The Taoyuan International Airport lies about 25 miles west of Taipei City. Our arrival followed 35 hours of travel. We drove to the site of our first venue, Annunciation Parish in the diocese of Hsinchu, where we were scheduled to present our first event and lodge for three nights.

On Sunday morning, we attended Holy Mass. As it was the beginning of the 40 Days for Life, we were invited to join a parish group in the streets with a joyful procession. As if perfectly ordered, the 40 Days for Life March presented a perfect opening salvo for our ministry at Annunciation Parish. Fr. Jean Marie Francois Lei Gal, MEP, invited us to present at a three-hour event. Jean Marie gave powerful pro-life presentations on the development of the baby, a message punctuated by powerful scriptural references that vividly describe God’s plan for every person while in the womb and even before. This message is crucial to a country with the lowest live birth rate in the world of .08%. This shocking statistic points not only to babies that are dying, but also to the fact that Taiwan is dying.

The Sunday afternoon pro-life program was synchronized with parish events and spiritual practices that began the Lenten season. More than forty people responded and attendees came from all walks of life, including some working in the field of bioethics.

From there, we moved to Taipei City and took up lodging at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Over the course of the next two weeks, our schedule was interspersed with meetings with various groups at Our Lady of Songshan parish in Taipei City. The meetings were organized by the pastor, Fr. Vincent Balsan, and Cecilia Lu, a member of the parish and one of our team members and translators. One of the early meetings was with a small parish group who asked us to share about hearing the call of God. Two nights later, we were back with the parish to speak to many active parishioners and some who came from other places. We shared testimony and spoke on discovering and using your gifts. This was followed by individual prayer ministry.

Dr. Marcus Peter arrived on a late flight Thursday evening and joined our group for the next week. Early Friday morning, we were on a fast train to the southwestern Diocese of Kaohsiung to speak at a Lenten retreat at Mount Beatitude Retreat Center. Among the participants were a number of teachers, as well as many others who had come with expectant and open hearts. This retreat focused on the dignity of the human person.

Immediately following the Mount Beatitude event, we made our way by an evening fast train back to Taipei. The next day we were scheduled to present a one-day retreat at the Wenshui Center. The event was sponsored by a prayer group in Taipei and was open to all. Our theme for the day was The Healing Power of Forgiveness. During the prayer sessions there was a deep response as the Holy Spirit moved powerfully in the hearts of the people. An order of religious sisters came for the event. Some were young and some were very elderly. They particularly seemed to have a great thirst and receptivity to the move of the Spirit.

Our team met with the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Taipei, Bishop Peter Chao Yung -Chi. He was aware of the various endeavors in which we had been engaged and he was very encouraging regarding future events. We shared with him some of the things Renewal Ministries is doing in other countries.

Last September, we met the archbishop emeritus of Taipei when he attended the pro-life sessions at Songshan Parish. We were delighted to see Archbishop Emeritus John Hung Shan-chuan, S.V.D. once again when he came to our teachings on Scriptural Principles for Family Living and the Laws of the In-laws. He was filled with joy and was very affirming regarding the need for these teachings in the midst of a culture engulfed in the current secular mindset.

On the final day before our departure, Tom & Jean Marie presented the seminar at Songshan Parish in Taipei. Fr. Vincent Balsan specifically asked us to teach on Scriptural Principles for the Family.

One of our key objectives on this mission was not only to share the Word of God in as many places as possible, but also to connect with others who might be interested in collaborating in the planning of future events. The Lord did not disappoint. By virtue of “word of mouth” communication and with the help of our local organizers, the invitations came swiftly to meet with other amazing ministries with a burning zeal to evangelize and build up the Church.

This article originally appeared in Renewal Ministries’ July 2026 newsletter.