i love Taiwan

More than three years ago, God woke me up, and yanked me back onto this narrow Calvary path - truly a miraculous expression of His infinite grace.

People say that our walk with Jesus Christ is a two-way street. True, true, true, but, thank the Lord, there are those times when our relationship with Him is completely one-sided (like when we fall asleep at the wheel).

We get so selfish, self indulgent, full of ourselves, self serving, horribly stubborn, and arrogantly disobedient to our loving Abba Father. So easily we go astray, forgetting God's word, devoid of His presence, and bound up in darkness (a child of light?). We no longer attempt to nurture our relationship with Jesus Christ, or even care about it.

Even when we think we're on our way to hell for sure (eventhough we once experienced the presence of God), in His great mercy and kindness, God steps in and exfiltrates us right back into the kingdom of light (instead of turning us into a pillar of salt).

He did it to me, so He can do it to you as well. The reason for His over-riding our backsliding hell-bent stubborness, is because He wants to use us as warriors in the kingdom of God. The war between the powers of darkness and light intensifies as we grow nearer to the second coming of Jesus Christ (billions of souls hang in the balance).

So, about three and a half years ago, I'm like, "Lord, you did it again! Send me!" The Holy Spirit put on my heart a desire to return to China. Since that time been praying and planning how and when to return. The Lord even gave me a picture (in my mind) about China. 

With the war in Ukraine, the Oct. 7th Hamas attack on Israel, President Donald Trump, China's escalating harrassment of Taiwan, and Charlie Kirk getting shot, I've started experiencing a sense of urgency. It's like the Lord of Lords (my Commander and Chief) is giving me specific battle orders.

God's voice was quite clear, 55 years ago, when He said, "I love you, and you will preach my gospel in China." At that time in history, Communist China was not even open to the outside world.

As a young missionary to Taiwan, I quickly discovered that the Republic of China and the Peoples' Republic of China, were as different as North and South Korea (and still are, even more so).

A couple of months ago, the Lord gave me clarity regarding His earlier leading. Now it's, "Go to the Taiwan, the Republic of China."

Way cool - I love Taiwan! Made a phone call to the closest Taiwanese embassy about getting a permanent residence visa and relocating there immediately. They advised against it (especially since I'm already 72), suggesting only visitng Taiwan as an American tourist from the Mariana Islands, with a 90 day visa waiver.

In order to make frequent visits to Taiwan, major lifestyle changes were in order - although Taiwan is super close to the island of Rota (where I live), air-tickets are not cheap.

My community service experients of "free veggies and fruit" for the community of Rota, and "free housing and utilities" for two American elderly homeless people, have been successfully concluded. Praise the Lord for providing all our needs for these ministries (while ongoing). 

Unloaded lots of accumulated  stuff to various people (all free, no time for a garage sale). Sized down from an apartment to a room, in order to cut costs. And, making major adjustments in monthly spending habits to accomodate this new, "American Tousist in Taiwan" plan.

Don't worry, I'm not asking for financial support from anyone. As before, the Lord provides everything for His plan (my heart, the money, the paths, the people, and all the minutia). The Apostle Paul is the best - he paid his own way to preach the Gospel. Abraham and David would not accept freebies from people. They insisted on paying their own way.

So, Phase 1 of this new plan is complete. Phase 2 is all about the first short visit to Taiwan (and return to Rota).

It could change, but, Lord willing, the primary objective for Phase 2: Visit my Mother-in-Law's gravesite (still not sure if she was buried in Hualien or Taitung). 

Thank the Lord, still living at the same location as before, just changed over to a room so I can save more money for visits to Taiwan. My dog Toku is also happy we're not moving again. 

Short visits to Taiwan could start as early as this summer or fall, and could continue for years (only the Lord knows).

These past 7 years on Rota, the Lord blessed with lots of good harvests from all the gardens posted on this blog. As of today, out of all the veggies planted, only two continue to thrive: a couple of eggplants and one other awesome plant. Will make a future post of this "awesome plant" soon. The faithful followers of this blogsite will be impressed to see it.