Well this update is coming to you at the very last minute. I got less then an hour to go before I leave Hualien to head back to America for 19 days. Now generally the day before is supposed to be your packing day. However for me the last day up until departure always seems to be a full and never ending.
Yesterday was no different but thankfully it didn’t kick into busy gear till about 11:30 that morning. I went to have lunch with my teachers to celebrate the last semester. All of the male teachers and few of the female teachers took it upon themselves to get drunk. They were very happy as most drunk people are and around 1:30 we all left the restaurant. From there I went straight into Hualien City where I met up with some new Chinese friends for a last minute “English lesson.” It’s not really lesson it’s just sitting at Starbucks to talk. Please pray Joanna, Dennis, and Jerry they are Jehovah’s witnesses and Dennis and Jerry are homosexual. I at first didn’t know what to think about meeting with them but God has given me a genuine love for all of them and I know in time HE will be faithful and will reveal himself to them.
Well I said goodbye to them at 3:30 and left from Starbucks to go to the recording studio. The government has given us a project here in Hualien to record an English CD to be used in the school classrooms. Now Michael is an awesome guy, when I look at Michael all I can think of is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michael is in great shape a big smile and sounds like Arnold. We arrived at 89.7 FM Radio to record this project just before 4:00. We got all setup and worked at chopping through the whole thing. The Lord was good to us and gave me wisdom for the last minute changes in the grammar.
After we finished recording Michael and I insisted that we take each other out for dinner. It was extremely funny seeing that we had both wanted to take each other to the same restaurant. Michael called his wife and his three boys and we picked them up in his tiny mini van. This was a big surprise for his wife and three boys as they had always wanted to meet a foreigner.
Dinner was exceptionally good and had a chance to talk with Michael about the Lord. Michael is also Jehovah ’s Witness but I’m amazed at how much Godly wisdom he has. He has so much truth and so much of a revelation of God’s WORD yet Satan has blinded him from realizing that the only way to heaven is through His Son Jesus Christ. Then add to it his wife is Buddhist. Michael was a real privilege to talk to as he gave me insights into even current situations. Michael told me about how 4 years ago he was working in Taichung (2nd largest city in Taiwan) his job required him to leave for work at 6:30 in the morning for a 1 hour commute to work and then leaving to go home @ 9:00 that even.
He talked about how he had a great job, two brand new cars, he was giving his family everything they could need materially yet as he told me he wasn’t giving his children a father and his wife a husband. He realized that he was missing out on the greatest gift to man next to salvation and a wife which of course is children. He was telling me how he made the choice to move from luxury to a simple life. Michael is living in the middle of nowhere for Taiwan they live on a tight budget but as he told me last night he has his family it truly is his greatest treasure.
I sat there in the van last night talking to God and saying now I know why you had me so busy today. You wanted me to hear some things from Michael tonight. In fact things have been difficult here the last week and a lot of spiritual battles have been raging on. I asked myself the question even just that afternoon Lord why am I even here in Taiwan what is your purpose for me. God through Michael reminded me once again why I’m here and I have such a renewed vision for when I come back that I’m excited to see what God is going to do.
I have to stop as I leave in less then 20 minutes. Please pray for us, pray for us, pray for us. Please go on your knees before the Lord and pray that God would continue to shine through us. That we may truly be a light and testimony of what Christ has done on Calvary.
Pray that the enemy would not have any power in our lives over these next few weeks. Please pray for the teachers every day as they are going to be stretched physically and spiritually. Pray that they would remain faithful in God’s word and seeking Him every day. Pray for the hearts of the children and TA’s. Pray, pray, pray, and when you’re finished praying please pray for us again.
Prayer is the work and without each of you praying we wouldn’t be where we are today.
From Hualien,
Joshua Smith
