The Taiwan Conference (TWC) held a family retreat for church workers on August 7–10, 2022, at Yoho Resort in Pingtung, Taiwan. It has been six years since the last retreat due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other reasons. A total of 220 people with spouses and children signed up, including pastors, staff members, and Pioneer Mission Movement (PMM) pastors serving in Taiwan. This retreat aimed to provide physical and mental relaxation through beautiful nature, promote friendship among staff and pastoral families, share spiritual experiences with one another, and be ready for better service to God.
At the opening ceremony, Pastor Tom Sun, TWC president, gave welcome remarks to participants, which were then followed by greetings from Pastor Steven Wu, field secretary for the Taiwan Branch of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD). Participants then enjoyed a meet-and-greet time with games, poetry readings, and dinner.
The next morning, August 8, James Wu, director of TWC Health Ministry and CEO of Sanyu Health Education Center, shared God’s Word with participants in the morning worship. Then they divided into groups and joined the training sessions on evangelism, led by four pastors and their spouses.
During the sessions, participants received lessons, were inspired by the experiences of others, answered questions, and gained a better understanding of evangelism. During the group training sessions, their children were led by Joyce Chen, director of TWC Children’s/Family/Women’s Ministries, and teenagers enjoyed seaside activities led by Harrison Wan, director of TWC Youth Ministries.
On August 9, after the morning devotional by Jacob Ko, director of NSD Health Ministries, participants visited the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung. The exhibitions allowed them to learn the geographical features of Taiwan, its ecological environment, and the rich biodiversity of marine life while discovering God’s amazing creation.
In the afternoon, participants were divided into ten groups by the mission district from which they came to participate in various competitive and recreational games at the beach. Despite the unstable weather, nothing could stop their striving for the best—a time to exercise the spirit of God’s teaching about unity and cooperation. Regardless of getting wet in the rain and covered with sand, they worked hard, laughed, and enjoyed the time together.
On that same day, the talent night program brought participants joy and excitement. Special music was played by PMM families for violin, cello, flute, ocarina, and other musical instruments. Vocal music, a play, and games also immersed all participants in an exciting party.
At the closing ceremony on August 10, Pastor Sun gave an encouraging message to all participants. Citing the book of Acts, he urged them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and carry out God’s commission to proclaim the gospel. “When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, they were no longer ignorant, separate, discordant, conflicted, nor were their hopes in worldly greatness. They were ‘of one heart and one soul’ [4:32, NKJV]. Their purpose was to advance God’s kingdom. They became like their Lord in mind and character, and ‘they had been with Jesus [verse 13],’” said Pastor Sun.
All participants thanked God for leading a TWC family retreat filled with enjoyable, helpful, inspirational moments. It is expected that the blessings of the gospel will spread to every corner of Taiwan through this time together.
This article was originally posted on the Northern Asia-Pacific Division website.