Full Moon, Firecrackers, and Prayer

Last night, while I was teaching, I could hear firecrackers going off randomly outside of the building. It happens enough that I know there's something up religiously speaking. Then later, when I left work, I noticed almost every home had a little fire burning out in front of it. It's boiling hot here, so that was not in order to keep the cold away. Instead it was to keep the ghosts away. Apparently in Taiwan, the people believe the heavens open in August and on/near the full moon you must put fire on your door to keep the ghosts from coming to your house. Pray for this nation and those of us who try to love the people here. It's challenging!

On a separate prayer issue, I ask you...

"What do you pray for?"

Well...I pray for my family. That my parents will heal from their respective health issues and at least begin to feel less pain, and I pray that my siblings will have love and peace in their relationships with their spouses and kids (and now grandkids). I pray for friends who ask me to pray for specific things, like my friend whose husband moved out and needs to hear miraculously from the Lord that he's going against God's will by abandoning his marriage and three beautiful daughters, meanwhile I ask that God's grace will be sufficient for all her needs and those of the girls ... and my friends who go on mission with God to places like Nicaragua, India or New York City (yea, they all come to mind at the same time) and I know that mission trips are only successful because God's people ask for His guidance a lot more when they are away from their comfort zones and daily routines. I also pray for world issues, the President (present and future), and humanity to begin to act a bit more human toward one another.

Of course, just like many of you, I pray for myself more than anyone else, because I'm reminded many times a day that I need God to help me get through life (and I'm WITH me all day, every day!) And sometimes I pray for God to reveal big things to me...like who to marry (you know that one has become less urgent over the years, but it comes up now and again), how to live my life on a bigger scale (trying to find things that really matter to God), and what to do in the future (where to live, what to do, when, etc.)

I asked so many people to pray for me over the past couple of months as I saw them and they asked how things were going in Taiwan and I said things were challenging and I had applied to teach in New York City...yada, yada, yada. I know many of you prayed for me, and I'm so humbled and thankful because I believe God answered your prayers (if you prayed for His will and not mine.) I heard last night by email that I did not get accepted into the Fellows program, so I'll not be entering their Masters degree program and I won't be teaching in the public school system of NYC in the immediate future.

How do I feel about that? I was kind of prepared to hear it, strangely, because I approached it more or less with the same attitude I do most things...kind of laid back and trying not to care or get too anxious. But, I was kind of disappointed too, since I knew it would be such a great opportunity for me...or so it looked like that on paper (computer screen really). However, I often think something looks good that turns out to be not so good for me. So, I've been praying that God would only open the doors He wants me to walk through, as I often pray, and He's been faithful...I am not supposed to be in that program this year, for some reason, and God only knows.

What's next? That's where your prayers come in again...would you just ask God to keep giving me ears to hear and eyes to see? I have some ideas, and I will walk toward those unless God shows me otherwise. In short, there are two paths I'm looking at - one is to apply for a tutoring job or other type jobs in NYC like I've seen on Craigslist. I will probably do this and see how far it takes me. The other path is to spend a few months in Thailand, with my friends the Kapurs (Kris and Jen), teaching and touring a bit, until Christmas. The day after Christmas my SF church (Temple Baptist) is heading to India and I would join them for a mission at an orphanage our church sponsors. This would be an answer to a long-standing prayer for me. Our church sent a team there two years ago and I wanted to go but the timing wasn't right for me. Plus, I have several friends living there and others who love it and go often, so it's something I've thought about for a long time. (Not to mention the fact that in the world of evangelical missions, India is right next to China in the "two most populated and lost nations in the world" category.)

So, there are a lot of things to pray about and I would once again appreciate your prayers.

love to all of you,
Until next time, LC from the TW