Where lights shine

Nightscape at Love River

 Last night I went to the Lantern Festival by the Love River. There were so many different lanterns, and the bulk of them made by students (with their teachers?). They were pretty impressive.

Yay for 2012, year of the Dragon!

While walking through the lanterns, I couldn't help but think about this celebration of light becoming more or less another expression of the longing for some kind of hope, whatever hope may be out there. We found a vendor selling little paper boats in the shape of dragons, where for a small fee (100NT) you could write your wish, light a candle, and send it down the river. Me and my western friends thought the idea of it would have been aesthetically pleasing, had there been a mass exodus of paper-boat wishes on the river all at once, but whatever wishes actually did make it down the river did so quietly and unobtrusively. But what wishes? Don't we all, in our humanity, wish for the same thing, more or less -- peace, happiness, success? Could these things be a hint of what we all truly need? When in the darkness, we long for the light. And oh, how we need the light of Christ. How this place, these people, need the Light.

This morning my roommate invited me to go out walking with her, which turned into something of a prayer walk. As we trekked the winding mountain road, we prayed for the land, the people, and for freedom from the bondage that enslaves them. One of the things I prayed for was a boldness and a courage to share the gospel and do the work of God among His people here. The sun was warm and bright and the people we passed by ever so curious about these two strange girls walking by the side of the road. I always feel both nervous and relieved walking out with my roommate because of all the looks she gets as a black girl in the country-side of Taiwan. Walking with her means she gets all the attention, but sometimes the attention is not the most polite.

Walking back, a driver of one of those blue trucks honked, then stopped in front of us. I have a leery suspicion of all blue truck drivers. C told me that if you get hit by one, they will run over you multiple times to make sure you're dead to avoid paying rehab fees. My oblivious roommate didn't see it so she kept on walking, but turned around when the guy rolled down his window and asked if we needed a ride. Duly alarmed, we said no and walked on. Fortunately, he didn't bother us anymore and drove away.

The incident reminded me a little of the story in my newsfeed this morning about sex trafficking during the Super bowl. This serious global issue has been brought to my attention multiple times this past year, and it still gives me a fire in my bones. There is a need for action. Sometimes I am tempted to feel hopeless or helpless in thinking about the magnitude of the problem, the insidiousness of the sin it perpetrates, or the unconnectedness I seem to have with what goes on. But I know the least I can do is pray. I hold the audience of the Ruler of the Universe, the Mighty and Just Judge, and I know He will listen to me when I pray for the freedom of the innocent and the judgment of the wicked. I got home and read Psalm 94 as part of my daily read:

¹⁴ For the LORD will not forsake his people;
   he will not abandon his heritage;
¹⁵ for justice will return to the righteous,
   and all the upright in heart will follow it.   
¹⁶ Who rises up for me against the wicked?
   Who stands up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ If the LORD had not been my help,
   my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 

" ...in the land of silence." ... The more I thought about it, the less it seemed to be a reference to death. Of course. When righteous people do nothing (i.e live in silence), the wickedness triumphs (as said the oft-quoted Edmund Burke). How we, as warriors for God's kingdom, need His help to stand and fight against the workers of evil! God promises final judgment, but now in the midst of creation's groaning, we as His people still have a part to play. I will not live in the land of silence.

²² But the LORD has become my stronghold,
   and my God the rock of my refuge.

Lord, shine Your light on us.