I love CMS! A Great Big Welcome to Taiwan for Raj Patel, CMS Regional Manager for Asia ~ all the way from Oxford ~ YES!

Yes, honest, I love CMS!  And all those associated with CMS ~ the mission partners, CMS staff, UK Link Churches and of course all those who welcome us to serve in their dioceses, churches, organizations and communities! CMS stands for Church Mission Society ~ I joined in September 1989, served in Tanzania for 7 years, and then in January 1999 arrived in Taiwan and I’ve been here ever since, first at St. James’ Church, Taichung for 7 years, and since early 2007 based here at St. John’s University, on Taiwan’s NW coast.  My last formal CMS-UK visitors came in November … Continue reading I love CMS! A Great Big Welcome to Taiwan for Raj Patel, CMS Regional Manager for Asia ~ all the way from Oxford ~ YES!

St. Timothy’s Church, Kaohsiung ~ and such a warm welcome!

A great weekend at St. Timothy’s Church!   Since I was last there, our good friends, Rev. Richard Lee and his wife and family (previously at Trinity Church, Keelung) have moved there, Richard is the new rector.  Actually they’ve already been there about a year, so they’re getting used to the warmer climate, big city life, a big rectory, and of course services being all in Taiwanese! It was a great honour to be in Kaohsiung with Mrs. Grace Chien, widow of Bishop John Chien ~ and our first port of call was to say hello to her sister, and … Continue reading St. Timothy’s Church, Kaohsiung ~ and such a warm welcome!

7 years after Typhoon Morakot ~ up beyond 甲仙 Jiasian to 小林 Siaolin and 錫安山 Holy Mt. Zion!

The deadliest typhoon in Taiwan’s history, Typhoon Morakot on August 8, 2009, resulted in the deadliest mudslide ever, in the Pingpu village of Siaolin (Xiaolin) 小林, up in the mountains of southern Taiwan, about 90 minutes drive NE of Kaohsiung City.  A stunningly beautiful area – but on that tragic day in 2009, disaster struck and up to 700 people lost their lives when the village was completely buried by the mud, as were the roads, bridges, agricultural land, schools and temples…. Now 7 years later, and a huge amount of reconstruction has been going on. People have been rehoused in several … Continue reading 7 years after Typhoon Morakot ~ up beyond 甲仙 Jiasian to 小林 Siaolin and 錫安山 Holy Mt. Zion!