Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Christmas Wishes

Dear Family and Friends,

As Christmas is just around the corner I want to wish you a blessed Christmas with your family and friends wherever you may be.

Last week I was asked a question that really made me ponder how we celebrate Christmas:

 " Knowing the meaning of Christmas- How SHOULD we celebrate?"

He then posed these questions:

1. Should we have an open house and invite people from the community?
2. Should we provide food?
3. Should we just celebrate with family?
4. Should we share the gospel?

This was oddly a question that has never crossed my mind.  Perhaps it's because it is my first time away from the United States during the Christmas season--but I began to wonder--why all the presents?  What does that have to do with celebrating the birth of Jesus?

Another idea was posed to me was that some Christian's refuse to have a Christmas tree because they feel that it takes away from the real purpose of Christmas.


--Just some food for thought--  

My family has a tradition of going together to cut down our Christmas tree, so to me it is something that brings our family closer--As for the gifts--everyday is a gift given to us to be celebrated.

No matter how you celebrate or who you celebrate with.  May the peace and grace of God be with you this Christmas as we remember that God gave his only son so that we may have eternal life.  Look to the stories that Jesus teaches us so that you may lead a life that will glorify God.  

And remember--you are blessed to be a blessing.



The Unexpected- Dec. 7-9

It may seem strange but a normal lunch can turn into an unexpected adventure at a moments notice.  Last Friday, the 7th of December, i sat down for a lunch of lemon chicken rice and iced milo with my friend.  The next thing i know, she is on the phone with the head of the sabah Girl's brigade.  it turns out that the Girls brigade was to have a camp, and we needed to travel to the capital (kota kinabalu) that same evening (mind you it was already 2 pm).  The bus journey out of this small valley and down the mountain takes a winding 2 1/2 hours minimum.  Essentially it was too last minute for us to make it that evening, we were not prepared, and we had Christmas caroling that evening in several villages.  

The conversation that followed was this: "Ashley, Girl's brigade has camp, you want to follow?" "uhh...."  "Okay, we will leave early in the morning"    "um....uh...ok?"


so, this became our plan:


1. purchase bus tickets for the earliest morning bus

2. finish running errands so that we could pack for camp
3.purchase snacks for carolers.

We met at 7:00 pm at the church to go Christmas caroling, and we out and about until 12:00.  Our bus was to leave at 7:00 am the next morning, so we were to be at the bus station by 6:30.  The last member from our group arrived at the station at 6:55.


** I need to put in a disclaimer here that I really had no idea what was going on or what any of this was all about. **


When we arrived to Kota Kinabalu, the head of the Girl's brigade picked us up and we headed out of the city into the middle of no where.  Here I thought that this camp was in Kota Kinabalu, but it turns out it was quite a ways away nestled in the jungle near a river.  We arrive and our group of four are put into pairs and put into different  cabins- each pair with a different squad.  Here I am told that I am a squad captain with one other girl.  Mind you that I am completely new to this organization and don't even know a thing about this camp.  We put our bags down and head to the "lobby" (which is really just a standard shelter) . Here they tell us to get excited because this is Adventure Camp.


Dec. 7
On the agenda for the day was a  challenge  course that included a 10 ft. wall, a rope you must use to swing across a large pit of muddy water, a spider web of ropes you must climb up and over, some balance beams (one of wood and another of rope), one large wooden flag-like pole you must get a tire over the top of, and a few more challenges.  Each challenge must be completed by all members or it will count as failed.  

Also- because it's adventure camp, all challenges are part of a competition; not just the challenge course, but also the jungle trekking and water rafting.  Each team was to be judged on the completion of the tasks, the creativity and collectivity of the group, and overall teamwork and enthusiasm.    

(If you don't know me in a competitive setting, you may not know that I try to avoid all competitive settings.  I am not a competitive person and they make me sincerely uncomfortable.) But- like most things here..I just do what is asked.

So begins the story of how I sprained my ankle:
During the challenge course activities I was asked to be the last person to go over the 10 ft. wall.  With that, I acted as a base person for most of this challenge and had many people standing on my shoulders.  Again at the flag-like pole challenge I was also the base.  At one point during this challenge I had two girls at one time standing on my shoulder (I guess that's what I get for being tall in Asia). The last challenge that really did my ankle in was the muddy water pit.  This was one of the last challenges and my arms were weak and tired (not to mention my upper body strength is limited anyways). I was almost all the way across when my body gave way and I plummeted into the muddy water, here I felt a sharp pain in my foot.  Because this is adventure camp, and it was a competition, they made us all try again if we failed the first time, so I jumped back up on the platform and tried again, just to relive the same fate.  Lucky I am graceful at failure and I just laughed with a huge smile on my face as I sat up and wiped the murky water off my face.  I learned right then and there (since I was the 2nd or 3rd person to go) that if I failed and let it consume me, it wouldn't give hope or humor to the people after me who may have the same fate.  So- what else is there to do but fail big and try again.
The ankle swelling started on that first day, but I just walked it off and hoped it was just sore from all of the weight it carried and activities it semi-accomplished.

The evening ended with dinner, crafts, and traditional games.  We learned some traditional dance that you do with bamboo-- it's very beautiful and comes from the Kadazan Dusun culture. (I hope maybe to post a video here in the future)

Dec. 8
We woke up, ate breakfast, rode a horse for 2 minutes each, and then were sent off into the jungle for some jungle trekking for the day.  They gave us a compass (which none of us really knew how to use) and sent us on our way with a local guide--who I don't think was supposed to lead us, but more so follow us and make sure we didn't get too lost--BUT--he was our lifeline :)
We were sweaty and tired and it felt like we just kept climbing UP.  But- eventually we found our way to our destination where we were supposed to learn survival cooking- and boy did we ever!

When we arrived to a house by a river, they had for us a box of ingredients, dishes, cooking tins, and cups.  We set to work right away building a fire, cutting up vegetables, and cleaning chicken.  Then we had an unexpected visitor!

RAIN

I stood over our once roaring fire with a large leaf acting as the fire's umbrella, knowing that if the fire went out, we would have nothing to cook our food, and therefore having noting to eat.  I inhaled so much smoke I thought I would die, but the tears just rolled down my face from all of the smoke instead.  Here is where language became a huge barrier.  My Chinese co-leader was only giving directions in Chinese (note: almost all Chinese here can speak Chinese, Maleyu, and English). So I had to explain that when you give directions in only one language, only the people who speak that language can help you (Not all of our team is Chinese or understands Chinese).  One small girl with an umbrella stood, not knowing what to do, covering the rice, until I told her the rice wouldn't matter if the fire went out.  So, we huddled together to protect our fire, but forgot to protect and wood from the rain, so we were really out of luck later when the rain had stopped and we were still in need to a fire to cook rice and other food.  Never the less, other teams were also able to keep their fires going, and one team let us use their fire so that we could cook our rice.

Next came rafting.  We were the first team to go, so I feel it's only natural that we had the most struggles.  For awhile we even got sucked into a whirlpool like area on the river.  I was the only one who had any kind of on the water with a paddles experience, but only the girl next to me listened to my advice.  I tried my hardest to help but in the end just had to let them figure it out.  It was so difficult to know what to do, but to not have anyone listen.    

When we arrived back to camp we all took much needed showers and prepared for Fun Night- skits and songs we prepared to share.

Dec. 9

Breakfast, crafts,  worship, and lunch  concluded our camp.  My team got 3rd place and were given an award of KFC coleslaw and water.  After all teams received their awards were were given the option of sharing our food with other teams, as some just had water.  So we shared and well all got a full meal.
The Girl's Brigade leader brought us to eat satay and then sent us to our bus for the 3 hour journey back to Keningau. 


And here ends my unexpected adventure.  

Camp Motivation- October 30-31, 2012

Reflection:

Camp Motivation was held at Crocker Range, a wildlife park near Keningau.  The camp was for Class Glory (year 6) and Class Imanuel (ages 12-18).  The purpose was to motivate students for their future.  Because these students are undocumented, they have three choices.  First, they can choose to continue schooling at a non-government school.  Second, they can start working--some at just age 12.  Or lastly, they can return to their home country, Indonesia or the Philippines. 

I was so grateful to be there with them.  It was so nice to see them outside of school.  When we first arrived I was overwhelmed by the sudden shift from teacher to what seemed more like a counselor.  We all stayed in one large cabin, girls in one room that housed bunk beds for 16, boys in another.  We arrived and the students immediately started shifting furniture to make more room, cutting vegetables for dinner, cleaning fish and meat for meals, sweeping the floors and lining up shoes.  Every time I tried to help with something, "Let me, Teacher" was the response.  

After cleaning and prepping food, we broke into four teams for games and activities for the duration of the camp. Each team had 8 people, with one teacher in charge.  My team was one person short, so I was asked to participate in all the activities with my group.  Little did I know I was in for a lot of fun!  We played some really good games, did some group building and some drawing.  What stuck out most were two things: 

First, in the evening we blind-folded all of the students and took them outside.  All the students in my group held on to a rope, while I directed them by pulling on the rope.  We walked up and down hills, had to cross over some open drains, and crawl through some wooded areas.  Due to my limited language abilities, I also had an extra person with me to help in case of confusion.  Somehow the most panicky student was in the front and had a firm grip on my hand.  But-- I know that if I was in her shoes, I would have done the same.  Essentially, the point was the develop trust in each other, and trust in personal abilities.  Even though life gets scary, know that you can make it through.  Some students were taken from their group and led to an area to be by themselves.  I was so surprised to see them just sit there and not move.  I would have been yelling names at the top of my lungs or at least feeling around me to have an idea of my surroundings.  Eventually, I went to some of these students and said, "you can walk".  Some still chose to stay, maybe out of fear, or uncertainty 

Second, we had a time in the evening where the lights were lowered and a teacher started to pray in Maleyu.  I was overwhelmed by the students reaction to this prayer that I could not understand.  They whimpered and cried, sobbed and moaned.  All I wanted to do was go and hold them and tell them it would be okay, but I looked at all of the teacher's and they just looked on with somber faces.  So, I stayed put with an overwhelming feeling building inside of me.  What was happening?  What is going on in their lives?  What hurts and burdens do they carry at such a young age to bring such a response as this?





Monday, December 10, 2012

Newsletter

 I will be mailing out my 2nd newsletter by the 1st of January.  If you did not receive the first one and would like to be added in the email list for the next newsletter, please comment on this post and leave your email address! I am excited to share all of my new experiences with you!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

A strange and wonderful place- Singapore


Recently, our group went on a journey to Singapore.  Every three months we gather for community and reflection, as well as some good old fashioned rest.  This first trip didn't have so much of the rest, but it was a wonderful time to catch up, learn new things, and explore a new place.

When we first arrived, I was in awe of the impeccably manicured landscape of the city.  The awe was soon replaced with disbelief in a place so well kept.  Later we took the public transportation of the city which also blew me away. Again, so clean and so simple.  People willingly gave up seats and it was eerily quiet.  Needless to say, it felt like I was in the unimaginable Utopia.

We stayed at Trinity Theological College on the outskirts of the city proper and had a delicious dinner of burgers.  (Malaysian burgers are....just not the same...)  We woke up in the morning for some fantastic discussion on the history of Singapore and Malaysia.  We split into pairs and taught our group about different chapters in a book titled, "Crossroads".  This was honestly a wonderful way to wake up and learn.  We had really fantastic discussion about the history of this part of the world.

During our time there, we did the following:

*Here we met with the Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Singapore, to learn some history.
*We had morning devotions based on Islam-Christian relations and understanding
*We wandered China Town and Arab Street/Kampung Glam
*We went to the National Museum of Singapore
*We went to church at Queenstown Lutheran Church
*We saw the Merlion
*On the free day I went with a small group to the SINGAPORE ZOO!
*Our last night we went to the Skypark at Marina Bay Sands.
****I must add, I have never felt so safe in a foreign country****


My highlight was attending church on Sunday morning.  (Though I was a bit surprised by the sign outside the door that said, "Praise God by being on time for Church", just as we were arriving at the exact time it was supposed to be starting..whoops!)

Never the less I was moved to tears by the "familiarity" that I have been missing and longing.  I was moved by their hospitality, their liturgy, their hymns, and their English.  These are all things I took for granted before. I was absolutely delighted when it was time for the passing of the peace (my favorite part) and loved every second of the conversation during fellowship after church.  Jessie offered me a tissue during the service, but I just basked in the overwhelming joy and longing of that place and it's message, it's people, it's love, and it's community.

Everything about Singapore was familiar in a sense that it is very "Western".

My church in Malaysia also has similar elements to it, but it's just different.  For example, fellowship in Malaysia is had in people's homes and includes a small service of songs, prayers, and a message, as well as an abundance of food.  Everyone shakes hands after the service is finished, as they all prepare to leave (so, similar to the passing of the peace).

Never the less, it was a good trip, back to the western world, but in Asia. We had wonderful discussions, learned a lot, and were able to share a lot of our experience with each other.