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Check out the **Taiwan in Focus section below for some really good info and a link to a short video . . .

East Asian Peoples Update

December 2011


Big plans for Christmas
“I knew the Father had big plans for my Christmas that would ultimately lead to His glory, yet I had no idea He would be taking me to the other side of the earth to spend it with people I had never even met.” Hundreds of university students will spend this Christmas in China. A firsthand account will be posted December 21 at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/student-blog/first-person-my-christmas-in-china.

Give to the nations this Christmas

The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering provides 57 percent of the support for the Southern Baptist missionary force of 4,952 missionaries worldwide.
This year’s goal is $175 million. Give so that others can hear of Christ’s love. Go to http://www.imb.org/.”We thank you for your sacrificial giving, and your prayer and support of us as we serve the Father here.” Worker in EA

“If not for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, I don’t think we’d have the opportunity to be here doing what we’re doing.” Worker in EA

The gift of prayer

Radical needs call for radical prayerJoin us in praying all year long for the East Asian Peoples and
encourage others to do so too. Order multiple copies of the 2012 East
Asian Peoples Prayer Calendar through the IMB Resource Center at
1-800-999-3113 or online at http://imbresources.org/. The resource is
free and is also available in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. It can be
previewed or downloaded at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/.Christmas prayer requests from frontline workers

Please ask God to lead university students who will brave the cold of Mongolia to bring the Light of Jesus to those in darkness.
Pray that local believers will have boldness to share the true meaning of Christmas.
Pray for groups of believers who will do a mass-distribution project to get the Good News message out to thousands.
Followers of Christ are inviting friends, relatives and
acquaintances to a true celebration this Christmas. Pray that the true
meaning of Christmas will be proclaimed and received.
Please lift up the Christmas outreaches by local believers as well
as visitors, asking that the Messiah will be boldly proclaimed and many
will receive Him.
Pray that this year, the multitude in this city will know that unto them a Child was born.

Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/prayer-blog/christmas-prayer-requests/for more Christmas requests.

Prayer for Tibetans, Muslims and Mongolians

Download the December PEAP (Praying for the East Asian Peoples)
calendar in English or Chinese at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/pray/
and pray for specific needs among the Tibetan, Muslims and Mongolians.

What Christmas is all about

“They may be getting harder to find in America, but you can locate
people all over the world who know what Christmas is all about. They’re
in some surprising places …” Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org.

Japan in recovery

Child of PeaceMany births that took place in Japan on November 1, the day the world’s
population exceeded 7 billion, were to parents who suffered as a result
of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and ongoing nuclear crisis. Mrs.
Kawamura-san learned she was pregnant only four days before the
earthquake and there were times during her pregnancy when she was
unable to get proper nutrition. But now she holds a healthy daughter
named Nene, which means “peace”. Parents are welcoming babies as
symbols of hope and recovery. Pray that many Japanese will hear of the
birth of the Prince of Peace. http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/japan-in-crisis/.Send in the clowns
“IMB missionaries Tak and
Lana Oue say ‘heart care’ … is one of the top priorities in this
stage of disaster relief. When community leaders told them it was time
for the people to move on with their lives —to laugh and be cheered,
they knew it was time to bring the clowning ministry from Georgia.”
Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/feature/clown-ministry-boosts-healing-process-in-japan/.

**Taiwan in focus

Churches reaching outDecember is the busiest month of the year in Taiwan’s evangelical
churches, 212 of which are Baptist. Beginning in early December and
lasting through Christmas Day, outreaches are held in homes, parks,
schools and on the streets. Almost every church building will be packed
on Christmas Eve, with many of the churches winding up their
festivities in the wee hours of Christmas morning with caroling
throughout the community. Pray with Taiwan Christians that a huge
segment of its 23 million people will accept Christ this season.Idols on parade“She froze — partly because the road was blocked and she had to stop,
but mostly because she was shocked at what she saw. For 45 minutes, she
watched a parade of idols, carried on floats, proceed down a main road
in Taipei.” Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/portraits-of-an-east-asian-city-taipei-taiwan/ Visit fascinating Taipei online at http://vimeo.com/channels/245669#33505849.

Stay in Touch

Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/
to read the latest stories and features. Our East Asian Peoples Twitter
and Facebook are also updated frequently. Sign on to stay in the know! http://www.facebook.com/pages/IMB-East-Asian-Peoples/156767504344205?v=wall http://twitter.com/#!/eapeoples

Double celebration

Most of the East Asian Peoples will celebrate two New Years in
January: January 1 and the Lunar New Year that will fall on January 23,
2012. This is a great time to share Christ with your Chinese friends
and neighbors anywhere in the world. Special Chinese New Year’s
evangelistic resources will be posted on December 26 at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/.

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I know I am biased but a really good cause to support with year end giving is the International Mission Board.

100% of your gift to The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goes to overseas missions (IMB) and directly affects our yearly budget.

This is a link to a brief article about Lottie Moon.

This is a direct link to the page where you can contribute online to this very worthy cause.

Lottie Moon

“And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!”
Abraham Lincoln, March 30, 1863

East Asian Peoples Update

November 2011

Thanksgiving Edition 2011

Radical needs call for radical prayer
The 2012 East Asian Peoples Prayer Calendar is now available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/. It can be ordered through the IMB Resource Center at 1-800-999-3113 or online at http://imbresources.org/. Order plenty of this free resource to encourage your prayer group, mission group or entire church to join in praying for the East Asian Peoples all year long.East Asian cities featured – December 4 to 11 Week of Prayer.

In Japan’s male-dominated society, a man’s identity centers on his work. But losing one’s position is a fall from grace that leads to shame. For many Japanese, losing a job means losing their identity. For some touched by the ministry of International Mission Board (IMB) workers to the homeless, it means new birth. Read more about Tokyo, Japan at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org and www.asiastories.com.

Factories are the bus stops and the monuments and the landmarks. Everything exists to serve them in Dongguan, China. The city is divided into 32 districts, each one specializing in a different kind of manufacturing, with more than 3,000 factories crammed into one town. Read the story at http://www.imb.org/.

Special Week of Prayer resources

Lottie Moon was a 4-foot, 3-inch tall spiritual giant who pushed the absolute limits of service. She lived a life so sacrificial that 99 years after her death, hundreds of thousands of Southern Baptists still continue to give to an offering bearing her name. The annual offering now provides 57 percent of the support for the Southern Baptist missionary force of 4,952 missionaries worldwide. This year’s goal is $175 million. Go to http://www.imb.org/ for more information.

Download a bulletin insert for your church at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org.

Read 10 ways that you can be involved in the ongoing work in East Asia at: http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/a-season-of-thanks/.

Precious in the sight of the Lord — giving thanks
This is a great time of year to give thanks for the lives of East Asian Peoples workers who have concluded their earthly journey this year.Two outstanding workers in active service died this year from illness. Both of them were 62 years of age, and both were veteran workers who had served in numerous places. Both left grieving spouses, families and colleagues. But they also left rich legacies of lives that were changed for eternity through their ministries. Read more about active workers at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/precious-in-his-sight/.Dan Ray, very tall and obviously Caucasian, always drew strange looks when he told people that he was Chinese. He was born to missionary parents Rex and Janet Gilman Ray on December 25, 1923 in Wuchow, China. Read more about emeritus missionaries at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/precious-in-his-sight/ .

Giving thanks — frontline reports
Workers among the East Asian Peoples have many reasons for thanksgiving.* Read more at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/east-asian-workers-give-thanks/.

Chinese in Canada.
Give thanks to God for the four new believers from the new outreach in a neighborhood in Calgary who were baptized in September!
Central T people in Asia.Give thanks to God that Central T Christians have the opportunity to attend a weekend training that will provide foundational biblical truths.
Central Y people of China. Give thanks to the Lord of the harvest for showing His power in River village. So far this month, 20 people from River village have turned their hearts to Jesus and been baptized.
Dumpling Heaven, China.
This month five local believers from Dumpling Heaven traveled 36 hours across the country to share the Good News with people from an unreached people group.
JZ City, China.
Thank the Father for sending many friends from another country to show His love to the people of this city. Because of their heartfelt sharing … many became His children.
Metro in the Heartlands, China.
Give thanks to the Lord that many of those who have been trained to share their faith are eagerly applying what they have learned.

*Pseudonyms are used for some cities and UPGs.

Those who still need to give thanks
A worker among the Coconut People of East Asia writes, “As you focus on thanking God this month, the Coconut people will be burning incense to their dead ancestors. Please pray that the strongholds will be broken and the blinders will be lifted, and ask that the Coconut people will turn to the Father!”There is extreme lostness among many East Asian Peoples Unreached People Groups. Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/embrace/ to explore ways that you can impact lostness through your prayers and involvement.

Student opportunities
Visit www.onelifematters.orgto find out how to make your one life count!Hands On Fall 2012 jobs will be posted soon at http://www.thetask.org/.

Looking for Chinese faces in AfricaFollow Joy Tiller on her trip to Africa. Read “Prayers of Joy” at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/prayer-blog/prayers-of-joy-looking-for-chinese-faces/.

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of my mother’s death. I wish I could say I understood grief, but honestly, the older I get, I conclude, grief still has it’s way of surprising me.

Yesterday I was putting up clothing that I had packed in our crate from the US. I unpacked one of my mom’s blouses, and one of her hats. It dawned on me that this time last year, Oct 30, 2010 when I went home to TX for my mother’s funeral, that I snatched these two articles from her home and packed them in my suitcase for when I return to Taiwan. Then in April 2011, when we left Taiwan to go stateside for 4 months, I had packed the same two articles in my check in luggage, taking them to TX with me. In August 2011 we packed a crate of things to send to Taiwan. Yes, Mom’s blouse and hat tucked among the things, which I rediscovered yesterday!

I haven’t worn them, I just like to pack and keep them and take them back and forth from one side of the world to the other. I recognize the Lord’s comfort here.

Isa 53:4-6

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him. NAS

When Jesus went to the cross – he even bore our griefs.
How do you know you if have really surrendered your grief to the Lord?
Could it be when you recognize his comfort? Like I said, grief still has a way of surprising me, but better yet, the Lord’s comfort is even greater.

MomsHat

Do you like My Mom’s Hat?

Every once in a while we go north of town to an area where there are a few stores that carry more products that Americans & European people want. Since we are in the middle of a three day weekend (Monday is a holiday – Taiwan’s independence anniversary) we decided to make a run. Here is a picture of the loot – $53 worth.
Groceries

bag of 7 limes – 2 bags microwave popcorn – box of 2 pkgs crackers – 10 oz Brown sugar – 2 lbs flour – Lea & Perins Worchester Sauce – Can of lima beans – Can of Chili – Jar of peperoncini peppers – 2 bananas – Ground Nutmeg – Marjoram leaves – Celery powder – can of pinto beans – Can of black beans – Mandarin oranges – Salad dressing – sm bag Cheetos – sm bag Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles.

Here are a couple of things that we did not buy:

seaweed wasabi potato chips