God Gave Me Skateboarding

I looked around. I was in a room in Japan surrounded by skateboarders and action sports athletes who love Christ. I felt right at home at this retreat even though I wasn't exactly a part of this community anymore. I had felt so lost the past three years jumping between different ministry jobs. I was surprised that God had brought me back here, but now I didn't know what was to come next. 

My name is Dale and I have been living in Taiwan for over 10 years, this is my story of feeling misplaced on the mission field.

Lost Identity

I had felt so on fire for God. I was running a bilingual camp ministry all over Taiwan. I saw so many young kids come to Christ and young Taiwanese volunteers get a vision for the Gospel. 

Then everything stopped. Covid came along, and then my 2nd and 3rd child. Then came our visa troubles that led to my wife taking her current job to allow us to stay in Taiwan. The visa originally was meant to allow me to continue to do ministry but now we had kids. As my wife got more and more involved in her nonprofit work, the ministry I did began to dwindle. I not only lost my ministry, but my role in the family as well.

I found myself in my Taiwan apartment feeling as though I was doing nothing. Everything I did felt wasted. My wife left for work, taking the MRT (subway) to her ministry job but I sat at home with my kids reading books and feeding them. I love the time I get with my kids but what happened to my ministry?

I found myself questioning why I even came to Taiwan. Why don't I just go back to the states? All the efforts I did to learn Mandarin, to build relationships, and integrate into the culture felt wasted.

The Search

I knew I had to leave my current organization for various reasons. I'd known for a while. I honestly should have left years ago but was afraid. I knew I'd lose a lot of my financial supporters during any transition, but not only that I didn't know what else I would do. The fear of the unknown crippled me. I finally made the cut and left...without a plan.

I began looking for other ministry options. I'm a missionary, I'm willing to do anything to share the Gospel, but I really wanted to get involved in something I was passionate about. After scanning countless websites, asking around and looking into many options I was still at a loss.

Tj Tamayo, director of SkateMin Asia, had met with me multiple times over the years asking if I'd join his skate ministry. I declined each time. I felt too old (34 at the time) and unequipped. I could barely flat ground kickflip anymore. After lots of prayer and discussions with my wife, I decided to consider it. However, the day I shared my decision to attend an actions sports retreat in Japan, he gave me the news that he would be leaving Taiwan. I immediately doubted that this connection could lead to anything. However, I gave it one more chance and agreed to go to the ACTS Global Summit in Japan.

Now I am sitting in a room in Japan full of skaters who love God. I've never felt so comfortable. It felt as though I've known them for years. All my doubts of about skateboard ministry went away as I saw how everyone in that room was able to minister in their unique space and circumstances.

ACTS Global Summit Japan

Fasting

After the conference I still had a decision to make...do I join SkateMin Asia? I had multiple conversations with Chris Chon, the director of Christian Surfers Taiwan, who encouraged me to fast and dedicate time to prayer. I scheduled a day to have my wife take care of the kids so I could freely dedicate a day to fasting in prayer. I was excited to see how God might answers my prayers, but also worried I wouldn't get a clear answer. This decision would be the biggest risk I've ever taken. If it was the wrong one, it could lead to me and my family being forced to leave Taiwan due to financial issues.

The day of fasting came but the kids and I woke up sick. It wasn't happening. Now what? Today was supposed to bring clarity. I had been praying about this since my last talk with TJ. Constantly my prayer had been, "I can't do this without my wife's support."

The day I was meant to fast my wife texted me from work and said, "I think you should do it." That was all I needed to hear. I almost cried but due to my general lack of emotion was thankfully able to easily stifle that. If my wife thought I should go for it and will support me, then it's happening. 

Was This A Big Mistake?

Tj was about to leave Taiwan so I needed to connect with the guys he's been skating with. I began to skate once a week. That was the most I've skated in five years! After about four weeks of this I started to get major hip pain. It got to the point that I couldn't kickflip  or even ollie. It wasn't only preventing me from enjoying skating but it was making it harder to connect with other skaters.

I started to ask, "God, was this not your plan for me? Did I make a huge mistake?"

Talking with local Taiwanese skater.

I tried stretches for a month but that didn't work. I then tried to rest it for a month but still there was pain. I went to a doctor for shock treatment and met a physical therapist. I came to the realization that after not skating much the past few years my body got weak. My hip flexor had to work extra hard when I did tricks. 

I began working hard at developing my core strength through daily exercises and stretches. Slowly I began to work my tricks back in. Ollies would hurt the first hour into the session and kickflips were still painful, but not as bad as before After six months my hip finally doesn't hurt when I ollie (most of the time) and I can finally do flat ground kickflips again. Thank you, God! Maybe He was just trying to humble me and remind me that he is in control and can give and take away skateboarding as he sees fit. 

After years without much skating and feeling lost in my ministry I finally home.

I thank God for giving skateboarding back.

See Dale's Profile