The Ellis family is finally in Taiwan!
After one year of planning, packing, fund raising, and prayers, we are finally settled in here in Taiwan. Katie and I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and generosity that have made this move possible. First, we spent several weeks finding an apartment which we could call home. God worked a miracle, and the staff here were wonderful in helping us find a four bedroom apartment close to the train station and affordable. After we cleaned, painted, and blasted some mold out, the place shined up well. Next, we got the kids settled into their new school. The hour long train ride to school means an early morning in the Ellis household each day. They head out around 6:30 am, and make it back just for dinner at 5 pm. They are making new friends and learning a few Chinese words each day. Finally, Katie and I began our journey into learning Chinese. We haven’t been in a classroom setting for 15 years, but I guess our brains still work! Knowing that if we can learn Chinese, we will be able to share the Gospel with over 1 billion people is our motivation when the tones and pronunciation are such a struggle.
The new group of students just arrived here for our Bible school (SBS). We have 60 students from all over Asia, Europe, and the US excited to be equipped with the Word of God for missions. This is the largest school that we have ever worked with. Sean is already stepping into his roll with training and multiplication of the Bible schools throughout Asia. He will be teaching in Singapore in September, and is helping assemble a team to restart the school in Malaysia.
Praise Reports and Prayer Requests
God provided big time for our move to Taiwan! We were able to pay for our tickets, shipping, visas, basic furniture and start up costs, the kids first four months in school, and travel expenses! When we added it up, God provided over $14,000 through all of your generous donations.
Our main prayer requests are in two groups:
Finances
• the kids schooling: we need $800 to register them for next year, and need to increase our support $1,500 per month by August to pay for their school fees next year
• van: we are walking and taking the train/bus, but having our own van would be super helpful. A used one would cost between $4,000 - $8,000.
Ministry
Chinese: that both we and the kids would learn quickly.
Bible school: that God will show us how we can support the staff with this huge school that just started, and for wisdom as we start the resource center for Bible schools (SBS) in Asia.
