Peace to you, brothers and sisters in the Lord!

In the season of Thanksgiving, I greet you from the fall color filled lakefront of the Lake of the Ozarks! The circumstances of virus and difficulties for this year are gloomy, but like the brilliant trees, the grace of the Lord has not ceased to watch over you. May His merciful hands keep lifting you. May His love revive your hearts that you will experience more of His love and might. Let us love our merciful Lord more!

Year of Famine or Year of Sabbath – Thanksgiving?

The year 2020 falls on the 37th year, the Gengzi year (庚子年) of the 60-year cycle. Ancient Chinese perceived that every Gengzi year brought frequent natural disasters and dire problems. The Gengzi year is also called bitter year, famine year, or disaster year, and 2020 has so far fit that perception. This year’s pandemic has not spared any country. The virus has not decreased but keeps increasing. There’s no established idea when it will end. In just the US, more than 210,000 people have died from Covid-19. Additionally, people have suffered from other bad effects of the pandemic, including loss of income, depression, mental disorders, and suicides. People have been living under the shadow of the virus for over half a year. Many students have lost this year’s progress study due to school shutdowns. Despite the availability of online courses, there are still big deficits in learning. Flood, drought, and locus infestations have manifest in mainland China this year. In the United States, there have been months of forest fires, social unrest, murder, arson, and looting. We do not know when these will subside. The gospel ministry in churches has been delayed greatly during the pandemic as well. Many of our plans have been disrupted by the pandemic. We count ourselves blessed if we have our basic daily needs. Many people feel that this year is our famine year as the economic depression, low mood, and spiritual dryness. It is depressing living in the year of the famine, the Gengzi year.

A better kind of year was the Sabbath year of the Israelites. Mosaic Law states that Israelites must keep a Sabbath year every seven years. During these years, Israelites had to follow what the Mosaic Law: “for six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.” (Exodus 23:10-11) During the Sabbath year, Israelites had to let the land rest. Planting, cultivation, pruning, and harvest work was forbidden by the law during the Sabbath year. They should let the crops grow naturally. Anyone can reap what they need and the beasts of the field can eat. During the Sabbath year, Israelites had no income, and moreover should forgive other people’s debt. This was hardship upon hardship on the Israelites. Living under such economic stress is not easier than the pressure of living in the year of plagues. Yet Israelites did not consider the Sabbath year as one of disaster or famine. They called it the year of Sabbath, a joyful year without working and harvest, but they can be joyful because they know the key of Sabbath year is not the absence of work, but to put down our own work to do God’s work. They spend this year to get close to God, to worship and praise God more, and to learn to obey God’s statues. “Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 31:12) When the hearts of the Israelites turn to God, this year of economic stress became their celebration and jubilee. When their hearts are willing to learn to fear God and live lives pleasing to the Lord, even this famine year becomes a year pleasing to the Lord and filled with meaning. When one willingly learns God’s words and obeys His will, the days of “unemployment” become a year of fullness.

So: Is this year a year of pestilence, a year of famine, or a year of sabbath? It completely depends on us. If our eyes always focus on the numbers of the pandemic, worrying being sick or losing our jobs or social chaos all day long, this year is our Gengji Year, the year of pestilence and famine. All year long we are living under anxiety, worries, isolation, and loss. Next year we will not come out of the condition of suffering and without hope! If we live with God being the center and focus our eyes on Christ who is filled with God’s riches, if our goals are to pursue God and we always experience the support from His merciful hands, if we have rested in Him and we always count His grace and might, then our hearts will be revived and sing loudly and will highly lift up our glorious God. This year is our year of grace and year of Sabbath. We can enjoy God’s abiding and rest in his love. Without a heart of thanksgiving we are trapped in the year of pestilence and famine. With a heart of thanksgiving, Sabbath year is among us!,

Thanksgiving is at the corner. Let us come in front of the Lord to count His grace. Walk out from those trials in these days seemingly to be filled with sufferings. And let us enter into God’s grace and love to enjoy the Sabbath from God. Let our hearts once again being revived by God’s wondrous works. We worship and praise our Lord of Grace, acknowledge Him as our Head. We return to Him and live for Him. Just as David said, “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name, let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” (1 Chronicles 16:8-10) Thanks be to the Lord! When we sing praises to God, the bitter year, the pestilence year, the Gengzi year will become the year of jubilee and the year of Sabbath. In the past half a year, I live not only in the pandemic, but also live with cancer and chemotherapy, twice admitted to the emergency room and hospitalization. I had to go to the hospital weekly. Each time thinking of the Lord, I truly think these days are the days of enjoying the Lord’s grace. This year is my Sabbath year. I continue to experience the power of God’s grace. It allows me to trust on Him more firmly and return to Him.

Winter Conferences

1. Winter Conference and Fortieth Anniversary Thanksgiving Meeting (December 23-27)—there will be numbers restriction. Please register as early as possible.
   Due to the pandemic, many churches have been doing online meeting and worship for over half a year. As a result, many brothers and sisters have not been able to have fellowship and worship face to face and truly long to pursue the Lord together in this conference in front of the Lord. Even though there are many difficulties in front of us and the pandemic numbers are worrisome, but CWC coworkers hope to hold Winter Conference in person by the grace of God. During this time, please not only pray regarding the pandemic, but also pray that God will prepare our hearts to come to Winter Conference together. This year we will move to Westin Kansas City at Crown Center (it is next to the Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center where we usually met). In order to comply with the government’s regulations, to protect all the attendees, and to keep a good reputation, this 4-star Hotel will provide highest Covid-19 code. Besides the basic 6 feet social distance, they will do the regular disinfectant procedure daily. We will post details on our website for everybody’s reference. For this reason, we will limit the numbers of participants. We will take “first register, first accept” and “full time or not” as the base to be accepted. The details will be individually notified after your registration. Even so, we still give thanks to God for preparing His faithful servants as the speakers. They are: Rev. Tsu Kung Chuang, Rev. Brian Lam, Elder Daniel Luan, Rev. Xiao Yuan, Rev. George Hsu, Rev. Puong Lau, and more. This year is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Christian Witness Center. Let us come together to thank God’s guidance. Registration details will come out in early November. Online registration will begin on November 15th. Please prepare your time and encourage other brothers and sisters and non-believers to come to the Lord’s feast. Winter conference is freewill offering. May the Lord prepare each attendees. Let the Holy Spirit’s work and revival be upon them.
2. December Disciple and Coworker Training Camp (December 17- January 2)
   So far we still plan to hold the camp in-person. Speakers are Rev. Brian Lam and Elder Daniel Luan. The registration form has been posted on CWC webpage. Deadline is December 18th. Due to maintaining social distance and the limitation of the space, if you want to attend, please apply ASAP. Please pray for speakers and yourself.
3. January Bible Camp (Revelation) (January 3-9, 2021)
   Revelation is a book brothers and sisters love to read, but find hard to understand. So far we still also plan to hold the camp in-person. The speakers are Rev. Chihhao Shen and Mrs. Juanna Wu. A registration form and reading schedule have been posted on the CWC webpage. Deadline is November 15th. Participants have started writing their topical reports from November 1st. If you want to join, please register ASAP. Participants must first attend disciple training camp within the last two years. If you want to come to this Bible camp but do not qualify by the above criteria, please do not miss the December disciple training camp. This is your last chance to qualify for the January Bible camp.

Pastor Ko’s Update

• After eight chemotherapy treatments, the first plan was surgery at Barns-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO in November. But pulmonary hydrops was found at the end of October, so the doctors delayed surgery. Please remember Pastor Ko’s health in your prayers. We believe God will have mercy unto His servant. There are weekly updates posted on CWC website on Pastor Ko’s health situation. Please continue to pray for his surgery. May the Lord heal him. You are welcome to join our online prayer meeting and Bible study every Sunday at 6:30pm (central time). Zoom meeting ID is 8110999917. Please text Pastor Ko at 573-999-6235 for password. Please join us.

Thanksgiving and Prayer Requests

1. In the next two months, our coworkers will be very busy planning for Winter Conference, Disciple Training camp, and Bible camp. It is not easy to make arrangements during the pandemic. We need to rely on God’s wisdom and power to do the work. Please pray for our coworkers.
2. This month our coworkers need to start guiding Bible camp attendees on their assigned topic report writing. Each report will take at least one to two hours to read. They will be very busy. Please pray for CWC coworkers. May the Lord give them wisdom and power to complete God’s work.
3. We give thanks that our new coworker Rev. Charles Huang joined our ministry this month. May the Lord lead his ministry in Champaign, IL. Also pray for his family who will move to the Midwest by the end of February. May the Lord guide them.
4. Pray for Scott, the maintenance coworker. Besides the regular maintenance work, he has to clean up fallen leaves these few weeks to prepare for the camps in December. May the Lord give him wisdom and power to bless other brothers and sisters. Also may the Lord bless his whole family.
5. Pray for Mrs. Ko’s health. Thanks be to the Lord! Pastor Ko has completed eight chemotherapy treatments and tentatively plan for surgery at Washington University’s Barns-Jewish Hospital. It is a big surgery. Please remember him in your prayers.
6. Pray for Qing-Long Liang’s ministry and may the Lord bless his family of five. Also pray for his R-1 religious visa application. May God guide and lead the way and issue the visa.
7. Pray for Cindy Chiang’s busy year-end ministry. It is not easy to plan for three meetings. May she be filled with the Lord that the work of her hands will be blessed so that more people at the camps will be blessed and be edified by the Lord.
8. Pray for the arrangement of short-term mission teams for Winter conference. May the Lord raise more short-term mission teams from various churches to cowork with CWC that more lost souls will be saved.
9. May the Lord give strong and courageous hearts to brothers and sisters. Despite the pandemic, they can still are the choice warrior of Christ to come out of the shadow of the pandemic to join various camps in winter. They will equip themselves to be people who serve the Lord bravely.
10. May the Lord raise more brothers and sisters to care about the ministry of CWC and provide prayer and financial support. May the Lord let the ministry of CWC bless more people and lead more people to the Lord! So that they will commit to love Christ, to be faithful disciples and serve the King of Kings all their lives.
11. Pray for the construction of Children’s Activity Center. May the Lord guide us to complete the exterior work before winter. Then we can focus on interior work in the cold winter.

During this season of Thanksgiving, may the Lord bless you and your whole family that you can be a blessing to others! Please arrange time to participate with our year-end camps and invite other brothers and sisters and non-believers to attend.

Serving with you in the Lord,
Pastor Billy Ko