2008-09-06

God is on the move!

Two scriptures keep coming to mind: “We urge you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” Romans 12:1 and “Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

We urge you to pray: the Chinese use a specific word when they pray, it is “qiu”, meaning to “beg” God. We ask you to “beg” God along with us, for we are currently serving in Taiwan in an exciting time in History. It seems that God has tipped His “salt shaker” from heaven and he is sprinkling his tasty word on this land, NOW! How? He is sending many new & or transferred gospel workers to this land – so fast that we can’t seem to meet them fast enough! He is also sending the Franklin Graham Festival to our city! Several Billy Graham employees are here now training members of the evangelical churches to participate. A wise man once said “watch where God is moving, and join Him in His work”. Will you join us by praying for the people of Taiwan to come to know Jesus Christ as a result of His Spirit’s movement in Taiwan?

Summer Update:

• We did not go on our hoped for trip to Europe, nor did we visit Travis while he is in UK. (His 6 month work assignment will end soon and he will return to McKinney, TX later this month.) Instead – we took a few half days of vacation and just drove to the mountains or the ocean. Visit our blog to see photos from our mountain climbs and other new places we trudged. We really do live on a beautiful island!
• The “Bad Girls of the Bible” in home bible study was well attended all 10 weeks. Each week, 10–12 women met to read the bible, discuss the lesson and pray together. We give thanks to God for the folks who provided our study books!
• We both made steady progress in our language studies. Jackie recently completed learning how to share “Creation to Christ” in Chinese, and I began praying in Chinese with those who attended the summer bible study. We still feel like we are at “survival level” for communication on the streets, but our bible vocabulary has grown for sharing the gospel.

Current Update & Near Future Activities:

• God is on the move in East Asia. For an update concerning the Olympics, earthquake relief, Student Christmas opportunities, and more – visit the IMB/East Asia website or read this East Asia Update.
• We are currently attending a 5 week training course: Christian Life & Witness Course by the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, to prepare us and other workers for the Taipei Franklin Graham Festival being held Oct 30 – Nov 2. Please pray that all the workers will prayerfully prepare and depend on God to use them at the FG Festival.
• We recently returned from Hong Kong for our annual Area BSF workshop, and last week our class workshops were held, getting all 3 Taipei class leaders off to a strong start for the “Life of Moses” study. Next week all 3 classes begin. Please pray that God will bring many who will commit to study God’s word, and as a result that many will have a vital relationship with God. Visit the Bible Study Fellowship International Website to learn more or find a class near you.
• Our daughter Paige & her husband Chris have an amazing opportunity to participate on a short-term mission trip to South Asia with their church in Fort Worth October 26- November 3, 2008.  Their church is sponsoring a translation & church-planting team working among an unreached people group through a ministry called StoryRunners.  The trip’s purpose is to connect with the StoryRunners team, to survey the region where the people group lives, and to participate in some discussions of outreach strategy with key leaders.  If you’d like to partner with them, you can email them at chrisandpaige@gmail.com
• It’s been 5 years since we spent Christmas with family. We recently reserved our flights for Dec 18-Jan 8. We will spend our gas money crossing the ocean; maybe you can reserve some of your gas money to cross the Metroplex to see us. J

Drop us a line and let us know how we can pray for you. Also, after much talking & planning, we now have a prayer partner poster board installed in our entry. We look at the smiling faces whenever we leave or return to our apartment. Some of you have already sent us a photo, however we are still missing a lot of faces! (Electronic files work great!)

Thanks for caring and praying for us.

Love,

Jackie & Fran Bell

Taipei, Taiwan