Retreat!

We ran away last weekend.

Our spring retreat to Kenting in the southern tip of Taiwan was so refreshing.  It was a time to rest, play, think,  and pray.  It was a time to swim in the ocean and build sand castles.  We enjoyed the company of Team Taiwan, our boss Matt, and missionary from Thailand Dennis.  Matt and Dennis led us in devotions every day with the theme of "seeking God first".

group building activity on the beach

celebrating our friend Matt's birthday

devotion time and toasts for missionaries returning to America

praying together

Mark and his guitar

Matt, our fearless leader, preaches for us on Sunday morning

(credit goes to Graham G. for photos)

Dennis shared a message with us about Elijah running away from Queen Jezebel.  He was depressed and exhausted so much that he ran into the desert and fell asleep under a tree.  After a while some angels woke him up and told him to eat the cake that was by his head.  He went back to sleep until he was woken up again and told to eat, and then rolled over and slept again.  It seems like for a long while all Elijah did was eat and sleep.  Sometimes that's what we need, and God provides it.

Our retreat was well-timed.  Many of us, including me, were feeling burned out from constantly giving at school and church.  The retreat was a breath of fresh air that helped me to come back to the office on Monday ready to work, pray, and love my students.  I am so thankful God gives us rest when we need it.  I am thankful for the infinite ocean and open sky that reminds me how big God is.  I'm thankful for the shimmering waves of light on the water because it reminds me that God has His eye on the details, that He's intimately displaying His beauty everywhere in creation.  I'm especially thankful that the jellyfish that stung me wasn't poisonous, that my sunburn doesn't hurt too badly, and that we all came back 20 pounds heavier than when we left. :)

As you go about your work in America-- heading to the office or going to the classroom, booting up the computer or hopping in the car-- you can be confident that God will give you the rest you need right when you need it.

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6

In Christ,

Anna Gruen

Taroko and the story of Chi-Oang

The four of us left for Taroko, sleepy-eyed with a long journey ahead of us.  It hit me as we began our journey that this was actually happening, and it was strange: we were going to stay with aboriginal people in the mountains whom I had only met once.  But their generosity at my last visit and their story of coming to know Christ was something I couldn't forget, and their one request rang in my ears for three months:  "Please come back and teach English".  So there we were, four women with packed bags on the 7am bus out of Chiayi.

~*~

The small town of Taroko is located on the Truku reservation— people of Chinese descent cannot buy property there.  The Truku tribe, one of Taiwan’s 14 aboriginal peoples, were notorious for their head hunting less than a hundred years ago.  That all changed when a middle-aged woman named Chi-Oang went searching for the truth in the 1930s and found a church.  After studying the Bible for a year with the help of pastors and American missionaries, she was baptized and became the first Truku Christian.  When she returned to her people to share the good news of Jesus Christ, they received her message with joy and gladly turned to Jesus. 

But World War II under Japanese occupation was hard for the Trukus, and they had to hide Chi-Oang during the day so she would not be killed for spreading the Gospel.  At night, Chi-Oang taught the other Truku Christians God’s Word and led prayer hidden in the safety of a nearby cave.  The end of the war brought religious freedom, and when the American missionaries came back to Taiwan they found thousands of believers among the Truku tribe.

~*~    

My first trip to Taroko was a simple hiking trip that I made by myself last fall.  As I was walking through town, I saw a church with stained-glass windows.  I decided to check it out, and that’s when I met Pastor Kowsang and some of the Truku people.  They fed me and invited me back for church on Sunday.  That was when I first heard of Chi-Oang and the Truku Christians and the cave where they hid.  The church I had stumbled upon—or more accurately, the one God led me to— was the very first Truku church built-- Chi-Oang Memorial Church.

Last weekend, my three friends and I went back to Taroko to do a short English camp.  We stayed with pastor’s family and got to experience unbelievable Truku hospitality.  Friday during the day we hiked and prepared for our English clamp.  Saturday morning we led an English program for the elementary kids, about fifty in all.  On Saturday night we worshiped and prayed with the youth group and connected quickly with so many of them.  On Sunday, we led a song in church.  The little work we did that weekend didn’t feel like work at all.  We went to bless the church, but all of us returned having received more than we gave.

Praise God for his work!  In His Word, He promised that distant islands would see His Light and rejoice in Him.  “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice!”  (Psalm 97:1)  I’m joyful to report that we have countless brothers and sisters in the farthest reaches of Taiwan.  God is Lord of all the earth, and His fame has spread beyond our understanding.  I am so blessed to have experienced this in an intimate way here in Taiwan.  Please pray for the Christians of Taroko, as they are ardently praying for us.

In Christ,

Anna 

Back to Taroko

Remember my post about the church in Taroko?  Well, tomorrow I'm headed back there with three American friends to teach English and serve the church there.


It's amazing to learn more about this tribe.... they were once notorious head hunters and fought viciously amongst themselves, and then against the Japanese when they arrived in 1895.  But when one small middle-aged Taroko woman ended her search for Truth at a presbyterian church, she became the first Christian from her people, and the tribe was forever changed.  Now, the majority of the 10,000 member tribe confess Jesus Christ as Lord.  It's my privilege to know them and to return to their church to do a small VBS / English camp program.  If I had stepped foot on their land a hundred years ago, the rational fear would be of losing my head; now, my fear is that I will leave more blessed than I am able to bless them.


Will write when we return!  We're off to Taroko!


In Christ,

Anna