2001-12-01

December 1, 2001
Greetings from the island of Taiwan!

This is Jackie at the keyboard this month. Fran is up to her eyeballs in Bibles, commentaries, and dictionaries. While she is certainly enjoying her new role as the Teaching Leader for the day women’s BSF class, it will take her a while to settle into a routine and become more comfortable and confident with her new responsibilities. Hence, I will be the author this month (I am really the brains behind all the previous ones – she just made the language more flowery – ha ha).

Let’s see . . . . what happened in the month of November? Better yet, what happened to the month? Seems like Fran just returned from her latest trip to the USA & that was Nov.3! She didn’t get to visit with anyone on that trip because she was at BSF headquarters in San Antonio for training during the entire time. We were praising God for the provision of that trip. The mission even allowed her to return without charging it against our vacation time. They made an exception because of how her previous trip interrupted due to the Sept. 11 tragedy.

Much of our time this month has revolved around our ministries in BSF. Last September I had been asked to be the Men’s class secretary instead of a discussion leader for the Moses study. However, the Lord blessed the class with so many new members the first few weeks I was asked to switch back to being a discussion leader. Being a group leader requires more of my time than being a secretary.

Fran took the first week back from the US to catch her breath and get over jet lag. She gave her first lecture as a BSF Teaching Leader on Nov 14. She is spending a lot of time not only preparing for the lecture but also in trying to bring 3 rookie discussion leaders up to speed with appropriate training. Because there was some question about the future of the ladies day class last May when they broke for the summer, several of the experienced ladies made other plans and did not return to BSF in September. Therefore Fran is faced with a rebuilding project. The class is lacking in all leadership positions. Pray that God would send help, soon!

Enough of BSF (we do other things too!). At the Taiwan Baptist Mission office we are in the middle of preparing for the Annual General Meeting (AGM). You might remember that Fran & I are on the planning team. I receive emails daily pertaining to it and the details of pulling off a meeting of 700 – 800 people for a week in February. Makes my head swim. I am also working on forms for the 2003 (yes, that’s three!) budget process for the East Asia Region. We are trying to move away from Excel and into Access. I’m still not sure we’ll make it before AGM. Are there any Access experts out there? I need help! Pray for wisdom and insight.

For Thanksgiving we had a special treat. The mission provided a prayer retreat / retirement celebration at a resort on the southernmost tip of the island in the city of Kenting. We arrived late Thursday afternoon, just in time to unpack and go to the closest thing they could do to a “traditional??? Thanksgiving meal. We did have turkey, sweet potatoes, ham, & cranberry sauce (heated). They made a good effort even if it missed the mark! Friday morning after breakfast and a special teaching and prayer time we were free for 8 hours. We explored the seacoast. (check the website for pictures) It was gorgeous! That evening there was a special program honoring 5 retiring missionaries, 3 of whom I work directly with in Taipei. Saturday morning there was another special teaching and prayer time followed by 3 hours of free time before an 8 hour bus ride home. We thank God for such a nice Thanksgiving weekend.

This Thanksgiving we are especially thankful for your prayers and support. Without them we would not be able to stay separated from all of you. We hope that each of you were also able to take some time, relax a bit, and reflect on your blessings.

Plans are underway for several Christmas events so we will stay busy and try not to dwell on how much we miss you all. Please continue to keep us up to date on you and your families; it is our best way to feel like we are still connected to you.

Blessings to all,
Jackie & Fran jackiebell@pobox.com or afranbell@yahoo.com
Visit us on the web at http://communities.msn.com/jackfran