A very special Christmas made possible in difficult financial times

Peter Truasheim

This Christmas season, volunteers from The Family International in Luaodong performed Christmas programs for the eighth consecutive year in the Yilan and Hualien counties of Taiwan.

The world-wide economic crisis made this year somewhat different from previous years as so many people were suffering financially. Thanks to the sponsored materials we received from Activated Ministries we were able to give Christmas presents to those who would not have other wise received anything for Christmas.

At each event, we distributed the Grandpa Jake Christmas hard cover story book with CD, the Christmas Beat audio CD, and the children’s Activated Christmas magazine. The Activated magazine includes stories, coloring pages and other activities geared for children. We were also able to donate several of the books and audio CDs to the school libraries of every school we visited.

Performing these shows required quite a bit of traveling through the breathtaking scenery of the rugged and mountainous east coast of Taiwan. We visited seven elementary schools, six hospitals, two nursing homes, two hospices, one handicapped center and a Buddhist orphanage in aboriginal villages in the Yilan, Nan Owe and Hualien counties. We also performed and participated in a special Christmas dinner organized by our fellow missionary, Nicholas Wright. The dinner was held in a restaurant in downtown Hualien for needy families of a small aboriginal village on the outskirts of Hualien. Nicholas has been assisting the struggling families in these villages for several years.

The songs and nativity skit that we presented at each event illustrated the real meaning of Christmas; God’s love shown to us through His great Christmas gift – His only son, Jesus. Many who watched joined with us in a prayer to receive Jesus personally in their hearts as their personal savior.

At the end of each performance we distributed the beautiful sponsored books, CD’s and magazines to those in attendance, making it a very special Christmas for all. We’re very grateful to Activated Ministries for sponsoring all of the materials, as it enabled us to freely distribute them as Christmas presents to those who could not have afforded them otherwise.