We did decide to go back to China at that time, but only on a year to year basis. We knew that God wanted us to be there and that he would give us the strength and resources that we would need. And that is exactly what happened. We had two more wonderful years there. At that time, though, it became very clear that we needed to move to a country that had better medical and therapy resources. After a short search, we moved to Taipei, Taiwan. The medical facilities, resources, therapies were great and our daughter improved so much!
As we were living in Taiwan, we realized that there were many other families with children that have special needs, and they seemed very discouraged and hopeless. In Taiwan, it is still often seen as an embarrassment or shame to have children that are not "perfect." We were able to have great conversations with other parents and realized that there was a void that we could fill. Because we have a special needs child ourselves, there is an automatic "heart to heart" connection. We could relate to them, encourage them, cry with them, learn with them, and, most importantly, tell them about the HOPE that we have.
We shared this vision with some of our very good friends, and together we decided to form a legal not-for-profit association. This would allow us to work more easily with schools, hospitals and other government organizations. We would be able to give tax-deductible receipts in Taiwan. Since our Taiwan Sunshine relies on the generous financial support of others, this was so important. Now, our dream is finally a reality!
Oh, one more thing — why does our website say "fearfully and wonderfully made?" This actually comes from a poem in the Bible, from the book of Psalms. In this section, the poet says, ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’ He is talking about how God already knew him and made him fearfully and wonderfully. In other words, he is not a mistake, an accident, a ‘sloppy’ thing! God did not run out of time when he was making him! We believe that this is true for all of us. God made each of us fearfully and wonderfully. That includes our kids, no matter what kind of ‘disability’ they have!
We hope that through Taiwan Sunshine, there will be such a radical shift in Taiwan’s culture to understand that each of these kids is valuable – not because of what they can contribute, but because they were made by God – with a specific purpose that only they can accomplish. We hope that Taiwan Sunshine will communicate that sense of HOPE with every family we come in contact with.
Will you help us?
We hope that through Taiwan Sunshine, there will be such a radical shift in Taiwan’s culture to understand that each of these kids is valuable – not because of what they can contribute, but because they were made by God – with a specific purpose that only they can accomplish. We hope that Taiwan Sunshine will communicate that sense of HOPE with every family we come in contact with.
Taiwan Sunshine