The Shilin Night Market

In the day, you see a cityscape like most. Streets lined with elephant doors, gray and ordinary. Scores of people on mopeds zooming by. Pigeons waddling from snack to snack. In the mornings, there would be rows of people within the market selling fruits and veggies for the day. A quiet buzz in the air, a faint smell of food from the night before, but nothing extraordinary. But in the evening, that’s when all of this came to life. In the evening this place went from a black and white film with a piano plunking out a little melody and slides that showed the dialogue to a blockbuster with a Sony soundtrack, a technicolor full reboot, in 4D, shown in a Dolby Digital theater. It was magical.

Around 2 o’clock the vendors started rolling in, their carts attached to bicycles and mopeds. People clamored, some going to the same spots they served food every night, some nestling into new corners nightly. People would file in hungry and looking for the best and the cheapest. Every night I picked my way across the market looking for something new. We had certain vendors we went to visit every night, “Gotta go see my dumpling lady”, soon just “Gotta go see my lady”. BUT DON’T BE MISTAKEN, WE STILL PROWLED IN SEARCH OF THE STRANGE, TRADITIONAL,  MICHELIN STAR RATED, AND DELICIOUS NIGHTLY.

The alleys all twist and turn into themselves, sharply turning, dropping, funneling off into narrow walkways, with two story buildings towering above on either side. Certain areas you’d find yourself trapped in a cloud of Cho Doufu smell, shuffling along and barely moving, the crowd thick and inescapable and the smell the same. Crying out to God and laughing aloud at the absurdity, and cruelty of these humbling experiences. Once you learned where those spots were, you’d typically try to go around, or at the very least take a big breath before diving into the inevitable.

And music booming from every direction, some in English, some in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, all overlapping in an unintelligible tangle, volleying for attention, and trying to draw you into the stores from which they came. That, plus being surrounded by people chattering away in their various home languages, including myself and the generally large groups I’d go out in at night to fetch dinner. A symphony of madness and organized chaos. A miracle on display as conversations carried on mostly uninterrupted through this hurricane of sound waves all crashing at our ears. It was delightfully over stimulating.

One night, after lots of waterfall adventuring, I went to visit my friend’s Oreo lady. All their interactions were joyful and giggly, and I loved getting to witness them, sharing in the laughs and love. Holy Spirit told me to go visit the empanada guy. I know this was the Holy Spirit because I had approximately zero desire for an empanada. He only a couple of carts away and as soon as we made eye contact my heart took to the sky. THIS GUY! BEST SMILE EVER! I ordered one with the intention of giving it away, then I asked his name. He tilted his head at me, expressing his confusion. I put my hand on my chest. “Arianna. You?” I gestured to him and his face lit up. “Ah! Jilin!! Jilin!!” We spent a couple of minutes practicing how to say the other person’s name excitedly.

“What are you doing here? Tour? Work?” He said, as the empanada fried away.

“Mmm…no. No not really. I’m here because of Jesus.” I responded carefully, not sure which direction this would go.

His brow furrowed and he tilted his head again, not understanding. “Not work?”

“No, not work. Jesus.” I said again, not sure how to proceed. He stared for another couple of seconds. Then his face lit up.

“Jesus…JESUS?!!??” He blared from the other side of his cart. He reached into his shirt, his fingers shaky, and pulled up a small, gold cross from inside. “Yehu, Jesus! Jesus!”

“Ah! You love Jesus too!” I yelled excitedly. Laughter bubbled up from inside each of us, faces lit up, reveling in the sibling hood we shared. Not strangers at all, but lovers of the Lord. He told me he’d known and loved Jesus for a long time. We chatted enthusiastically through broken English, and charades for a few more minutes while he wrapped up my little treat. Tears welled up in each of our eyes, I could feel Holy Spirit at work to encourage each of us. As we said goodbye, I promised I’d be back and had him say his name into my phone so that I could practice his name!

Walking back to where my friends were waiting I was overwhelmed with the joy of the spirit, holding my belly as I let out big, loud laughs, throwing my head back and then doubled over. God is so good.

Luke 18:29

”Truly I tell you,“ Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” 

I got another family member that day, and another friend.

God is in every little detail. He wants to know us. He wants to give us the BEST GIFTS EVER. He wants to teach us, He wants to help us, He wants to love us, and letting Him into my life and giving Him room for all of that has changed me forever! I love that He’s the one I get to call God. He’s the BEST!

This God that orchestrates night markets, and strangers that don’t share a language encouraging each other, and laughter. He’s Holy, set apart, and GOOD!

Hey, hey! You can see by my little fundraising bar that I’m not to my goal yet! If you’re able, please help me keep on this journey of learning who God is and carrying His light into places that need some of that. If you’re not able to donate money, please pray for provision with me. Thank you so much for reading! Grace, peace, and love be with you!!