A different perspective

So I was going to write more about the fun and friends but then this week I had some amazing, heart-changing experiences that I really wanted to write about instead.

Psalm 68:5-6 
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families, He leads the prisoners out with singing.

The first experience was that Juanita invited me to go with her to visit once of the local Tainan prisons for a baptism service.  Juanita's former pastor was involved with prison ministry for many years, faithfully going every week to share the love of God with the prisoners and the good news that despite needing to serve time in jail for their crimes, God still loves them and forgives them.   After the pastor passed away, many people thought the ministry would end, but it turned out that a man in her church had such a passion to reach out and give hope to these men in prison.  He ended up carrying on with the ministry and has seen such tremendous growth.  Every year they baptize all of the new believers that have accepted Christ as their Savior in the past year and this year there were 50 men who chose to be baptized.  Then, during the service itself 6 other men accepted Jesus!  It was such a powerful and heart-warming service and couldn't stop weeping as I saw all of these "tough"men bowing their heads and humbly choosing to return back to their Heavenly Father!  As I watched the inmates getting baptized - each with their shaved heads, prison garb consisting of white shirts and blue shorts, and many with tattoos from their former gang life or large scars from scuffles from their rough past, God reminded me that every one has a story but no matter what our story is, He loves every single person unconditionally and He always has His arms opened wide to embrace and restore each person from all of the brokenness they've suffered in life.  I had never been inside a prison before but I was so privileged and touched to be able to share such a significant moment in their lives.  I apologize that I don't have an pictures (cameras weren't allowed inside), but the images are forever imprinted in my memory!

Then the next day, I had a wonderful opportunity to go to an orphanage for a three days in Liu Gui, which is in Taiwan's beautiful mountain region.  Two of our Ray Of Hope staff (our Worth Waiting For team) lead a camp for 60 teenagers and young adults who live at the orphanage, ranging from junior high, senior high and college ages. Knowing some of the sad backgrounds that some these kids come from and the situations they have already had to face in their young lives, I was so blessed to see how the orphanage has given these children a second chance and how the staff take such good care of them and love them tremendously.  Although I couldn't help out much directly with the kids due to the language barrier, I participated in the games as much as possible and then spent most of the time praying for the the youth throughout the sessions.  During this time, God showed me how much he loves each one, just as a father loves each of his children uniquely.  I was so moved because although perhaps their parents weren't able to or didn't want to raise these children, God desired to create them and did so with a great plan and purpose for their lives.  Psalm 27:10 says "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me".  God then showed me the gifts and talents that He placed inside each person - how some of them are called to be leaders, some are incredibly bright, some are musically gifted, and others still are incredibly caring and compassion for others.  He reminded me that no matter what our relationship is with our earthly parents, we are always loved by God.

Since many of the youth had already heard messages on sexual purity, our leaders decided to do something different this year by focusing on inspiring and encouraging them to fulfill their dreams.  It's amazing how the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us because that was the exact message that these youth needed to hear.  What really impacted me was when the youth were asked to write down their dreams and desires for their lives, many of the kids didn't know what to write because they never actually thought that their dreams were possible.  Many of them couldn't imagine their lives outside the orphanage, let alone think that they could make a significant difference in the world.  But after the leaders spoke and prayed with them, some of the children started to cry because they were given hope to believe that their dreams could come true.  In just three short days, I saw how some of these youth transformed from uninterested, unsure, or rambunctious teens to an inspired, more confident, and focused group.  I know His work is just beginning but I am so excited to have played a small part in their great future.  God is so awesome!   Again, sorry no pictures since we don't have permission to publicly post them but if you want more information about the orphanage, you can check out their website here: http://www.cmchtw.org.tw/_ch/about.php (there is a button at the top for English).

Finally, the camp was also a really great time to bond with the leaders, who were all young adult volunteers from my church.  It was nice to connect and hear their life stories - many of them are the first Christians in their families and even though they face a lot of opposition, they are so pure and genuine in their faith.  Everyone made me feel so welcome and a part of the team - I know it's the start of many good friendships.  I am so grateful that even though I am physically apart from my family and church community in Calgary, God has placed me into a wonderful family here in Taiwan!