Gospel immigrants, couples traveling together

Exclusive interview with Brother Lin Bo from Taiwan Rural Evangelism Group

Interview/Yu Guoliang

▲It was God’s miraculous hand that led Lin Bo to immigrate to the countryside of Taiwan after spending most of his life in the United States.

"Son, with your straightforward personality, you may not be able to survive in a society like Taiwan." His mother's advice made Lin Bo never plan to move back to Taiwan after studying abroad. But God’s thoughts are higher than human thoughts. Thirty-three years after settling in the United States, a short-term missionary trip to Xiangfu completely changed his mind. He even planned to retire early and immigrate with the gospel. The couple returned to Taiwan, which is both familiar and unfamiliar. In the countryside, together with many unknown preachers, we are diligently cultivating this gospel wasteland.

Almighty God’s Plan

All of this begins when the seeds of the gospel were sown in Limbaugh’s young heart.

Since his parents both graduated from church schools, Limbaugh had the opportunity to come into contact with the church since he was a child and was no stranger to the church. In his senior year of high school, while preparing for the college entrance examination until late at night, Lin Bo saw the stars in the sky and thought that there were many planets in the solar system revolving around the sun, like the structure of an atom. The awe of the Creator arose in Lin Bo's heart. "I can't imagine how big the world is, but I can imagine that there must be a designer greater than this world to create this sophisticated universe."

After graduating from National Cheng Kung University in Tainan and before entering the military service, the conductor of the National Cheng Kung University choir of the same class invited Lin Bo to attend a camp held at Guandu Christian Academy in Taipei. That night, the dormitory director chatted with everyone and told them that he was responsible for purchasing when he was in the army. In order to respond to God's love and live a holy life, the dormitory director decided not to join in the chaos and not take any advantage. Lin Bo thought to himself that this man would not take any kickback for the sake of God. This God must be real. The next day, Pastor Rao Xiaoji called on the stage. When he called for the third time, Lin Bo finally couldn't hide the emotion and tears in his heart. He raised his hands and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior.

Submit to God’s leading

During the summer vacation when he was forty-eight years old, Lin Bo and his family came to Dongshi, a remote fishing village in Taiwan, for a short mission trip. The short one-week service shocked the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Limbaugh. Under the influence of darkness, they saw the villagers heading towards destruction day by day. How much they needed the salvation of Christ! But who preaches the gospel to them? The missionary clarion call blew in the hearts of the Limbaughs.

When he was fifty years old, Linbaugh, who was working as an engineer at Ford Motor Company, faced some setbacks and blows at work. If he hadn't happened to read the book "The Second Half of Life" and woke up, he would have devoted the second half of his life to the most meaningful thing─ I am afraid that they are still mediocre in serving the Kingdom of God, pursuing a comfortable but vain retirement life.

But to get there, what to do? I have settled in the United States for thirty-three years, nine years longer than in Taiwan. My thoughts and habits have become Americanized. I even speak English when I dream! However, when you think about the fact that the proportion of Christians in rural Taiwan is less than three thousandths, and the number of people serving is as rare as a handful; when you think about the rich resources of Christianity in the United States, many rural Taiwanese don't even have a church. At this time, the appeal of Pastor Chen Wenyi, the director general of the Taiwan Rural Evangelistic Association, was like a call from Macedonia, urging Lin Bo, "Come and help us!" The burden of serving the Chinese was firmly established in the hearts of the Lin Bos.

Breaking through cultural barriers

In fact, it was difficult for Lin Bo, who grew up in urban Taipei, to understand the culture and people of rural Taiwan, but the flame of missionary fire burned in the hearts of him and his wife, Sister Ou Yi-nan. After constant seeking and citations, the couple decided to obey God’s leading and began four years of preparation. They resolutely retired early at the age of fifty-seven and officially joined Xiangfu. They returned to Taiwan and devoted themselves full time to the Lord’s work, becoming the number one in Xiangfu. To evangelical immigrant couples.

From moving externally, bidding farewell to relatives and friends in the United States, to asking for forgiveness from those they have offended, and clearing their consciences, the Limbaughs conscientiously faced every step of their missionary journey. From 2002 to the present, their mental journeys, spiritual notes, and service transitions have all been published in the newsletter on the Xiangfu website. For those who are interested in missionary work, it will bring many practical reminders, help and incomparable touching.

Cultural and language barriers are the biggest challenges for Lin Bo in his hometown. A year ago, Lin Bo went on a visit with an elder from the Presbyterian Church. He heard the elder chatting with the villagers in fluent Taiwanese. Lin Bo could not help but be envious because he had not spoken Taiwanese since he was in elementary school, and there was no such thing at home. Having worshiped idols, I didn’t know much about the religious culture of the villagers at first.

In order to overcome this shortcoming, Lin Bo, who is good at planning, studies some books on Taiwanese religious beliefs. He often reminds himself that he has to go out and interact with people every day, and personally feel and understand the needs of the villagers.

▲The God-Welcoming Tournament is an event passed down from generation to generation and maintains the strength of the whole village. Asking the villagers to believe in the Lord is tantamount to asking them to leave the community to which they belong, which creates a huge obstacle to their belief in the Lord.

The obstacles for villagers to believe in the Lord

Lin Bo and his wife now serve in the Fenyuan work area in Changhua County. Although the villagers are very friendly and easy to get along with, the biggest obstacle to believers in the countryside is the power of idol worship. It is not difficult for people to accept the blessings of Jesus. What is difficult is to ask people to abandon all gods and only respect Jesus as Lord.

Villagers have worshiped idols for generations, including family members, friends, neighbors, and the entire village. The main temple in every village is the spiritual pillar of the village. Each god-welcoming competition is an ancestral activity that has been passed down from generation to generation and maintains the strength of the whole village. In the early days of Taiwan, temple fair activities were the life support of the tribesmen, and they were also deeply rooted in the spiritual culture of the soil. To ask villagers to believe in Christ is to ask them to leave their community and run the risk of deviating from the faith. Therefore, they often have the opportunity to believe in Christ after leaving home.

Therefore, preaching the gospel directly to the villagers would easily lead to backlash. Therefore, the Lin Bo couple invested in the "Rainbow Story Moms" ministry in the local elementary school, starting with one class in one school and now expanding to eight classes in three schools. Rainbow Story Mom is a primary school character education course developed by a gospel organization that integrates Christian values into character teaching materials. Like Good TV, Good News Radio, and the recently launched New Vision TV Network, they all engage in the most fundamental cultural cultivation - gospel preparatory work - with high-quality, non-belief programs targeting unbelievers in Taiwan. .

▲The Xiangfu co-worker team quietly integrates into the lives of the villagers, diligently sows the seeds of the gospel, and happily waits for the day of harvest.

Husband and wife work together to break the metal

The spirit of Xiangfu is to incarnate the Word and influence life with life; it is not to directly attack the villagers' culture of worshiping gods, but to "go against" the current. Mr. and Mrs. Limbo work together and perfect each other. Because of their love and commitment to God, this virtuous couple coordinates and serves each other. Lin Bo expressed gratitude: "My wife's burden has always been children's and youth ministry, so the children here are very happy. It can be said that they are like fish in the water of Yinan (Ou Yinan is my wife's name). Observe her Praying for these children, preparing lessons, and helping them are the best way for me to learn.” The joy of the Limbaughs’ lives is all because they know that each other is doing the most meaningful thing every moment: “Being a witness for Christ!” "

▲The joy of life of Mr. and Mrs. Limbaugh is all due to the mutual understanding that they are doing the most meaningful thing every moment: "Being a witness for Christ!"

Lin Bo and his wife, like many of the co-workers of Xiangfu, quietly integrate into the lives of the villagers, diligently sow the seeds of the gospel, and happily wait for the day of harvest. Their greatest hope is that one day, the spiritual culture of rural Taiwan will undergo a 180-degree turn, and people in every village and township will be converted to the Lord. The symbol of Xiangfu is wheat, and we firmly believe that "if a grain of wheat falls into the soil and dies, it will surely bear many grains"!

Journalist profile

Yu Guoliang, born in Guangzhou and raised in Hong Kong, received a PhD in atmospheric physics from the United States. He is the author of many good books such as "Physicists Read the Bible" (Daosheng Publishing) and "John Code - Decoding of the Da Vinci Code" (Tianen Publishing).