In May, we received word that the Fellowship of Mennonite Churches in Taiwan had made a generous donation to MCC’s earthquake response in Myanmar. The church in Taiwan is no stranger to earthquakes having experienced their own 7.4 magnitude earthquake in 2024. We decided to extend our home leave layover in Taiwan by a few days so that we could travel to meet them in person, share about the work being done in Myanmar, and learn about the current ministry of the church in Taiwan.

In an earlier post I shared Crystal’s sermon at Meilun Mennonite Church on Sunday. Here I want to share about the three Mennonite ministries we visited in the Hualien region: the Mennonite Christian Hospital, Mennonite Good Shepherd, and New Dawn.

Mennonite Christian Hospital

The largest Mennonite hospital in the world is located in Hualien, Taiwan. The hospital can trace its beginnings to Mennonite Central Committee sending mountain mobile clinic teams to serve poor remote communities in 1948 which eventually lead to the hospital being opened in 1956.

The mountainous province of Hualien is on the east side of the island and the Hospital CEO, Jacob Wen-Hsin Chang, noted that it is not a region where healthcare is profitable. There are still many poor communities spread throughout the mountainous rural areas, including many aboriginal communities. MCH has a generous base of donors inside Taiwan who make its continued operation and expansion possible. The wings at the main Hospital are called Peace Building, Grace Building, Mercy Building, and Faith Building.

Today, MCH continues the rural outreach programs started long ago by MCC but has modernized them with remote clinics using telehealth and other distance care approaches. Doctors and Nurses are hard to keep on staff, they will come to Hualien for a time but then relocate to a hospital with a higher salary in Taipei, mainline China, or elsewhere. As I’ve shared before, MCH recently reconnected with Mennonite Mission Network, with MCC SALT alumni Caleb and Stephanie Schrock-Hurst being called to serve with MMN in Taiwan. MCH also sent three staff to join Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary‘s summer program this year. Jacob Wen-Hsin Chang stressed that renewing these kind of international Mennonite exchanges will help preserve MCH’s Mennonite culture, promote cross-cultural learning, and encourage/equip staff who are interested in staying in Hualien despite the lower salaries compared to Taipei and elsewhere.

How can you pray for the Mennonite Christian Hospital?

We have generous donors and strong facilities, but it’s hard to keep qualified staff here in Hualien. The pay is much better in Taipei, the mainland, or other areas. Please pray that people with a heart for caring for the poor and vulnerable will come to work with us. The others they come but then they leave when they have enough experience or training. We have a strong core of people who believe in our mission but we need more. We also want to connect more with Mennonites around the world – especially Mennonite Hospitals like the Sistema de Salud Menonita network in Puerto Rico or the Mardi Rahayu Hospital Hospital in Indonesia. Please pray that these connections can result in learning, encouragement, and growth.

Mennonite Good Shepherd

In 1986, the Mennonite Christian Hospital saved the life of a child who nearly died from abuse she received in a brothel and learned that she had been sold by her family into prostitution at the age of 8. MCH worked with Mennonite Pastor Katherine Fang-Fang Wu to establish a new organization, Mennonite Good Shepherd, which was focused on rescuing children and teenagers from sexual exploitation and trafficking, providing them with therapy, vocational training, and community reintegration supports.

“When they first grabbed me, I thought it was a robbery. When they stuffed rags into my mouth, I thought that someone wanted to kidnap me to get something from my husband. When they started to punch me, I knew that it was because of my work at Good Shepherd.”

“Beating of Taiwanese Mennonite Pastor Most Likely Due to Her Efforts to Provide Refuge to Child Prostitutes,” The Mennonite (1993).

In 1993, Pastor Katherine Fang-Fang Wu was attacked by three men on her way to Mennonite Good Shepherd. “When they first grabbed me, I thought it was a robbery. When they stuffed rags into my mouth, I thought that someone wanted to kidnap me to get something from my husband. When they started to punch me, I knew that it was because of my work at Good Shepherd.” The brutal attack and Katherine’s hospitalization gained national attention leading to Taiwan passing its first strict child protection laws.

Today, Mennonite Good Shepherd no longer rescues vulnerable people directly but works with the Police and Social Welfare departments who refer rescued people to them. This is largely due to the fact that Katherine’s hospitalization resulted in national attention and laws that were passed to stop these kinds of abuse – previously there were no laws for police to enforce. Mennonite Good Shepherd has two programs, one focused on vulnerable children and the other on survivors of domestic abuse.

They follow a multi-dimensional program around the areas of addressing client needs through social, sensory, community, and vocational programming. All of these include therapy components. They also host volunteers from Germany and partner with MCH for formal counseling and medical care. More than half of their funding is from private donors in Taiwan, with some funding from the Taiwanese government.

How can you pray for Mennonite Good Shepherd?

Pray for stable emotions. The people we help and our staff need stability and self-control to respond to trauma and make progress. Our vision is go deeper, not larger. Please pray that we are able to do this and to provide more therapeutic supports in-house. Please pray for dedicated staff. We have less turnover than other agencies but recruiting is still a challenge.

New Dawn

This nearly 50 year old Mennonite disability organization was founded in 1977 by Canadian Mennonite Pastor Otto Dirks and his wife Elaine Dirks. The Dirks had come to Taiwan as Mennonite Missionaries but the birth of their second child, who had Down Syndrome, opened their eyes to the needs of people with disabilities in Taiwan. They returned to Canada for special training and then started the New Dawn organization in Hualien.

New Dawn currently has 10 locations including a Day Program, a Workshop, a Vocational Farming Center, an Autism Center, and several Group Homes. They serve 330 clients (146 of whom have stable jobs) and have many more on the waiting list for when staffing becomes available.

They use a number of therapeutic interventions including music, pet, and nature based therapy. They are currently facing two major challenges: double aging as parents and children with disabilities become elderly and a major staffing shortage. They currently operate an international dormitory that hosts some staff from the Philippines.

“There are other Mennonite organizations working with disabilities? Please, we want to connect! We won’t be so lonely.”

New Dawn Education Director, Mamie Chiu Shu-Yi

They were very excited to hear that there were other Mennonite organizations working with people with disabilities – they thought they were the only one – saying, “There are other Mennonite organizations working with disabilities? Please, we want to connect! We won’t be so lonely.”

My favorite of the programs we visited was their farming initiative which provides clients with green therapy, chicken therapy, and a steady income. Chicken therapy helps adults with intellectual disabilities and autism by letting them care for chickens in a calm and friendly space.

Chicken therapy might sound silly but activities like feeding, collecting eggs, and cleaning eggs help improve hand movement and motor control. Chickens, with their over 20 distinct vocalizations, help the clients practice verbal communication and responding to cues. Chicken care routines also provide structure and increasing tiers of responsibility.

How can you pray for New Dawn?

That fundraising continues to go well every year. We know the future is in God’s hands. Since the earthquake, tourism in Hualien has declined which has hurt the local economy and that has affected our fundraising. So far we have been blessed but we always need people praying for us. Please also pray for recruitment. We want staff who have the heart for this work but it is challenging work and it is hard to recruit. We have had to delay some programs because of staff shortages. There are people waiting to move into the residential wing at the Joy Land Autism center but we need the staff first.