Greetings, all! It has been about a month since I posted an update so I wanted to get one out before I head into Mongolia in a little over a week where I will have very limited access (If any at all) to wifi. I am currently in East Asia about to board a 32 hour train ride to Beijing to spend a little over a week. The Lord has been doing absolutely incredible things in my life, my teams life, and for those we have been able to serve. I am constantly overwhelmed when considering the privilege and honor it is to serve people from all over the world. My faith is growing in ways I didn’t know possible and my perspective on life changes daily. The freedom and sense of purpose that comes in conscious and daily commitment to Jesus never ceases to amaze me. I count myself forever blessed to be alongside such incredible people experiencing the Lord’s work first hand across the world. Anyway, here are some pictures to get a look at what has been going on over the last month.
My team and I spent the second half of our time in Taiwan working through a YWAM (youth with a mission) base and with a local church in a small beach town called Toucheng. We helped with all kinds of things from leading Sunday youth services to putting on drug prevention seminars for a middle school. The time (and weather) was beautiful and getting to serve alongside a local foreign church created an experience unlike I have been part of. The town was planted right between the ocean and lush green mountains. Everyday felt like waking up in the backdrop of a Patagonia catalog.
One of the best parts about the World Race is the people and personalities you get to meet along the way from all over the world. During our time in Toucheng we got to stay with a few Americans working in full time mission in Taiwan and also meet a group of Germans who were staying there for the week as well. Sven (white shirt, standing on the right) was an absolute character, currently living and interning in Hong Kong. We stayed up late listening to his stories about biking across Europe and what growing up in Germany was like. He may have even inspired one of my teammates, Brandon, to attempt the bike tour after the race. This picture was taken at the Toucheng night market, where for about 2 USD you could enjoy a huge plate of noodles and egg. Zach (left of Sven, laughing) is a YWAM staff member from Pennsylvania. He was one of the most hospitable people I have ever met and treated us like family the entire time we were staying with him. He served as a great example of what it looks like to following your calling to serve the Lord wherever in the world that might be. Not to mention he is a rad surfer.
In the town of Toucheng, surfing is one of the most popular pastimes for young locals. Essentially all the staff members at the YWAM base surf or have started to learn since moving to Toucheng and use it as a ministry to meet locals and teach surf/swim lessons to those in the town. Of course this meant we had to at least try once. We were lucky enough to get a nice day with good swell so Zach took us to a local beach where we camped overnight and woke up to spend the next morning in the waves. It was exhilarating and outrageously exciting (granted I was not that good). Getting to camp between the mountains and sea, wake up and surf was one of the most surreal 24 hours of my life. An experience I will never forget.
One of the most impactful days during my time in Taiwan was visiting the lantern festival in a small town tucked in the mountains called to Shifen. It is quite and expedition to get there, going from to train to train until you finally role into town on the tracks of an old mining railway. Every year the town hosts Taiwans biggest lantern festival which draws hundreds of thousands of people into the small town. We thought it would be a great opportunity to meet foreigners and locals alike and share the good news of Jesus with as many people as possible. We saw some amazing things that day form healing prayer to finding myself doing Zumba with 15 old women in the town square with Christian music, but one thing above all else stood out to me above all else that day. I met a college age Vietnamese young lady named Emma and her sister selling coffee and since she spoke good English I figured I’d stick around and strike up a conversation. We talked about plenty of things from what brought her to Taiwan to Vietnamese food but we eventually landed on the topic of religion. She shared with me that she was not religious and basically had no understanding of what Christianity is or who Jesus is. I jumped right in trying my best to explain the gospel and the story of redemption that came with Jesus being nailed to the cross for our sins. You could tell in her eyes that something struck and cord and she was eager to hear more so I eventually just started from Genesis and gave my best overview of what a life in Christ brings. As you can only get so far because of the language barrier I ran off and came back with my teammate Jenny who had a card we had written verses out on in Chinese. I asked if I could pray for her and her sister where she then stopped me and asked if I could instead lead her through saying a prayer herself. She said she had never prayed before but would like to pray for the Holy Spirit to come down upon her. We prayed and then talked through some steps she could take to get a better understanding of the faith when she gets back to school. It was so beautiful and humbling to be used as the Lord’s vessel to speak truth into one of his unreached.
After Taiwan, we spent a week in Hong Kong in order to get our applications in for our Chinese visas and have time for them to get processed. Hong Kong is a very expensive city so we made the conscious decision to spend the few days camping amongst the peninsulas and islands in the southern part of Hong Kong, outside of the city. It turned out to be one of the most beautiful and and impactful few days of my race so far. We were in a pristine public camping ground that required either a three mile hike or ferry ride to get into and was about two hours from the nearest city. The week set a perfect stage to rest in the presence of the Lord and regain some strength before heading into a closed country. Of course God is always working and introduced us to Jacko, Tommy, Kaman, Irene, and Raymond, of which became close friends with almost instantly and were to spend the week with. Jacko is a retired member of the Hong Kong military and is spending his days split between his home in Hong Kong and his temporary home at the camp ground. He has incredible sense of compassion and generosity. The first night, and the rest to come, he invited us in to spend the evenings over food and conversation. Every night he brought us in with so much kindness that we had no choice but to repay the favor and cook him and his friends a large meal (using his portable stoves). We cooked a massive stir fry and stayed up late into the night swapping stories of home and past. The bond we built over the few days with them reflects many of the relationships I have built with people all over the world to this point. There are so many people and places already that I hope to one day return to.
As always, I appreciate so much your support and prayer. Knowing that I have people back home who believe in me and my teams mission pulls me through in times when I question even my own decision to leave home for 11 months. Not everything is easy, as many days I bear the weight knowing I missed on opportunity to share the love of Christ with his children that do not know him. I continue to grow in boldness in faith as we step out more and more into the responsibility that is carrying the light of the Lord into places that reject him. I have a long way to go, but with everyday comes new grace from Jesus to set others free as I myself have been set free. There is so much to write, so I will cap it here. I could talk endlessly on the stories, people, and cultures I have been apart of. I miss everyone at home dearly and once again, your prayers and support mean the world to me. Love you guys.
In Christ,
Parker
