The Father's Love

On the last day of the Kaoshiung CI, I asked God to show me His love. I wanted to see His love in a new way. I wanted to feel theoverwhelming joy of His love. I knew if I asked Him to show me He would. I was excited to see the way in which He desired to love me that day. After my prayer, I went about my day nearly forgetting about my request. As the end of the day drew near, I felt the prompting of God to share my journey to freedom with my kids. I didn't want to. I thought sharing the story of Christ would be more powerful than the story of my life, but I decided to obey His voice.

Who should I take a picture of?

As I began to share, I felt Christ use my mouth to speak to the children. When I finished sharing, all the children were wide eyed. A few of them were even in tears. A handful of them prayed to receive Christ as their Lord. Once I was finished, my assistant took the children to the next event and I stayed back to talk to one girl. This little girl looked petrified. She told me she was afraid she was sinking into a pit without God. I shared with her the hope and freedom Christ gives. I then asked her if she wanted this freedom. She eagerly said yes and we then prayed. As soon as we finished, the fear vanished from her eyes and a laugh escaped her mouth. The girl was free! I have never seen that dramatic of a transformation. It was the most beautiful thing.

At the end of the night, God reminded me of my prayer. Tears whelmed in my eyes as I realized God had used little me to bring freedom to multiple people in on night. It was at that moment that I felt the power if His love. The answer to my simple prayer has left my heart full of joy. Please be in prayer for the team as we rest in beautiful Haulian and celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow. Also, please pray for my children who received Christ. Taiwan is a very dark country, and they can easily be led away from their new relationship with Christ.

Grace Lukachick

God Is Faithful

Today we finished the Kaohsiung CI! I just joined the CI team this week, and because I had little time to prepare, today was filled with last-minute prayers of desperation, because I didn't know what to teach, and God's ever-faithful, always incredible provision. For example, I was cutting out crafts up until the very last minute before lunch, and I still had no idea how to teach the very first small group lesson on Ownership. On the way to lunch, an idea popped into my head and I could hardly eat fast enough! A wordless book, stenciled on the back so that I could cut out the shape of a person as my translator and I crammed the story of creation, the fall, Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and our salvation into a few simple sentences while cutting out the man and turning the pages. The kids listened, spellbound, and I was hardly less amazed at the lesson that God was literally giving to me as fast as we could teach it.

Parent Presentation for the Kaohsiung seminar

Throughout the day, my team kept losing people. We started children three short due to families beginning early Chinese New Year celebrations. Another child was moved to a different team, and then my assistant was needed on yet another team to replace a teacher who became sick at the last minute. As I watched the team dwindle, my first response was to ask "God, is this my fault? Are you taking people away because I'm not right with you or something?" But as we continued to teach our kids God gave me a peace that He was putting each person where they needed to be, to hear what He wanted them to hear. Even when my translator or I were called away and the team was left with only one adult to work with ten kids, every circumstance continued to work perfectly with the timing and the lessons. God can work with anything and anyone, never doubt it!

My great mosquito hunters!

After the kids finished the presentation for the parents of what they had learned, I had my team back in our station, and the children were all going absolutely crazy. It was the last small group lesson, and I had been trying to prepare for it all day, but could not come up with any ideas. The topic was "success," the craft was a jewel, and I was clueless. So, (praying continually!) we called the team to order and I said the first thing that came into my head. "Who was the most successful man in the Bible?" Without any preparation beforehand, I found myself telling the story of Job from a perspective that I had never before considered, and tying it in with the truth from Jeremiah: "let the one who glories, glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, the living God." The kids listened. They really listened. And once again I stand in awe at God's perfect, timely provision for even the simplest requests. Please pray for the team, that we will stay at Jesus' feet and remember to wait on our God for every word, every thought, and every need. We praise Him, because He is faithful. Thank you Jesus!

Kelli Davis

From Student To Teacher

Parent Presentation for the Taipei Children's Institute

When I was a little boy I participated in Children's Institute and really enjoyed it. As I got older, I didn't really know why I enjoyed CI so much. I couldn't figure it out. But having been able to work with CI again this year, for the first time in many years, I have finally realized why I enjoyed it so much. It's because here the atmosphere is full of love.

Innocent children come here to learn. The teachers have a great responsibility, and always do their very best to help the kids understand the principles that are taught. But so many things are not in our control. One second, a child will be smiling at you, the next time you look, they are in tears. It's always hard working with children, because there are so many problem we as teachers and leaders have to deal with. But thank God, He is always there to help us understand and give us wisdom to solve each issue that arises. Through working with the CI team this year, I learned once again how important it is to be resilient and flexible.

I thank God that he put such a cute group of kids on my team this last week. Please keep them in your prayers, that the seeds that were planted in their hearts while here at CI will continue to grow. Also, we had some amazing testimonies of at least 6 kids giving their lives to Jesus at the seminar in Taipei, so please pray for them as well, that they will begin to learn more what it means to be like Jesus. Finally, Kaohsiung's seminar is beginning tomorrow, and will be a whirlwind seminar, so please for the the teachers and assistants, that God will give them enough strength, wisdom, and creativity to make it another successful week.

Tony Huang

Are You Thankful?

What a special privilege it is to spend a month focusing on the blessings of God! The stories, songs, and lessons we are teaching are all centered around this life changing truth: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…" ~Ephesians 1:3

Some of the blessings in my life

As I have prepared to teach each lesson, I have been personally challenged to be more mindful and aware of the blessings of God in my life. In the day-to-day busyness of life and in the confusion of discouragement, I am often quick to lose sight of my Father's countless blessings. The time I have spent here in Taiwan has opened my eyes to see God's blessings all around me. It is incredibly special to no longer notice good things, but rather to notice blessings for which I can say "Thank you, Father!"

Don't we all just love skits?

In addition to recognizing physical blessings like the children at each conference, the 2014 CI ministry team, the beautiful weather, and the new adventures and opportunities, I have a renewed joy in recognizing spiritual blessings. The Bible is full of truth that reveals God's blessings. One that I have been meditating on this week is Psalm 91:14-16 "Because I hold fast to the Lord in love, He will deliver me; He will protect me, because I know His name. When I call to Him, He will answer me; He will be with me in trouble; He will rescue me and honor me. With long life He will satisfy me and show me His salvation."

Thank you for your continued prayer support for our team. Today, if you can pray that we will each grow in our relationship with Christ as we learn to see His blessings and to thank Him for them. May our lives be testimonies of His love and truth.

Bethany Bergeron

A Personal Perspective

Dear everyone,

Our amazing Taipei CI team

I just want to take a few minutes to tell you about how things are going for me here. This is my first time teaching in a Children's Institute.
When I heard about the opportunity to teach this week, I was so excited. I have been teaching English here in Taiwan for almost two and a half years, and this was one of my vacation weeks, so I was happy I could take the time to live for God instead of myself. I didn’t know what exactly went on during a CI, but I had a vague idea after listening to a friend who taught in Taichung last week. He said it was challenging but definitely a rewarding experience. I do best when I am given clear and concise instruction, and when I am shown step-by-step what exactly to do in every particular situation. I didn’t know what to expect as far as teaching, but I thought that they might have me helping out with a few crafts or doing a skit to entertain the kids.

Tim and Yvonne acting

When I arrived they told me that I was the lead teacher, that I would be working with a couple of translators that I had never met before, and I had an hour or two to prepare my first lesson.
In my mind I knew this was an opportunity to respond in a Christ-like manner and show the character quality of flexibility, but in my heart I just wanted to give up and go home. I am known for not working well with people when I am stressed. I didn't want to hurt others with a bad attitude or by giving up so I decided to give it a try, at least for the first night. However, I was already feeling my stress levels rising as I tried to imagine how I would teach the two principles for the first night, faith and design. I didn't know how many children I would be teaching and I didn't know how old they would be, so I began to worry that whatever I did plan was going to flop. But I decided to try and do my best, and with God’s help that is what I did.

Now, about two days later, I am looking back and thinking about how silly I was for stressing out with these thoughts. The first night went fine, thanks in no small part to my two wonderful interpreters. The Lord blessed our class with eight children and even though there was a big age gap between the kids, they all seemed to grasp what I was teaching. I felt the excitement of teaching and sharing with little kids come back to me once again as the first night flew by. The second night was much of the same, although we actually had time to get most of our crafts finished!
I know that there are still some challenges ahead as we will have less time to prepare and more to do, but I want you all to know that I am really enjoying working here to teach good character to these children and I am so glad to be a part of this group of Christians who are taking their free time to serve God this year at the Taiwan Children’s Institute.

Please continue to keep in prayer health for the whole team. There are several people who are feeling somewhat under the weather, and although no one is seriously sick, we would all appreciate prayers that everything stays that way, and no one gets any worse.

Tim Piotrowciz

The Potter And The Clay

A fun night at the market!

Since this is the first time I have ever worked with CI, I have really enjoyed getting to interact with so many children from various corners in Taiwan. Not only that, but I have also gotten to meet many interpreters and teachers from various corners of the world! Indeed, last Thursday while teaching at the CI in Taichung, I had one of the best experiences of my entire life.

I was acting in a story/skit about a broken pot, in which I was the potter. The story talks about how a lump of clay dreamed of being transforming into a beautiful vase. After the potter found the lump of clay by a stream one day, he made the lump of clay into just a plain flowerpot. This made the clay very sad, because it would never be admired by everyone for it's beauty. The clay felt so rejected, because it was passed over by everyone who came to buy from the potter. One day, however, the bible character Gideon came and bought the pot. He used that pot to cover his torch on the night he attacked the Midianites, and ultimately brought victory for Israel. That night, the clay learned an important lesson about suffering.

Skits with Tim are never boring:-)

Sometimes God will take us through many struggles and trials in our life, but there is a specific purpose God has for each of us. There are no mistakes with God, and the least significant things or people are usually the ones who are willing to be used for the greatest victory. Even though my acting was imperfect and kind of embarrassing at times, God showed me through this skit that he has reason for all the suffering that we go through in our lives.

Thank you all for your prayers as we continue this journey. It has been a life changing trip for many of us so far, and there is still so much left! As we look forward in the rest of the trip, please join with us now in prayer for the Hong Kong seminars and Children's Institute. Even though it is still several weeks away, it is a special conference because we will be reaching a new audience that has not attended the seminars before. So we are praying that God will begin even now to prepare our hearts and the hearts of those coming so that God can change peoples lives drastically for the better!

Cher Zhao

Why Me?

“I have taken you from the end of the earth and called You from its most distant place. I said to you, ‘You are my servant. I’ve chosen you; I haven’t rejected you. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. Don’t be intimidated; I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will support you with my victorious right hand. ...Don’t be afraid; I will help you’.”

~Isaiah 41:9-10, 13b

When I was first asked to come back to Taiwan to help teach in the CI's this year, I was so excited. I saw God provide all the finances and open all the doors for me to come! I was so excited!!! I know I already said that, but I wanted to emphasize it a little bit more :-) Unfortunately, I got sick before I even arrived, and was sick for the entire first conference, which wasn't what I had planned at all. I came to Taiwan to help serve and teach… then I ended up having to stay in bed for a couple of days feeling miserable. (The jet lag didn't help at all) I felt like such a failure, a burden, and a let down. I was at a loss as to why I was here. I still don't know why the Lord let it happen. Perhaps it was just a lesson for me to let people take care of me for awhile, and that is hard for me to do. To say the least, it was quite humbling. While I was resting and trying to get better I received A TON of texts/messages, emails, and videos from my family and friends encouraging me and pointing my heart back to God and the bigger picture! His plan. This has definitely been another point in my life where I am learning to surrender all to His will and plan.

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  ~Isaiah 40: 30,31

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here and I am looking forward to seeing how God will use this trip to work in the lives of people here in Taiwan, on this team and in my own life! Praise the Lord I am on the mend from being so sick, and as I continue to get better, please pray that God keeps everyone else on the trip in good health. Also, please continue to pray for wisdom and creativity while teaching and sharing Christ's love with the children this week while we are teaching in Taipei.

Lillie Elliott

To Plan Or Not To Plan...

Having completed the CI here in Taichung, it is fascinating to look back over the last few days and see the things that God has done. It has been a stressful conference for me this past week, because I am a person who likes to prepare everything in advance. Unfortunately, with this being the first conference for the year, everything was a bit crazy, so there were many things that were initially overlooked. We had crafts that weren't prepared, lesson plans that weren't perfected, and some kids who weren't exactly angels:)

However, through all these struggles, God taught me a major lesson this week. It is the lesson of trust. In each moment when I didn't feel prepared or was frustrated with the way things were going, God was preparing my heart to understand His plan better. There were many times when I felt like everything was going wrong, and I didn't know how I would keep going. But then I read this verse in Isaiah 40:29, "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength." This verse gave me hope that God is always by my side. He knows me better than I know myself, and he is powerful enough to solve any problems that come my way.

Now that we have one week under our belt, please be praying for each of us teachers, that God will take the lessons that we have learned this week and continue to build on them in the coming weeks. We are excited about the upcoming weeks, but we need God's grace to continue.

Joyce Hsu

Do You Have Faith Like A Centurion?

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself." 2 Timothy 2:13

The story of the centurion with a sick servant who asked Jesus to heal with only His word has been a story that I've reflected and meditated on quite a bit over the years. Jesus often commented on the amount of faith in those who asked for a healing work, but the centurion is one who Jesus specifically pointed out and used to rebuke the lack of faith in many Israelites.

What made the centurion different? I have a theory. The people of Israel wanted Jesus to constantly prove He was the Christ. They discussed the fulfillment of prophecy in His life and noted each of His works. However, the people we find Jesus helping, and noting their faith, are not the wise and noteworthy. Many were poor beggars and hopeless cripples, and many were not Israelites. But one thing they almost all did was ask to be healed. I don't think its simply a matter of asking, but asking in faith knowing that He can and wants to answer. Both of these are a part of faith.

This is where I struggle most. I think if I can work up enough faith, I can force God to move on my behalf. But I've got it all wrong. God is already on my side. Look at 2 Timothy 2! God never changes. How do I doubt His goodness? He cannot be unfaithful. On that rock, all the waves of doubt may crash and fade away, for He will not be changed. He can make this faithless heart filled with the faith that is His very self. As we finish up the last day of the CI here in Taichung tomorrow, please pray that we will know our God and will not be afraid to make him known to those around us.

Anna Lukachick

Blessings

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts than your thoughts." ~Isaiah 55:8-9

Teacher training with Tim Chen

I love those verses - they very aptly describe the tale of how I came to be here, writing this ... from Taiwan! (I still slightly freak out every time I type that:) Each morning, since arriving here, I have woken up with such a wonderful yet overwhelmed feeling, a feeling that I have been and am so very blessed beyond measure. I can't even describe how thrilled and privileged I am to be a part of this team and a part of this work.

The theme of the CI's this year is centered around the Blessings of God. During our introduction and orientation as teachers, we were each encouraged to spend some time alone with the Lord, and examine what the word 'blessing' means to us, personally. I was again overwhelmed by what the Lord spoke to my heart during that time. I tried to write it all down, but the thoughts were coming too fast and the pages were running too short!

Don't we just love jet lag?

So, what is a 'blessing' to me? As I thought about this, I was reminded of the song Blessings, by Laura Story. This is a song that the Lord has used to powerfully impact my life. In the chorus, it begins "What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? And what if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?" Well, that broadens the category a bit, doesn't it? Going from thinking of 'blessings' as something that's nice, soft, and fluffy, to something that could be hard, uncomfortable, unpleasant, inconvenient (sounds a little like jet lag ;), I came to realize that our response to a situation or circumstance or person is what determines the 'blessing'.

A 'blessing' is anything that draws me closer to my Savior and that causes His will for my life to be accomplished  - resulting in the praise and furtherance of His matchless name. By that definition, anything has the potential to be a blessing! With that, I can sincerely say that God has used jet lag as a blessing in my life, because it has been a helpful remembrance of the fact that in my flesh, I can't do anything. But rather, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Thank y'all for lifting us up in your prayers - they are strongly felt and deeply appreciated. Please pray that we would have creativity with presenting the lessons and holding the kids attention! A good percentage of us have brains that are half-sleeping (thanks to that wonderful jet lag). Because of that, our creativity is half-sleeping as well ;) Also, pray that we'd have matching energy to keep up with the kids.

Sophia Fredrickson

Day 2 - Taichung

Singing with David Lukachick during group devotions

Well, we've only been here for one day and I can already tell that God has an amazing plan to accomplish through us. I'm so excited to be working with this amazing group of people that God has brought together to carry out His will.

We arrived safely and got to the hotel in Taichung late Wednesday night. Thursday was a fantastic first day! We had a group devotion time in the morning. I won't go into detail, but if you get the chance, look up Ephesians 1:1-14. I can guarantee you won't regret it :-)

The rest of the day was pretty easygoing. The evening was spent in teacher's training, which was very helpful, especially in understanding the cross cultural interaction. Tonight will be our first night of the Children's Institute, so please be praying that the whole team will all be in one accord and that God will be able to accomplish His will through us.

Aminda Rodgers

We are Here!

We are finally here in Taichung, Taiwan! It was an adventure getting here, and definitely a time of firsts for me. My first 13 hour plane ride, my first time out of the USA, and my first time through customs! In Chicago I met up with three other girls on my team. From there, we flew to Tokyo, Japan, and then on to Taipei, Taiwan. On the long trip over, we each shared how God had allowed us to come on the trip. Listening to the other girls' stories of how God had worked out for them to come and the miracles that He performed was awesome! God clearly meant for all of us to be here.

My own story of how I was able to come on this trip shows God's goodness. I found out a month before the trip started that I had been accepted. My family and I were excited, but scared - how were we going to raise the money for the trip? I tried to believe that God would provide, but it was hard sometimes. In the end, God abundantly provided! He kept pouring forth His provision through my friends and church family. If God wants something to happen, no barrier is too big.

Thank you for your prayers as we begin this trip. As you pray, please keep the entire team lifted up in prayer as we go into our first seminar here in Taiwan tomorrow. Between the jet lag, the language barrier, and working with a brand new team, the challenges are many, but God is greater.

Victoria Suich

The Beginning of a New Journey

The official CI season here in Taiwan has finally begun once again, and we are looking forward to another great trip. Already the staff have been hard at work, preparing and packing, making lists and checking them twice. Many people don’t realize the weeks and months of preparation that go into these trips. The staff here at IBLP Taiwan who make these trips happen are truly superheroes in God’s kingdom for their faithfulness and constant willingness to do what’s needed and then go the extra mile. I am truly honored to work with this amazing team.

As we finish up the millions of little details before we hit the road, I would like to ask for two specific prayer requests. One is for the rest of the team, who will be flying over to meet us Tuesday. Please pray that as they travel, they will be protected from physical harm as well as spiritual attacks from the devil. Also, please pray for the staff that are already here preparing. Traveling with a group this size to so many different locations can be a nightmare logistically, so please pray that no details will be overlooked, but that everyone will have clear minds and alert eyes to make sure that everything is prepared for and all the bases are covered.

I am looking forward to an awesome trip and can’t wait to see what God has in store for the next 4 weeks. Please join us on the trip this year via this blog. We will be regularly posting updates as well as prayer requests, so that you can virtually join us! So jump on, and lets go for a ride.

Samuel Roberts