Claiming the Opportunities

A Letter from John McCall, serving in Taiwan

Summer 2023

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Dear friends,

As I travel around Taiwan, and this year around the United States, I have been observing young people. We live in such an uncertain time with so many problems facing the world that I have been interested in how young people are coping.

An-Li sits with a first grader as he types braille

We know the sobering statistic of the high rate of anxiety among young people. Global warming, the increasing disparity between those who have and those who have not, geopolitical tensions, racism, and an uncertain economy all feed into this anxiety. The use of social media often leads to isolation and self-shaming instead of helping young people feel more connected.

And yet, with all these challenges, I am inspired by their openness, their willingness to dream of a different world, and their desire to make a difference. I would like to share two stories of young people in Taiwan who are making a difference.

An-Li, whose name means “freedom through peace,” chose to do his required Taiwanese military service in a different way. He chose to do alternative service at a small primary school in the most rural county in Taiwan. Most young men when doing their alternative service just want to get through the year and see it as a waste of time. 

Yi Hsin helping children at his church

But An-Li is a Christian, and he saw this year of service as a way to love God and love his neighbor. When he got to the school, he discovered that there was a young boy in the first-grade class who was visually impaired. The teachers were very cautious and did not allow this boy to participate in many activities so that he would not get hurt. One day the school had a track and field day, but the teachers told this boy that he could sit on a chair on the side of the track and cheer on his classmates. But An-Li asked the teachers if he could run with the boy holding his hand. The teachers agreed, and the school discovered that the boy could run fast.

An-Li knew that he would only be at the school for a year, so he found five other first graders and told them that they needed to learn how to be their classmate’s eyes. So, in addition to helping the boy, An-Li also nurtured five others to accompany him during his primary school years.

The teachers told An-Li that he didn’t need to work so hard at his job, but they also saw that he was a different kind of young adult. They began to ask him why he was spending all this energy to help this first grader, and An-Li shared that he is a Christian and that is what Christians do. Word traveled fast throughout the school and community about this young man who was using his year’s alternative service to make a difference. I’ll have the privilege of officiating at An-Li’s wedding next spring.

Yi-Hsin grew up in a very small town in central Taiwan. He faced family challenges growing up but was always motivated to study. When he was in high school, he started attending the Presbyterian Church in that town and became a Christian. Yi-Hsin discovered that he loved learning English and began helping the children at the church with their homework. When he entered college, he decided to major in English. As a way to finance his education, he taught English at night in a private cram school for youth who want to do well on their college entrance exams, which includes English as one of the subjects. He worked hard in college but returned to his small hometown each weekend to continue helping the children in his church with their studies and to sing in the church’s praise band.

Yi-Hsin is now pursuing a Master’s in English degree with the goal of becoming an English teacher. In conversation with his pastor, he has decided to return to his rural hometown to teach in the middle school there. The verse “blessed to be a blessing” describes Yi Hsin’s life. He was blessed by his church and those who stood by him during his high school years, and now he desires to use his life to bless those children in his church and community who do not have the same opportunities as children in Taiwan’s cities.

Yi-Hsin has been elected an elder in his church and it is a thrill to see the way he uses the opportunities he has been given to make a difference in the lives of others.

I often hear negative comments about young people, but I am thrilled to see how many are making a difference in our world. They need our encouragement and prayers, as they seek to shape a different world both locally and globally.

Gratefully,

John McCall