The conflict in Ukraine has nudged Taiwan into the headlines as people start to wonder about China’s plans for their neighbor. Like Ukraine, there is a robust ministry in Taiwan. I’ll have to share it with you in a two-parter, so stay tuned for next week’s conclusion!
The Home of God’s Love
Ted and Bev Skiles had been considering a move to Cambodia but in 1969 God opened the doors for them to go to Taiwan. In 1972 they met two boys, Hung and Yang Li Dian, whose father couldn’t care for them. The Skiles appealed to churches in the U.S. and raised 10,000 dollars. Ilan county officials, Chen Jin-Dung, and his brother Jing-Fu, donated land on Meihau Lake on the outskirts of Lo-tung, south of Taipei, and the Home of God’s Love was born!
Generous support for the home came from Taiwanese people as well, and sometimes Ted and Bev even had enough to share with the needy. Ted often told the story of an occasion when they had just enough money to buy a week of groceries and pay the electric bill. Beyond that, he wasn’t sure what they would do. Then someone came to them needing money.
Give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. – Matthew 5:42
Ted had been provided for so many times in the past, himself, and usually lived by this verse, but his wallet was quite thin just then. He grudgingly climbed the stairs to get what little he had, but weighing the orphanage’s needs, he decided that he just couldn’t spare the money, and started back down. Near the bottom, he decided he would place his trust in God, and returned up the stairs. He continued this internal battle, reversing directions several times while his wife watched him from her rocking chair in the kitchen. Finally, unsure where he was going to get the money to buy food for the kids, Ted returned with money for the needy person. That very afternoon a donation arrived at the orphanage with rice and meat and vegetables, and a cash donation which was just enough to pay the electric bill! He had no excess, but he also never had any lack.
Next Generation
During their time there they have provided shelter for 2,200 children. Many of the children raised in Taiwan are still faithful and are raising their own families in the faith taught them by the Skiles. In the fall of 2021 after fifty-two years of service they finally returned to the States.
Though The Skiles have returned, Anna Fletcher, who has been with them since the beginning, plans to stay for the rest of her life. John and Cheryl Dunn have stepped up to continue the Skiles’ work sharing the burden of administration of the home with Anna and Hu a Syang.
John and Cheryl Dunn being the most recent members, joined the orphanage team in 2017 after serving Taiwan in other places for 17 years. Show-wha was also raised in the home and is now filling Beverly’s shoes taking care of the babies in the process of being adopted.
They have been asked to take kids coming from a more traumatic past than they have dealt with before. They are training the staff to better understand how to deal with these kids but that takes time. The government is also asking them to take kids for shorter periods of time, but the home tries to take cases where the kids can stay with them for a longer period. They believe the kids fare better without the volatility of being moved back and forth. They do what they can and trust God to continue the work that only he can do in these children’s lives. The orphanage is considering a move toward a fostering system, so the kids can be raised in a socially positive environment.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
– James 4:13,14
It’s a verse we all would do well to remember. We can make our plans, but the treasure we store up in heaven is the only thing that really matters anyway.