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Dear Friends,
I have a lot to share with you this week. Prayer Requests are down below. Pictured above - story below (Andy Hu, Michael Lockwood, Caspar Liu, Kalan Spencer)
Here's what's happening.
An Open Door at the University
A few weeks ago my friend at the National Teachers University here in Taichung asked me If I could be a guest lecturer for the freshman English classes. I told her I would as long as I could pick the subject. She said yes and and so I chose the Old Testament book of Esther.
I chose Esther because in Esther God is largely hidden. Taiwanese students for the most part are highly skeptical of overt religious claims. So pray for me as I present God's divine providence through this beautiful story.
Over the next several weeks, I'll teach seven different sections which includes the entire freshman class. Somewhere around 350 students who in most cases have never opened a Bible. And I'll be able to personally invite every student to our university summer camp.
God opened this door. The longer we are here, the relationships we have built continue to allow us these unique and wonderful opportunities.
News from the Church Planting Team
I just returned from a visit today to one of the seminaries here in Taiwan. Kalan Spencer and I went to meet Andy Hu (pictured above). Andy and his wife Elaine are potential church planters. During our visit today we were also able to meet the seminary president and the Dean of Students (Caspar Liu). This invitation came about through the father of one of the students who attends TIF while boarding at Morrison Academy. His name is Michael Lockwood. He's an Australian pastor who is serving here in Taiwan teaching theology at the seminary. While we were there the seminary president invited us to come back and speak at a chapel in the near future and we were able to spend some time talking with Andy about his life and our vision for church planting. Andy and Elaine are going to come and visit Crista and I and then Kalan and his family as they consider what their future looks like in regards to church planting.
Franz and Ming are doing well. Asa and I had dinner with them this past week and it is so obvious that the Gospel is doing significant work in their lives and hearts. God is doing something wonderful in them. I'm so excited for some of you to meet them later this year in August. Read below for more details. I've linked a prayer letter that Franz and Ming have prepared to share with you. Please pray for them as they also search for a new home closer to the church - they want to open it as a place for people to gather. Read their whole prayer letter HERE
August Visit
This August, Franz, Ming, and their son Yile will travel with Crista and I to the United States for the first time. They'll visit several of the churches that have invested in this work and get to meet many of you who have been praying for them by name. We'll have events in Amarillo, Dallas, Temple, Austin, Tarrytown, Fremont and Memphis.
Kornelius and Winy Yap (our Indonesians pastor and his wife) just celebrated three years in Taiwan. They lead All Praise, our Indonesian-speaking congregation, which turned one year old in February. Twenty people from their church joined a Bible reading program at the start of 2026 and they're still going strong. Their ministry to Indonesian Muslim women has gotten attention from other churches in the city - a Taiwanese pastor recently connected them with families who employ Indonesian caregivers, opening new gospel doors. One story stands out from a recent gathering: a woman who grew up in a devout Muslim home started explaining the Al-Aqsa mosque and the foundation of Solomon's temple — and Kornelius and Winy used the moment to talk about Jesus and the temple He's building now. Pray for that ongoing work. Read their Newsletter HERE
Asa's Season
Many of you prayed for Asa Roberts when he arrived in January for a seven-month internship here in Taichung. He's been serving in student ministry / on the worship team / learning from a host of people. This week he's going to be meeting with a young man who is really dealing with some big hurts and issues. But his greatest issue is that he has yet to know Jesus. Pray for Asa as he meets with this young man that he will have the words to say and also know when to say them. He'll head home to Nebraska in late July. We're so grateful for him and his family and Fremont Evangelical Church in Fremont, NE that sent him.
Three Events, Six Churches, One Summer
Our summer teams are confirmed and flights are booked. Here's what's coming:
Summer English University Camp — June 29 to July 3. Trinity Baptist Amarillo, FBC Temple, and Door of Faith Hawaii Church are coming to serve alongside us. Many of the students from my university classes will be invited to this camp.
VBS with Hope Fellowship — July 6 to 10. First Baptist Tulsa and Southcliff Baptist Church will partner with our Mandarin-speaking congregation to reach local families with children.
TIF Youth Camp — July 13 to 17. New Hope Church, Tarrytown, NY and FBC/Parkside, Durham, NC will join us for a week with middle and high school students — some from missionary families, some from the wider community, some with no church background at all.
Please Pray With Us
- For the university students encountering Esther week after week, and for conversations that keep going after class
- For Andy & Elaine as they consider church planting with TGA
- For Franz and Min as Franz finishes seminary and they prepare for the next chapter
- For the Muslim women Kornelius and Winy are in relationship with - especially those hearing the gospel for the first time
- For Asa as he wraps up his time here / discerns next steps
- For the six churches and their teams heading to Taiwan this summer
Prayer Update: Wenlun, our Taiwanese pastor has largely recovered at this point from the severe respiratory issues he had in Thailand while visiting family and is now doing well. He's back in Taiwan now.
Thank you for being a part of the Mission Taiwan team. These doors - at the university, in the Indonesian community, in the lives of these young pastors - they stay open because God is faithful and so are you.
Todd & Crista Blackhurst
Mission Taiwan
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