Tales from Taiwan #21

By -

Dear Sisters,

Should I go or not?  It was getting later in the day and I was running behind schedule.  By the time I would arrive at the village, I’d have an hour or less to spend with the kids.  I weighed my options.  Should I put it off until another week?  Then I remembered the muffins I had baked.  They wouldn’t stay fresh until next week.  So I quickly packed my bags and, praying, set off for the village. 

As I came to one house where five of my kids live, I called out hello and heard happy voices screaming my name coming from inside the house.  Smiling, I was glad I had come, no matter how brief this visit might be.

This time I didn’t have a Bible story or craft picked out.  I had run out of time, so I only had some small games, a frisbee and blueberry muffins.  On the way over, I prayed that God would continue His work in the hearts of my kiddos here.  I wasn’t sure what that would look like but I know God can do amazing things.

We started out playing Uno.  Two new little boys crept closer and closer until they were sitting right next to me.  I was probably the first white girl they had ever seen in their aboriginal village.  After they got comfortable with me, they joined the game, smiling happily. 

As we were playing, I paused.  The sight before me isn’t something that’s always been common in this village.  I first visited back in Easter 2013 and I’ve seen God do so much in the lives of the kids here.  Seven village boys, ages 4 to 15, sat in a circle with me.  Instead of the fighting that is quite common here, they were smiling and helping each other learn how to play the game.  As I handed out the snack, they smiled and said thank you in English.  We went on to play another game before a fourth grader announced he needed to get home.  As I took them home, one of my seventh graders looked over at me and with a smile, asked me if I believed in Jesus.  I grinned and said “Yes!”

After saying goodbye to all the kids, I headed home, my heart full.  I may not preach a sermon to the village kids but God’s Spirit can reveal truth and work on hearts.  The seeds that past and current volunteers have been planting in the village are starting to take root and grow.  God is on the move in Taiwan!

For Him in Taiwan,
Joanna

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farewell

By -
Image
For over 11 years, Bloom! has existed to spur you on in your journey towards Biblical womanhood.  What started as a big dream in the hearts of three teen girls, turned into an international print magazine and then later turned into a thriving blog.  Our heart has been to go beyond the fluff and dig deep into God’s Word and into how to practically apply that to our daily lives.  If any good has come out of Bloom! , we know it is because God is the one who waters the seeds we plant ( 1 Cor. 3:7 ).  This journey of magazine and blog has spanned for over a decade and what a thrilling and beautiful one it has been.   God has deepened and widened our worldview.   He has given us a deeper understanding of His ways.   He’s brought me (Joanna) through some really hard times and pushed me to write despite the pain .   He’s shown me that although I am nowhere near perfect, He can still use me anyway. One thing He’s been teaching me recently is that sometimes, some chapters mus
Read more

The Art of Spiritual Journaling

By Jessina -
Image
- And we're back! Thanks for your patience while we took a brief hiatus. We're back to posting regularly and we have some exciting new stuff planned for the weeks ahead (including a few book giveaways!), so check back again throughout the week. - Also, a note: if you're a reader and would like your blog added to our sidebar, please leave us a comment or e-mail us. We're hoping to start a list of links on our sidebar of all of our readers' blogs. - - I have never been much of a journaler. I have always been very much a future thinker and would rather write a list of goals rather than recount the events of a past day or flesh out my confusing emotions on paper. But within the past year or two I have been discovering the art of journaling as a spiritual discipline, discovering that journaling has the power to broaden my understanding of God, to help me find the splendor in the ordinary, and to help me see more clearly God's grace at work in my life. - No
Read more

Book Giveaway

By Jessina -
- We're excited to announce that we're having another book giveaway today! Details below . . . - If you'd like to enter to win a copy of A Young Woman's Walk With God by Elizabeth George, please follow these instructions: - 1. Leave a comment on this post and tell us the title of the last book you've read. - 2. By leaving a comment, you'll already be thrown in the batch once, but if you'd like to be thrown in the batch a second time for a greater chance of winning, subscribe to the blog (see button at right) and let us know that you did so in your comment. If you're already subscribed, let us know and we'll add you a second time as well. - 3. And if you'd like to be thrown in the batch a third time, post about the giveaway on your blog and make sure to leave us a link to your post. - That's it! One entry per person, please. Comments will be closed this Sunday at midnight and the winner be announced on Monday. -
Read more