March 1, 2000
Coloring books paint picture of love for Chinese kids
___TAICHUNG, Taiwan--Coloring books have helped Chinese children and their parents glimpse a new picture of Jesus.
___Youngsters first received "Jesus coloring books," printed in English and Chinese, when they attended the Junior Carnival at Morrison Academy, a Christian school in Taichung.
___The carnival was held a few days after an earthquake rocked Taiwan. The junior class at the academy originally planned the carnival as a fund-raiser, particularly to help underwrite the costs of their senior trip next year, reported Margaret Perry, a library consultant at the academy and a former Texas participant in Mission Service Corps, a Southern Baptist program that places volunteers in short-term missions assignments.
___But class members voted to donate all proceeds from the carnival to earthquake relief, Perry said.
___"Posters and announcements were placed in public places in the surrounding areas, saying just that," she noted. "The big promotion brought in lots of people and funds."
___And it brought a special opportunity to share the gospel with families whose sense of mortality had been shaken by the quake.
___Academy students and faculty distributed the "Jesus coloring books," along with evangelistic cassette tapes with a message about family relationships, Perry noted. The books were bought with funds provided by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.
___"Although there was no record kept of who received the 400 books that day, the Christian faculty and students are praying for far-reaching results," she said.
___"The following Sunday, a family attended an evangelistic discussion group led by International Mission Board missionaries and advertised in a letter in the coloring book bag. When they were introduced, they made the comment that their little boy had read the 'Jesus coloring book' and approached his parents with the suggestion that they find out about Jesus. The dad's face was alive with curiosity and enthusiasm."
___The parents participated in a small-group discussion, talking about "the earthquake, the fear and how God promises to be with people, help them and make peace for them in stressful times," Perry said. They heard Scriptures describing "Jesus' love for them in times of need and his special care for them if they believed."
___At the end of the service, the parents took a new-believer's packet home with them.
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