I got to know Ron in my first “Let’s Talk” English class. I was kind of late, so when I entered the class, everyone was seated already. As I stood there awkwardly, a gentleman stood up and invited me to join his table. He was Ron, the leader of that discussion group.
I got to know more about Ron recently when a family was visiting their home. The family had just returned to the U.S. from Taiwan. The wife is Taiwanese and had worked with Ron & Shirley when they were in Taiwan. I saw many photographs from Ron & Shirley’s time there and how passionately Ron played guitar and sang.
From 1988 to 2002, Ron & Shirley lived in Taiwan helping people as English teachers and missionaries.
Ron was there to help with music in the church. Shirley was there a year before Ron came. At that time, the church had no piano players or instrumentalists. Shirley knew Ron loved to play guitar and lead singing in Canada. So, she said to Ron “COME!” and he came!The church sponsored English classes for children and adults. This was a special program at Christmas time when many of the children and families came for a birthday party for Jesus.Both Ron & Shirley had an opportunity to teach university classes to first-year English students and they often invited them to visit at their home.Shirley also had the opportunity to teach university English classes for government workers. This was the end of the term for one of the classes and Shirley’s students brought their families for a banquet at a very nice hotel.The young man in this picture was getting baptized. The pastor who made the baptismal box made a raised bottom to sit on so it was easier to raise the person back up out of the water after he was baptized.Their church in Taiwan had been connected with a pastor of a church in the Philippines for many years. Their pastor in Taiwan had taken teams of volunteers many times before to help in the Philippines. So in 1999, they were able to go, too, with a team of 10 people. They went to Manila where the church was located, and also to some poor fishing villages in the north of the Philippines.
