wfn.org | Indonesian Sunday Services Begin in South Taiwan

["enews" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2960 Edition

>November 17~23, 2008

Indonesian Sunday Services Begin in South Taiwan

>Reported by Chen Yi-shuan

>Written by Lydia Ma

A group of Indonesian Christian women found that they shared many  similarities upon coming to Taiwan. They are all in a foreign land,  their husbands are Taiwanese, they are not very affluent, and they would  love to worship the Lord in their native language. Because of this,  these women have met in parks, small eateries and other places in their  quest to find a place to worship together. Now, their search is finally  over because they have found a permanent place to worship God at  Kaoshiung Chong-Seng Presbyterian Church.

“I am so grateful. I thank God and I’m so happy that we have  found a place to meet,” says Eliza excitedly. She is the leader of  Indonesia Sisters’ Reunion and was elected as leader in May of this  year. She says that she was already a devout Christian in Indonesia.  When she came to Taiwan after marriage, she insisted on going to Sunday  services here even though she barely knew the local language or people  or Taiwan in general. She admitted that the language barrier was very  challenging for her at one point.

Eliza recalls that she had been going to church since she was a little  girl and she came from a big family. She had a happy life in Indonesia  with very little hardships. Consequently, she had not had any strong  religious encounters or convictions. However, things changed when she  came to Taiwan. In a foreign environment now, she had trouble adjusting  and slowly felt God’s presence. It was during this time that she  developed a strong desire to gather with Christian women who shared the  same background with her so that they could worship together in their  native language.

Eliza went to services designed for foreign workers at first, but felt  that they were not exactly what she wanted. Hence, she began to meet  with a few sisters in Christ who had married Taiwanese husbands and they  would sing together and have heart-felt talks. At first, they would meet  in parks or small eateries but these locations were not very suitable  and they were unable to spend time worshipping God freely in a quiet  location – something most Christians find necessary and basic.

It wasn’t until the head of Family Council Association in Kaohsiung  got hold of their predicament that they found someone able to help them  find a meeting place. Because these women resided in different areas  around Kaohsiung, they need a location easily accessible by public  transportation. In the end, Chong-Sheng Presbyterian Church near  Kaohsiung’s train station opened its doors for these Indonesian  sisters to meet. Though the church had no previous experience hosting  foreigners, the church pastor and members warmly welcomed the group.  They are now looking forward to planning Christmas celebrations with  these Indonesian sisters which will include plenty of praise events. The  church is not ruling out formally including Indonesian services as one  of its fellowships in the near future.

According to Family Council Association in Kaohsiung’s experience  in counseling new immigrants, what foreign brides need the most is  mutual support. Though the association can provide counseling services  and orientation on living in Taiwan, these cannot compare with having  support from a network of friends in Taiwan who come from the same  country. Hence, the Indonesian services are centered on sharing about  one’s life in Taiwan. It is hoped that these women can become each  other’s friends and be led in God’s love through these  services so that they can experience support and comfort.

For the time being, Indonesian services are held every Sunday from 2:30  p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Chong-Sheng Presbyterian Church. The women will  focus on strengthening their faith and setting up Sunday services for  now. Once services are more stable, they will consider outreach  ministries.

For more information, please contact Family Council Association in  Kaohsiung at (07) 281-0303.

*******************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages. You  may translate and re-use the articles if you acknowledge the source as  "Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and writer.
Visit our web site: http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>http://enews.pctpress.org/ (English)

Please direct comments and questions to: enews@pctpress.org

If links are not working or you desire to receive e-news as plain text  attachments, please let us know. Thank you!

>********************