Why I'm Going to Taiwan, Part Two

As mentioned in my previous entry, I'm commonly asked what led me to commit to long-term ministry in Taiwan. We continue here with a discussion of how I came to make that decision; I pray it may be helpful to anyone in the midst of the same consideration...

Reason I'm going to Taiwan #2: I love Taiwan!

I mention this second and not first because I want to emphasize that leading and direction from God should certainly take priority over preference for a particular destination. No amount of love for a place will produce eternal results for the kingdom of God, only God can accomplish that through us, so we must remain in His will and not assume strong emotional pulls in one direction or another are sufficient evidence of our being so.

I have great respect for missionaries I have encountered who seemed to be not especially attached to the place or culture to which they were called, yet persisted in faithfully slogging it out over years for the sake of the gospel. I hope that, in a similar situation, my endurance would be as great, seeing the prize for which we run. In my own experience, however, concurrent with my growing involvement in Taiwanese ministry was a growing love for Taiwan and its people.

Love for the people one is called to, I was once advised by an experienced Australian missionary who I greatly respect, is the only motivation which can keep one from eventually burning out. I don't know if this is the case in every situation, but one can certainly see how it would be generally true. At the time it was what I needed to hear; my love for Taiwan was rather abstract, in the way that one might say one loved NYC, for example, or "the beach." Certain things about the place strongly appealed to me, and I enjoyed my time there due to, and not in spite of, the place being itself. But my experiences there were still confined to two short-term missions trips, and I really knew very little about Taiwan.


Some things about Taiwan are readily apparent to the first-time visitor. Frequently cited are the island's natural beauty, the friendliness of Taiwanese people towards visitors, and its delicious and comparatively cheap food, notably the street food found in the numerous nightmarkets...

Mango ice dessert from one of Shilin Nightmarket's underground food stalls

An underlying layer of attractions reinforce this positive impression: a highly efficient mass-transit system (at least in Taipei, which is the first part of Taiwan most visitors experience), leading-edge technology side-by-side with ancient Chinese culture, and how even in the midst of thriving metropoli one is never far from the peaceful countryside.

Flooded rice fields in Dajia, near Taichung

After my year of living there, the initial attraction was now a deeper feeling based on real experience. I had visited many parts of the island and really lived life there, seeing Taiwan's land and culture firsthand. But more importantly I had formed real friendships and ministry relationships with Taiwanese believers. We were working together for God's kingdom, and our identity in Christ and common purpose defined us more than any differences in nationality. Culture gaps were there, and at times presented obstacles, but we overcame these through the fellowship we had in Christ.

To some, this may sound like an overly-rosy portrayal of cross-cultural work. Sometimes it's not so harmonious. Sometimes the people are not friendly, or suspicious of outsiders. Sometimes your supposed friends really have their own purposes in maintaining contact with you, and your own ministry coworkers oppose you for reasons that aren't always clear. All of these things can be true in overseas ministry, and I would be naive not to expect some or all of them to happen to me in the course of my life. I'm grateful that my beginning was smoother than is often the case, and won't assume ministry there will always be so. But it makes even less sense to me to set aside or discount the time God saw fit to bless with peace and productivity. Ministry need not always be a weary task, and a heart for your place of ministry and those you are ministering to and with goes far towards easing the burden of the work, even as it increases the burden one feels to spread the gospel there.

It's hard to summarize why one loves something or someone in one short sentence. Usually, if cause can be assigned, it's actually due to a whole host of reasons, large and small. My best answer is that God has given me a deep and compelling desire for the well-being of the Taiwanese people, in the eternal and most significant sense: that they know Him and the grace found in our Savior. In accordance with His call, He allowed me to experience Taiwan in a way that draws me deeply to that place and people. I expect the reader will understand that to recount those experiences would be to recount whatever it is that binds you to the places and people you love; the happy memories and beautiful moments, triumphs celebrated and difficulties endured, quiet places of peace and festive times of celebration, shared sorrows and shared growth.

They say home is where the heart is, and in our increasingly mobile modern world, more and more people are discovering that the converse is also true; where your heart is, that place can be home. Over the years of visiting and living in Taiwan, God has given me a heart for that land and people, and in at least that sense, it has become home.