Answers to prayer

During my time here there have been times when God's presence and answers to prayer have been very poignant.

The first has been in regards to safety. I have had no concerns, thanks to the teachers who always accompany me. Although, I am not very comfortable with the attention I receive for my appearance. I think I have yet to meet anyone so far who is taller, even though I'm only about 5'8". There is also a general fascination with my pale skin, "blonde" hair and blue eyes. I should mention that people generally desire paler skin here, it seems like every second commercial is about a skin whitening soap/moisturizing treatment. It took me a while to work out why my hair kept being described as "blonde". I think it's because when a blonde dye is used on black hair, the result is somewhat similar to my brownish-red.The other common description is gold.


I get a number of stares when I walk around town, or the malls or ride on jeepneys. And, while the fact that the students and teachers like to touch my skin doesn't really bother me, I didn't really like walking through a market and having a number of vendors touch my arms as I walked past. One of teachers with me at the time commented that it was like I was magic lamp that could bring them luck in their business if they rubbed it. I have not felt threatened by any of this, only uncomfortable with the attention.

Last Saturday on the way home from the TV show I was very tired and feeling a little alone in the crowd due to communication difficulties. I was also disappointed because I had missed two calls from my family despite making sure that my phone was where I'd be able to hear it. Mum texted after the first call to say that she would try again in a little while, but I missed that too. So I prayed that God would get Mum to call again, because I was missing them and really wanted to speak to someone who understands me. Then, I had to just trust.

Since I had a 4hr bus ride ahead of me I decided I would read through the weekly readings again (Jeremiah 40 - 47). The first words I read were ""Comfort, comfort all my people" says the Lord." I think I started crying at that point. I needed to be reminded that that God is my ever present and only true source of comfort. And I marvelled at how when I read that earlier in the week it hadn't really meant much. But in that moment when I was desperate for comfort it was exactly what I needed!!

It took me about an hour to read through the rest of the chapters, but nothing really struck me in the same way that first verse of Jeremiah 40 did. After that I listened to some worship music on my phone, and the phone rang!!! I was struggling with answering the phone because I was so focused on thanking God for answering my prayer. The call only lasted about 5 minutes because the connection was bad but it was ok because I had already been comforted. It was enough just to hear mum's voice and know that God was with me.

There are plenty of other times where I have seen God at work and felt his presence, but I just wanted to share that particular instance because I think that was the most powerful for me.
Thanks for all your prayers, I really appreciate it!