Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Doing the "Dan Jones"

















My daughter wrote us about having a "Dan Jones" experience in Taiwan. I knew immediately to what she was referring. At the missionary training center, they have a building named after him. He was an early church missionary who served a mission to Wales and was very successful. He would stand on a box in the street and preach. That's not something we see very often in our culture, but for Dan Jones it was successful, and it appears that it works in Taiwan too. On one of her first nights in Taiwan, they took her group to the night market. They brought along a box with the words "Dan Jones" written on the side. Each missionary was asked to get up and preach. It's very interesting that they do this because those new missionaries don't speak the language very well yet! But they each willingly got up and preached boldly.

My daughter said that about 50% of the people in the congregation she is attending right now, got interested in the church after being contacted in traffic while they were riding their scooters. I'm not sure why this method is so successful in Taiwan, but it could be because the Chinese are just ready for the gospel now. When I was a missionary there, most people were Buddhist. I'm wondering if the ratio of buddhists to Christians is the same now.

I know my daughter very well, and I know that preaching in the street, and in the midst of traffic isn't within her comfort zone. But she is a strong person, and does feel the need to preach the gospel to anyone who will listen. So even though it isn't her favorite thing to do, she is willing to do it for the sake of those who might listen.

Yesterday we got a special gift in the mail. If I could figure out how to post one portion of it I would, but my computer skills aren't that great. It is a DVD about the Taichung mission, and it includes some footage of my daughter preaching on the "Dan Jones" box! It's pretty cool to see your missionary child in action! I wish I could be out there helping!

3 comments:

Amber said...

that is so cool! I think she's amazing, it totally wouldn't be in my comfort zone either, and I love how excited she is about it! :D

Nene said...

That is really cool. I'm really excited for both your kids. They will really grow and mature in their missions.

Marla said...

You must be so proud of her.