Surreal

It was pretty surreal for me to be sitting in a church service led by Marlin, Isaac, Kelly, and one of their classmates (Hui shin) they helped bring to Christ last year. Marlin, Isaac, and Kelly became Christians at our International Bible study 3 and 4 years ago at the Campus House. They went home to Taiwan excited to share their faith and help lead Bible studies of their own. With the help of Craig Thompson, a Team Expansion missionary, their Saturday morning Bible study became a Sunday afternoon worship service for the first time while our Campus House team was there. Their Saturday morning group gathered together with a Bible study group from NTUT (National Taiwan University of Technology) that Craig leads each week. Marlin was a sort of emcee for the service, welcoming everyone, making sure we foreigners were properly introduced, and making sure the service flowed as smoothly as possible. Kelly led us in singing some well-chosen worship songs with the help of an accompanying CD, and Hui shin led the prayer time. Isaac led the communion time, and if he'd spoken two minutes longer, we probably would have called it a sermon--he basically preached and taught a communion sermon! I was so proud of them all. This wasn't the result of Craig simply putting words in their mouths, telling them what to say and what not to say, what elements the worship service should have and shouldn't have--this was their coming to their own conclusions by studying the scriptures and observing how the church community has put them into practice over the years. It was the high point of my trip to be seated there in a worship service that my friends were leading--possibly one of the highlights of my life!