Finding My Taiwanese Identity

I am the son of first-generation Taiwanese immigrants. My parents immigrated to the United States for graduate school; I was born and raised in a primarily white suburban town near a big city. Like many others, I have wrestled with the clash of culture. On one hand, my parents are very “Asian” (you know what I mean) and that’s the type of home environment I grew up in. But on the other hand, most of my friends and my school environments were predominantly white and American. We, members of the minority, often struggle to find our place in society with these two cultures pulling at us in opposite directions.

During our travels to Nepal this past summer, I realized how much I inwardly pushed away my Taiwanese identity and attempted to embrace Western culture. In a way, I wanted to be “white”, just like everyone else. I realized that when I was young, I saw myself as different than everyone else and I felt that I needed to prove myself as a worthy human being by excelling in athletics, academics, etc. Maybe I was trying to escape my Asian-ness and become more “white”.

But God has been teaching me that He truly does love my ethnicity and He truly does love me for who I am. He did create me to be Taiwanese; it was not an accident. When ministering to Israelis this summer, I found myself trying to reach them by embracing my Taiwanese identity. I would always mention that I was Taiwanese and that I have decided to believe and to worship their God, the God of Israel, in hopes that they would see me differently and that they would perhaps trust my testimony more. I don’t know if my methods worked but I found myself constantly reverting to my ethnicity. In Genesis 12, God calls Abram and declares that He will make Abram a great nation and that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This great nation from Abram is the nation of Israel and the nations of the earth that would be blessed are the Gentile nations. That’s me! I humbly embrace myself as a Gentile who believes in the God of Israel and who provokes His people to jealousy. It is quite the testimony to have many from Gentile nations forsaking all of their gods to worship the God of Israel!

It was in this time that I began to realize my own contempt towards my Taiwanese identity and I set it in my heart to embrace my ethnicity the way that God intended me to. In light of this recent presidential election in the United States, I have found myself all the more embracing my Taiwanese identity. There is no doubt in my mind that racial identity has been a major factor in the outcome. Whether we want to admit it or not, we still have a major issue with others who are different than we are. We find it difficult to love others who are different and those who disagree with us. We find it difficult to love our enemies, but what good is it if you only love those who love you?

I live in a county that is 93.4% white. My county is a typical white, rural community. I am the only Asian teacher in the entire county. The question that I ask is, do I have a place in your society? Do I have a place in your America? But now, let’s not only consider Asians, but consider all of those who are different than you. I hope that I do have a place in your society, though I am different. But even if I do not, my true hope is in the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. In that day, we will have a righteous king and all the nations shall be blessed. All nations, all races, all people, all tongues.

Record an album by the end of 2016?

You know how water baptism is often interpreted as a public declaration of someone's commitment to believe and to follow Jesus? Well, here I am, making my public declaration. We have been writing music for quite some time now, mainly for ourselves. Music is probably the primary means by which I express myself. I listen to songs that express my emotions and I try to write songs that express what other songs have not been able to express. All we have is one microphone and my laptop. But my goal is to complete an entire album's worth of songs by the end of 2016. This is quite a goal, but I think that it is possible. We have most, if not all, of the songs written and they have been written and sung for many years now. Now, it's a matter of recording them and shaping them the way we want. We have already been working hard at the recording process but it is difficult to find time. We actually started recording last summer, but we've been on and off since then. Recently, through the encouragement of a brother, I've made up my mind to complete this album. It won't be professional quality, but hopefully it will sound at least decent. And hopefully it will be something that I wouldn't mind listening to. The main reason for writing this is to make a public declaration of my goal: these songs will be completed by the end of 2016. This is my goal and I am sticking to it.

The Gospel in a Nutshell

The following is the transcript from an audio recording made to provide a quick summary of the Gospel. It is meant to spark conversation and dialogue regarding what the Bible actually says. 

The gospel begins with creation, a real event in which God created both the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). But due to the fall of man, sin and death entered the world (Gen. 3:14-19). If evolution is true, then death is natural and is the means by which living beings progress and evolve. If death is normal and sin does not lead to death, then there is no need for a Savior, no need for atonement of sin, and no need for resurrection (1 Cor. 15:21-22, 50-57). Biblical hope rests not in God destroying His creation, but rather God restoring His beloved creation and reversing the curse that brought sin and death (Deut. 32:43, Ps. 72; Isa. 25:8-9, 26:19, 49:6-10, 65:17-25, etc.) Therefore, we do not hope in floating in heaven forever, but we hope in the resurrection and in living on earth in physical bodies, as it was in the beginning.

God Himself will bring about this change on the Day of the Lord, a future apocalyptic day in which God will purge the heavens and earth of all ungodliness and wickedness. He will judge all of humanity: rewarding the righteous with eternal life and punishing the wicked with eternal fire (Isa. 2, Isa. 13:6-9, Ezek. 30:3, Joel 1:15, 2:1-31, 3:14, Amos 5:18, Obad. 15, Zeph 1:7-14, Mal. 4:5, Acts 2:20, 1 Cor. 5:5, 1 Thess. 5:2, 2 Thess. 2:2, 2 Pet. 3:10). The Day of the Lord will bring an end to this present, evil age and begin the glorious and long-awaited age to come (Gal. 1:4, Matt. 12:32, Mark 10:30, Luke 18:30, Heb. 6:5). All of creation groans and anticipates this Day (Rom. 8:20-23).

In addition, God has tied all of redemptive history (the Day of the Lord, the resurrection, the restoration of the earth) to a specific people, the people of Israel, through His covenants. He unconditionally promised Abraham that he would become a great nation, that in him and his descendants, all the families of the earth would be blessed, and that him and his descendants would possess the land of Israel forever (Gen. 12:1-8, 13:14-18, 15:1-21, 17:1-27). The Lord also made a covenant with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. They heard the voice of the Lord and professed that they would obey (Ex. 20:1-21, 24:1-8, Deut 5:1-22), but Moses declared that they did not have a heart in them to keep God’s commandments, pointing to the new covenant that the Lord would make with the house of Israel to put His law in their minds and to write it on their hearts, that they would be capable and empowered to walk in His ways (Deut. 5:29, 31:14-29, Jer. 31:31-40, Ezek. 36:22-38). God also promised a seed to David that would reign on an eternal throne in an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam. 7). All of these covenants progressively build Messianic hope. Most importantly, these covenants have not found their ultimate fulfillment. The first coming of Jesus the Messiah did not change God’s plan for redemptive history, nor did Jesus re-interpret the meaning of the covenants. We are still awaiting the fulfillment of all of these promises, when the Messiah will establish the kingdom of Israel, rule from Jerusalem, and give us new hearts.

The purpose of the first coming of the Messiah, His death on the cross and resurrection, was for the Lord to make His soul an offering for sin and to lay on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6-10). The shedding of His blood is a substitutional sacrifice for sins, providing atonement and forgiveness. The only way for humanity to be declared as righteous before God is through faith in the blood of the Messiah (Rom. 3:21-26). There is a transfer of our sin unto the spotless Lamb. Therefore, righteousness is not obtained through observance to laws or by good deeds, but simply by faith. Faith in the sacrifice of Messiah is the one and only means by which we can be counted worthy to enter the Kingdom of God and the age to come.

The Messiah’s resurrection is a guarantee that the same Spirit that raised Messiah from the dead will also raise us up on the last day (Rom. 8:11, 18-26). The pouring out of the Holy Spirit is also a first fruits or down payment of what God will give in the age to come (Eph. 1-13-14). The gifts of the Spirit are meant to confirm the message of the Gospel and point towards the Day of the Lord. We are to persevere in our faith through the suffering and wickedness of this age, boldly proclaiming the Gospel of Christ crucified, resurrected, and returning.

This present age will end with a period of unparalleled tribulation, known as Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30, Dan. 12, Matt. 24). It is likened to the process of birth, where the pain of labor leads to joy and blessing (Matt. 24:8). The end of the age, as with the entire history of God’s dealings with humanity, will be Israel-centric. The Lord will lay on the people of Israel all of the covenantal curses, crushing them until their power is gone (Deut. 32: 35-43, Dan. 12:7). As a result, Israel will seek the Lord with all of their heart and soul, repent, and call on the name of the Lord, culminating in the return of Jesus, their Messiah (Deut. 30:1-7). He will bring deliverance and establish the kingdom of Israel; the Law will go forth from Zion and the nation of Israel will fulfill its irrevocable calling to be a light and blessing to all nations (Isa. 2, Zech. 14). This kingdom is not presently here in any capacity whatsoever; it will be inaugurated at His second coming, as He is the rightful king.

We are to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel, whatever the cost. We are to endure until the end, even unto death (Matt 24:11-14, Rev. 6:9-11). We must live soberly, righteously, and godly, eagerly await our Savior, who will restore creation and establish righteousness and peace forever and ever (Titus 2:11-14, Isa. 9:6-7).  

Rejoicing in "Failure"

"I used to think that when we are witnessing people always need to get saved and baptized in that moment. But if that is it, our ministry is so depressing, and we are failures. Now I have learned that in that depressiveness and in that failureness, we can rejoice!"

                                                                                                   ~quote by our Nepali friend and pastor 

Evangelism has never come naturally for me.  I don't really like talking to strangers in general, so striking up conversations with random people and then talking about spiritual things is always really tough.  But this past week in Manali has pushed me outside my comfort zone and allowed me to practice being bold as Paul exhorts us to be.  I was able to see that evangelism is not just throwing a message in someone's face and giving them the chance to take it or leave it. I found that if we actually made the effort to chat with the person we bought water from or the guy sitting two feet away in the coffee shop, hearing their story and sharing ours (at least bits and pieces) came pretty naturally.

Of course, the part of our story that came up the most frequently in Manali was simply our reason for being in India.  Pretty much everyone there is traveling and wants to know where you're going and where you've been.  And the fact that we came all the way from Kathmandu to spend a week in Manali was intriguing to many.  But what could we say other than the truth?  Time after time, we told people how we came to Manali because we heard there are a lots of Israelis there, and we wanted to have conversations with them about the Tanakh (Old Testament) and Hashem (Hebrew word used in reference to the God of Israel) because we believe firmly in both.  Most people found this funny, strange, or even crazy.  Israelis across the board were mystified by a group of Nepalis, Americans, Taiwanese, and even a Palestinian Jordanian that all professed to worship their God.  Even when it was only Chris and I talking to a guy named Or, he couldn't believe that we had actually come there just to talk to people like him about God.

Although it wasn't intentional, the strangeness of our purpose actually worked to our advantage.  People were interested in what we had to say because really, who rides a plane two hours and a bus fifteen hours just to talk to some Israelis in the middle of nowhere India about the Bible?

After sort of understanding why we came to India, most people we talked to would follow up by asking, "So what are you?" Though this question often seemed funny at the time, it's really pretty sad!  Just because we said we believe in the Old Testament and God's covenants with Israel, they thought we must be some new religion or sect.  Most argued that, despite our belief in Jesus as Messiah, we could not be Christians.   Christians don't believe Tanakh.  Christians kill Jews.  Christians believe Jesus nullified the promises made to the nation of Israel.  We heard all of these things!!  

This reflects some big issues in the Church.  We (Christians) worship a Jewish man who is King of the Jews and whose Father chose the Jewish people to be His firstborn nation.  More than half of our Bible is the Old Testament, which is not outdated but is actually the foundation for everything we read in the New Testament.  So what has Christianity become that a Jew can see no part of their religion in ours?

Explaining that we are in fact Christians and why made up the majority of several of our conversations.  Other times we mostly discussed why we believe there is only one truth (since most Israelis we met were of the belief that everyone has their own truth).  I wish I could say that our conversations led many to radical, life changing commitments to Jesus.  But they didn't, and we can't define success that way.  We spoke truth in love to many lost sheep of Israel (and to several Nepalis and Indians as well) and trust Holy Spirit to do the rest.  We rejoice in what looks like failure because maybe, just maybe one of them will think about what we said and humbly search the scriptures for themselves.  And surely that will lead them to the foot of the cross.

Josy <><

the whole India team 

  our evangelism team for the first two days

Kasol, another city we visited near Manali

one of the many stray dogs hanging out by the river 

P.S. Although it may sound like I was highly involved in all these conversations, I admit that I did more observing than speaking.  I still have so much to learn from our bold Nepali brothers and the others on the team!

Encountering Israelis in India

After flying into the Delhi airport, we took a 15 hour overnight semi-sleeper bus to the great city of Manali. I am prone to getting car sick so the ride was not comfortable at all (as we were driving through very windy roads way too quickly). I thought in my mind, "this trip better be worth it if I'm going to travel all the way to India!".

Our entire week was devoted to witnessing to Israelis in Old Manali. There are basically two or three streets in Old Manali that are almost entirely occupied by Israelis. We found that the best approach to meeting people was splitting up into smaller groups and being bold at restaurants and coffee shops. We had many many conversations with Israelis as well as Indians, but instead of writing about each specific conversation, I want to write more about the beliefs and paradigms that I encountered while witnessing.

Though there were orthodox Jews in Manali, I only had conversations with "secular" Jews, meaning that most of them grew up in Jewish tradition but would say now that they do not believe in their God. Most that we encountered did not believe that the Tanakh is the word of God. Additionally, they are here exploring Hinduism and Buddhism! The most common paradigm is that there is only ONE God, but all the gods of all the religions are just different faces of the one God. This belief also goes along with this universalist idea that we all define what truth is in our own realities. There is not one truth. There is only what I say is true and what you say is true. Both are true, even though there may be conflicting beliefs.

I think that this type of paradigm is actually very self-centered and the Israelis that I met confirmed this. Extensive drug usage is rampant in Old Manali. Tobacco and marijuana are smoked openly. Cocaine, LSD, etc are all cheap and readily available. Some Israelis that I met gave me the inside scoop on this. They even invited me to an Israeli pyschodelic trance party. Literally the sole purpose of coming to Manali is to relax and to indulge in drugs.

What is so ironic is that the Israelis exhibit animosity towards their Jewishness, yet they all still congregate together. They want to escape from their culture and religion and travelling helps that. Most were totally shocked when we would say that we believed in Hashem, the God of Israel, and the covenants that He made with the people of Israel. When I brought up the issue of Jewish election, most were quick to dismiss their election as God's people by claiming that we are all the same, both Jew and Gentile. This is true in the sense of sin and human depravity, but not true in the sense of election and covenantal roles. And when discussing the issue of Moshiach and Yeshua, many told me that they do not believe in a real Moshiach. Actually, they do not want a Moshiach; they would rather have Moshiach as an idea and a symbol of hope.

In my mind, one of the strongest evidences of God's existence and His faithfulness is simply the existence of the people of Israel. What nation was delivered out of slavery and bondage like Israel was? For the sake of the righteous remnant, the people of Israel have survived years and years and years of persecution and near destruction. Even the modern Israeli understands the uniqueness of their history as a people, but what was most shocking to me was that they attributed their survival to their own strength and resilience as a pole rather than the hand of God.

Deuteronomy 4:23-40.

~Chris

Snapshots

There is so much being processed in my mind right now that writing a blog post has felt too daunting.  So I decided to post some snapshots of the last week or so. I may write more about some of these topics later.

1. Ministry Mamas

For the last three weeks, I have trekked, prayed, listened to teachings, and done evangelism with a team of 7-10 other believers.  But there has been one main distinction between me and my teammates. I'm the only girl!  And throughout this trip I've begun to see why.  It's because these guys (at least the married ones) have such awesome wives!  At first, from my ignorant perspective, I wondered why the women almost seemed disengaged from the ministry.  They don't come to the prayer room or Nepali church or on the ministry trips.  But I soon realized it's not because trekking is too physically demanding or because their husbands are more passionate than they are.  It's because raising kids in a third world country is a full time job, and it's HARD. I'm so impressed by these women who find ways to entertain and love on their kids in a world where (at least as far as I know) playgrounds, dance classes, tee ball, public pools, and events at the local library are not options.  I honestly have no idea how they do it!  A lot of it must just be trusting the Lord because so much of what we count on to keep kids safe in the U.S. is simply not present.  For example, these women can't buckle their kids into nice car seats in their minivan and head to a grocery store full of FDA approved items.  Instead, they have to pack them into a taxi, which likely has no seat belts and a reckless driver, and head to some form of grocery store where they hope all the food they buy will be safe and relatively healthy.  Yet despite all these challenges, their kids are happy, smart, grateful, and have amazing Bible knowledge.  I am constantly awed by their comments, my favorites being, "Superman isn't real, Daddy, but Jesus is, and he's really coming back (2 or 3 year old)," and, "We cried when our friends moved away, but we will see them again in the New Jerusalem (8 year old)."  So shout out to the three amazing mamas I've met in Nepal!  And of course to their husbands who are amazing fathers too!  

2. But I NEED It

Last week, our team had the opportunity to eat lunch at our Nepali trekking guide's house.  It was really eye opening for me to see a home lacking so many items that I would consider to be necessities.  We spent all our time in the living room/bedroom/guest room/nursery.  This room had cement walls and floors with some simple rugs and a few unframed pictures for decoration.  The bed was basically a piece of wood with blankets on it, and the couch/guest bed was the same.  A clothesline hung above the "couch," and a plastic cabinet sat in the corner by an old, out of tune guitar.  But what really baffled me was the one month old baby wrapped in a few blankets and sleeping on the bed with no crib, high chair, changing table, stroller, or wardrobe full of baby clothes in sight. It was interesting to realize that none of these items are actually necessary to adequately care for an infant.  Their baby seems perfectly content with nothing but loving parents and a soft blanket.  So why do we Americans "need" so much STUFF? 

3. Hinduism 101

Before we left for India, our team met with a local pastor to learn more about Hinduism and Buddhism.  This pastor was a Hindu priest before he encountered Jesus, so he had a lot to share with us.  What stood out the most was his explanation of the four primary ways Hindus believe in achieving salvation: karma, knowledge, devotion (prayer, etc.), and yoga.  I was very disturbed to learn about the origins of yoga and how "oum" (the sound I picture people making with their legs crossed and eyes closed while they meditate) is a way of making vibrations to connect with the three main Hindu gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (the destroyer).  Moral of the story? No yoga for me!  

4.  Poverty Round 4

I've seen people living in poverty.  Over the past six years, especially during my trips to Central/South America, I've served them, befriended them, and loved many of them... But I've also forgotten them.  I remember coming back from Peru disgusted with American luxury and promising myself I'd never forget the heart breaking sights, sounds, and smells of poverty.  But I did!!  And I was not reminded of such things until riding a taxi and then a bus from Dehli, India to Manali.  Look out the window, I saw areas where people basically live under plastic tarps with heaps of trash all around.  Down the street, a three or four year old girl lay curled up in a ball on the sidewalk, seemingly all alone.  By the bus stop, a teenage girl attempted to collect rupees as her young brother twirled a hula hoop and did back bends in the street.  I am ashamed at how easily I forgot such people when they were out of sight.  I want to care more, pray more, love more, and help more.  Even talking to our Nepali brothers, I realize that I (when compared to the masses around the world) am rich.  For them, having a car is an impossible expense and Chris and I have TWO!  I am so thankful for all that I have, but I pray for the Lord's grace, for "it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 19:23)

5. Jews on Drugs

I've recently been learning a lot about God's plan for Israel and how it is such an important part of the gospel.  I once heard a guy share that Israel is the name used most in the Bible, (even more than Jesus), so clearly, this nation is important to the Lord, and not just prior to Jesus' death and resurrection (If you don't believe me, start with Romans 11). At the heart of what I've learned are God's covenants with the nation of Israel, most (if not all) of which have not yet been fulfilled.  And they will not be fulfilled until Israel turns back to the Lord and worships their Messiah.  I used to wonder what it meant that the Jewish people have "broken their covenant" with God (see Deut 5:27 where they promise to obey all that God tells Moses).  From my perspective, it seemed like many Jews today are doing their best to keep the Law and seek the Lord. 

But then I came to Manali.  I think it's the strangest town I've ever been to.  It's a tiny village (basically just two streets) in India that's sort of in the middle of nowhere.  Yet for some reason, swarms of Israelis come here.  I'd guess that 3/4 of the tourists here are Israeli, most of whom have just finished their mandatory military service and are taking a few months or years to relax and travel.  Not so bad, right? 

Wrong!  These people that God has chosen and desperately loves are here in Manali doing little besides smoking, drinking, and doing drugs.  It's truly heartbreaking.  Though God has preserved their people through generations of persecution and hatred, they see no need for Him and instead seek to find peace in the religions of the area and in their own selves.  Here in Manali, it's easy to see how the Jewish people truly have forsaken their promise to heed the words God gave Moses on Mount Sinai.  I'm saddened to see such depravity, but I'm also somehow thankful.  Because "through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to" me, a Gentile (Romans 11:11). And in this gratefulness, I will keep witnessing to and praying for these lost sheep of Israel because the Lord has chosen them and because when this nation finally turns to Jesus, "what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" Romans 11:15).

Check out pictures on my Facebook! The wifi is too slow to upload them on here today.

Josy <><

Even in My Weakness

Typically, the way of evangelism in America is a multi-year process involving relationship and building of trust. I cannot say that I have "preached the Gospel" to many people in my life. And I think that's sad. It's sad that straight-up evangelism isn't a more common thing in America. Perhaps it's not even a common thing anywhere. The fear of evangelism for me and maybe others is a confidence issue. What will they think of me? What if I don't have the words to accurately describe the Gospel? This fear makes me so aware of my own weakness.

Through prayer and teaching this week, I feel like I am going to explode. My heart's desire is to simply understand the scriptures in a consistent way so that my heart would believe and have faith in God. Yet I often feel that I am battling my pre-conceived notions and assumptions. Being here has made me more hungry for the Word. I hope that we all re-assess what we believe and ensure that the scriptures are our foundation. We must receive the Word at face value and not attempt to twist it or interpret it in a way that fits with our perspective. It has to be the opposite. We have to be willing to re-work our beliefs and faith simply because it is in accordance with scripture.

This process takes great humility. Perhaps what strikes me the most about being here is the humility. We are all weak and broken men trying to live out a life that is worthy of the Gospel. We are well acquainted with our weakness and our need for grace. We are familiar with our degenerate and wicked hearts. We need the Spirit to help us and give us strength. There is no boasting, no comparison. Our hope is the cross alone. What a beautiful place to be. I can let go of my self-righteousness and humble myself to receive the mercy of God and take Him at His word. He crushes our pride, our self-righteousness, and our strength. We become more and more aware of our wickedness and depravity and how unlike God we are. This is the way of the cross.

~Chris