Hello friends and family. I’m thankful I’ve been able to connect with some of you over the course of the last few months. Unfortunately, living 6,000 plus miles away doesn’t allow for regular interaction with everyone back home, so this blog will have to suffice for the time being.
Since I last updated, there has been a lot going on. I have now been studying Chinese for almost three months and language acquisition is coming slowly but steadily. I figure I have a vocabulary of about five hundred words now and can speak some basic things in Chinese. Along with vocabulary, I continue to work on picking up grammar and my greatest nemesis… Tones. In English, we can say the same word in all kinds of different tones, and the word still means the same thing. In Chinese, the same word can mean something completely different depending on the tone used. And a word with the same tone can even mean multiple different things.
Which brings me to prayer request number one. I ask for your prayer in language acquisition. That I would not only learn the language on paper, but that I would have boldness to speak knowing I am going to sound stupid at times and say the wrong things. One of my biggest struggles with language learning is that I am timid and rarely speak Chinese with others and it’s an area I need to get over if I want to learn the language well.
Beyond language study, ministry has looked different over the last couple months as well. Instead of doing regular coffee shop evangelism, two nights a week, I teach an English class upstairs in the coffee shop. It’s been a great opportunity to connect with the Taiwanese and build relationships and it seems I will teach this class again next semester.
Being in Taiwan, although it has brought it’s share of challenges, has been good for me. It’s not always easy being here, but I am being stretched in new ways. I’ve never been willfully committed to something for the long term, but God has called me here for five years, and I want to honor him with that time. In the past, I have been able to go from place to place and make short term decisions. I am now committed to one place and have opportunity to build something for a bit longer term rather than simply move on to the next thing after a year of investment. I don’t need to try to figure out what the next place is going to be because it’s all within the confines of Taiwan and probably Danshui for the foreseeable future.
With that comes prayer request number two. Pray that God would teach me how I can best be used here in Danshui, not just down the road when the language acquisition is finished and I’m deciding where my skills are best used, but even right now. It’s easy to just go through tasks and check off the things that need to be done in a week, but I desire more than that. I want to invest all of my time and energy into what God is calling me to and go beyond the minimum requirements for language study and ministry here.
Now for a little change of pace. Right now is an exciting time for me here. After one more week of classes and ministry, I have a person who is very dear to me coming for a visit. That’s right, the evening of August 23rd, Rachel flies into Taipei for a two week visit here to see me and to get a feel for the base and what life in Taiwan is like. It will be such a joy to have a taste of home come for a visit. I do want to ask for prayer for that time as well. Really just prayer that God would be present in our time together and this time would give us a clearer picture of what the future looks like.
I would like to end by sharing a little bit of what God has been teaching me lately. Just yesterday I finished reading through the book of Romans. After I got about half way in, I really felt like God was asking me to slow down and just chew on the passages rather than reading through like normal. I have been just reading a verse or two and actually thinking about what that means for us as believers before I go on to the next verse or passage. And the result has been incredible. Here is just one thought from that time.
I love Romans 8. It may very well be my favorite chapter of Scripture and I took some notes on it last week. And although it may be a bit messy, I'm just going to write word for word what I wrote down in my journal. It's from Romans 8:36 in the context of Paul making a point that there is nothing that can come in between God and his people. Here's what I wrote.
"In verse 36, Paul quotes from Psalm 44. As I went back to read this Psalm, the quote came alive. In the context of Romans, Paul is speaking of all the evil that can befall believers. This Psalm fits wonderfully. The first eight verses of this Psalm simply speaks of how God has delivered his people in different circumstances. In verse 9, it takes a strange turn. It speaks of how the psalmist speaking of God rejecting his people. It is in the midst of this that the psalmist writes of God's people being as cheep to be slaughtered. But the Psalm ends with hope of their deliverance. In both cases, God's people may not understand why God has to their senses, turned his back on them or rejected them. Whether it be the people in the time of the psalmist, or the people Paul is writing to potentially facing nakedness, danger, or even death. But there is hope for their eternal deliverance."
I believe the same is true for us now. There is hope for the difficulties in our lives. God is faithful. It may feel like he is silent or absent, but if you draw near to him, he will draw near to you. Scripture makes it clear.
As always, I appreciate you all and your support of me over here. I couldn’t do this without the support I have from you all, prayerfully, financially, and simply your partnership with me. I know I haven’t been able to connect with every person who reads this on an individual basis, but know that I am thankful for you and for your investment in my life.
With love in Christ,
Travis
Since I last updated, there has been a lot going on. I have now been studying Chinese for almost three months and language acquisition is coming slowly but steadily. I figure I have a vocabulary of about five hundred words now and can speak some basic things in Chinese. Along with vocabulary, I continue to work on picking up grammar and my greatest nemesis… Tones. In English, we can say the same word in all kinds of different tones, and the word still means the same thing. In Chinese, the same word can mean something completely different depending on the tone used. And a word with the same tone can even mean multiple different things.
Which brings me to prayer request number one. I ask for your prayer in language acquisition. That I would not only learn the language on paper, but that I would have boldness to speak knowing I am going to sound stupid at times and say the wrong things. One of my biggest struggles with language learning is that I am timid and rarely speak Chinese with others and it’s an area I need to get over if I want to learn the language well.
Beyond language study, ministry has looked different over the last couple months as well. Instead of doing regular coffee shop evangelism, two nights a week, I teach an English class upstairs in the coffee shop. It’s been a great opportunity to connect with the Taiwanese and build relationships and it seems I will teach this class again next semester.
Being in Taiwan, although it has brought it’s share of challenges, has been good for me. It’s not always easy being here, but I am being stretched in new ways. I’ve never been willfully committed to something for the long term, but God has called me here for five years, and I want to honor him with that time. In the past, I have been able to go from place to place and make short term decisions. I am now committed to one place and have opportunity to build something for a bit longer term rather than simply move on to the next thing after a year of investment. I don’t need to try to figure out what the next place is going to be because it’s all within the confines of Taiwan and probably Danshui for the foreseeable future.
With that comes prayer request number two. Pray that God would teach me how I can best be used here in Danshui, not just down the road when the language acquisition is finished and I’m deciding where my skills are best used, but even right now. It’s easy to just go through tasks and check off the things that need to be done in a week, but I desire more than that. I want to invest all of my time and energy into what God is calling me to and go beyond the minimum requirements for language study and ministry here.
Now for a little change of pace. Right now is an exciting time for me here. After one more week of classes and ministry, I have a person who is very dear to me coming for a visit. That’s right, the evening of August 23rd, Rachel flies into Taipei for a two week visit here to see me and to get a feel for the base and what life in Taiwan is like. It will be such a joy to have a taste of home come for a visit. I do want to ask for prayer for that time as well. Really just prayer that God would be present in our time together and this time would give us a clearer picture of what the future looks like.
I would like to end by sharing a little bit of what God has been teaching me lately. Just yesterday I finished reading through the book of Romans. After I got about half way in, I really felt like God was asking me to slow down and just chew on the passages rather than reading through like normal. I have been just reading a verse or two and actually thinking about what that means for us as believers before I go on to the next verse or passage. And the result has been incredible. Here is just one thought from that time.
I love Romans 8. It may very well be my favorite chapter of Scripture and I took some notes on it last week. And although it may be a bit messy, I'm just going to write word for word what I wrote down in my journal. It's from Romans 8:36 in the context of Paul making a point that there is nothing that can come in between God and his people. Here's what I wrote.
"In verse 36, Paul quotes from Psalm 44. As I went back to read this Psalm, the quote came alive. In the context of Romans, Paul is speaking of all the evil that can befall believers. This Psalm fits wonderfully. The first eight verses of this Psalm simply speaks of how God has delivered his people in different circumstances. In verse 9, it takes a strange turn. It speaks of how the psalmist speaking of God rejecting his people. It is in the midst of this that the psalmist writes of God's people being as cheep to be slaughtered. But the Psalm ends with hope of their deliverance. In both cases, God's people may not understand why God has to their senses, turned his back on them or rejected them. Whether it be the people in the time of the psalmist, or the people Paul is writing to potentially facing nakedness, danger, or even death. But there is hope for their eternal deliverance."
I believe the same is true for us now. There is hope for the difficulties in our lives. God is faithful. It may feel like he is silent or absent, but if you draw near to him, he will draw near to you. Scripture makes it clear.
As always, I appreciate you all and your support of me over here. I couldn’t do this without the support I have from you all, prayerfully, financially, and simply your partnership with me. I know I haven’t been able to connect with every person who reads this on an individual basis, but know that I am thankful for you and for your investment in my life.
With love in Christ,
Travis
