Chiayi Park Outreach
28/10/2008 9:00 am <>
Smack in the middle of one of the largest open-air markets in Chiayi is a little park. It’s quite dusty with little grass to speak of. You’ll often find some older folks sitting on broken-down furniture playing various gambling games on one side of the park, while kids play on the play equipment on the other side. Many of the kids playing in the park live in the area, with their parents or grandparents selling their wares at the market. Most of these kids don’t venture too far from the market, except to go to school. Otherwise, they spend most of their time at the market or in the park.
Some members of our Chiayi team have been prayer walking in this area for quite some time now. About a year ago they decided to begin a kids outreach program in the park. Two Saturdays a month they go to the park and gather the children to hear a Bible story, do crafts, and play games. When a short term team comes to Chiayi they put on a bigger event like a carnival or kids camp. So far they have had two large events (one at Christmas time and one in the summer). The next big event will be a Christmas outreach in December.
When we began this ministry, the town district captain said to us, “Why do you want to come to this park? Why don’t you go to a bigger park? This one's not very important.” On the other hand, we had people thanking us, saying, “No one does anything for this area. No one really cares about us here. Thanks for doing this for our neighborhood!” As a result, residents in the area have been willing to help out with the Saturday outreach, as well as with the bigger events. They’ll loan out their tables or bring large umbrellas to help keep everyone shaded from the burning, hot sun. People will often go out of their way to thank our teammates for their service to the community. Kids will often run up to our teammates and hug them. Helping the community and having a good reputation has helped our teammates make contacts in the community. Often on Saturdays there are adults hanging around listening to the Bible stories.
We not only get to know the kids in the area, but also the adults. As a result, the park ministry team recently decided to focus even more on this area and do more visitation with the families of the kids who come on Saturdays. Because they have taken the time to serve the people and build relationships within the community, they are trusted and liked. Pray that this would result in open hearts and opportunities for sharing about Jesus.
Amy Gibson – Chiayi
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