Taiwan

Taiwan has always been a mask-wearing culture. If people have a cold or are concerned about catching a cold, they will wear masks. So, this pandemic has just increased the number of people wearing masks in public to around 95% of the population. When you are in a public space and everyone is wearing a mask, you only see the eyes. We tend to study the mouth and its expressions, but with everyone's mouth covered, you learn to study eyes. And eyes communicate a lot. They communicate fear when someone close to you coughs. They communicate a smile when the smile lines show at the edges of the eyes. They communicate a greeting. We are learning to read eyes here. And it is wonderful how many eyes respond to a smile with another smile. In this age of fear, the eyes communicate that we are one family on this earth. The eyes make a connection one-to-the-other. I have been grateful for the many times each day, I see eyes which smile at me.

I have always liked a simple song by John Bell from the Iona Community in Scotland where I have been an Associate Member for 35 years. Its words say "Don't be afraid, God's love is stronger, God's love is stronger than my fear. Don't be afraid, and I have promised, promised always to be near." (you can listen to it online) That is how I am seeking to accompany the Taiwanese people and the people of the world, as we together rely on God's strong and tenacious love and lean into God's promise always to be near.

Prayerfully,

John McCall