Thanksgiving trip to Lotung and His Hands

When Thanksgiving rolls around we make our traditional trip to Lotung to fellowship with other Team Expansion and Formosa Christian Mission missionaries and friends at the Home of God's Love orphanage. This year we got to bring Dad, Maggi, Annie, and Ali with us. Thursday we celebrated with a traditional American Thanksgiving meal.

Friday was our missionary Christmas celebration. This year I was in charge of choosing a cause for us all to raise money for. One day a couple months ago I had been thinking of our Thanksgiving trip and wondering who would be in charge of this part this year. I immediately had the thought that if I were to be in charge I could raise money for His Hands Taiwan. The next day Angie Pagel called to ask me to take over this responsibility. She gave me some suggestions, including His Hands. I figured it must have been the Holy Spirit's leading the day before so I should go ahead and raise money for His Hands, there must either already be a need there or maybe God is already providing for a need that hasn't come up yet.

At our Christmas gathering I gave a small presentation about the non-profit organization. They are just getting started in Taiwan. According to their statistics Taiwan has the largest number of abortions per capita (500,000 per year) of industrialized nations. It is very common-place and done for convenience's sake as well as crisis situations. In many cases there is no other option presented to women in crisis pregnancies. His Hands is committed to educating Taiwan's hospitals, churches, and schools about abortion and pregnancy. They are also reaching out to women in crisis pregnancies who have chosen not to abort their babies, offering housing, help with medical expenses, and birth support. The best part, though, is that they are sharing Jesus with these women who desperately need him.

We collected 1,700 USD for this ministry. When the directors were called and told this news they began to cry. The three of them were meeting at that moment to try to figure out how they were going to cover a current need. One of their workers' father is very ill and she asked for an advance on her pay so that she could have enough to go help him. It seems God foresaw this need and had already provided a way. Praise Him!

We really enjoyed our time in Lotung - out of the city, riding bikes around a lake, blowing bubbles in the rain, fellowshipping with Christians . . .
You can check out our website's photo album for pictures of our trip!