Hello from Taiwan!

We hope that you are doing well and have been able to rest in the love of Jesus this year. We have learned a lot over the past little while. 
These first couple months of the year have had some health challenges but have also had exciting things going forward that we hope you have a couple minutes to read about. 

Medical challenges and prayer points:
-Amber has been dealing with a big tooth issue which has been taking months to get resolved and resulted in needing to visit an oral specialist but still requires another 2 treatments which has been difficult on her and on our finances because the specialist is not covered under insurance.

-As some people already know, Jacob was involved in a scooter accident and it has affected his shoulder. He went to have a procedure done on it but found out that it was much more expensive than the doctor originally said so he could not do the procedure but instead got a steroid injection which has not helped. Instead, he has been trying to get it healed through cold immersion therapy (ice baths) and drinking homemade bone broth for the collagen. His pain has not completely gone but it has reduced significantly so praise God!

House church plant:
Jacob has been slowly renovating a space in our house where we will be holding the house church that we intend to plant. We are still one year out from the church being official but we have already been able to buy some of the wood to renovate and Jacob is hard at work preparing. As of right now, we have one supporter for the church which is how we have the money to start renovations. This is a huge answer to prayer, however we are still praying for more support (one time or monthly) to cover the monthly expenses of running the church. 

It has been very exciting for us to be able to get moving on this and we can’t wait to finish the renovations and other details. 

If you’d like to be a part of this or know anyone who would like to, it would be a big blessing. If you’d like to know specifically what the costs would be, we would be happy to share any and all financial details upon request. 

Chinese language school
Over the past 3 months, Jacob has been taking Mandarin classes at the local university to improve his language ability in preparation for the church and ongoing life here. He successfully completed the 3 month program and feels more comfortable with his speaking and listening ability, yet there is still a long road ahead of us in terms of language. 

Growing team
Our team is so excited to have another small family join our team here as of April 1st!! They are already good friends so it will be a blessing not only to have new people for help with ministry but also just to have friends around that we can share community with. Welcome Owen, Sarah and Luna! Please pray for their transition to be smooth and that everything will be provided for their family to live here.

Writing for a Magazine
Something exciting that happened recently is that a magazine contacted Jacob, asking him to write a story for them about life as a missionary in our city. 
This is not only a way for us to share Jesus to a broader audience, but they are also offering him $150 to write it. 
Looking forward to seeing the fruit that can come from this.

Trust over Fear
We often go out and have opportunities to meet new people either at the park, at the store, or just on walks, and this gives us the chance to share Jesus in a natural way. 

We have noticed that recently people have been more open to talking and through this we have met some interesting people and prayed with them for healing, relationships, comfort etc. Even our neighbors have been coming over to talk with us more often recently.

It has been encouraging that people have been open to letting us pray for them because in the past we have met a lot of rejection. 

God is constantly inviting us to trust Him, trust His plan, trust His story. There is always that nagging feeling that comes when we are about to approach someone in a store or on the street… the fear of being rejected, fear of inconveniencing or interrupting people, fear of anything really. But that is exactly when we need to choose to lean into the invitation to trust God in the midst of our fear. For the sake of the other person to have a chance to know Jesus, for the sake of obeying God, for the sake of bringing Glory to our Father in heaven, choose trust over fear. 

Prayer requests
-Jacob‘s mom recently had a problem with her heart and had some possible blockages. We aren’t sure what the final result will be, but please be praying for her. 

-A couple  of our missionary friends who live nearby have a 23 year old son in America, who recently got into a motorcycle accident and died… and the other rider who was on the bike with him is in critical condition. This has been extremely difficult on their family, so if you could please pray for them, that would be appreciated. 

Thank you so much for your ongoing support both in prayer and in finances! We pray that we will have an even greater impact on Taiwan as we continue to do missions here but ultimately we pray that our lives glorify God. 

Bless you!!

Jacob, Amber, Hezekiah, and Malachi President
“Choose trust over fear”