I took this picture a while ago, and it has always made me smile because of the significance it bears in teaching what the tradition of Taiwan and much of East Asia is about. It is not the child with the phone, but the reflection of the grandfather hovering over the child. Even though I have been here for a short amount of time I know for sure that the ancestors of families live as reflections and ghosts over the homes of their relatives. This small child knows nothing of what is going to be asked of him later in his life when he has to spend gobs of money appeasing the upkeep of traditional ways. Honoring your parents in life is a regulation followed by several pagan and Christian sects, but Honor your parents so that they may be happy in the afterlife, I have a hard time justifying as mere tradition, but so tradition is passed of as religion? I know other large sects of spiritual thought that have been great at passing traditions upheld as concrete religious practice...
The grandfather in the background is counting on this young child, the first and only male child from his oldest sons marriage, to carry on the traditional practices long after he has passed away from walking on this earth. Already the hooks and chains, the rebar forms are being set, ready to be formed into a foundation for these pagan traditions. This first male child of a first male child has little to no chance in being converted when he is older unless there is a great shift in what Taiwanese consider to be their traditional values for life which in turn dictate the spiritualism of the country.

The Fall of Man

Why did God put that tree in the Garden? I don't think, in my present culture, there is as big philosophical hangup for people searching for some spiritual meaning through the bible than that question. If God currently wants all people to Love Him and Love each other, why give them a chance to do exactly the opposite? A great question, which leads to another and another and another all which lead back to another question. A circle, which happens to be the "defense against the dark arts" here in Taiwan. The men specifically. Whenever I pose the question of God, there is inevitably the response, I have many serious questions, all leading to this question, Why put the Tree in the Garden?
I have a question, why is that such a hang-up in my ministry? I pray and pray that God will use me like he used the Apostles in the early church, to convict people and then through the grace of God, their hearts can be changed, but always the devil is shutting the doors of the hearts of these pagans. I guess he rightfully can, because the masses are secure in their sin and it has been hid from their eyes, plausible denyability.
God why are you waiting to shake the foundations satan has in the hearts of these people? There are faithful men and women in place. Use them.
The Answer to these questions I know, and that is not what frustrates me. What frustrates me is why I cannot be joyful in that answer, why does that answer frustrate me, that is why I am frustrated. Perhaps the rumors are true, this land is not ready for a harvest, they are doomed, for the mean time, to be consummed by thier greed and impartiality to Truth. The are infatuated with their fence balancing between the the poles of good and evil. Unwilling to make a concrete commitment to understanding the there is wring and right and not finding the balance between. How long will this last? I wish, for their sake, not a minute longer.