singapore and kuala lumpur

I had a stupendous time in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur! Singapore is a fast-paced city/country with flawless public transportation, gorgeous skyscrapers, and a whole lot of diversity! It has four national languages and some Lutheran churches! We went there and met with the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Singapore so that he could give us a history lesson of the church in this area, and then show us how to eat fresh (very fresh) seafood with chopsticks. It was great to learn about what the Lutheran church is doing in Singapore and what that means for us as YAGM living in Sabah. I went to the Zoo in Singapore, which is something I see commercials for all the time, at nighttime for “Night Safari.” I saw nocturnal animals and hung out in a large caged area where all the bats live. It was really neat! I also got to watch both shows they have: dancers with torches and trained animals. The Night Safari was really cool but it was so dark that there aren’t any good photos of the adventure! In Singapore we also went to the Asian Civilisations Museum and went on a boat ride around the city. This was the first time many of us have seen one another and we definitely had a lot to say, but it was all good stuff. We had our own worship in the courtyard of the Trinity Theological College, the place where we were staying. It was important to hear how everyone is doing now that three months have gone by and life in Sabah is really sinking in. Later that day we flew to Kuala Lumpur!

In Kuala Lumpur the girls stayed in the Lutheran Center. There we met with the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Singapore and Malaysia to get an understanding of the culture in Malaysia in relation to religion and Christianity. We also had lunch with him and he told us there was Krispy Kreme in KL so I saved room for that! Kuala Lumpur was nice but a very different “Malaysia” than what we’ve become accustomed to. The Malaysia Crew was talking and we said that it’s like comparing some town in Idaho to New York City: same country but very different in many ways. In order to get to the popular areas, much like Singapore, we had to take the subway. After buying ticket after ticket just to get on the subway for a few stops or have dinner, we decided that the cheap and beat-up looking buses in Kota Kinabalu were more preferred. Kota Kinabalu is just smaller so you take one bus to town and then you’re there. No tickets or ticket-machines. You just hop on, hope it’s going where you want it to, and endure the heat. We went to the National Museum in KL and I liked learning about the history of this area. It was neat to think, “I live there!” while reading facts and learning new things. I’m just glad to know more because I do live here and shouldn’t be so darn ignorant about this stuff. The other touristy but awesome thing we did was visit the Batu Caves. This is something I did not read up on but it was basically a climb up steps into this gigantic cave with statues of Hindu gods and beautiful altars. It was especially tiring to go up those steps but it was definitely worth it. “A real eye opener and no mistake.”

Aside from the fact that we had to leave the country to avoid being deported for having an expired tourist visa, we also went on this retreat to learn about the Lutheran Church in Malaysia. It was to gain an understanding of where we are and where we fit in. It’s beautiful to be apart of the ELCA and work here. I like to think that Lutheran theology fits in here but I am biased towards Lutheranism in the first place. I don’t directly influence Christianity in Sabah but I am in Sabah and it is with the help of the ELCA that I am here. I truly represent the ELCA because many of the people I work with have never even heard of “Lutheran” although they live it out through loving and forgiving others and all the grace they show. I suppose it is part of my job to teach them what it is that I believe, or why the ELCA sent me here. I also suppose I should be able to answer those two questions first (hehe!).

Thank you for reading my blog! If any of you would like to hear more stories you can try emailing me or let me know your address and what you want to hear more about and I will write and send a letter to you! I just got a package from Momma and Papa with some necessities but also these beautiful cards my mom put together made from pictures I took in Malaysia! She’s awesome like that. I love you all! Keep smiling and praying. Peace.