come together

My house is a bit far from everything. I have to walk about 25 minutes to get to the bus stop that has more frequent buses and is a 'tad' cheaper, that's how far away I live from any stores or restaurants (except for the fancy restaurant that is on the property right next to Seri Mengasih). With the holiday approaching a lot of staff asked me where I was going for Christmas or what I was going to do. I kept telling them I was just going to stay at home and rest. Alone. They did not like that. They would try to see if so-and-so had an extra bedroom so then I just told them I was going to meet my 'American friends' and celebrate Christmas in Kota Kinabalu or Tuaran or somewhere yet to be determined. I promised them I wouldn't be alone for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I was probably asked at least 5 different times if I had a 'program' to go to for Christmas. I was given brochures and phone numbers for people in case I didn't have a church set up for Christmas worship services. I was invited to so many different places that I would have had to choose based on the person I liked the most, and that's hardly fair... Instead I walked to the bus stop with my bag filled with overnight Christmas necessities and took the bus to town and met my 'familiar family/friends.' It was wonderful. Just to be surrounded by people you know and are comfortable with. We can talk about baby Jesus or secular or inter-religious symbols that surround us without worrying we might offend someone. We can talk about family traditions and giggle about them but be there for each other so tears don't come quite so quickly when we realize where we are and who's not with us.

We went to Christmas Eve worship service together, after we ate a lot of food, in congruence with most Christmas Eve traditions. I stayed the night with Liz so that I wouldn't be so alone at home and in the morning we had breakfast together. Liz has sunrises with Mount Kinabalu and the rest of the mountain range while I have sunsets at the sea. We compliment each other. I watched her open her presents and then I skyped HTLC Christmas Eve worship and pretended it was Christmas morning worship. We went to the movies and saw Arthur Christmas which was simply adorable. I'm not usually one for those type of Santa-centered kiddy movies but the timing was perfect and the theatre was empty.

The thing that made me smile the most about that day is the few "Merry Christmas" greetings I received and how many of them were from friends who are Muslim. That was beautiful. When I got back to school Christmas day (afternoon) I saw that my auntie was here and hadn't gone home yet (she was gone before Christmas Eve when I left for Liz's but she wasn't at home) so she wished me a Merry Christmas and asked me to get in the car. She didn't want me to stay here alone. It was random but I didn't want to be alone either. I had to quickly find some clean clothes and pack a bag because she was already in the started car with her husband ready to go home. I am so thankful for that invitation. We went to her house and I received more Christmas love from her family. Her niece (23 years old?) wrote me a Christmas card and made me a bracelet. She kept saying how it must be hard to be away from family and home on a big holiday like this. As usual, they made food and made me eat it. We laughed and played and talked. We didn't do anything particularly 'christmasy' but I accepted that it was, indeed, Christmas and I had survived it.

The most beautiful part about this hospitality, love, and understanding is that this family is Muslim. I'm blessed to share my life with these people and glad that they share their life with me. This relationship has become very important to me but it's difficult to explain why or how. If you want to explore it further or have any questions, I'd be happy to answer an email from you. But basically, I love it and them and Malaysia. Thanks to God for all of it! :)

This was at a Christmas party a couple weeks ago. Napkin folding fascinates me :)