This one is going to be kinda short, because I've got a million things to do tonight.

---Pray for the Sunday school class that I teach on Sunday mornings. This kids know basically nothing about God, so I've been using Old Testement stories to show them something of God's character. Pray that God will bless my efforts. Also thank God for my wonderful translator Nancy: her English isn't the best, but she's awesome!

---We've got four guys from the teams in Taiwan staying the weekend here. We're having a hoot. Pray for safe travel for them tomorrow.

---Pray for Pink Pig. She's a ninth grader who is headed for trouble. Lately she's been skipping classes, since she knows she won't be able to graduate anyway.

---Pray for class 806...they are a handful. I really have trouble teaching them.

---Pray for Davis, one of BJ's ninth graders. An interesting situation is going on. Just pray that everything works out.

---My ninth graders have their huge test this coming Saturday and Sunday. Pray they do well!

---Keep Big Angel in your prayers (see previous post).

---Thank God for overcoming the enemy for us!

---What do you do when God places a burden on your heart for someone and first they refuse to talk or have anything to do with you and then they move away? I guess the only thing you can do is pray. Big Angel left yesterday for Taiwan to live with her Dad. In a way this may be an answer to prayer, since she has gotten into smoking and drinking here in Kinmen and she's been having a bad affect on some of the other kids here. But I really hated to see her go. I'd been praying that she would quit hating me and I could be her friend again, but I guess that's not going to happen.

---It's like a horrible, unhalting sickness, slowly overtaking all of our friends. Some seem to get better after a while, while others are sucked in, until they change into something you don't even recongnize. It's a horrible spiritual darkness. You can see it coming, and sometimes you feel so helpless. Last week BJ told us that she saw "It" in Leon's eyes. There was no need to explain It: we all know It too well. First their eyes change. They just look hard and cruel. Soon the smile is totally unseen. They act guilty when you around. Then It happens. Literally overnight, your dear friend is gone and in her shell is a cold, hateful, miserible person. You feel like screeming "Who are you? What have you done with my friend?" Seeing It in someones eyes is one of the most horrible things you can see. And it seems to be just a matter of time before It happens to all of our friends. Big Angel, Kelly, Allen, Leon, Gilly...and a bunch more who's names I don't even know. I feel so helpless.

---If this post seems kinda depressed, that's 'cause it is. I've been feeling really depressed this past week and a half. Our team has been under some real intense spiritual attack, and we've all felt a spirit of depression and exhaustion. Guys, please lift us all up. Drew said he feels like right now is one of the most critital times for our team. And in the past few weeks we've had more chances to share with people than ever before. Please, please lift us up. I don't know what is about to happen, but it's something big.

---But not everything is depressing. After lunch I was reading Exra 10 and I found this verse :1 "Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God..." Ezra did not have to worry about "doing something" to make the people see their sin: his only job was to keep his relationship with God growing and follow his direction and God brought the "very great congregation" ready to repent.

---I love Newsboys worship music. Shawn's got a couple of their CD's on his computer and I've come to really love them. Right now I'm listening to "Father, Blessed Father". Thank God for refreshing music!

I haven't been updating like I should have been. The basic reason is that recently I haven't been faithful in my own walk with the Lord. And it's hard to get excited about posting prayer request when you haven't been praying yourself. Thank you for your prayers in spite of my unfaithfulness. Please keep me in your prayers as I seek God.

The past two days our team has had a huge number of chances to share the Good News. And today we have come under very heavy spiritual attack. The church in particular seemed to be under attack: at one point in Bible study I had to leave the church grounds, I was simply getting so depressed. There is an old lady at church who is not simply crazy: I'm pretty sure she is demon possessed. Today she was screaming at Christine and Pastor Samuel after service: no human voice could have made the noises she was making. It sounded like an enraged, tortured, wild animal. Today I tried talking to Sandy (our boss from King Car) about a couple issues and felt like there was a physical wall between us as I tried to talk to her. Last night Andrew talked to BJ, Shawn, Ginger and I and...well...it was kinda depressing, esp. after what had just happened the night before.

---Last night BJ and I went out with Lena to talk about Christianity. It went very well. She listened to everything we had to say and seemed to understand and be thinking seriously about it. Please pray for this dear girl's soul.

---A few weeks ago one of the land mines on one of the beaches here blew up, killing two mine sweepers and badly hurting a third. So pray for the mine sweepers and their safety. Last night we saw Jimmy (the mine sweeping boss) at the restaurant with the guy who had come to investigate the accident. I asked Jimmy how the hurt fellow was doing: Jimmy didn't say anything, but the other fellow gave me a look that said "Don't you dare disagree with me" and said very matter-of-factly "Nobody was hurt. Two people died." Which was an out-right lie: Jimmy himself had told us that one of the fellows had been hurt. Please pray for Jimmy and that he'll get to stay on the island: our team has been developing a relationship with him and I've been hoping we could get to know him better.

---Friday night Kuyu and Sarah came over to learn a little karate. The end result was that we had almost all of the dorm kids outside either sparring or kicking the bag. It was a hoot. It was also a big praise: I had tried talking to Sarah before and had felt like I'd run into a brick wall. Friday both she and Susan (one of the dorm kids) really opened up to me. It was very cool.

---Also Friday night I got my nose broke. Ginger was wearing shoes and landed a beautiful roundhouse to the bridge of my nose and we all heard a very loud *CRACK* BJ said that it looked crooked, so I tried straightening it out a bit (ouch!) and now she says it's only a little bit off center. It's swollen and pretty tender right now. Tomorrow Joy is going to take me so San-Why to have an X-ray taken.

---我是金門人 Whoa(3) Si(4) Jee(1) Mun(2) Run(2). I am a Kinmen person! That's not actually a prayer request, but I wanted to show off the fact that I can write a little bit in Chinese! (And yes, I wrote that myself: I did not copy it!) I have come to the conclussion that the only way to learn a laungage is by living in it. I don't remember a word of Spanish that I studied. I don't think I could have gotten as far as I've gotten in three months here in Taiwan if I studied for a year in the States.

---One final, big request. King Car is telling us that we cannot go home over winter vacation. I was really looking forward to going home and seeing everybody during that time. Please pray that they will change their minds.

Thanks you guys! Love you!