We thought today would be a little bit slower since we didn't have to get up quite so early, but we were wrong - and thankful. We did get up later than usual and went down past the school to a well known market where on Saturday's they sell all kinds of Jade and other precious stones and jewels. Jade is one of Taiwan's special exports. Before going into the market, we went to a large temple where idolatry and ancestor worship is practiced. We had three of our Chinese friends with us and Glennda to help explain what was going on as this is a very active temple with worshippers coming and going all the time. It is hard to convey what the experience is actually like, but it helps put into perspective why we are here. Because the people are living in darkness, their eyes are blinded by the gods of this world. All kinds of people, young and old, moms and dads, grandparents were there, buying "hell" money which they burn in these large furnaces to send to their dead relatives. They were bringing offerings of fruit and flowers to leave on the altars for a short time so the "ghosts" could eat - after which they would take them home to actually eat them. The foolishness was so apparent to us, but it was like watching zombies perform vain acts they had no control over. The area behind the altar had a plethora of demonic looking gods and the smell of incense was so thick there was no place to escape, even down the street it was still in the air. It reminded me of why we give so generously to missions and why we go so often on mission trips and why we pray fervently for our missionaries. Because there are millions if not billions of people who live in darkness and who will die under God's judgment for their sin. These people need to hear the Gospel and there are so few here to tell them. - on a side note, the mormons are not losing any time, every street we go down, we run into mormon missionaries.
After spending some time in the Jade market, we headed back towards the apartments and stopped at Subway for lunch. It was a nice break from a lot of chopsticks and rice. And yes, it's pretty much the same as at home.
We had about an hour back at home before we left for our afternoon at GanEn church for their monthly outreach. We didn't really know what to expect, but our expectations were far too low. We arrived about 3:30 to maybe 10 people and by about 5:00 p.m., there were about 100 people there of all ages, but mostly teenagers and college students. We had a great time playing basketball and talking with them. And then we sang - for probably 3 hours, broken up by a short dinner. It was wonderful. I will be so glad when we get to heaven and the language barrier is finally and fully broken, but singing worship together in multiple languages is about as close on earth as we'll get before then. It was an incredible time for all of us.
Parents - let me just say on a side note, how proud you should be of all your kids. Carol, Larry and I have talked about and been told by others how mature, engaged, well behaved and spiritually sensitive this group of students is. They are on task and are having a great time together. They love each other and they love others. They love Jesus and they are talking about Him. Pray hard for them - this week will get tougher, and I'm sure the enemy is not going to leave us alone, but they are doing great!!!
From the far side.
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