Moments of success
When did you feel successful recently?  I know we don’t always feel that way, but I can think of a few recent moments when there was the sense of accomplishment in my heart, or when I took note of something that made me have a sense that the goal is being accomplished.

• The broken doorbell system was replaced by a new wireless  system.  You are welcome to come visit and try it out.
• The print-ready file for the Chinese-only version of a tract, “The Ancient Path” is delivered to the printer.  We are praying that this gospel presentation written by colleague John Tolbert will be used of God to challenge people to consider belief in Jesus.
• The first English class at ChaoCuo Elementary School had 26 students and it went well.  We are looking forward to being back there this week.
• The church in Taiwan is growing!  The latest published statistics are from 2013, but they show that the Kingdom of God is expanding.  (Pages 6 and 7 show the growth of the church since 1989.)  You have had a part in this as you have prayed and as you have supported workers such as us.
• Sometimes it is a conversation with someone that allows us to talk about the Bible or Jesus that helps us to feel that things are moving forward and something is being accomplished.

But the sense of success is not always with us.

• The water flowed from another entry point and ran across the room to the floor drain when heavy rain came today.  The original excitement of having solved the problem was definitely dampened. (Pun intended)
• When an anticipated few minute online transaction eats up more than an hour of time before it is completed.
• When unexpected health challenges suck away energy and time that we would rather use for other pursuits.
• When technology lets us down, and the video of the song we are leading stops unexpectedly.

Yes, all of those things have happened to us in the past couple of weeks.  It is easy to ride the emotional roller coaster if we get on board.  But I was recently reminded that the Christian believers in Acts 4 did not respond that way.  When things got tough, they prayed and spoke about the sovereignty of God.  They remembered the faithfulness of God and how He had helped in the past.  They mentioned his great power.  They had a time of worship in the middle of their prayer!  And then just before finishing their prayer, they think to include the problem they are facing.  That is successful living.  That is living in the power of the Holy Spirit.  That is the kind of successful living we want.

Will you please pray for us this week to keep our spiritual eyes on Jesus.  Ask God to help us to use the right measuring stick for whether or not we are making progress.

One more thing:  It would be good to successfully complete the budget projections for 2016 as they are due on this Friday.  We are praying that God will help us to be wise in our use of the part of the Global Advance Funds that are allocated to support us and the work here in Taiwan.  We appreciate your sacrificial support and want to find the best ways to use the funds.  Please pray for us as we dream and ask God to tell us what He wants us to do in 2016.

Until next week,

Lorne and Kathy-Lu