TEAM Taiwan

Dear TEAM Members;

Happy New Years.  A new year for us, but not New Years yet.  We are now into our winter break. We will have about six weeks of rest before the coming spring semester.  What does it mean for us?  The Lord knows.  Last year we saw a new fellowship start at one of the local colleges we help at.  We also continue to watch the Chuang Hua mentoring fellowship progress through the Directions material.  As usual, we are gearing up for the coming Summer camps which will be more exciting than before.

The Sunday night college outreach continues to flourish through your prayers.  Our goal continues to be establishing a core group of mentors, leaders and servants, furthering the Discipleship ministry.  All of this to empower others in their own culture to do the same.  By word of mouth, the secret is getting out.  You can have a personal relationship with the Lord.

Jami is now engaging with three women in the fellowship.  I have started to privately to meet outside of our weekly fellowship with three men who have been faithful.  Two of these men are Taiwanese and the other is an English Teacher/Missionary.  Abbey babysits kids while we meet.  It’s a family affair.  There are other English Teacher/Missionaries who are leading Bible Studies and helping seekers with the basics.  Also, the leaders continue to meet twice a month for additional fellowship and encouragement.  Pray for the Missionaries as well as the students.  Pray that they will continue to grow in His grace while at the same time reach out to others in their perspective areas of influence.

This is a time to consolidate our vision as we move into 2012.  We are setting the foundations for the coming year.

Another area of interest is an additional place to meet.  We have started to look for an additional meeting place.  Though we are thankful for the place at the college, and will not abandon it.  But it is becoming apparent we have an ever increasing need for our own place.  Three objectives of this additional meeting place are:  1) A place that can be used to meet with others at any time, with a family feel. 2) A place for some of our current co-workers to live and manage the property on a daily basis. 3) A place for visiting short-term groups to base their operations.  We’re thinking about the future.  Pray for the Lord to make this clear.  We are waiting on Him to provide in His way.

The Chuang Hua group will start the Discipleship 2 study sometime this year.  It has been translated and I hope they will be instrumental in its finalization for publication.  Pray for these individuals that they will continue to help others see the need of this type of ministry in their local churches.  They are already reaching out to friends and church members with the ministry.

Jerald and his family continue to increase their activities centered around this small group.  His daughter Jamie, has a great ability to translate and I hope she will be instrumental in the final proofing of the Discipleship 2 material.  Pray for her involvement.

Now we begin the summer camp preparations.  I am excited to see some new opportunities emerging from our partnership with the Lisa and the college.  Again, we will have two camps:  American Life (Family) and American Life (Campus).

American Life (Family) will be at the same place but we will be celebrating three new holidays:  1) Halloween, 2) New Years and 3) Memorial Day.  We are planning on nearly 60 college students participating.  It looks as though there could be close to 30 visiting Americans.

American Life (Campus) may have a twist.  We may have visiting college students from Mainland China.  Go figure.  Pray for the physical and spiritual preparations.

Here we go again.  No more room at the bottom of the page.  I will be giving you more on all of these areas over the coming months.  Keep in touch with up-to-date Praises and Prayers at our website www.team4twn.com.   Sorry for just a snap shot, get in touch with us by calling (816) 394-9853.  Remember the time difference.  You guys are 14 hours behind us.  Oh ya, did I say SKYPE?  team4twn is my id.  or marc4twn for Jami

Dear TEAM Members;

Well, spring time has faded away this week and the cold air from mainland China is upon us.  I enjoy this time of year.  The change in weather is a great relief from the humidity and heat.  Jami has returned.  It has been a long two months without her, but the Lord has used this time to teach me a lot about myself and how he sees us as His children.  Lately, I have been greatly dependent upon Him and perhaps it is why we are seeing many opportunities open up to us.

Chinese classes have finished for two weeks and I have been promoted to the second level of the language courses at Feng Chai University.  I am excited about the next three months.  My proficiency in the written language has increased tremendously over the last three months.  I am excited to see how the Lord can use this in my life in His ministry.  Pray for my continued goal – able to read the entire Chinese Bible in Mandarin.  Continue to pray for my ability to retain the ever increasing number of Chinese characters.

On the ministry side of things, we have started the English Bible Study (EBS) time at NTIT College. Our first Sunday night 11/13 included 6+ leaders and almost 20 participants.  Last week we had some of the college non-believing teachers come and check us out.  Glennda (Southern Baptist Missionary with a heart for college kids and discipleship) and I are working out the structure of this Sunday night group.

As I told you before, the time of the ESL Bible Corner is Sunday night from 6:30 to 9:00 P.M.  We have committed teachers who will be participating in positions where they feel lead.  We have allocated these teachers into three areas of mentoring.  The first level is the use of different Bible Study methods for those who are non-believers or just want to attend a Bible study.  The second level is for those who want to make a stronger commitment to their walk with Christ.  They consist of two six-week series.     The third level is personal discipleship where we will encourage those who have been trained through our material to turn around and train another.  2 Timothy 2:2.

In the first level, Glennda has supplied Bible study material that is easily adaptable depending on the English ability of those who want to attend.  They are a collection of basic Christian topics that the leader can adapt for his/her own personal situation.  We have obtained a small library space in the classroom provided by Lisa and will store our material at the school.  We had four new visitors last week and I am excited to see how the Lord will use this ministry.

The second level which is currently being administered by Glennda has a consistent group of about five participants.  She uses this time to bring those who are searching for more truth through two detailed series on Christianity and Discipleship.  She will finish the second series by the end of December and will encourage those to take the next step, personal discipleship.

At the third level, I continue to mentor two young men.  One young man is Fisher.  He is from another area college.  I met him last June while I was helping at the church with no pastor.  He now attends David Loveland’s church and has been faithfully meeting 3-4 times a month.  Another young man, Stan, was an individual Clayton Rookstool spent time with over the summer.  I had the privilege to lead him to Christ this September and continue to work with him.   The three of us meet as a group.  Pray for our time together, that it will be pleasing to the Lord.  Another young man has shown up for the past two weeks.  His name is Paul.  He has also started the mentoring process.  Kyle, another believer who part-times as an English teacher, continues to work with an exchange student from Macao.  Candy, from the summer camps also is working with a new person.

It doesn’t stop there.  The teachers who are helping have now started to meet every two weeks for fellowship, prayer and to discuss different ways of using the material we have.  We also discuss issues we are having in our lives as well as with those we are working with.

As always there is never enough room to write about everything the Lord is doing.  You can catch me on SKYPE whenever you want (TEAM4TWN).  Remember the time difference and be praying for us

Well it is time for a TEAM Meeting update letter.   Three areas of concern are:  the  home front, the college front and the Ministry front.  Jami will be returning at the end of November.  She is well appreciated and missed.  It has been a good time for bonding with Abbey.  Frankly though, I am ready for a break.  Pray for our last month, it has been an eye opener for me.  Praise the Lord for the time.

Language classes continue at Feng Chia University.  It has been thought-provoking to say the least.  It is also very important for my continuing written language development.  Eight weeks so far and well over 300 characters learned.  How many words this equates to I have no idea.  I think I am coming close to one thousand.  Pray for me in this area.  My grades so far are excellent.  I will be starting the next level in December.  The Lord has provided the tuition fees through my part-time work on campus.  The Lord is faithful.  This will increase my Chinese character load  tremendously.  Pray for my ability to retain the ever increasing Chinese characters.  I have no problem recognizing new characters; the real burden is to remember how to write them.  Help me Lord.

On the ministry side of things, we continue to work with college kids at two area colleges.

At NTIT (The technical college) things are progressing quit rapidly.  November 13^th, we will be moving the Sunday night SYME mentoring small group to a NTIT campus classroom.  This location is centrally located between all campuses we are working with.  It will provide easier access for all student who participate.  It has been a blessing to have a solid Christian woman as Dean of the English department.  She has provided us with the access.  The time of the ESL Bible Corner is from 6:30 to 9:00 P.M.

We will now have an established group consisting of students, English teachers, and missionaries prepared to further equip students at all different levels. Though leadership attendance fluctuates, there is a solid core TEAM forming.  Pray for their consistency.

At the same time, Glennda, a likeminded missionary I spoke of in the last letter, will be moving her Sunday night Bible study group from her office to the same classroom.

We are trying to create a time and one concentrated environment where 1). Seekers can learn more about Christ lead by solid leaders in an environment where they can be challenged to grow.
2). Provide basic mentoring small groups for those who wish to strengthen their relationship with God and prepare themselves for mentoring others. Be praying for this transition.

November 19^th and December 10^th we will be starting to reach out to our friends who came for the Summer ESL camps as well as other who hear of us and what we are doing.  These two Saturday nights will be a game night outreach used to create relationships.  English is a large draw for students, and I can honestly say, it has been through English that we have had an impact.

We now have a structure with support to handle any interest student may have concerning the Bible in the future.  We are also talking about a Christmas outreach.  Pray for our planning and participation.

Though I am not directly participating at NTCU (The teachers college) as a Bible Study leader, I am still involved with the ESL Corner each week.  The Tuesday Bible study at last count was around 10 people.  It is going well.  After the coming move, when things become more stable, we will invite those who wish to attend the Sunday night time.

Keep all of this in your prayers.  This is the next step in our preparation for equipping believers in an area where it has not been happening as much as we would like.  Praise the Lord

Enjoy the meeting this month; keep us in mind each day.  Give Jami a hug when you see her.

I am sure missing my wife.  Continue to pray for Jami as she takes care of grandma during her bought with pancreatic cancer.  They have given her 6 months or less to live.  She is a believer and at age 90 is ready to go.  But as we all know, the unknown is kind of unsettling and out right frightening.  Pray for strength for Jami, as well as patience through the tough time.  Pray for me also, as I juggle the Mom, Dad, Missionary and student duties while Jami is in the states.

Last letter I asked you all to be praying for two outreaches to area colleges.  I often find out my plans are not always God’s.  I have a presence at one college (NTCU) as an English corner teacher, but there has been no interest in a second Bible study at the college.  Two teacher are presently conducting a Tuesday Bible study, let our prayers be with them.  I am ready for any new believer who has a desire to strengthen their relationship with God through the mentoring process.

At the other campus (NTIT) things are going very well.  I have teamed up with Glenda, a southern Baptist missionary who has been in Taiwan for over 26 years.  Just this week, we had two new seekers attend the Bible study.  Glenda is also associated with a Baptist Church near the campus.  She sees the need for the mentoring ministry in her church and offered to set up a meeting with her Pastor.  Last week I had an opportunity to share the discipleship ministry with the National Pastor of that church.  The meeting went well and I am praying that they will see the need to this ministry to be part of their whole church strategy.  They will contact me within a month for further insight into the ministry.  Be praying for an open door.  Also, their church is close to all the outreach campuses.  Is this an answer to prayer?

Our Sunday night bible study at SYME has turned into a kind of mentoring training group.
It continues to flourish.  We now have some involvement from two young SYME interns.  One of the young men has started to disciple a young student who was lead to Christ a month ago.  The other young man will start working with some students this week.  Pray for these two young men, though they do not speak the language, their presence as young people has a direct influence.  Pray for the two young men’s growing interest in the discipleship process.

Language classes are going well.  I lot of work, but well satisfying and profitable to the ministry.  Please continue praying for me in this area.

In our local church in Liu Bau, I continue to meet mentor a young man.  We have changed to every two weeks and it is going well.  He is becoming a good friend and is very helpful.  I really think the Lord will use him to lead the younger kids.  The leaders of the youth ministry, older teens, have caught the vision of allowing the youth to minister to their own group.  Praise the Lord

Talk to you next month.

It’s the beginning of another school year already.  We are looking forward to the cool weather, but more importantly, we want to give you a heads up concerning our upcoming activities this fall.  The areas of interest are our outreaches to area colleges, churches and  families.  Be praying for these specific opportunities.

First, I will be on two campuses providing English Bible Studies in addition to teaching several English Classes.  We have about 10 Tent makers who are willing to donate time and effort to provide times in which students, including those who attended the 2011 Summer Camps, can come and learn more about American culture through simple Bible Studies.  My involvement in area colleges will also help me start to lay the foundation for recruiting students for the 2012 American Life Camps next year.

Second, as students become more interested in the Word of God, they will be encouraged to attend small groups where we will be presenting Mentoring materials either for evangelism or spiritual growth.  I have already started a men’s Bible study.  Currently, there are about four
or five male students interested in learning more about Christianity.  These men have come from many different areas.  Some students were students at SYME, while others come from campuses and through acquaintances.  We meet at either a local restaurant or at the SYME office.  Pray for a consistent place to meet.

Third, I will be attending language classes at an area college that is different from our Bible Study colleges.  My goal is simple; I want to finish the language process by mastering the written language.  Though I have the ability to read mandarin a little, I want to make it my life style.
I want to completely switch over to mandarin completely in order to better communicate principles, as well as, to be able to utilize already translated material without the help of phonetic aids and a computer.  This will enable me to work better with non-English speakers more clearly.  This course is a two year commitment where I will master over 8000 Chinese characters.  This is more than enough to read in most everyday texts.  I will also know how to write all these characters.  I do not take this lightly, it is imperative to complete.  At the end of the course, I will take the Chinese version of an English proficiency.  Please be praying for me in this area.  It is my strongest area of learning, but time, a lot of time, is needed to practice.  Pray for the right amount of time in all areas.  Pray for a balance in ministry and the ability to remember all of these characters.  Pray that I find the right method for character retentions.

Fourth, in our local church Liu Bau, I have started to mentor the older youth ministry leaders and encouraging them to change the way they administer their ministry.   We are encouraging the students, with adult participation to plan and lead their own small groups.  This will be a yearlong project, but SYME has been very influential in our endeavors.

Finally, be praying for our family.  Jami will be returning for two months to help with her grandma.  Her grandma currently has cancer and will be leaving to be with the Lord soon.  The complication is her grandma takes care of her aunt, who is not able to take care of herself.  Abbey and I will remain in Taiwan, pray for simplicity in our day to day lives.  Pray for quality time together and in ministry.  Pray for Jami as she deals with family issues that I personally have never had to deal with.

A month went by quickly.  I want to give you a brief update concerning July’s activities.  I also want to give you an idea what is going to happen in th near future to get you all praying concisely for us.

As you all ready know, Clayton and Travis have spent the last three months checking things out and helping us.  Do to their envolvement as well as Jesse Hamliton’s, recruiting for summer camps went well.  We had our biggest year ever.  We had two camps.  Each camp had over 60 college students enrolled.  The first was the “American Life” camp from July 4 through the 7 and

the second was the “NTIT ESL” camp from July 11 thru the 14.  Because of the participation of KCBT members as well as some individuals from E3L ministries, I can not begin to list the
entire “God given moments”.  There were many given, even the visiting kids were used by the Lord.

What does this mean for us.  In the past I have tried to partner with local churches to follow-up with these students.  We have also tried to direct these students to various churches but have not been as fruitful as we would have liked.  This year our strategy will be three fold.  Check out the Opportunities page on our website for further explaination.  But keeping it simple, the Lord has been bringing together many foreign Teachers as well as some strong bi-lingual Taiwanese who have shown an interest in starting lunch time Bible studies on two campuses where we recruited over 120 students for the camps and have a strong relationship with the administrators.  Also, there are those interested in working with New Believers in small accountability groups in the evenings which will be formed from the New Believers coming out of the Bible studies.  Finally, we will be asking the Lord for a place to bring all these students together to clelbrate in the Lord.  What this looks like at this moment is not clear, but I am confident that the lord will show us His plan.

Now what can you all be doing over there?  Be praying for us as we continue to follow the lord as He manifests His plan for us.  Also pray for next years outreaches.  We need your help.  We are already planning next year’s summer camps the first two week of July 2012.  I will be sending more information concerning this ministry later this month.   Perhaps this might be a good time to begin asking how God would like for you to help in our ministries next year.