Bartelt (Taiwan) Update – March 2024

Lent and Easter

Every Lent I tell my choirs that we are the only ones who get to sing “Hallelujah” during Lent (In Chinese it’s always pronounced with an initial “H”.) There is a group of musicians getting ready to share “Christ the Lord is Risen Today; Hallelujah” in Chinese. Dr. Ken Kosche, who served for many years on the music faculty at Concordia—Wisconsin, graciously arranged this hymn for our choir with the instruments we have available. Dr. Paul taught me how to add Chinese characters to a Finale file. We will have singers, piano, flute, cello and hand chimes, as well as two congregational verses. I am looking forward to rejoicing with fellow believers in Chiayi because of Jesus’ defeat of sin and death for our salvation on Easter morning!

News and Updates:

Plans for the music conservatory remodeling project in Chiayi continue to progress. As with any remodeling project, the progress is always slower than hoped for, but the person who is designing the plans is a neighbor of a missionary family and is doing his best to help us do what is appropriate and stay within our budget. Deaconess Sandra Rhein was here for over a month, and I was very glad to have her here to help to make choices about materials and colors. Please pray that we can begin with the remodeling soon and get started with ministry in this space.

This semester I am teaching hand chimes to ten of the cram school children while my colleague and friend Mindy Thews is teaching the other ten children English games and vocabulary. We have had three sessions so far. The children are catching on to playing music on hand chimes, though the concept of left and right is a struggle for a few. Please pray for us as we build relationships and connections with these children through music and games. This August we have invited the children from the cram school to attend an English-language VBS-style day-camp at Salvation Lutheran in Chiayi. We are praying for these children and these families as we get to know them and share the Gospel.

We’re continuing to plan for a CELC (China Evangelical Lutheran Church) synod-wide Reformation Hymn Sing. I am happy to announce that Rev. Timothy Frank, from St. Paul’s Music Conservatory in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has agreed to come and lead the choir, the festival music and the workshops. We are thrilled to have him come and share his expertise and love of Lutheran Reformation music. This will be a time of worship, music-making, and growing in faith and musicianship.

Mindy Thews and I continue to plan for the English-language VBS in Hsinchu in July together with Cynthia Han, the local children’s ministry leader for the China Evangelical Lutheran Church. We are praying for a few more volunteers to join us from the United States for this week. Native speakers are a big draw for such events. Please contact me if you’d like more information about applying to do this. (Rebecca.Bartelt@lcms.org)

Thank you for your prayers!

Thank you for your prayers for my sister over recent months. I continue to give thanks that Sarah is showing no signs of cancer and pray for her daily that God would keep the cancer out of her body. Please pray for her as she is still struggling with some of the side-effects of the chemotherapy, especially neuropathy in hands and feet.

La La

On the road that has shops and restaurants near my apartment there is a man who sells a sweet mung/green bean smoothie treat. I don’t really like it, but I always stop and say hello to him and his little dog La La. She hasn’t been doing well lately and the ice treat seller has been holding her close a lot. Last Saturday she died. He told me Sunday afternoon, so I stopped by the veterinarian’s office on the way to the store to ask what you do for someone when a pet dies in Taiwan. They told me to buy some paper dog toys for the man to burn in La La’s honor and for her afterlife. I knew I couldn’t do that, so I went home and took one of my dog picture frames (minus the picture) and gave it to him. He appreciated the gesture and told me he is doing ok, but his daughter is really sad.

(Please note, this is not La La in the picture, but she looks just like this dog and was just as tiny!)

Please pray for…

• continued perseverance in learning Chinese.
• that God would guide us as we prepare for many outreach events this year.
• continued good health for my sister and healing/perseverance with neuropathy!
• connections with and witness to local people in our everyday lives.

Please give thanks for…

• many upcoming opportunities for ministry.
• my sister’s cancer remission.