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Taiwan Church News 3044 Edition June 28~July 4, 2010
Palanquin-maker turned Christian now making and giving crosses
Reported by Chen Wei-chien Written by Lydia Ma
There’s a palanquin shop in the town of Lukang owned by Cheng Tien-lai, a Christian affectionately known as Papa Cheng. In the past few years, Papa Cheng observed that many Christians liked to display crosses, but couldn’t afford to buy them, so, he decided to make and give crosses to Christians and churches for free. About 50 churches have requested crosses in the past 4 years and he has given away more than 3,000 wooden crosses.
Papa Cheng’s life before becoming a Christian involved heavy drinking, gambling, and mixing with the wrong crowd, and these almost destroyed his marriage. After hearing the gospel, Papa Cheng accepted Christ and his life began to change. Overjoyed by his transformation, his family didn’t stop him from attending church and becoming a Christian.
For Papa Cheng, the palanquin shop is an inheritance handed down by his ancestors. But upon becoming a Christian, he felt it was no longer suitable for him to run the family shop.
However, some of his customers insisted that palanquins aren’t idols and people who buy them don’t worship them. More importantly, his family was responsible for the livelihood of many employees working in the shop and his understanding of folk religion would help him share the gospel with his employees and customers more effectively.
Papa Cheng knows that many Christians want to hang crosses in their homes to remember Jesus but oftentimes don’t have enough money to purchase them. In the past few years, he has spent more than NT$500,000 making crosses to give away for free.
Because the cost of making crosses is expensive, he hopes that those who request them are people who really cannot afford to buy crosses and he also welcomes anyone interested in learning to make crosses to join him in this ministry.
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