In Loving Memory of Dr. David Brainard Woodward  Sept.2011

Happy Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival!  We’ve much news this month, but we start by celebrating the life of Dr. David Woodward (1918-2011), who married Sue and I in 1981 in Taiwan. Even today, 30 years later, he continues to influence our lives, and many others, especially through one of those strange ‘coincidences’ that seem to pop up in our lives…

Coincidences or Father’s Hand?  In early 2011, twoChinese reporters interviewed me  about the amazing “coincidences” that have helped me pull together the history of the Amoy Mission (I was able to show them emails and other materials to document them).

Scientists have long tried to explain these uncanny coincidences.  In the 1920s, Carl Jung dubbed it synchronicity.  Even Einstein spoke of how his insights came not from logic but from unexplained inspiration.  Some call it the Force (rather like Star Wars!).But I see it as our Father’s hand.  He weaves the tapestry of our lives so deftly and gently that we  usually go about our lives completely unaware of just how much we takefor granted.  But sometimes we  entangle ourselves so much that He reaches in to straighten out a knot or two—such as he did right after our honeymoon, and later did with a gift from Dr. Woodward...

The Magic Zheng While in Taiwan for our wedding,  Sue bought a Chinese zheng for my wedding present. I had wanted one for years, and was delighted—and then I left it on a public bus in San Francisco while transferring to another airport. I was devastated, and halfheartedly threw up a hopeless prayer—more of a complaint than a plea for help, blaming my Father for allowing his child to be so careless.  I had zero hope of ever seeing the zheng again because neither the instrument nor the case had any ID.   It was not, I felt, an auspicious way to start married life—losing my wedding present before I even got it home.

A full month later, back in Los Angeles at grad school, I was called out of class to the office—and on the dean’s desk was my zheng—no note, no explanation!  The bus company must have spent a month of detective work tracking down the owner of an instrument with no ID on it or in it.  For me, it was a special delivery straight from heaven.  

I thanked our Father for the returned zheng—and apologized both for losing it and for blaming Him for my loss, because the incident drove home two valuable lessons.  One—we, not our Father, are responsible to steward what He entrusts to us.  But two, and more encouraging to me, our Father really is there to help his children.  And He continues to drive home this lesson even today in ways so amazing that some have made it into the Chinese newspapers!   But one of my greatest lessons came through the book “Detour from Tibet,” which Dr. Woodward gave to us at our wedding....

Dr. Woodward, a grad of Princeton and Fuller T.S. (my alma mater), set off on horseback in 1945 for Tibet, and then served for decades with Betty in India, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where Sue knew the Woodwards while she was growing up (Sue’s parents were in Taiwan 30 years with TEAM, and she was born and raised there).

Marital Counseling—or Cautioning?  Sue was thrilled that Dr. Woodward agreed to marry us at Taipei’s ChristChapel, but I was nervous when he said he had to first counsel me. My ears were still burning from the marital counseling of Chuck Saunders, my friend from Taiwan days.  (Read more about the Saunders at: www.amoymagic.com/AM_Saunders.htm)

Don’t Do It, Willy! I met Sue at Chuck and Donna’s house in Pasadena on Easter Sunday, 1981, and after watching our love blossom, Chuck took me to a Mexican lunch and dispensed these words of wisdom:  “Don’t do it, Willy!” (Only Chuck,  and Art Velasquez, ever called me Willy—precisely because they knew I hated Willy).

Chuck was concerned not for me but for Sue.  He knew me from Air Force days in Taiwan, and my time as a special agent in the U.S. and the Middle East, and he was worried Sue would not be able to handle the kind of life I was likely to live in mainland China.  I of course greatly respected Chuck and his advice. He and Donna influenced me on everything from attending Fuller T.S. to going into business, and then leaving business to go to China.  But when it came to Susan Marie, I was deaf!  Happily for us, once they realized we were determined to marry, they embraced us like 2^nd parents, and Chuck was the first to visit and encourage us in China right after we arrived in 1988.

Marriage Counseling—the Sequel  After Chuck’s insights on marriage, I certainly did not want a second round of marital counseling from Dr. Woodward.  But Dr. Woodward did not dissuade me, perhaps because the wedding was only 4 days away (and Sue’s dad had my plane tickets and wouldn’t let me leave the island without his daughter in tow).  But Dr. Woodward did advise me on how to keep the wife happy, and given that he was married to Betty for 66 years, I figured he must know what he was talking about, and I listened!

The Magic Book As we prepared for the wedding, Dr. Woodward delighted us with tall but true tales of entering Tibet on horseback, and he gave us a signed copy of his book “Detour from Tibet.”  I treasured that book, which I read several times, and was one of the few books I took to China. So imagine my frustration when Sue loaned it to a Chinese student, who loaned it to another student, who lost it.  I did not say much about it, but inwardly I stewed at losing yet another wedding present. And unlike the zither, I never saw that book again, but our Father used it to teach us a great lesson!

A year after losing my treasured book, we heard that some of our university’s Chinese students had volunteered to work in Tibet so they could also share their new Life there (Chinese tentmakers).  And a year after that news, we had one of those “coincidences” that even today gives me goosebumps to think about.

Tibet and back.  I was exhausted by the time we reached Lhasa,(Tibet) but the second day both body and spirit wereIn 1994, Sue, the boys and I drove 40,000 km. for 3 months around China, up the coast, through the Gobi Desert, to charged when a young Chinese said to us, “Are you Bill Brown?  I’m a believer from Xiamen Univ. who volunteered to serve in Tibet.  I was movedto do that because of your book, “Detour from Tibet!” 

A year lesson, Dr. Woodward was delighted to hear that he was still touching the hearts of Tibetans half a century after he left the place.  And happily for me, he gave us another signed copy of his book.  I do hope to hold on to this copy, but I also pray that I’ll never again put books, or anything else, above people. 

On August 23, 2011, Dr. Woodward ended his brief 93 year sojourn on this planet. And now, for the first time, he can   view the magnificent tapestry of life—not from the knotty and tangled backside but from the beautiful perspective of the
Master Weaver, for whom even the smallest thread has both beauty and purpose.

Ping'an, Dr. David Woodward! 

Bill Brown
Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

An Amoy Tribute for Lorraine Pierce--Spiritual Founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse

Bill Brown Xiamen University

Amoy (Xiamen, China), April 5th , 2011

One of the 20th Century's most influential Christian women just went Home. Two days ago, I learned of the failing health of Lorraine, wife of World Vision and Samaritan Purse's founder Bob Pierce.  And as I was starting a letter to her today (my 55th B-day, by the way), I learned that she had already “returned Home”, surrounded by family and friends.

Grandmother of Millions The day before Lorraine went Home, she had smiled at learning she had a new great grandson, Taylor Anthony Ruesga.  Today, Lorraine is learning face-to-face from our Father that decades of selfless and largely unsung sacrifice, and the ceaseless prayers of a faithful mother and wife, have made her a spiritual mother of millions, and helped change our world in ways we will not fathom until we too join Lorraine with our Father, face-to-face.

The Seed of WVI in Amoy  As I wrote in February, 2010, World Vision was founded because of an incident here in Amoy in 1947.  American missionary Tena Holkeboer challenged young Bob Pierce to not just preach but to give practical help to poor orphans.  Bob gave his last 5 dollars to help "White Jade" and promised to send 5 dollars a month.  And that was  the seed that led him in 1950 to start World Vision, and in 1970 to found Samaritan's Purse (now led by Franklin Graham).

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God," wrote Bob Pierce in his bible after seeing the tragic conditions of orphans in Korea.  And Bob devoted the rest of his life traveling the globe and building two organizations that would help countless millions of people.  Bob literally spent his life and heart and soul to reach the poor, but in some ways, his wife Lorraine paid an even greater price. 

In "Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer," Bob's daughter Marilee shared that after Bob began his global ministry, his family saw little of him, even though wife and daughters desperately needed some time with him at home. But though heartbroken by suffering in other lands, Bob could not see the pain in his own home, and he justified his long absences with yet another prayer that has become famous.

Bob's Jephthah Prayer   Like many others in his shoes, Bob struggled with how to balance the needs at home with the demands of a growing global ministry.  So Bob said, "God, if you take care of my children, I will take care of yours."   The prayer is often quoted, and may sound admirable on the surface, but it was neither wise nor necessary.  In Judges 11, Jephthah promised God that if he won a battle, he'd sacrifice whatever greeted him first when he returned home.  To his  horror, he was greeted by his daughter, whom he was then bound to sacrifice.  Bob also made  a Jephthah sacrifice. 

Like Jephthah, Bob Pierce sacrificed his family by leaving his young wife Lorraine to raise their children alone while he traveled abroad for months and years—and the Pierce family suffered great tragedy.

Did God fail Bob Pierce?  Bob did his best to care for God's children, so did God fail to keep his own end of the bargain by allowing tragedy to befall Bob's family at home?  Obviously, God did not fail Bob, just as he did not fail Jephthah, because God never asked for such a prayer from Jephthah, or Bob, or anyone else.  Bob's children were Bob's responsibility, and his family should have been not an obstacle but an opportunity to help him prepare for a broader work.

Small and Great  Jesus taught, "He who is faithful in small things will be faithful in great things."   God uses 'small' things to prepare us for great things, and to teach us to rely not on our own strength but on His.

For example, honoring the Sabbath may seem unimportant, but it proves that if we trust our Father, we can do more in 6 days than 7.  Tithing  money proves that 90% of our money can go farther than 100% when wisely stewarded.  But the brief  time on earth with our family is a bootcamp for eternity, preparing us as nothing else can for our own unique roles in our Father's eternal Family.   Some, like Paul the Apostle, were called to be single.  But if we are blessed with a family, then that family is our greatest God-given priority, from which all else springs, and faithfulness in this 'small' thing prepares us for the greater things to come.

Fortunately for Bob, and for the world, Lorraine Pierce did not succumb to bitterness and resentment.  She continued to struggle, largely alone and unheralded, to keep her family together, and she continued to pray without ceasing for her beloved but absent husband—and I am confident that it was her prayers that moved both heaven and, through her husband, earth as well.

Samuel Chadwick wrote, "The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from praying. ... He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. ... Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. ..."

Great works for the Kingdom are not successful because of the blood, sweat and tears of toiling spiritual entrepreneurs ready to sacrifice themselves and everyone around them.  Their success is rooted in fervent, faithful prayer.    Hudson Taylor wrote, "God's will done in God's way will never lack God's supply." Though the China Inland Mission had thousands of workers to care for, Hudson Taylor learned that, through prayer and wise stewardship, he never lacked the resources to accomplish whatever task the Father put before him.

Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, and many others who have made eternal contributions to the kingdom knew the truth of Chadwick's claim that success is rooted not in our toil or in our wisdom, or in our bargaining with God, but in our prayer—the faithful, fervent prayer of spiritual warriors like  Lorraine Pierce.

Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer.  To learn more about the Pierce family, and the founding of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, read Marilee Dunker's "Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer." Regrettably, the publisher later shortened the title to "Man of Vision," but it was the the prayers of a faithful mother and wife, and a Woman of Prayer, that helped make possible the vision that changed the lives of millions.

I have heard that Marilee is preparing a newer book about her parents and their work.   I trust that her new book will help us all to better appreciate and emulate the selflessness and faithfulness of Lorraine Pierce, the spiritual founder of both World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, and spiritual mother to millions.

Our prayers, and gratitude, go to Marilee and her sister Robin, and the entire family.

In closing—a family news update! Our oldest son Shan and his wife Miki just moved to Beijing, where Shan has a new and challenging job.  And Matt at University of Arkansas has a very special friend Jessica (I hope to add her to the family cartoon!).  She is in Argentina for six months.  Lots of changes!

Bill Brown
       & family

www.amoymagic.com

Jabez Prayer Wheel--Guaranteed 100% Answered Prayer!

Note: Jabez Prayer Wheel void where prohibited by law, common sense, or lack of faith. Also: this blog is not criticizing the Jabez book itself. It is well written and insightful--but only if read in entirety, and the verse preceding Jabez' prayer is kept in mind. I take issue only with the notion that some believe simply parroting this prayer always guarantees the answer you want from God. I think prayer is always answered, but not always as we expect. And thank God for that, because I've winged prayers aloft that I was later thankful my Father had not answered as I had hoped. Dr. Bill
Toying Around When we first arrived in China in 1988, we could not buy good toys locally, so I made playthings from cardboard, paper, string, and wood. Even adults played on my 50 lb. wooden rocking horse (I threatened to publish a photo of the Foreign Affairs' Director on the horse if he didn't renew my contract; he is now one of Xiamen's top leaders).

Shannon, 1992

I did my best, but I was not Santa's toy-making elf, so in 1992, both Shan and Matt were thrilled when Sue and I promised them a real store-bought toy when we returned from a Beijing meeting. But dear old mom had a trick up her sleeve.

The Black Lacquer Plate Plot Sue gave Shannon a beautiful Chinese cloth box, which the 6-yr.-old gleefully opened to discover not a toy but a black lacquer plate. Only Shannon's eyes betrayed his disappointment. He smiled, thanked us, and walked away with the plate clasped to his chest. I could have cried (and kicked his mom).
"Come back Shannon!" I said. "Mom's fooling you. We do have a toy for you!" Shan hesitantly unwrapped a second package. He laughed as he held up a plastic basketball game, then hugged, kissed and thanked us. He started from the room, prized toy under his arm, then stopped in the doorway and said, "But it really was a nice plate."

I did cry at that point.

Toys 'R Us—I want everything! A few months later, Shannon saw his first Toys 'R Us. He was overwhelmed by the towering shelves of toys and said, "I want this! I want that! I want…" and he stopped, thrust his arms out happily, and said, "I want everything!" (The Hong Kong Toy's R Us had a sign at the entrance saying "Please leave your values at the counter." It was a typo--but later made sense!).

Hong Kong Toys R Us

The World 'R Us—We all want everything! So which was the real Shannon—the one who accepted the plate, or the one who wanted everything? They were both Shannon, but even the 6-yr.old who hid his sadness at not getting a toy was easily led to exclaim, "I want everything!" And we've all been this way since Eden.

Adam and Eve did have everything—except for one tree. But they gave up their inheritance for that one forbidden fruit—and ever since, we have all hungered for everything, and used clever psychology and even theology to justify it.

Maslow 'R Us. Maslow's 'Theory of Needs' helps explain what drives us. He said we all seek first to survive (physical needs and security), and then to belong (to be with others), and then to have self-esteem (for those others to look up to us). But even Maslow could not explain the highest need, which he called "self-actualization" (SA).

Ultimate Drive or Desire? SA is our need for purpose and fulfillment, but Maslow admitted, "It is unfortunate that I can no longer be theoretically neat at this level." Unlike 'lower' needs, Maslow said SA is not a driving force but an unexplainable universal 'desire.' It is unexplainable because scientists cannot admit that our ultimate need is to fill what Pascal called the "God-shaped abyss" in our hearts—a spiritual silence we try to drown out by an endless and mindless accumulation of anything and everything, living a lifestyle that is all style but little life.

The Evolution from Simian to Shopper (Homo Ebaggit)

Consumer or Consumed Only two centuries ago, a "consumer" was a squanderer, or a wasteful person, but yesterday's vices are today's virtues. In 1955, the economist Victor Lebow said,
"Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction in consumption. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever-increasing rate."

Distressed Jeans or Distressed Consumer

Cult of Consumerism People who want everything are easily led to buy anything—such as a $200 pair of ripped and stained "distressed" jeans. But today, even churches reinforce Sony's Youniverse campaign, which says we are the center of everything and deserve everything.

Today's Tetzels

The church of the Dark Ages amassed a fortune by squeezing poor peasants for money to free loved ones from purgatory. As Tetzel said, "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, another soul from purgatory springs."

In this even Darker Age, today's Tetzels amass fortunes by focusing not on the afterlife but on this life, promising an immediate tenfold return from God if we donate to their 'ministries.' (Why not bypass the middleman and give us the money so God can repay them tenfold?)

Seek Ye First—or Demand Ye First? Ironically, our Father does want to bless us—and is eager for us to ask! Jesus said that if earthly fathers know how to give good things to their children, how much more our Heavenly Father! (Matt. 7:9-11).

But how do we ask for our Father's blessings? Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be given to you" (Matt. 6:33). And Jesus said to pray first for the Kingdom, and then ask for our daily bread. But today, we are taught better prayers than Christ's, and told to skip the Kingdom part of it and go straight for the desires. And now, we don't ask, but demand an answer.

The Prayer God Always Answers? The preface to the book "Prayer of Jabez" begins with, "Dear Reader, I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers!" This is followed by stories of people who succeeded simply by repeating Jabez prayer for months and years. Not surprisingly, an entire Jabez industry now caters to people who want a foolproof prayer to get anything and everything. You can now buy a dozen versions of the Jabez book and endless Jabez trinkets, from mugs, cups, ties, rugs, plaques, key chains, etc to $250 Jabez jewelry.

Magic Jabez God Box

Jabez Magic One ad promotes a Jabez Prayer inside The "God Box" pendant. The God Box is identical to boxes sold to hold spells and potions—which isn't surprising, because the Jabez Prayer is used like a magic prayer that God must "always answer." But the Jabez merchandise ignores the verse before the prayer, 1 Chron. 4:9: "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers."

As Jesus said, and Jabez demonstrated, 'Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be given…"

Dr Bills Patent Pending Jabez Prayer Wheel

The World-Changing Jabez Prayer Wheel! The Magic Jabez God Box reminds me of Tibetan Prayer Wheels, with written prayers inside that fly off to Buddha when the wheels are spun. Chinese temples take it a step further, with motorized prayer wheels that send prayers soaring heavenward 24/7.

The ingenuity of Tibetans, Chinese, and Jabezite Christians inspired my own spiritual invention, the Jabez Prayer WheelTM, a brilliant concept destined to change the world (I say this with all humility).
My wood-handled tin can prototype is adorned with plastic gems as a reminder we want answers in cash, jewels, etc. A backup Jabez Prayer in the swinging locket doubles the prayer's punch, and the locket swings faster than the can, so "The Prayer God Must Answer!"TM gets faster results!

Coming Soon! An electric Jabez Prayer Wheel, because "You Do Deserve Everything. 24/7!TM"

New Improved JP for Young Hearts 2.0

Jabez is Child-Tested! Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." So I suggest baby rattles with Jabez InsideTM so even toddlers can learn that they too deserve everything, and can get it by simply wielding, "The Prayer that God Must Answer!"TM

Does this sound farfetched? Then consider the half dozen Jabez titles for tots: PJ for Kids! PJ for Little Ones! PJ for Teens! PJ: Living Big for God! PJ for Young Hearts! And the Jabez industry is evolving rapidly. The cover of the first Jabez for Young Hearts' had what looked like a balding poster child for poverty. But JP for Young Hearts 2.0's new and improved cover shows a child opening a shining pot of gold. There may not be gold at the end of the rainbow, but Jabez for Young Hearts 2.0 will ignite any child's passion for his very own personal "Prayer Pot of Gold."TM

Millstones. But neither we nor our children need infallible prayers because our Heavenly Father is faithful and always answers our prayers—though sometimes the answer is not what we expect.

Backyard Millstone, Xiamen, 1992

I love giving to my sons, but I would not give them something I know would harm them, or something they would not take care of. In the same way, our Father hears and answers all of our prayers, but sometimes answers "no," or "wait."  And sometimes, we have to just grow up and work ourselves out of a situation we've pushed ourselves into.

I cannot imagine how I would feel if my sons tried forcing me to give them whatever they desired—yet we teach children magic prayers to force God to answer prayer! I am reminded of Jesus' warning in Mark 9:42, "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck."

Heirs of "Everything" Jesus' life and teachings prove that we do not need 'trick prayers' because even tiny mustard seed faith can move mountains. Most importantly, Jesus taught that as God's children, we are already to everything—but we will not receive our inheritance until we have grown up.

Child, Heir –or Slave? Galatians 4:7 says, "So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." But Galatians 4:1 explains, "What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate."

When we try to manipulate God with magic prayers, or even religion, we act not as heirs but as slaves trying to usurp what is not ours. We will never receive our inheritance until we have shown obedience and stewardship. As Jesus said:

"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Matt. 25:23

Prayer—a Two-Edged Sword God not only hears and answers our prayers, but he knows what we need even before we ask (Matt. 6:8). But blessings are a two-edged sword, because with answered prayer comes responsibility. As Jesus said in Luke 12:48b,

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

One of my favorite passages is Jeremiah 29:11-13, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." But every time I read those verses, I am also careful to read what follows:

"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Heart or Lips? Do we seek our Father with all our heart or is our relationship just an endless plea for everything he can dole out? No wonder Jesus said in Mark 7:6, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."


The Greatest Gift is Giving Jesus taught that the best way to receive is to give. Luke 6:38, "Give and it will be given to you…For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Or as God says in Malachi 3:10, "Prove me now…if I will not open upon you the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it!" But even more important than giving is simple obedience (1 Samuel 15:22, 23)

God Answers All Prayers. If prayers seem unanswered, the problem is not God's but ours. Perhaps we are not acting as heirs but as children—or worse yet, as slaves to the spirit of this dark ,age that teaches we are the center of our own Youniverse and that we deserve everything, here and now.

Ironically, I have learned to be thankful even when my Father says "no," or "wait," because when I have stubbornly persisted in some prayers, and he has at length answered them, I have regretted it! But even my wrongheaded prayers were used for good, because they helped teach me faith and patience, and to trust that my Father knows not just what is good for me but what is best.

In closing, repeating Jabez' prayer or reciting Biblical promises is fine for encouraging ourselves, but we do not need infallible prayers because our Father is infallibly faithful. We all want everything, but our Father wants to give us even more than we can think or imagine! But His answer to our prayers may well be "no" or "wait" –at least until we show ourselves wise stewards of what he has already blessed us with.

Bill Brown
Xiamen University
Email: Amoybill @ gmail.com
Website: www.amoymagic.com
Noodles http://ourdailynoodles.blogspot.com/