A Balloon, Not a Lantern
This balloon is tethered over a field in a nearby town. It is proudly proclaiming that on Lantern Festival they will host what they consider to be an important event. Each year the largest temple in our town hosts a feast on Lantern Festival. This year it is on Wednesday, February 12.
This feast has been held for more than 100 years, and is now described as one of the three major Lantern Festival folk temple fair activities in Taiwan. The responsibility to host the event falls on local villages, in a 10-year rotation.
This year, more than 2000 village residents have been mobilized to prepare. At 11:30 am on Wednesday, 2,300 buckets of oily, sticky rice will be served. People will travel from all over the country to come and participate. An estimated 30,000 people will come to eat or carry away food to feed relatives. People believe that by eating the rice they will obtain peace in their lives. (In the Taiwanese dialect, “Eat Rice” has a similar pronunciation to “Eat Peace.”)
Our town does not hang many lanterns, but holding this “cultural” event is considered to be of primary importance. There is a sense of prestige that comes from it being a nationally recognized event.
Once again, we are made aware of people’s need to be introduced to the Prince of Peace. Please pray that the kingdom of God will grow, bringing true peace into people’s lives.
Praise and Prayer
- Students who attend public schools will return to class on Tuesday, February 11. The children of international workers returned to class last Monday. Please pray that the students will learn and remember things that are true. May God use this time in their lives to help them discover the joy of knowing Christ.
- Steven came to visit Lorne last Saturday. We first knew him when he was in middle school. He has now graduated from university. Please pray that God will make more opportunities to interact with him and share about Christ.