February 2004

God’s Children
Before the Taya Bible Baptist Church actually started holding services, we held a summer VBS in our apartment complex. Steven Lin (Lin Pei-hsuan), one of the children saved that week, has been faithful in attending church since that time nine years ago. This month we were excited to see him follow the Lord in baptism. Additionally, his mother made a decision to trust in the Lord but has not yet started attending church. This leaves only his younger brother, Sean, who faithfully attends the youth meeting and his father who are still unsaved.

Last summer we told you about Jason Jo who prayed to trust in Christ and wanted his brother to be saved, too. Well, praise the Lord for answered prayer! Richard (Jo Yu-hsi), Jason’s younger brother, accepted Christ as His Savior after a special Winter Vacation Children’s Bible Class. Their mother has a Catholic background but has expressed some interest in spiritual things while their dad stays very busy with his job as a teacher. Please pray for both of these families; it would be wonderful to see an entire family saved and following the Lord!

The Year of the Monkey
Chinese New Year has many traditions most of which are based on idol worship and superstitions. For instance, according to Buddhist tradition this is the year of the monkey and so there are pictures and representations of monkeys everywhere for good luck and fortune. Because of this it is often difficult to enjoy this time of year; however, at Lighthouse Baptist, we celebrated with a Chinese “hot pot” meal and fellowship. Although our church is still small and growing, it was a blessing to hear those who have been saved and baptized over these few years give testimonies of the work of God in their lives. Members from each age level expressed their love for the Lord through testimonies and special music.

We have also been sharing our vision and goals for the church in this new year and challenging our people to go forward. At the same time we have seen Satan fighting and trying to discourage not only through cults and false doctrine but also with some internal strife and improper attitudes between Christians. Please pray for our folks to have spiritual wisdom for discernment and a love for the Lord and His work as well as for fellow Christians.

May the Lord continue to bless you and give you fruit for your faithfulness!