January Prayer Updates

Prayer Updates for Nancy Leet

January 19, 2013

Precept Taiwan

1.     This has been a quiet month as we are on a break from classes until after Chinese New Year (2/10).  Please be praying for our preparation for the new semester, for returning and new students to be filled with a hunger for God and His word and a clear sense of direction for the organization, from God.

2.     As of the end of December, I am phasing out of my leadership role in the Precept Taiwan organization.  My coworkers are assuming my office duties and my role, until we find a replacement national director, is simply becoming a “bearer of the title” in order to maintain stability for now.  Please pray for that replacement to be found  in God’s timing. 

TEAM Mission Family

1.     We thank God for the response of more than 4000 students at the Urbana Missions Conference saying they felt God’s call to long-term mission work.  Be praying for all of those who attended, that they would continue to listen to God’s leading in their lives and choose to follow.  The harvest is ready and we need more workers!

2.     This past week we found and agreed to rent a very suitable small apartment to serve as our mission office in the city of Taichung.  It is within walking distance of Morrison Academy, which means that it is at the convenient center of activity for our missionaries there.  It was clearly God’s leading and we are going to move in the first week of February.

3.     Yesterday the sale of our property in Taipei was completed and we rejoice in God’s provision and protection of the whole process.  We have been blessed and cared for in a way that gives testimony to how God provides more than you could ask or even imagine!

4.     We will hold our Annual Meeting 2/2/2013 and need God’s direction as we elect a Ministry Area Leader for a two year term starting July 1.  I have been nominated again.

Trailblazer Camps

1.     Please pray for the two winter camps being held the last week of January.

2.     We are still looking for permanent staff.  Pray with us for God’s provision.

Personal

1.     A good friend, (expat) discovered this week, that she has cancer in her lung….secondary cancer from breast cancer of 2 ½ years ago.  Please pray for her and her husband as they seek God’s direction through the maze of possible treatments.

2.     Please keep the planning for my upcoming Home Assignment in your prayers.  My projected dates are May 24 – September 20, 2013.

I thank God for you all, every time I think of you….your prayers and gifts are an amazing provision of God to me, and remind me daily of His love and faithfulness.

TEAM Taiwan Rep interviewed by Mission News

My coworker, Jeremy Hsu attended the Urbana Missions Conference last week, representing TEAM in general and the Taiwan Ministry Area in specific.  The desire of each representative of various ministries at this conference, is to see more workers for their particular area of the great Harvest for the Kingdom of God.

While Jeremy was at the conference, he had the opportunity to share about Taiwan's greatest need with the Mission Network News.  You can view the article at the following link or read it below:
http://mnnonline.org/article/18064

Taiwan (MNN) ― The working poor make up about half of Taiwan's population. According to the Taipei Time, Taiwan's figures show that of the 108,000 families classed as poor in Taiwan, 80,000 are impoverished because of low incomes resulting from unemployment or being in atypical employment.
Jeremy Hsu with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) says, "We have no breakthrough for the Gospel in this big segment of Taiwan, and so we are looking to be a difference in there. We are looking to go to the heart of darkness in Taiwan."
Hsu serves in Taiwan and tells Mission Network News about the challenges they face. "I think spiritual bondage definitely is a main issue, because most of these people. Demonic activities [are] their way of life."
There are even more issues. "Besides that, they are less educated, and therefore they have less capacity for good decision-making. They get into a vicious cycle of bad decisions and bad consequences of life: decisions like alcohol problems, drug problems, gambling, divorce, family break-up."
Hsu says where they're working, "One-third of the children are from broken families."
What's society doing to help? "The society in general [does not] know how to respond. They trust the government to do something, but government can only do so much," says Hsu.
He says believers need a deeper understanding of the Great Commission. "The lack of discipleship in Taiwan, in general, is producing this apathy toward reaching their neighbors."
Ask God to send more workers to His spiritual harvest in Taiwan. "A lot of people are going to China, but Taiwan is somewhat left behind, and we need help." 

December Prayer Updates

Prayer Updates for Nancy Leet

December 19, 2012

Precept Taiwan

•       Please pray that the vision that has been cast among the leaders and students of Precept Bible studies in Taiwan, will take root and grow in their hearts.  We believe that it is God’s desire for His people to know Him through His word.     
•      Join us in thanking God for His provision for us every month, through the giving of many individuals.  This last month we were blessed with a gift of US$5,000! 

TEAM Mission Family

• We are sending a member of the Taiwan Ministry Area (Jeremy Hsu) to help at the Urbana Missions Conference, sharing the needs and opportunities in TEAM all over the world.  We are praying that many of the more that 20,000 college students who will attend this conference will respond to God’s call to foreign missions.  Particularly pray that the Taiwan Ministry Area of TEAM will see some new people come join us as a result.  And pray for Jeremy and his family as they are apart for the week following Christmas.
•  The date of our office move is finally set for mid January, but we still need to find a place to go!  Pray for just the right office for us in Taichung.

Trailblazer Camps

•      The winter camps will be happening toward the end of January.  The focus of these camps is on developing Christian youth in their walk with God and their ability to make disciples.  Pray for God to provide counselors who are disciples themselves and who can come alongside of their campers for this purpose.
•      We are still looking for permanent staff.  Pray with us for God’s provision.

Personal

•        As the end of the year approaches, the task of determining a strategic plan with accompanying budgets, for both TEAM and Precept Taiwan, looms before me.   Please pray for me as I lead this process in both organizations, to hear from God and to be able to take advantage of all of the resources available to me. 
•       Please keep the planning for my upcoming Home Assignment in your prayers.  My projected dates are May 24 – September 20, 2013.

I thank God for you all, every time I think of you….your prayers and gifts are an amazing provision of God to me, and remind me daily of His love and faithfulness.

Christmas 2011 at the Hsinchu TEAM Church

The church family ambitiously took on the challenge of producing a musical play for Christmas.  The day of the dress rehearsal, others gathered to decorate the hall (not with boughs of holly!) in preparation for the following day's festivities.

Trying on costumes and making sure everything works was also an important task the day before the BIG day!

Then on Sunday came the big presentation -- everyone outdid themselves!

(these are still photos from dress rehearsal, but you get the idea!)

Staff Retreat

There is no better place than the mountains of Taiwan, to get away from the busyness of everyday life and take time for quiet reflection and planning.

My coworkers Dai and Joy and a board member, Teacher Tang, went for an overnight planning retreat in the mountains of central Taiwan.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship as well as making some significant progress in planning the next year's activities for Precept Taiwan.

Joy, Dai and Teacher Tang

Nothing like the beauty of the mountains!

Leader Training

Early in December, Stephen (Pac Rim Regional Director for Precept Ministries International) and Grace Lim came to Taiwan to give a two day bilingual training in "How to Plan and Lead Effective Discussions" of Precept Upon Precept Lessons.  We were thrilled to have 25 current and potential leaders attend the training.  The local staff will follow up this training with another practice day and then once classes begin in March we will have weekly leaders' meetings in which we work through the whole process together.

New twist on "body life"

What comes to mind when you think about how the body of Christ functions as a body and works together to meet the needs of the congregation and community? My guess is that your picture doesn't include a man pulling out his haircutting equipment and offering free haircuts or a woman trained in massage therapy giving help to ease the pain in members' necks and shoulders. Our little congregation in Hsinchu has both and we feel blessed because of the service of these brothers and sisters. They are a real live emulation of "foot washing" in modern context. I am humbled by their service.

The calming effect of beauty in creation

When I arrive at my office here on the campus of the China Lutheran Seminary in the morning and see this little patch of beautiful, wild looking purple flowers, I feel happy and peaceful. These flowers are such an amazing picture of God's creative power and loving provision. Lord, thank you for surrounding me with reminders I can see. You know what I need!

Recent Snapshots of my life

Being a part of TEAM Taiwan is really to be a part of a family.  The first Saturday in September we had a cookout to celebrate the official arrival of our newest coworkers, Jeremy and Ruth Hsu, and to show appreciation to Bill Franklin for his service to our Ministry Area by holding the role of Ministry Area Leader for the last 16 years.  Hiroshi and Kumi Ebina did the work of preparing all of the food for the picnic and we had a great time eating Japanese style BBQ, done on an American grill!  We are blessed to have 50 % of our family from North America and 50% from Asia.  

Welcome and Appreciation BBQ for TEAM Taiwan Missionaries

 Before our fall classes got going we held promotional events for the 40 Minute Bible Study Series in 2 cities.  We are praying that each one who attended will have been encouraged and empowered to step out and lead a group of people in studying the Bible.  We are also praying that for those who do, it will be the first step into a lifestyle of disciple-making.

Students practice leading small group Bible Study using Precept 40 Minute Studies

Long Time No See

I won't bore you with all the chat about getting busy and not blogging....I am back and really do want to do my best to keep up with you all.....this is to be a forum for sharing what is going on with me.  Everyday stuff, ministry stuff, spiritual stuff.......

So, here goes.......

First to catch you up on everything between my last post and now.....

Maybe a simple outline of events would be the easiest.

1. Beginning of summer 2010, I became the Interim Ministry Area Leader for TEAM Taiwan.  Filling in for Bill Franklin who went to the US for a 6 month Home Assignment. 
2. December 2010, Bill Franklin and I were called to Wheaton for some mission business.
3.  January-May 2011 Working through the mission business and preparing for Home Assignment
4. May-Aug 2011 in the US on Home Assignment
5. Aug. 11, 2011 arrive home in Taiwan.

There were lots of things that happened during that time.  One important (but not so pretty) thing was me getting physically, emotionally and spiritually rundown.  That took place in the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011.  Maybe that is more of the real reason for no blogging.  I learned a couple really important lessons, which I am sure I will continue to need to learn again and again.  1.  I can't but God can -- and He never expected that I could.  and 2.  If I will choose to put my trust in Him and not expect that I can do any of the things He asks me to, on my own strength, I will be able to go through it without getting depleted.  My first several weeks in the US gave me (by design) time to spend alone with God and get renewed.  But during that time the Lord also spoke to me about living a lifestyle that is healthier all around, and will be likelier to protect me from getting rundown or burnt out.

So, now I am back in Taiwan and into my new routine....I am dividing my time between directing Precept and leading the Taiwan ministry area for TEAM.    There is lots to learn and I am daily amazed at God's faithfulness to be here with me, to be my strength, my companion, my teacher.....He's awesome!

Taiwan Prayer

Join me in praying this prayer for Taiwan!

Youth Group at Christmas

Its hard to believe that the kids who started out in this group (standing) as 6th graders are getting ready to graduate from High School! Praise God that they are all believers and living lives that identify with Christ. Pray that they will seek to grow and make Christ the central focus of their lives.

Leader Training

The day we have been anticipating since we stopped doing leader training 4-5 years ago finally arrived. Since the best leaders are developed out of the best students, it was proving fruitless to train people who had never been students of Precept Bible studies. About 5 years ago we decided to focus our energy on developing a pool of students who loved using this method and materials and were now desiring training so that they could lead others.



On November 14, 12 students completed the Precept Leader Training in Hsinchu. Several of them will participate in the practice leading class early next year and then they will be set free to begin to lead their own groups in their churches.

We thank God for His faithfulness!

Some Images From Morakot

Is there any question of God's mighty power?

A BBC report on the rescue efforts in southern Taiwan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8200839.stm

Taiwan under water

I am sure that most everyone has been watching the news and has seen many photos of the destruction as well as the rescues taking place in southern Taiwan following Typhoon Morakot this past weekend.

I came across this photo that I felt carried a very poignant message. I post it below for your consideration.

Some really good things to think about

Today on a friend's (Elsie Quick) blog I read what she called Life Affirmations. These are the things that I need to speak into my life everyday. They are truth that I need to live by. Let me share them:


I am loved by God always. I am loved without condition.

My life is of great beauty and infinite value.

God has a plan for my life that is meaningful, purposeful, and joyful.

There is a work for me to do today that will bless others and give me deep satisfaction.

God is always with me. I need never face my problems alone.

Together with God, any difficulty can be worked out and overcome.

All I can say is, AMEN

God is always with me

Adjusting back to life in Taiwan was harder than I expected, after 4 months in the US. I think the main reason is that as I get older, adapting to change is just more of a challenge. I am very glad to be home now, and also very thankful for the time that I had with many special family members and friends. I thoroughly enjoyed time with my home church as well as the Adirondack Bible Chapel. In both places I had more time to start to get to know people and that makes it very precious.

Dai's brother Jing Wei's baptism was held off until I could get back, for which I was really thankful. What a blessing to be able to see first hand his public profession of faith in Christ as he shared so clearly with us all, the blessings from God that money can't buy!