On June 1, 2022, we arrived once again at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Unlike in previous years, this time we were greeted by a series of COVID-19-related checkpoints. There was no excitement or joy as I walked the long path to the baggage claim area.
After a long wait, we finally retrieved our luggage—damp from being sprayed with disinfectant. Another difference was the long line waiting for us outside the airport, where we had to complete a saliva PCR test. The hot, humid air fogged up our glasses, a sensation that felt both familiar and foreign.
That feeling of being stifled and disoriented, unable to see clearly and a little lost, mirrored how I felt inside—because I knew my father wouldn’t be home waiting for us.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I quickly wiped my lenses with the corner of my shirt, followed the line, completed the saliva PCR test, and then waited again—this time for a taxi.
Finally, it was our turn. As we rode toward our quarantine residence, I couldn’t help but think about my father and everything we had gone through over the past ten months and seven days.
Prior to July 14, 2021, my 90-year-old father’s physical strength was not what it used to be, but he was still able to take care of many things on his own—such as grocery shopping, cooking, doing laundry, and looking after my mom.
To our surprise, he was the one who fell before my mom.
On July 14, 2021, at 7 a.m. Taiwan time, my sisters and brother held our usual online prayer meeting via Zoom to greet and pray together with our parents. Our family’s morning prayer meetings began on April 19, 2014.
My sister had invited our parents to start a prayer group in response to Good TV’s 40-Day Prayer for Family Salvation (launched on 2014.04.17). She also recalled the sound of prayers she used to hear coming from downstairs when we were young—she believed it was the Holy Spirit reminding her to start the prayer meeting.
They began by reading the book Lord, I Wish My Family Would Get Saved by Dr. Larry Keefauver. After completing two 40-day cycles of the same book, at the start of the third cycle, Dad said, “Let’s read something new—the Lord has prepared the material.”
They then switched to studying Reading the Bible in Two Years, published by Daguan Publishing House. Over time, more family members gradually joined the morning prayer meetings.
We started on Skype, later moved to Line, and eventually to Zoom. We also transitioned from audio-only to video meetings.
Each day, we share one thing we’re grateful for, sing or listen to hymns, read the Bible, pray, and read short spiritual passages together. While not all of us are particularly spiritual or actively pursuing the Lord, we are still nourished by spiritual food each day.
Through these sharings, we’ve celebrated joyful occasions together and supported each other through difficulties. These have been truly precious experiences.
Now, when we look back at the Zoom video recordings, Dad’s sharing stands out—vivid and warm.
Family Prayer Meeting Inspiration
Dad was like an alarm clock—he always started or joined the prayer meeting on time. On the rare occasions when he overslept or had internet issues, we could contact him immediately to check on him.
Although we didn’t live together—some of us in Taiwan, others in the United States—we always knew how our parents were doing health-wise.
On July 14, 2021, the prayer meeting started and ended as usual. The only difference was that my brother had arranged to pick up our parents before noon that day to change the batteries in Mom’s hearing aids.
Who would have thought that because of this plan, my brother would arrive just in time to find Dad collapsed on the floor and rush him to the emergency room? Later, we found out that Dad had suffered a stroke.
None of us could have imagined that this would mark the beginning of ten months of trial after trial. There was tension, arguments, anxiety, depression, worry, and many sleepless nights. But there was also prayer, comfort, encouragement, mutual support, grace, and peace.
Through it all, God seemed to give each of us different lessons, realizations, and experiences. As for me, I’m still seeking answers to the life lessons I've encountered. But right now, what fills my mind is the abundant grace God has poured out on us, time and time again.
Due to Taiwan’s public health insurance policy, which requires patients to transfer hospitals every 28 days, my sister had to find a new hospital and doctor willing to treat Dad each time. Miraculously, she always managed to secure a bed on the day of each transfer.
Over those 10 months and 7 days, she went through this high-stress process 11 times—and experienced God’s grace again and again throughout it all.
I’m deeply grateful to my sister for her tireless efforts, and to the church intercession team who faithfully prayed three times a day—morning, noon, and night.
And above all, I want to thank God for answering those prayers.
(To be continued …)
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