臺灣的時刻 - 回應跨文化宣教的呼召 Taiwan, Respond to the Call of Cross-Cultural Missions

臺灣人，天生就是當跨文化宣教士的料！這句話也許乍看令人驚訝，但是當你仔細思考，臺灣人早就具備進入宣教領域的優越條件。神正在臺灣興起一波宣教運動，為此，祂早就將宣教的DNA放在我們的血液中。

The Taiwanese people were born to be cross-cultural missionaries! This statement might be a surprise for you, but take a moment to think about it. Taiwanese people carry many of the essential characteristics necessary to thrive in missions. The Lord is building a missions movement in Taiwan, and He has prepared our DNA for such a time as this. 

臺灣一直都是個充滿多元之美的島嶼。在過去400年間，臺灣曾歷經荷蘭、西班牙、日本和中國政權的統治；1949年，中華民國政府遷移來臺，隨之而來約有一百萬名來自中國大陸與不同背景的人遷居於此，除此之外，島上還有13個原住民族群。這是一個富含文化多樣性的島嶼。因此，在日常生活中，臺灣人對於不同文化的接受度與適應性自然相對較高；並且，由於臺灣人的熱情好客及堅忍勤奮的天性，在進入異文化定居或與當地人互動也並非難事。顯然地，上帝創造臺灣人成為宣教士的極佳人選！

Taiwan has always been an island of diversity. In the last 400 years, Taiwan has been ruled by the Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. When the government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan in 1949, along with them came approximately one million people of diverse backgrounds from all over mainland China. In addition, Taiwan itself has 16 different aboriginal people groups. For these reasons, Taiwanese people are open-minded and adaptable when it comes to cross-cultural situations. Moreover, with the hospitable, persevering, and diligent nature of the Taiwanese, it is natural for them to enter another culture to settle and engage with the locals. It is clear that God has created the Taiwanese people to thrive in for missions.