Tran, an Immigrant Bride in Taiwan

Taiwan is changing! In recent years nearly 400,000 women have left their home countries and come to Taiwan to get married. About 250,000 are from China, and the rest are mostly from Southeast Asia (with 75,000 from Vietnam). One in four Taiwan marriages involves a foreign partner, while one in seven newborns is the product of a mixed marriage.

Because of their socio-economic background, it's difficult for working-class men to find Taiwanese wives, so they resort to marrying foreign spouses. Many brides come from countries where Christianity is oppressed, like Vietnam; or has little presence, such as Thailand and Cambodia.

They come to Taiwan, where there is freedom of religion and a visible church. This influx of foreign brides has given the church an exciting bridge into the working-class community.

Life as an immigrant bride

Tran is a typical immigrant bride from Vietnam. At 23, she married a working-class man in his mid-40s, and soon had children. She works full time in a factory while her mother-in-law watches her children.

She struggles with Mandarin, but slowly is adjusting to her new environment. Currently she attends a free Chinese class at a family center run by a local church and missionaries. This is one of the happiest times of Tran's week. Her husband also enjoys the center, because husbands can chat over tea with local Christians and missionaries.

Twice a month the class ends early and they enjoy singing, testimonies, and Bible sharing. Once a quarter, there are special events such as a mid-autumn festival cookout, a Father's Day activity and a Christmas gathering. There are many opportunities for fellowship, fun, and community-building.

After attending the center for more than a year, Tran and her husband decided to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The challenge now is helping them grow in their faith.

Traditional church challenges

Attending a traditional church has its difficulties. First, most churches use a literacy-based approach. Since Tran can't read many Chinese characters, and her husband is more of an oral learner, they struggle with reading. This makes them feel like they are "second class" church members.

Also, many churches in Taiwan are Mandarin-speaking. Although Tran and her husband speak Mandarin, Tran prefers to speak Vietnamese and her husband prefers Taiwanese. These are their "heart languages."

Finally, most churches consist of middle- to upper-class people. Most foreign-bride families are less educated. So, in many ways the church is not culturally relevant to the average working-class man, let alone his foreign spouse.

Leaders of the future

Our prayer is for more working-class husbands and their foreign brides to know Christ, and also to form unique communities of disciples who are biblical and culturally relevant.

People like Tran and her husband might be the new leaders of this Christian community. Just like the disciples of Jesus came from blue-collar backgrounds and became leaders of the early church, so might new leaders of the church of Taiwan.

May we say of them like the disciples: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

* Last name withheld for security reasons.