Standing For Life

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise;
 you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.  You hem me in behind and before,
 and you lay your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 
too lofty for me to attain.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
 I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you 
when I was made in the secret place,
 when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book
 before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
 How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them,
 they would outnumber the grains of sand - when I awake, I am still with you.

Hi, my name is Chang, but everybody here calls me little Chang Chang.  I was born just a week ago and my life was saved through Ray Of Hope.  So far I have to say that my life as a newborn baby is really great!  I pretty much just eat whenever I want to, sleep whenever I want to, and poop whenever I want to!  I think that I better enjoy this now because somehow I don't think it'll be this way forever ;)  I also have all these people at Ray Of Hope taking such good care of me - loving me, cuddling me, singing to me, telling me how cute I am, and even changing those poopy diapers that I was telling you about.  As soon as it's possible, I'll be on my way to The Home Of God's Love, the adoption center that partners with ROH and which has placed hundreds of babies in loving adoptive homes.  Then in a little while after that I'll then get to meet my new adoptive mommy and daddy!  I'm so excited, I can't wait!!!

     

Sooo...I think I'm falling in love with this little guy.  Actually, I think everyone is falling in love with this little guy.  Really, how could you not fall in love with this little guy?  He is just one of the many blessings that I have come across while being a part of this great ministry in Taiwan but here I'll tell you a little bit more about the ministry itself as well as how I am helping out. 

Ray Of Hope serves in a few different ways: 

1) To Counsel, Restore, and Serve - as a Crisis Pregnancy Centre.  This involves a 24-hour crisis hotline that women can call if they find out they are pregnant and do not know what to do.  I'm learning so much about the severity of this problem in Taiwan as more and more abortions happen every year.  Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world only 198000 births per year in a country of 23 million people and yet at the same there there are an estimated 500000 abortions per year.  Many women choose abortion because they don't think they have any other choice, some are worried about how their pregnancy will affect their studies, some are pressured by doctors, others are co-erced by their boyfriends, and many others can not live with the shame and guilt they will bring to their families since they are pregnant and not married (unfortunately, this is still the common response that women receive if, and when, they tell their parents and families).  There are so many factors, many of them cultural factors, that influence their decision and so the staff here are very diligent to discuss all of their options with detailed facts and information.  We have a counselor and a social worker that they can talk to about their options and also receive counselling from if they have been abused or had an abortion(s).  We also provide safe and warm homes with live-in counselors for moms to live if they do not have a place to stay while they are pregnant.  The centre then continues to provide assistance for the moms and their families as they make decisions regarding what to do once the baby is born.

The first week that I arrived, I attended ROH's Crisis Pregnancy training classes to learn more since I will be living with the clients.  It was definitely an eye-opener for me and the more I learn the more I want to be able to help these women in need in whatever way I can.   Here I am getting my certificate from Juanita after completing the course.

During the day I work in the office, doing a wide variety of things such as writing emails, making phone calls, and making info packages or DVDs.  It's really busy because we are preparing our big annual event called Stand For Life, which will be taking place in Taipei on October 14th.  We have a lot of staff meetings to plan, organize, and coordinate and there are also a lot of meetings with pastors in order to get the word out and promote the event.  I'm really excited though because I know that God is going to do some great things there - one of my friends will be sharing her testimony of how she had an abortion and how God healed her of the pain, shame, and guilt.  She is now an engaging and confidant woman who has such a beautiful heart to help hurting women.  I'm so proud of her for taking such a huge step to share her story publicly, especially in a culture that for the most part sweeps these stories under the carpet and never talks about them.

Other than the office stuff, I also get to help with taking care of little Chang Chang - all of the staff take turns with feeding him, holding him, and changing his diapers.  Juanita is the greatest because she takes care of Chang Chang during the night but so far she says he's been one of the best sleeping babies she's ever had.  To my mom and to all of my friends who are moms - I really do appreciate all that you do!!!

2) To Educate - teaching purity and the sanctity of life.   ROH runs a program called Worth Waiting For, which is a program based in America which we had permission to translate into Chinese.  The program focuses on teaching sexual purity to youth and young adults in schools, churches, and communities.  There has been a huge interest in the program and it is growing steadily so ROH continually needs to train more and more teachers.  The day that I arrived, ROH completed training 40 new people!  

I haven't had a chance to sit through the classes yet but I will have an opportunity this upcoming weekend.   The Worth Waiting For staff are taking a group of us to an orphanage for a 3 day camp where we will have the opportunity to speak to teenagers in junior high and senior high.  It's so great to be able to share such an important message that has the ability to impact these kids in such a positive way.  I think how many mistakes I could have avoided in my life had I had someone to speak truth and mentor me along the way.  At the same time I'm so thankful that God's grace covers every mistake I've ever made and empowers me to share my testimony to help others avoid going down the same path that I did.  As Christine Caine says, the best people to rescue others are those who have already been rescued themselves.  

3) To Equip and Empower - training women for life.  For most of the women that come to ROH, many will continue to need counseling and assistance after delivering their baby, giving it up for adoption, or having an abortion.  So ROH has started a training program at our Bedwell Mama's home.  The women live there and learn to live independently - buying groceries, doing laundry, cleaning, and cooking for themselves.  You many not think that these are life changing things, but remember that many of our moms are teenagers or young adults and many of them were not taught these things by their parents.  The organization also has a thrift store where the moms work and get paid while learning valuable transferable skills such as time management, handling money, communication, organization, and customer service.  

Up until this week, I was living on the third floor of the Bedwell Mama's home, interacting with these clients every day.  Mostly it's just hanging out, baking or cooking together, going shopping or things like that.  But even in such a short period of time and even with the ongoing challenges that they face, it has been so wonderful to see how this program has helped the moms grow in so many ways, especially after all they have been through.  I'm so proud of them and continue to root for them to succeed in every area of their lives!

So far I have been working with Ray Of Hope for just over three weeks and there has been a lot to learn.  To be honest, in the past I had never thought of or had a strong desire to work with a crisis pregnancy center, or to work with clients who have experienced abuse, or to work with clients who have had abortions.  Pretty much I had zero knowledge and zero  experience in this area so I really didn't know how I was going to be able to help or serve effectively.  Plus I don't read, write, speak or understand Chinese, which is kind of important when you work with people!  But God had a plan and wanted me to be here so I knew He would lead me and guide me.  And that is exactly what He has done.  He has been so faithful in leading me and  teaching me - mostly in how to serve in whatever ways I can and how to show His love to people from all walks of life!

So that's just the Coles notes version of the ministry but if you have any questions please send me an email at emilytakana@gmail.com and I'd be happy to hear from you!  

Time flies so fast, I can't believe I'm already one-third through my missions trip here in Taiwan.  I can truly say that it has been such an awesome and rewarding adventure - I am so grateful for everything I have learned and experienced up to now and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in the next two months to come.  Stay tuned and there will be more on friends and fun times in my next post!