Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16, NIV)

We're glad you've come to visit.

 

We're still here! We've created this website so we could share with family and friends the life and work we have here in Taiwan. If you are visiting this website, chances are you know our story, but just in case, here's a quick review: We came to Taipei in September, 1999 and began work with Grace Baptist Church. We have wanted to serve overseas for years, but the door never opened for a career opportunity until now. Everything in God's timing! This seems to be the perfect place for us thus far. We are working with a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic congregation. Our services are in English, but most of the congregation is Chinese and Filipino. The work here has been such a blessing! We are enjoying it immensely! God has truly been faithful and has blessed us beyond measure! We are so thankful He has called us here.

September 2003 Update: We just had our 4th anniversary of being in Taiwan. We still love it here and plan, Lord willing, to be here for many, many years. A lot has happened since we last updated this website. Mostly, that is due to our computer crashing and not knowing enough about how to edit these files once we lost them. (I guess I'm still just a "computer geek wannabe").

The ministry is growing and growing. God has brought so many wonderful people to this church and the people who became Christians over the past few years are really getting into ministry now too. Emma Lin was one of the first people we were blessed to help come to know Christ here. She is beginning her second year of Seminary now! She's been leading worship on Sunday mornings in our English Congregation, but will be moving on to serve in another church this year with her seminary training. Denise, another one of our "daughters" is back in Canada serving in a church there and preparing to become a children's minister. Many others are working on degrees in the States and are serving around the world. What a blessing to serve in this type of ministry! It is hard to see so many people come and go, but it is certainly exciting! For the faithful ones who remain, we are truly thankful. The church has grown so much and Dave and his secretary are still the only English staff persons, so this ministry would never be growing without the diligence of the members to minister to others. We praise God for all of them. You can check out the updated website for the English ministry at http://www.gbc.org.tw and click on "English".

As a family, we are doing well. Our first fall here, Terrie had a terrible knee injury and had surgery in February the following year. Then, she was expecting Ryan and wound up on bedrest for awhile. Ryan was born at home in September, 2001. So, that fall was taken with caring for a newborn. Last winter, Terrie broke her shoulder on December 31. It has been an interesting few years with wonderful blessings and difficult trials. Rachelle and Nathaniel both had surgeries for their clefts in 2002. Now, in 2003, this fall, for us, has been much easier, but it has it's concerns too. Terrie's mother is ill and we are praying for her. She will be having several tests in a few weeks, and we would appreciate your prayers for her health.

Since we last updated, all three of our older children has prayed to receive Christ. They were baptized at our "home" church in Fair Oaks, California last summer. Rachelle is growing into a beautiful young woman. She loves music, art, journaling, and life in general! She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Nathaniel is still curious and wants to know how everything works. He wants to be an inventor when he grows up. He loves math and science. Annalyssa enjoys everything. She seems to love everything about school. She is more Chinese than American culturally. She speaks fluent Chinese and will probably be a CEO someday. Ryan is very much a 2-year old. He knows how to say "Gimme" in two languages! He has also learned how to say "Mine" in two languages, but at least he also knows "Thank you" in both languages too! He is a sweety and makes us laugh everyday. We are truly blessed!

We didn't get to go home this summer, but we did take a trip to Kenting, one of the most southern points on the island. It was a wonderful trip. We plan to go home for a visit next summer.

Some fun and unexpected things have happened with us living in Taiwan. Annalyssa and Ryan have both done some modeling. Both Terrie and Dave appeared in a TV commercial. That was a wild experience! Dave has met the President of Taiwan, and Dave and the kids have met the First Lady. You just never know what experiences life will bring when you live in Taiwan!

Over the next few weeks, we will try to update this site completely and get some new pictures of the kids on here.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website, and we hope you will take the time to write us a quick note.

God bless you as you seek His heart!

In His joy and service,

The Browns: Dave, Terrie, Rachelle, Nathaniel, Annie, and Ryan

 

 

 

Pictures of Friends, Family, and the Ministry:

Some of our favorite sites on the internet:

http://www.teachers.net/

Puzzlemaker - Discovery Channel School

http://klove.com

IMB Home Page

Project Taipei: Bringing an Entire City to Christ

http://members.theglobe.com/SAS_Islander/

http://www.infophil.com/Singapore/Alumni/SAS/

http://www.bigidea.com/

http://pastors.com/

http://www.gbc.org.tw/ (This website is for our church. Click on the English icon and see what's going on in the English Congregation!)

These sites will help you learn more about Taiwan:

http://www.gio.gov.tw/ (We especially like the parts about traditional culture and Taiwan Festivals)

http://www.npm.gov.tw/ (This is the site for the Palace Museum in Taiwan)

International Community Radio Taipei - Taiwan's English Radio Station

http://www.tbroc.gov.tw (A tourism site)

http://hydra.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/westpac/movies/gmsir/gmsirjava.html (This is a site that shows the weather here; it takes a little time to load, but is worth it)

 

Write us at:

terrie.brown@msa.hinet.net

 

 

 

Celebrate each day...it's a gift from God!

The Bible says, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.'" (Joshua 24:15, NIV)

May you know the joy and fulfillment of serving the Most High God! He loves you and cares about you and has a plan for your life!

If you want to know more, please check out our goodnews.htm page or this website: http://www.gieson.com/john316/