A Season of New Beginnings
From 10 February
On Monday, February 6th, a month of New Year celebrations came to a close here in Kota Kinabalu.
What began on January 1st with fireworks exploding over the skies of Sabah concluded with gongs and cymbals and a final round of lion dances bringing prosperity and blessings to the shops along the waterfront in this new Year of the Dragon.
It has been a month marked by the sharing of mandarin oranges and red envelopes, by acrobatic lions and dragons, and by time spent visiting and feasting with family and friends. It has been a month filled with reunions and remembering, by celebration and new beginnings. It has been a month in which an acknowledgment of change has hung heavily in the air.
Nationally, 2012 has the potential to reshape the political landscape as the ruling party faces the prospect of losing power to the opposition for the first time since Malaysia was formed. Wherever they stand on the political spectrum, for our brothers and sisters in the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia and the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, it promises to be a year filled with expectant hope and nervous concern - especially given the delicate relationships that exist between groups in this multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
As the Young Adults from the ELCA that I accompany enter the second half of their year of service, they are beginning to stretch their vocational wings, finding new ways of engaging their communities of service here and imagining new possibilities when they return home in July. They are wrestling regularly with elements off deep culture in Sabah and questions ou identity, all the while wondering what in the world God might be calling them to be.
Personally, in recent week, I have found myself putting my roots down and increasingly feeling 'at home' in these Sabahan soils. The initial shock that comes with being transplanted seems to be subsiding.
Adjustments, of course, are ongoing as I join in the wrestling with questions of cultural and vocational identity and the differences that come with being called to long-term Global Service compared to previous short-term engagements. No longer a student with a fixed graduation date ahead, I'm engaged in an open-ended engagement in a place that is similar o, but utterly different from, places I've been before, all with the newly minted letter 'Rev' preceding my name. This will take some getting used to - all in good time I trust.
As 2012 and the Year of the Dragon spring to life, please know that you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Likewise, know that yours are appreciated as well - especially this March 2 as Malaysia becomes the focus for World Day of Prayer.
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| Acrobatic Lions in KK - Jan 2012 |
What began on January 1st with fireworks exploding over the skies of Sabah concluded with gongs and cymbals and a final round of lion dances bringing prosperity and blessings to the shops along the waterfront in this new Year of the Dragon.
It has been a month marked by the sharing of mandarin oranges and red envelopes, by acrobatic lions and dragons, and by time spent visiting and feasting with family and friends. It has been a month filled with reunions and remembering, by celebration and new beginnings. It has been a month in which an acknowledgment of change has hung heavily in the air.
Nationally, 2012 has the potential to reshape the political landscape as the ruling party faces the prospect of losing power to the opposition for the first time since Malaysia was formed. Wherever they stand on the political spectrum, for our brothers and sisters in the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia and the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, it promises to be a year filled with expectant hope and nervous concern - especially given the delicate relationships that exist between groups in this multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
As the Young Adults from the ELCA that I accompany enter the second half of their year of service, they are beginning to stretch their vocational wings, finding new ways of engaging their communities of service here and imagining new possibilities when they return home in July. They are wrestling regularly with elements off deep culture in Sabah and questions ou identity, all the while wondering what in the world God might be calling them to be.
Personally, in recent week, I have found myself putting my roots down and increasingly feeling 'at home' in these Sabahan soils. The initial shock that comes with being transplanted seems to be subsiding.
Adjustments, of course, are ongoing as I join in the wrestling with questions of cultural and vocational identity and the differences that come with being called to long-term Global Service compared to previous short-term engagements. No longer a student with a fixed graduation date ahead, I'm engaged in an open-ended engagement in a place that is similar o, but utterly different from, places I've been before, all with the newly minted letter 'Rev' preceding my name. This will take some getting used to - all in good time I trust.
As 2012 and the Year of the Dragon spring to life, please know that you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Likewise, know that yours are appreciated as well - especially this March 2 as Malaysia becomes the focus for World Day of Prayer.
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