The Potter's House, Taoyuan: The British Invasion of Taiwan

The last three weeks I have been very busy with the British Invasion of Taiwan. You’re not going to read about this in the Drudge Report or see it on the news. In fact, I’m probably your only source of news on this event. The British have invaded Taiwan.

A team of Gospel Commandos from South London arrived at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport on Tuesday March 16. These people had paid their own way to travel to Taiwan in support of the Taoyuan City church. We had a busy schedule planned and intended to maximize their investment by reaching as many people as possible with the Gospel.

Wednesday morning we met for prayer and then went to the Traditional market where we outreached for several hours for the regular coffee shop and the revival that was planned for the weekend. The outreach proved to be successful as we saw visitors at the coffee house that came from the outreach.Pastor Peter Ajala taught English Wednesday night and ministered from the Bible a lesson on the parable of the soils. Four people prayed to receive Jesus that night.

The following day we met on the streets of Downtown Taoyuan in the evening for an open-air street meeting. We sang Praise and Worship songs to establish dominion and street preached gave testimonies and witnessed one-on-one in the streets. We saw 7 decisions for Jesus that night.

Friday afternoon, we were in the streets again for one-on-one witnessing and outreaching for the revival. Friday night we saw visitors and Pastor Ajala preached and we saw people getting saved.

Saturday, the Zhongli church joined us for street drama and preaching in the downtown area. One drama where the devil weighed down a victim with various sins, until Jesus showed up and took the burden on himself, literally stopped traffic in the street.
One man, who had gotten saved on Wednesday at the coffee house, joined us to outreach on Saturday.

Sunday, the revival wrapped up and the team after a day of rest left to go home. This was a huge boost for the church as we gained momentum and eagerly planned for our own street dramas and music groups. In all 26 people gave their lives to Jesus in this week and we have seen some of them return to church on their own this week. Thanks to Pastor Ajala and his team for their investment in our city and our congregation. What a blessing to be part of a fellowship where churches will partner together. We have big plans for their return November 2011.

Reaching Milestones: A Personal Note

Last week, my wife and I reached a milestone in our marriage. We celebrated our fifteen-year anniversary. This was a powerful moment for me who had given up on the idea of ever having a wife and a family. What a joy to be able to look back fifteen years and see the miracle that God did in my life. A man who had given up on life is renewed through the power of God to change lives. This is one thing that sets Christianity apart from other religions. God is not a statue or image that capriciously makes decisions about whether to bless or curse: The God that changes lives is not an idol that demands worship, but instead is a personal God who has compassion and concern for his creation. That’s why he cared enough to sacrifice his son as the remedy for our rebellion and sin.

This is why I’m excited to be able to minister in a place like Taiwan. A place where people struggle under the bondage of serving gods, that don’t know them or have any regard for their welfare. My daily prayer is that God will demonstrate his miracle power through my ministry. That people will see the compassion of God as well as his ability to change lives and fortunes. No idol can do that. No philosophy can do that. Only the God that created the universe with a word can do that.

So thanks to God for giving me a marriage that can be sustained over 15 years. Thanks to God for a wife that can put up with me day in and day out for all those years. Thanks to God for children who love and care for me. God let me be a good husband and father for many more years to come. Thank you Brenda, for your love and loyalty all these years. Thank you Elizabeth, for being an obedient and cheerful child, who is able to absorb all the changes in your life. Thank you Emily, for being a “Daddy’s Girl” who even though you struggle with certain things, you really try to overcome.

I know some of the things that have taken place recently have been an upheaval in your lives. But thanks to all three of you for allowing me to follow God’s call on my life. I love and appreciate all of you.

Eating My Way Through Taiwan: Japanese Barbeque

The Japanese Barbeque

This year we celebrated our anniversary by going to a Japanese Barbeque Restaurant. There are a number of these restaurants in Taoyuan City. The one I like to go to is maybe 5 blocks from our home. The restaurant is an “All-You-Can-Eat” place, where you cook at your table. You barbeque meats and cook Hot Pot. (See the Hot Pot post below)

You order based on three different menus of escalating prices. The prices vary based on the variety of meats that you desire. I always go with the lowest priced menu. For $299 NT Dollars (approximately $9.00 USD) per person you receive: All you can eat Beef, Pork, Chicken, To Gan (A type of Tofu), and Tian Bu La (Processed fish cake), a Hot Pot, salad, two types of desert and drinks. What a great value. Hot Pot alone costs $250 NT at a Hot Pot restaurant.

As you walk into the restaurant, the workers prepare a table for you. They put charcoal into the barbeque pit at your table and light the igniters and the charcoal begins to heat up. The barbeques usually have an exhaust hood like the hood on your cook top at home. A fan pulls the smoke up into the hood and it is vented outside of the restaurant. The problem is that most of the time the hood is between you and your guest, and it’s noisy. In this particular restaurant, the exhaust hood is built into the table. The smoke is pulled out before it leaves the barbeque. There is no conversation blocking exhaust hood in your face. You can easily talk and see the person you’re with.

After you order, the workers then go in the back and prepare your Hot Pot with all the usual ingredients: Processed Fish Cakes, Mushrooms, Cabbage, Shrimp, Duck blood (I can do without the Duck blood) and broth.
The fire is lit and the pot set on the boil. While this is happening you can go back and prepare your barbeque sauce. It’s similar to the hot pot sauce but a little sweeter with citrus slices in it. Then they begin to bring the meat… and bring the meat…and bring the meat, until you cry “Uncle” and tell them to stop.

The meat is thinly sliced and quickly barbequed. You season with salt and pepper, and then use your chopsticks to dip the meat into the “Barbeque Sauce” you made up earlier. I use the same sauce to dip my Hot Pot ingredients into. What a feast. But that’s not the end of it.

After you stop the meat flow, the workers prepare a desert that is made from a small loaf of doughy bread that is sprinkled with a sweet peanut powder and a type of sauce and heated. This is delicious when eaten hot. Our waitress warned us that if it gets cold, “You won’t want to taste it.” Then another desert is brought that consists of small doughy bars that are heated on the barbeque and then dipped into the sauce and peanut powder.

I can’t tell you the name of the restaurant because it is written in Chinese Characters and I don’t know all the characters in the name. But, if you come here I’ll make sure you get to visit this place. This place is highly recommended by Larry Beaureguard, if you know him you can ask him about it. If you’re a local it’s right across from Yang Ming Park on Changsha Road at the end of the block.



Other posts you may be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  A Traditional Restaurant
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Hot Pot

Random Asianess: Walking the god

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Yesterday, the gods went for a walk through our neighborhood. This is done after Chinese New Years, and other times to rid the homes in the neighborhood of evil spirits. It is an interesting and noisy process.

Beginning early in the morning we began to hear the retorts of firecrackers. Not just a few individual bangs. Do you remember those times where you would light the fuse of an entire package of Black Cat Firecrackers and thirty-two firecrackers would blast one after another in rapid-fire succession? B-r-r-r-r-aaap. Take that sound and multiply by about three thousand blasts every two hours beginning at midnight.

Then we started hearing the music. It sounds eerie, like bagpipes with drums and cymbals. The group begins to walk through the neighborhood. The firecrackers serve two purposes the first is to arouse the evil spirits and the second is to let the neighborhood know that this is taking place.
The neighbors began to bring incense burners, and small incinerators out to the street. These are used to make offerings to their dead ancestors. They burn money purchased from the temple, small paper clothing and other things that their ancestors would need as they wait in hell to be reincarnated. I’m not using hell in a derogatory way here. The belief is that everyone dies and unless they have become an ascended master who has arrived at nirvana, they go to hell to await reincarnation.

But while they are in hell they have the same material needs that they would have on earth. This is why when they are buried there are the stacks of beers, or offerings of a favorite food. They have a need for money, clothing and food and they believe that the incinerator is the portal or doorway to their ancestor’s soul. So the items are burned and the smoke carries the essence of the thing to the ancestor. In fact, every year there is a month called Ghost Month where the people believe that their ancestor’s ghost is released from hell to wander the earth. So they prepare meals for the ghosts and place them outside the door of the house for them to eat.

Because of these beliefs it is important to teach the children to “provide for the ghosts” of their ancestors. The worst thing that can happen to a person is that they become a “hungry ghost” doomed to wander the spirit realm without provision. So children are taught respect for ancestors and threatened with curses and evil spirits if they don’t provide for them. People are deathly afraid of ghosts in Taiwan. The problem for them is that they are always afraid that they haven’t been faithful enough in providing for the ancestors.

Which brings us back to the walking of the gods. The purpose of the walk is to free the neighborhood homes of evil spirits. So as the gods stroll through the neighborhood, every home where there is an incense burner or incinerator the parade stops there and the lions go into that house and frighten away the evil spirits.

In the parade are lions, walking characterizations of the gods of hell. Musicians, drummers, an ark carried by four men and a singer. The musicians and singer provide a background of worship and honor for the gods.


At the head of the parade are firecrackers and fireworks; these are lit to frighten the evil spirits. After the fireworks come the horn players and the singer. Then come the lions, these are sent into the homes to chase out the evil spirits to the gods waiting in the streets.
The ark follows all of this. The ark is a portable altar. It is used to hold offerings to the gods and perhaps as a holding facility for the evil spirits. The parade is ends with people following the ark and burning incense.

The music sounds like ancient Chinese music or the music of India. Buddhism has its roots in India as the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha himself, was an East Indian man named Siddhartha Guatama who lived in 598 BC.

When your home is rid of spirits it is expected that you will give the temple a Hong Bao (red packet). A donation placed in a red packet is offered to the temple for this service.

Other posts you may be interested in:

Local Color:  The Temples of Taoyuan City
Taiwanese Traditions:  Ghost Month

Random Asianess: Lunar New Years

Lunar New Year items for sale downtown.












New Year's decorations.


People hanging out, downtown.



Downtown traffic during the week before Lunar New Years.



These traffic pictures may not seem too incredible except that it's 10:30pm.


Other psosts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese Traditions:  Lunar New Year:  The Legend of Nian
Taiwanese Traditions:  Xin Nian Kuai le
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
Random Asianess:  Oh Sure, Now We Decorate

Taiwanese Traditions: Xin Nian Kuai le

Happy New Year
(click on images to enlarge)


Lunar New Year

Exodus 12:23
“For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

This moment takes place in ancient Egypt. Israel has been in bondage as slaves in Israel for 400 years. Moses has been called by God to deliver the people of God. Nine of the plagues have already played out. The Nile had turned to blood. There had been plagues of frogs, lice and flies. Disease had killed the cattle. The people suffered from boils: Hail fire and thunder. There were locusts that destroyed the crops. Three days of darkness and now the scene was set for the most devastating of all; the death of the first born. So God called the people to prepare.

He gave them direction (Exodus 12:3-12) to prepare a special meal of lamb and bitter herbs: These things being symbolic of The Lamb of God and the bitterness of their bondage. They were to prepare to leave. And eat in haste. There was one final instruction in Exodus 12:22:

Exodus 12:22
22 “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

By now some of you think that I made a mistake. The title says “Happy New Year,” why talk about Israel, the plagues and Passover.

There is an interesting tradition in Lunar New Year. Normally, when you greet a neighbor on the street you would say to them Ni hao (Knee How) or Zao an (dzow ahn) or just zao (dzow). Ni hao means hello, Zao or Zao an means Good morning. However, yhe Lunar New Year Greeting  is Gongshi (gong (o as in home) shee) gong shee. The word gongshi translates as congratulations. Why congratulate people? This is where the Passover comes in:

One of the traditions of the Lunar New Year, is the cleaning of the house. People clean their houses. It’s like the annual deep cleaning. What we call Spring Cleaning. The trash trucks came down our street twice a day for the last week as people brought a year’s accumulation down to the street to be disposed of. People were making preparations to leave their homes for nine days. The Bible tells us that God told the Israelis to prepare to travel.

Exodus 12:11
11 ‘And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.

This is the biggest travel week of the year in China as people rush home to participate in the New Year’s Eve traditions with their families.

The second similarity between Lunar New Year and Passover is the blood on the doorway. God told the people to splash the blood of a lamb on the doorframe in the house: Across the top and on the sides of the doorway. This is a sign that the people are God’s people and the angel of death was to pass over those homes and not take the firstborn.

Exodus 12:22-23
22 “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.23 “For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

The tradition in Taiwan is to put red banners across the doorway: Across the top and on the sides, in the same way that the Israelis did in ancient Egypt.
This is the significance of those banners. The belief is that a monster roams throughout Taiwan on New Years Eve. The monster will come into your house and kill you UNLESS, there is a red banner because the monster is afraid of the color red. That’s why on New Year’s Day people greet each other with the word “gongshi”. Congratulations, the monster didn’t get you this year.

The third similarity has to do with the preparation of a meal. The Israelis ate Passover, in a meal designed by God to symbolize his deliverance. In Taiwan, a meal is prepared and a table set for the God of heaven.
This isn’t the God Christians and Jews worship, but he is called the creator and is the Governor of all the other Gods of Taoism. He controls the actions of the local deities and household gods. This meal is an offering.

The final similarity is the timing of Lunar New Year. It is the celebration of the new years on the Lunar Calendar. Passover is also celebrated on the lunar calendar but I believe it is the second month.

My personal take on Lunar New Year is that it is a festive week full of joy and hope for people. The atmosphere is much like the atmosphere we enjoy during Chanukkah and Christmas. Families are together, feasts are laid out; gifts are purchased and red packets are exchanged. (A red Packet is a gift of money from Children to parents, Parents to Children and Grandchildren.) The red packet is a wish of prosperity for the person to whom it is given.

Driving around the downtown area was interesting during this time as people were shopping and rushing and all of the things that were missing at Christmastime. Police were directing traffic at 10:30 at night as people shopped and played all over the downtown area. I was drawn to the place, but often regretted trying to ride my scooter down there once I got there.



Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese Traditions:  Lunar New Year:  The Legend of Nian
Random Asianess:  Oh Sure, Now We Decorate
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

The Potter's House, Taoyuan: Coffee House Outreach

(Click on photos to enlarge)

We find ourselves as Americans living on foreign soil. We are referred to as expatriate Americans or ex-pats. They call us waiguoren (Why gwo ren) the word is literally translated as outside (wai4) country (guo2) person (ren2) or foreigner. But this is not as difficult a position as one might think. Americans are highly regarded in Taiwan as we have been their allies since almost the moment the country formed. In 1949, when Chaing Kai Shek and his nationalist army fled from Mao Tse Tung’s troops across the Taiwan Strait, they formed a democratic government under Taiwan’s first president Sun Yat Sen. America has stood with Taiwan as an ally ever since, providing the “muscle” when China threatens.

They have tied their economy to ours, in a sense, and have long traded with America. There are many American companies operating in Taiwan. Taiwanese people are eager to learn English and American customs. We are often stopped on the streets, so someone can practice their English or take a picture with us. So this is the environment we find ourselves.

So with that in mind one of the first things we have initiated in Taoyuan City is an English Language Coffee House outreach. Here is the idea in a nutshell. We provide an easy going and fun atmosphere where English is spoken and taught. We use the Bible as a text book. We have interpretation into Chinese to make sure that people understand what’s being taught.

Each Wednesday night we have munchies, usually coffee cakes that we buy from the local cake baker. This woman is our neighbor and has a cake business at her home. We also serve Coffee, Hot Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate.

The current lesson is on the miracles mentioned in the book of John and how they apply to our lives. I have taken it from a Bible Study by Greg Mitchell called Signs from Heaven. I chose this specific Bible Study because of John’s statement that he wrote this book so that we could believe. It was written primarily to Greeks so that they could understand who God is. The Greeks were a foreign culture to Israel and there are some similarities between Greek culture of the time and the Taiwanese culture.

This study has proven to be effective as we have seen participation increase, as well as many visitors coming to see what we’re teaching.

It has breathed life into the church.
There are young people who have come and joined the church. Its always fun to be in a church with a lot of young people. Many of them are excited about the possibilities of God moving in their lives.