Ellis family has made it to Taiwan!

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.

The Ellis family is in Taiwan!

Hello everyone,
We wanted to let you all know that we, the Ellis family, have officially arrived in the nation of Taiwan! The trip here went well, and after 18 hours of plane rides and travel, we are safely in our new city of Dan Shui, Taiwan. Thank you all for your prayers as we definitely felt them on our way out here. My favorite quote of the trip was from our 5 year old Kai. During one trying time on the 9 hour flight, he said, "Don't Chinese people know that I am hungry and need lunch?!" Kai also noticed how many people were looking at him and smiling, as a little blond haired boy with a Diego pillow isn't the usual thing to see in Taiwan. We had no problems at immigration though, and have one year approved with the opportunity to renew every year.
Kona Teaching
The time with our Bible school in Kona was a wonderful experience, and hopefully will bring fruit for the future. The school had 30 students from all over the world including China, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Switzerland, Canada, the US, and South Korea. I taught for the week on the book of Revelation, and the students had amazing questions and were very open to what God had for them to learn in this book. Michael and Jane from China (not their real names due to safety) simply blew me away with their diligence in a second language, and with all the risks and cost they paid to be there to train for the future of China. The school also has a staff person from China, and this is the first time I can ever remember this happening. Katie and the kids enjoyed seeing their old home, and could hardly believe it had been 5 years ago that we left Kona for Montana. Many of the kids' friends have literally been around the world on missions trips since our time there, and they have all grown both physically as well as in their relationship with God. On our next to last day, they asked me to come and speak to over 250 missionaries in the Discipleship Training School, to share my love of the Bible and to encourage them to study and apply it to their lives and home nations.
Taiwan Time
Katie and I can't believe that after one year of prayer, visa applications, miracles, and guidance, that we are finally now in Taiwan. We wanted to thank you all for your kind donations, prayers, and encouragment in this whole time. Our four small pallets of our belongings leaves Montana tomorrow, and will arrive here about 4 weeks later. We were only able to ship clothes, some books, and educational supplies (English books are hard to find here for the kids), and some special things to make the children and us feel at home here (photos, a few toys, etc...). Everything else, we will have to start from scratch here. This week, we will be hunting for an apartment. Trying to find a 4 bedroom isn't easy, as most families here aren't as large as ours. After that, we have to get beds, kitchen stuff, and pretty much everything we need to set up our new home. We will also be taking the chiildren to their new school in Taipei to do interviews and get enrolled. We are staying in the apartment of the Stevens' family, who are on a trip to the Philippines and won't return until Feb. 25. That means we have about 3 weeks to get ourselves settled in the new apartment.
Prayer Requests:
1) apartment: that we could find something affordable, with 4 bedrooms, close to the train station, and that could feel like "home"
2) children: that they would begin to make the adjustments as they miss friends and Montana, and that they would enjoy thier new school
3) our old van would sell: Katie's father has graciously offered to see this for us, but in two weeks hasn't had much interest
4) finances: we are still trying to raise the funds for the following:
- van for our family here: $4,000
- childrens' school fees: $5,000 (would cover from Feb. to June this year)
- furnishings for the apartment: $2,000 (already have some)
Praise Reports:
-safe trip and arrival in Taiwan; no problems with visa and entering the country
-wonderful time in Kona with school and old friends
-tickets to Taiwan all covered
-shipping costs all covered
-visa costs and health exams all covered
-start up money and travel costs for Taiwan came in
If you would like to be a part of our financial team, or would like to make a one time donation, you can still do this through the internet or the mail. If you don't need a tax deductible receipt, and would like to give in an easy way with your credit or debit card, you can give through Paypal by clicking on the Donate button to the top right of this page.
If you would like a receipt, you can make a check out to YWAM Montana and include a slip that says it is for Sean and Katie Ellis and mail your donations to:
Accounting: Youth With a Mission Montana
501 Blacktail Road
Lakeside, MT 59922
We miss you all already, and thank you again for all your prayers, love, and support!
blessings,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis

Urgent Ellis family Visa Prayer Request!

Hello everyone,
We pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for this new year! We are still in California, visiting family and supporters, on our way toward Taiwan. We have an urgent prayer request to ask of you all. In order to apply for our visas in San Francisco, we need some official letters from the government of Taiwan. Our papers were turned in in October, and they still have not been approved. Once they are approved, they still have to be mailed to us here in the U.S. Once we have them, we apply and then it takes at least 3 days to process them here, more time if there are any problems. We leave for the San Francisco area on Tuesday, and only have about 12 days there. We need those papers to be approved and sent from Taiwan and make it here super fast! If they don't, all the options for us are very expensive (like come in on a tourist visa, and then all fly to Hong Kong to process our visas, which would be 6 tickets, hotels, etc...)
We also have to ship our things soon from the U.S. to Taiwan, and have to be in Taiwan when the shipment arrives, so once we send the shipment, we HAVE to be in Taiwan 3 weeks from that time. Visa delays would be a disaster for receiving our shipping.
God has come through in so many amazing ways as we have prepared to move. He has provided finances, confirmations, and encouragement. Just the other day, Katie's mother took us on a tour of a historical site here. Our tour guide had lived in Taiwan, and before that lived in Hawaii! 2 places we have lived. She encouraged our children, and said that they would love Taiwan. She even had moved her kids there and sent them to the same schools that our children would go to! This is the second time something like this has happened. In Yosemite Park this summer, we ate in the lodge and the people who helped us were from Taiwan and Hawaii!
Please pray that God moves miraculously and that the visa is approved, and makes it super fast to us in the mail.
Thank you all for your prayers. We also still need to raised $4,000 for a van and $5,000 to clear dental and medical bills (on our credit card). Praise God and thank you all that we have our tickets, shipping, and some initial start up money already covered!
many blessings,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis

Status Update on Our Move for December 18

We just slipped into the last month before our move to Taiwan. Montana is now thousands of miles behind us, as we packed up, sold, or gave away every last item we had there. We treasured our five years serving the Youth With A Mission campus and the School of Biblical Studies. Over 200 missionaries trained, hundreds sent out on long and short term outreaches, and 5 new Bible schools pioneered marked a fruitful time of ministry. After our 200 for $20 fund raiser goal was met, we have the following update on our totals needed for the move:
1) passports/visas, packing materials, & health exams: $2,000 (covered!)
2) tickets to Taiwan: $3,600 (covered!)
3) shipping expenses: $3,000 (covered!)
4) furnishings for apartment: $3,000 (covered!)
5) 2 mopeds: $2,000 (covered!)
6) kids' school fees: $5,000 (still needed)
7) van: $4,000 (still needed)
8) medical/dental bills from time in Montana: $4,000 (still needed)
You can see that over $13,000 in donations has come in already! Praise God! We still need another $9,000 to cover the move, and $4,000 to clear away the debt from things our insurance wouldn't cover. If you would like to give to any of these, you can click on the Donate button on the top right, and use your credit/debit card to give through Paypal. If you would like a tax deductible receipt, please follow the instructions on our support page to mail your donation in by check.
Thank you to everyone who has given, prayed, or encouraged us in the midst of this time. It has been awesome to see God provide and confirm this step into Asia.

Mega 7th Ellis family Fund Raiser Update

Hello everyone,
It has been several days since our last 200 for $20 fund raiser update, and we wanted to let you all know some amazing news! One couple wanted to give for 50 people, and another two people gave for 5 people, so now with some more $20 donations, we are up to 201 for a grand total of $4,020. God and all of you did it! We reached our goal of 200 for 20, and even went $20 over! We have been blown away by all of your encouraging messages and generous offerings since this whole fund raiser began. This money will go a long way in helping us get over to Asia for missions. If you want to see a full update of our progress on the move to Taiwan, you can check out the next blog entry above. If you missed out on the 200 for $20 fund raiser, we still have other needs you can give to listed there. Just click on the Donate button in the top right corner if you would like to give, and leave a note in the comments if you want it to go to a particular part of our move. Check out our new video update below. With each day, we are one step closer to moving to Taiwan for missions.
blessings,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis

6th update on Ellis family fund raiser

Hello everyone,
It has been several days since our last 200 for $20 fund raiser update, and we wanted to let you all know the great news! One couple wanted to give for 50 people, and another family gave for 5 people, so now we are up to 136 for a grand total of $2,720. A few people have chosen to go above the $20, and now we are only 64 more people away from our goal! Thank you all, and if you would still like to give, please click on the Donate button in the top right corner. Check out our new video update below. With each day, we are one step closer to moving to Taiwan for missions.
blessings,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis

5th update on the 200 for $20 fund raiser

Hello everyone!
We wanted to give you a new update on the 200 for $20 Ellis family fund raiser. Over the weekend, we got 9 more for a total of 79, giving us a grand total of $1,580. That is amazing! We only need 121 more to give just $20 to reach our goal of 200. Some people have asked if they can put in different amounts (like give for 5 people for a total of $100). The Donate feature (top right) of our website allows you to enter any amount, so this is fine. Again, everything helps, and $20 donations really add up with more people. With each day, our move to Taiwan to do missions gets closer. Thank you!
If you would like to give and receive a tax deductible receipt, you can send your donation by mail following the instructions on the support page of our website.
thank you,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis