Hundreds of paper lanterns glowed in the field as people were gathering around for the Fall Festival. After people wrote wishes in the lanterns, the lanterns were released and slowly drifted up to the sky. The full moon was bright, but the lanterns seemed to light up the sky like colored stars in different shapes and sizes. The scene nearly took my breath away. I was able to got to the festival with about ten of my Asian friends, as well as buy my own paper lantern to light and carry around. All over the park there were people singing and doing traditional dances. It was such a beautiful sight, and I was truly thankful that I was able to experience this family holiday with my new friends.
Because of the holiday there were so many festivities going on we were able to see so many new things. One of the highlights of this week was being able to see my first firework show here. Even though Sonata and I live several miles away, the sound was deafening, but the show was spectacular. I have never seen so many fireworks in all different shapes and sizes and colors. The beginning of the show was a 100 times bigger than the grand finale at home. We were able to watch from our balcony on the 18th floor. I think we had the best seat in the house!
This week has been busy with my language classes and meeting with friends before they left for holiday. My classes are wonderful and have been so helpful in my day to day life. My friends find it very exciting when I try and say something to them in their native language. Most of the time they laugh and help correct me, but they say I’m getting better!
We also had our first citywide prayer meeting. It was a four hour meeting where we were able to really seek the Father’s heart for Asia and pray for our friends. That set aside time away with the Father was so precious and special for our whole team, and I know it is one evening I will never forget.
Firsts:
1. Ate Dragon Fruit
2. Ordered blindly off the menu ( I ended up eating pickled green beans and chicken liver..eww)