Doors Are Opening in Taipei

Dear friends,

It has been a full couple of months here in Taipei.

While our team leads, Bob and Kelly, have been in the States, we have been helping hold down the fort at Agape International Church and The Cup Coffee House. That has meant Sunday services, staff support, church operations, café needs, Costco runs, meals around our table, conversations after worship nights, and a lot of small decisions that do not always look exciting from the outside.

Yet, those ordinary things are becoming some of the very places where we are seeing God work!

A Full Season — and a Little Taste of Home

Bob and Kelly return in about a week, and we are so eager to have them back. A few days after they return, we will head to Indonesia for a regional field retreat and training time with our Asia Pacific colleagues.

We’ll have meetings and ministry breakout sessions, worship & prayer time, as well as a little rest. Honestly, we both love a good meeting, a notebook, and the chance to connect with people who are carrying similar work in this part of the world. We are especially excited because Pastor Rob from River Valley Church, our home church, will be there preaching!

It will be a gift to have a little taste of home.

An Answer to Prayer for Our Kids

One of the biggest answers to prayer lately has been for our kids.

When we moved here, our plan was for the kids to finish the school year in person and then move toward homeschooling. However, the Lord has opened some very specific doors that allow our younger three to continue at the unique Christian school they have been attending here in Taipei.

They are excited. They have made friends. And we are so grateful.

With our friends, The O’Dells

There is another missionary family with kids at the school, and their children have become fast friends with ours. What makes that even sweeter is that Mandie actually went to college with both parents. Of all the places in the world, we are now serving in the same city and our kids are building friendships together in Taipei.

Most of the other children at the school are Taiwanese, which has also been a gift. Our kids are not only adjusting to life overseas; they are building real friendships with local children and learning how to live in this city, not just observe it from a distance.

Exhibition Day at School: Beck, Addie, Brock & Blake

When Children Bring Jesus Home

What has excited us most is that the school has also become a place of ministry.

While the school is openly Christian, not every family there follows Jesus. Some parents simply wanted a healthy school environment for their children. They may not attend church or be followers of Jesus. Many come from family traditions shaped more by ancestor practices or Buddhism.

But their children are hearing about Jesus.

And some of those children are bringing Jesus home.

Recently, Mandie hosted an informal ladies night at our apartment. There were women from church, friends, and a couple of moms from the kids’ school. One of the school moms came early to help prepare food, and as she helped Mandie put together charcuterie boards, she shared that she had been nervous to come.

In her work culture, she said, the only time she and her husband usually go out is when they are hosting work clients. When they have these gatherings, the expectation is often late nights, heavy drinking, and waking up the next morning with a terrible hangover. So when she came to our home, she was not sure what kind of night it would be.

Then she laughed and said she was so relieved when she realized there was no alcohol!

The wildest thing we were drinking was sparkling water.

We all laughed, but that small moment opened the door to a deeper conversation. She began sharing about her family and the school. They are not church people. They are not Christians. But in the last few months, they have noticed something changing in their daughter.

Their daughter has started asking them to pray before meals. She has started asking them to pray with her before bed. And then one day she told her mom, “Jesus is my best friend!”

This little girl is introducing Jesus to her family! Now, her mom is standing in our kitchen, helping prepare food, laughing with church friends, and experiencing Christian community in a simple, safe, normal way.

That is what we we’ve been praying for here.

Open doors. A family around a table. A child asking to pray. A mom who expected pressure and found peace instead. A home where Jesus is represented with joy.

This thought has stayed with us:

“Our behavior helps make our faith real and tangible, and our words make it understandable.”

That is what we are asking God to help us do. We want to live in a way that makes Jesus visible, and then speak clearly when He opens the door.

Open Doors with The Cup Coffee House Staff

The Cup has also continued to be one of those places where God is opening doors.

In our last newsletter, we shared about Coco and Dan and how instrumental they have been as people of peace for us here. Over these last couple of months, while Bob and Kelly have been away, Ryan and I have simply tried to be supportive and present with The Cup staff.

If they needed help, we make ourselves available. If they needed a Costco run, we do it. If they needed encouragement, we give it.

A few members of The Cup’s staff over for the 4th of July.

Ryan has done some coffee cuppings and tastings. We have had staff over for meals. The boys have been volunteering and training at the café so they can help with Conversation Club and Sunday morning café needs. And through all of that, something very natural has happened.

Boy volunteering at the Cup during Conversation Club.

Trust has grown.

Mandie has become close with Brenda, who manages The Cup. Brenda is Coco’s older sister, and after Coco became pregnant and was too sick to continue managing the café, Brenda stepped into that role.

Over time, Brenda has become more and more comfortable with our family.

She has also started attending church regularly. At first, she told herself, “I want to be a better person, so I’m going to go to church regularly.”

Then she kept coming.

Week after week, we noticed something changing. She began standing closer to the front. Then slowly raising her hands. Then crying in worship. It was not dramatic or forced. It was quiet, steady, and real.

“Can I Just Talk to You?”

A couple of weeks ago, Brenda came to one of our worship nights. She does not normally come to those, so when Mandie saw her there, she thought, “God is doing something.”

After worship and prayer, Brenda came up to Mandie and asked, “Can I just talk to you?”

They sat together for about two hours.

Brenda shared parts of her story that had been very painful. She talked about shame and hurt she had been carrying. She talked about feeling like she was not good enough to receive God’s grace or forgiveness. She said she felt like God wanted her to talk about these things, but she had never felt safe enough to talk to anyone about them before.

So Mandie listened. They cried together. They prayed together. And Mandie reminded her of the truth: God does not want her bound by shame. He wants her to receive His forgiveness, live in His grace, and follow Him as Lord.

Afterward, Brenda was so grateful. She thanked Mandie for taking the time. She thanked her for being a safe place.

“It Would All Be Worth It”

Later that night, Mandie remembered something Kelly told her shortly after we moved here.

Kelly had been talking about The Cup and its purpose in the community. Then she said, “Mandie, I know the purpose of The Cup is to be intentional in the community. But honestly, if the only reason we opened it was so that this family could come to know the Lord and have that relationship with Jesus, it would all be worth it.”

At the time, that sounded beautiful.

Now we are watching pieces of it happen.

Brenda’s twin sister has also started coming to church with her husband and their young son. Their son is shy, but he began playing with Beck. Now he wants to go to children’s church because Beck will be there.

That may sound small.

But to us, it is not small at all.

A shy child feels safe because he has a friend. A family comes back to church. A café manager opens her heart after worship. A school mom hears her daughter say Jesus is her best friend.

This is why The Cup exists.

This is why Agape International Church exists.

This is why God called us here.

To be salt and light. To do real life with people. To be safe people. To talk about Jesus with joy. To trust that God draws people, prepares hearts, and does the heavy lifting.

Thank You for Being Part of These Stories

Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for praying for our kids. Thank you for giving. Thank you for believing that this work matters.

We feel your partnership. We really do.

As you pray and give, you are part of these moments. You are part of the table conversations, the worship-night prayers, the school friendships, the café relationships, and the open doors God is giving us in Taipei.

A Specific Prayer Request: Our Visa Process

We also have one very specific prayer request.

Ryan applied for a visa, and about a week and a half ago we heard that the office was leaning toward denying it. They did leave room open for an appeal or clarification, so we are in that process now.

The specific business visa category may not have fit their rubric perfectly. Ryan is trying to get clarity on whether this is a wording issue, whether we should refile, or whether there is a better visa path based on his work history and qualifications.

At the same time, God has provided an unexpected connection.

Our friend Dan knows someone in that department of the visa office and has helped connect Ryan with him. Ryan is now reaching out and trying to get clarity on the best way forward.

We are believing God is making a way.

Would you pray with us?

Please pray that Ryan’s visa would be approved. Once his visa is approved, Mandie and the kids can apply for theirs. If it is denied, we do have other options, but they would likely mean more cost, more paperwork, and possibly another visa run for our whole family later this fall.

We are trusting the Lord either way. But our heart’s desire is that this application would be approved, that Mandie and the kids could apply next, and that the whole process would be settled in the next few months.

How You Can Pray

• Please pray for favor and clarity in Ryan’s visa process.

• Pray that his application would be approved.

• Pray that Mandie and the kids would be able to apply smoothly afterward.

• Pray for the families connected to our kids’ school. A few will come to Beck’s birthday next week - pray for open doors.

• Pray for Brenda and her family as God continues drawing them.

• Pray for strength, joy, health and good connection as we travel to Indonesia for our regional meetings.

We are so grateful for you.

Truly, we could not do this work without your prayers, your giving, your encouragement, and your partnership.

With love from Taipei,

Ryan, Mandie, and the kids