February 16, 2009
Subject: Feb 2009 Update
Dear praying friends,
Sorry for the longer lag time than usual since my last correspondence. It has been a spiritually dynamic time. To be brief, I’ve put bullet points first, and stories at the bottom of this update for those interested. Also, my website is now fully updated and I’ve been posting blog entries. The URL is www.audreylintaiwan.com.
Praise:
- God is speaking powerfully through supernatural happenings in my community. I’m so encouraged! (Stories below).
- In a time when the unstable economy is front page news, I’m very humbled by a number of generous pledges that enable me to report that I am very close to my funding goal. If my calculations are correct, I’m about 95% of the way there.
Please pray for:
- Wisdom in tasks and decisions I’m beginning to tackle for my arrival in Taiwan: which language(s) to study, where I will live, obtaining a visa, writing a will, etc.
- Deep attentiveness to God as the season of Lent begins next Wednesday.
- Growth in fighting spiritual warfare (see below).
At the beginning of every year, I set aside some time to reflect and pray over the past year and the year ahead. One of the things that I felt God said has been practically ringing in my ears since then: “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4). One morning during prayer, I brought to God some uncertainties about whether I was on the right track. I told Him I was struggling with the feeling that most of the things I thought I was hearing from Him could not be easily tested for accuracy, and confessed that I felt the need for assurance. I won’t give details, but that day, I shared with a group of people something I felt that God was saying. A little later, someone came to me and with tears said that after 30 years of searching, they’d just met Jesus for the first time as a result of that word.
Last Sunday, a weary mom asked me to pray for their baby son who had been barely sleeping since his birth in December due to colic. Yesterday, the mom told me that he slept the whole next day, and that since then, the colic had disappeared. This was especially meaningful because for the past year, God has been challenging me to learn how true rest comes from Him.
With all of this, there also has been a lot of spiritual tumult. I’ve had a lot of nightmares, and once, just as I began studying for a sermon, I had an odd attack of nausea that forced me to bed. Some friends prayed for me and I was able to work within an hour. I noted that during my new year’s reflections a few weeks before, I felt God led me to pray for growth concerning spiritual warfare.
Love,
Audrey
