John McCall — Update from Taiwan
Taiwan
Dear friends,
It has been a tense weekend here. I have been on Taiwan’s east coast speaking at the Eastern Amis Presbytery and preaching at the church of former students. The Amis tribe is the largest tribe numerically among Taiwan’s indigenous people. The pastor of the San Ming Church where I preached is Lisin, a former student of mine at Taiwan Seminary. Her husband, Kadzau, is pastoring a church about fifteen minutes away. Thirteen years ago, I officiated at their wedding.
After the presbytery training event, they took me with their three children to a beautiful cove on the Pacific Ocean under a rock called the Stone Umbrella. We were able to snorkel among the coral and colorful tropical fish. After snorkeling, I climbed up on the rocks to enjoy the stunning sky over the Pacific.
As I sat there marveling in God’s creation, I knew that missiles from China were raining down further out in the same ocean not too far from where we were sitting. Earlier in the day, Taiwan fighter jets were screaming above us.
It was a strange juxtaposition. The peaceful calm of waves lapping upon the rocks. The beauty of a sky which God painted above us. And yet not far from all of this beauty, the weapons of war.
Both are equally real. The beauty of Taiwan’s indigenous people who have taught me so much about how to live life with trust and joy and humor and faith. The wonder of creation with bright coral and fish of all shapes and colors. The rocks have been there for centuries. A sky that changes throughout the day.
And yet the fighter jets, the missiles, and the ships of war are equally real. Human conflict is especially real to the people of Ukraine who also know beauty and pain.
It is real to the soldiers on every side of every conflict. A good friend of mine here who used to be a U.S. military chaplain said that soldiers don’t want to go to war, they just want to go home.
So, we give thanks for the beauty. We know that this is the day which the Lord has made and we rejoice in it.
But we also face the violence, and we pray for peace. For we know that God’s desire for God’s people is peace, peace which passes understanding even in the midst of the storm.
Peace to you,
John McCall
This article used with permission of Presbyterian World Mission.
Read more about John McCall’s ministry HERE.
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