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
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