encounter

I just got back from a weekend retreat/conference called "E 1" or Encounter with God 1. One of a three part series, E1 is sort of how Banner Church does membership; they give their church's history and overview of some of the major Christian principles (similar to The Call at RH in some ways). It wasn't really a retreat, because I went home to sleep yesterday.
Anyway, of all that went on this weekend, probably the most powerful aspect for me was the "snapshot" of how God is moving in Asia, especially Taiwan. Not to sound cheesy or fluffy, but God is moving. How do I know? Lives are being changed. 130 Taiwanese proclaiming the love of God, some for the first time in their lives. Breaking ties from thousands of years of the tradition of ancestor worship, Buddhism, and idolatry in Jesus name for the hope of the Kingdom. Lives marked by fear and curses transformed into lives marked by hope and faith. It would always break my heart whenever I saw Taiwanese people (and my parents at one point) in temples and shrines set up in their house with idols hoping for some luck or good fortune to pass their way, but it was awesome to see those bonds broken and people set free. To see father's taking responsibility in the raising up and parenting of their sons and daughters, and parents learning to encourage rather than ridicule and dictate their children, encouraging them to do God's work, loving their children unconditionally in a culture where so much of the parent-child relationship is marked by results, test scores, pressure and abuse is truly revolutionary. To see true joy that comes from Christ, to hear testimonies of Taiwanese committing to live counter-cultural lives for the first time, though they would probably never use that term; at least not yet, was a great breath of life for me in my own ministry here.
When I first arrived here I wasn't sure what I would be doing exactly and what God was doing, and honestly I was a little skeptical of some of the ministry "methods" because they seemed "outdated", if not foreign to me, since about 80-90% of their ministry is evangelism driven. But over time as I began to see the culture through their eyes and the way people interacted, I started to realize that whatever my preference was, however convinced I was about the effectiveness of it, might not be the best thing for the people now. While there still is a major need in the area of discipleship and the teaching of what it means to be a follower/learner of Christ, I have high hopes for these people, that they can influence China, India, and the Middle East to bring the Gospel back across the globe. They've influenced me.