Is there any place in America where children show up on your doorstep to play UNO, or stand outside your door, screaming, “LU-CA-SZ! LU-CA-SZ!” until you finally come out? If there is, please let me know… Maybe I’ll move there if I ever leave Taiwan.
You can’t really experience Taiwan, unless you meet the hunched over old man selling his (dou wai!) soup in the street, the 7-11 cashiers, or the elderly women collecting oysters on the beach. For me, I never experienced the urgency of eternity until I saw “Peter”, a student here in Kinmen; or “Jonson”, one of my 6th graders from last year. There are so many precious people of Taiwan who seem to have been forgotten by the Gospel. Living here has challenged me to live life with an eternal perspective. Playing basketball outside with some Jr. High friends isn’t mere “exercise” anymore, but an opportunity to be salt and light. Teaching school, making friends, (and yes, playing Uno), is done not for pleasure, but for the hope that somehow our influence makes a difference.
Allen is one of my fourth grade students from last year. During one of the lessons, he and his classmates got in trouble for smoking (during class). (Okay…I’m sure I’m not THAT boring…) His mother is deaf, and his father doesn’t seem to be around. He lives in an old home in Jincheng with his Mom and Grandpa. I visited his house several times, and the scene is only what you’d think you would see on National Geographic. I know this is not the only “Allen”. There are “Allens” all over Kinmen and Taiwan (and America). Their pain and sadness is real. Each day is a struggle though the pain of life with the very real absence of hope. Since Allen doesn’t speak any English, it is hard to communicate with him. Somehow, though, I know that playing a card game, riding bicycles, or just “hanging out” may help him in the smallest way.
There are so many faces of people here in Kinmen that I will never forget…the children, the Jr. High students, our dorm students, the church…The need in our small island of Kinmen is great…and beyond this island as well. We often walk to our beach and look across the ocean at the coasts of China, and just imagine the millions upon millions of souls there. God wants to show Himself strong to the ends of the earth, and His salvation to the uttermost parts of the world. Maybe it can start here in Kinmen.
Lucas Stewart,
Kinmen Island
