in World Missions.”  In that book he decsribes the cultural and economic advantages of utilizing indigenous rather than foreign missionaries.  Through our trip, we found that there are advantages to being an American and native speaker of English.  Consider the following:

•  Whoopi Goldberg stars in the movie “Sister Act” and the mission where John Houlette works starts start black gospel music clubs which attract 500 people per month.  
• Pastor Ohashi’s wife Pat is a native speaker of English and through that he is able to plant two churches in Northern Japan.
• Pastor Kevin in Taiwan says that by offering an American Experience camp he thinks that we can attract 200 middle school students.

We have learned a lot and there is a lot to consider in moving forward with Zone East Asia.  Thanks for your prayers and your interest.  Chris

Scooters everywhere

It was fascinating to watch them all manuver through traffic and beware while crossing the street! Of course, I was thriled when the Penney’s let me ride one of theirs a very short distance in their town. Last night we went with Doug and Melody to the weekly night market in their neighborhood. It’s kind of a carnival atmosphere with food venders selling such specialties as chicken’s feet, pigs blood and stinky tofu – which really lives up to it’s name. We sampled some of the tamer fare. . . a dim sum type dumpling which was really good and then had the most delicious papaya milk. . . . yummo. Some of the university students from the Penney’s church were there passing out tracts and talking to people at the market. Today we packed our bags and then met the pastor of the Penney’s church for lunch. We had an opportunity to talk with him about possible future mission opportunities.

Taiwanese foot massage

After lunch the Penney’s took us for a very traditional Taiwanese experience. . . . a foot massage. I was thinking something similar to a pedicure. . . .Chris didn’t know what to think. It was far more than either of us expected. . . . and if there was one in Folsom we would be regular customers. They begin with a shoulder and neck massage while your feet are soaking in a tub of hot water. Then they move you to a reclining chair and give you some herbal drink that’s good for your eyes and liver and they begin on the feet. If you are suffering from some illness you can let them know and they can concentrate on that reflex point on your feet. . . . .or, it’s my understanding that they can also identify illness based on the tension or whatever of certain points. Anyway, it was really relaxing and just what we needed after spending the past two weeks walking, walking and walking. (Did I mention that there are a lot of stairs in Asia?) We made a quick stop at the Morrison Academy which is the missionary school that the Penney’s children attended as well as missionary kids from all over the island. It’s really a nice facility which is also used for conferences.

Pastor Kevin, Doug and Melody

Our time with the Penney’s was really great. . . just getting to know them, seeing their heart for the Taiwanese people and what the life of a missionary is like. Chris asked them what a typical week looks like to which they responded, “We never have a typical week.” Doug and Melody met in Taiwan as short (or mid) term missionaries and then returned about sixteen years ago and have been there ever since. They were actually the first missionaries supported by Lakeside! They moved in August and are now living in Wu Feng, a smaller more rural location than they had been living in. It was really amazing to think that because of their efforts, this thriving church in Wu Feng exists. We are so grateful for the opportunity to have experienced their hospitality and look forward to their visits back to the states.  Susan

Wu Feng, a suburb of Taichung, is where the Penney’s live and attend church.  The Penney’s were involved in starting the church which began as a result of relief work done after a large earthquake hit the area about 10 years ago.  The Church, Christian Peace Center, is pastored by Kevin, a Taiwanese pastor, whom the Penney’s mentor.  The church is also registered with the government as an organization offering social services, so  it not only continues to do relief work, following typhoons for example, but offers classes on character and values using Christianity as a basis.  Addtional outreach is done through the offering of English classes.  About 40 people regular attend Sunday services.

Today we visited Bamboo Valley Bible Camp about an hour away near the mountain town of Puli. The camp, built by CB International, is now Taiwanese run.  The camp is used by Christian and non-Christian organizations.

Bamboo Valley Bible Camp

Camp cabins and playing field

This evening, we’ll observe an outreach program at the neighborhood night market.  Peyi, a university student who recently accepted Christ, is heading up this program to hand out 5,000 Bible tracts to night market goers by the end of the year, 1,000 down and 4,000 to go.  Chris

This evening we will be observing an English class that Doug and Melody teach at their church.  Both church members and others attend.  Each class includes a presentation of the gospel.

Here are some photos from yesterday in Danshui.

Josh at night market near his apartment

The Rock - coffee house outreach ministry

We are really enjoying our time here.  The Taiwanese are very happy, friendly and have a good understanding of basic English.  Taiwan has a bustling night culture with street markets every night in nearly every neighborhood.  There are food vendors everywhere and we’ve tried the tamer fare.  

Tomorrow, we will travel to the central part of the island to visit Doug and Melody Penney, Lakeside’s share partners in Taiwan.  Chris

Susan and I enjoyed taking a few personal days to relax in Kyoto before heading onto Taiwan.

 Here’s a few pictures of the sights, the people, and the food.  Chris

Einen-ji

Kennin-ji, 13th century, birth place of the tea ceremony

Okonomiyaki, Japanese pizza with Shimizu and friend

Typical temple view

Girls in kimono

The Golden Pavilion

This is where most of the world’s fish travels through before being consumed.  For example, a tuna caught 150 miles off of the coast of New England will be shipped to Tsukiji, fresh, before being sold and shipped back to a sushi shop in New England.  There were hundreds of tuna, scallops the size of baseballs, sea cucumbers and any edible sea creature you can imagine.  Of course, it was sashimi for breakfast.

Later in the morning, we walked to Tokyo station.  We had a quick debrief, then Jeff headed for the train to Narita airport and he should be home by now, arriving home 4 hours before he left due to the dateline.  Susan and I headed on the bullet train to Kyoto where we will spend a few days vacationing before heading on to Taiwan.  Chris

As we were preparing to leave the hotel with the hotel, Pastor Yanagihara and Hideyoshi met us in the hotel lobby to take us to breakfast.  We went to Coco’s and had an American style breakfast and “drink bar,” that is, all the juice, coffee and coffee drinks you want.  We talked at length about various church issues and ways to address them, and worked to provide encouragement to Yanagihara-sensei, especially with regards to addressing generational gaps.  They saw us off at the station.

 John Houlette was taking us directly into Tokyo to tour the city.  We wanted to see the contrast of urban life in comparison to the rural life we have experienced thus far, and gain other exposure to the culture.  First stop, Asakusa Temple.

Asakusa Temple grounds

As we approached the temple along with the crowds of adherents and tourists, we could hear rhythmic drumming and chanting of prayers and smell the incense being offered to the kannon worshiped here.  This visit offered us the opportunity to have John Houlette tell us about Buddist beliefs and means of worship.  Jeff and I had a short discussion with Masashi in the Onsen in Onomachi about the fine line between traditional religions and traditional culture and how the Christian church is challenged in defining the line between the two.  John shared that a frequent barrier to women becoming Christians is that their husbands guilt them out of it by complaining that the wife won’t care for the ancestral shrine within the home any longer.  At Fukushima First Baptist in Onomachi, they have worked with this by having a mausoleum on the church property where the ashes of church members are kept and honored.

The rest of the day, was spent in taking a boat tour along the Sumida River, walking the garden of the Shogun Tokugawa, touring a museum of Tokyo history, and walking through the business district of Shibuya and the electronics district of Akihabara.  Today was a good taste of the history and culture of Tokyo.  After we bid John goodbye, we strolled the alleys around the hotel and ducked into one of many small, traditional restaurants where we relied on the waitress to bring out samplings of various dishes.  We didn’t know what we were ordering, but it was a good way to end the day.  Chris

Refreshing and Uplifting

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Dinner near Sakura-dori