5 Questions With...Carol Song

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian? I was saved through an international student ministry in the Midwest of the United States. So I have always felt more comfortable in an English-language church than a Chinese-language one. In fact, I have grown roots in a medium-sized, inter-denominational, international church in the Tienmou 天母 area (northern Taipei) ever since I returned Taiwan. However, God’s interventions moved me through two Chinese-language mega-churches during 2014 and 2015, and then reconnected me to an English-language church, FPC. I did not embrace those twists and turns at first. However, the endorsement of a couple former members of FPC, plus God’s guidance, led me into a spiritual exploration which resulted in my commitment to membership at FPC. The Christmas caroling of 2016 was the first event that I intentionally made time for and merrily found a home in.

2. What do you do Monday to Saturday? I serve at a private university called Ming Chuan University, the first U.S.-accredited university in Asia. My responsibility is to assist the Executive Vice President in various areas of international education, including accreditation with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, coordination between the Taipei headquarters and Michigan (U.S.) campus site, and hospitality services to the university guests. For more info about our institution, please scan one of these two QR codes.
          
3. What is something people might be surprised to know about you? I've traveled through 23 countries, and most of them are developing countries. One of my previous jobs was in World Vision Taiwan (WVT), a faith-based, international, child-welfare organization. Serving as a program manager, I was given the privilege to manage the fund entrusted by Taiwanese donors and conduct regular project monitoring in the beneficiary countries, e.g., Mongolia, Kosovo, Angola, and several other countries in the southern Africa region. It was a prayer answered and a foretaste of Heaven to see how God’s kingdom could be established gradually through Christian humanitarian work, where the poor may seek a new identity in Christ and transform their community along the beautiful unfolding process.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today? We are called to respond to the Great Commission wherever we go. I find it challenging to balance (or to be strategically and spiritually well-positioned) between thriving in your relationship with God (in his calling) and building bridges with others to make peace with God. The challenges can be boiled down to a number of issues—for me personally, it’s about time management, cultural sensitivity, prayer centeredness, a Scriptural base, and a servant heart.

5. What is your favorite book of the Bible? In terms of servanthood, it is the book of Joshua. Whenever I am called to serve in God’s name, the first chapter of Joshua comes to me as spiritual encouragement. Knowing my nature of avoiding conflicts, God often speaks through the book to position me, whether in confronting non-believers or disciplining junior Christians, whether at a funeral or beside a sick bed. The key is to trust him with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding.

In terms of my personal life, it is the book of Psalms, where God’s commands are to praise him and give thanks in all circumstances through faith. My experiences of bad things often turn around after I express my praise and gratitude.
 

Seminar For FPC Single Ladies

Title: "Find Happiness by Becoming the Person God Wants You to Be"

Purpose: Help single ladies to see they have value in God’s eyes, and to have confidence in their singleness

Date: 2018 February 03 (Saturday)

Time: 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.

Venue: Wang apartment at Xinhai Road (close walking distance from church)

Program Hosts: Ann Lo and Michelle Ko

Ann Lo is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from U.C. Berkeley and a Master's Degree in Counseling from Western Seminary.

As an ABC (American Born Chinese), bilingual in English and Mandarin, she has both personal and professional experience helping people navigate through culture and family issues. She has given many workshops in Chinese churches and seminaries on emotional health topics such as family of origin, attachment, parenting, depression, counseling. 

Michelle Ko is a missionary who has served in Africa, Australia, and Taiwan. You can read about her here.

Participants & eligibility: Single ladies. Attendees of the event must be a regular attendee of the church and participating in a community group.

Capacity: Maximum of 20 single ladies. The first eligible 20 participants will be registered. Any more than the 20 will be placed on a waiting list and will be contacted should a place be made available.

Cost: Free

Registration: Michelle will be at the welcome table beginning Sunday, January 21st, with a sign-up sheet for people to sign up with her. She will provide the address to those who register.

5 Questions With...Melvyn Pard

Melvyn Pard

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian? I came to Taipei seeking a home church while I am here learning Chinese. I had come across Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and I knew they were theologically aligned with me. So, I looked for a church affiliated with them through their City to City website, hoping to find a church with a similar theological background to my own.  I was looking around for a church back in August of 2017. After a couple of visits to a few churches, I decided to stay with FPC, due to its theological positions, missional point of view, and its bold stance to preach about the Bible. 

2. What do you do Monday to Saturday? I am currently a student of the Language Center in Tai Da, where I am spending most of my time learning Chinese. At other times, I go to community group. 

3. What is something people might be surprised to know about you? I am actually an introvert, and like my quiet times. But people think I am an extrovert the first time they meet me.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today? Having a quiet time and pondering with God, through Scripture and prayer. I think nowadays, with a lot of distractions and always on the go, it is hard to take time to go back to the manual. I am often reminded by my daily stress and problems that I need to turn to God’s truth and to pray. In my anxieties, I am reminded that God gives me hope of the truth that he is in control and that he is sovereign. What gives me much peace is knowing that he is all powerful, and he loves me. Having an all-powerful God on my side gives me much peace. 

5. What is your favorite book of the Bible? This one is tough. My favorite book is the Book of Psalms. Through the psalms, we can see a man go through a wide range of emotions: anger, joy, hopelessness, hope. Through the psalms, I learn to pray.