Life is Beautiful. God is Good.

"following the Lims" - Seth, me, and Z

Today I had a surprise lunch date with Adeline and Seth (church administrator and her 5-year-old son).  Seth opened the car door and ran at me for a run-and-jump hug, marking the progress of our friendship from the early days of shy-then-besties.  (Aren't kids great?!?)  In a flash I was hit with the reality of having to leave so many friends we have become close to over this year.  It’s funny how things can hit so abruptly at times.  

Brother Ben and his pack: 6 of The Jacobson 7

About a year ago it was my brother Ben, sister-in-law Vanessa, and their three kiddos who made the reality of us leaving sink in: they were all donning Twins gear and announced that the pack of 3 would grow to 5 in a few months’ time.

Zach and I are down to 15 days before we fly out of KLIA and make our way back to Minnesota.  It’s a happy/sad time as we enjoy farewell celebrations with our congregations and look forward to seeing those we have missed from home (and meeting new ones!).  It is always good to return home, but there’s no denying that for the last year this has been our home.  We have made many friends and shared countless times of good fellowship, seen and done more than we could have dreamed this year would entail, and adapted well to living in this place.  With the all the papers, reports, evaluations, and random other paperwork to do as we prepare to leave, I have lots on my mind.  Here’s today's treasured memories list:

-Caramel popcorn from the Baliwood theater on our walk home in the evenings.

-Chicken rice with Willie and May, and Yanti – who know our orders and more importantly share our smiles.

-Opening Scripture to discuss a controversial passage while at a friend/congregation member’s home.

-A 60^th birthday party that included time for worship, complete with Amazing Grace sung to the tune of House of the Rising Sun.

-Walking to the LRT (train) in the pouring rain, only to walk back home again.

-Farewell dinner with the young adults from Z’s church: Japanese food, Zach’s first round of sushi.

-Present highlight: going through Jonah with the teens in Sunday School – love it!

-Chocolate-covered strawberries in Cameron Highlands, and visiting our partner congregation – endless games with the kiddos, and cooking with the ladies.

-The tsk-tsk-tsk of the lizards, jerking their tails as the chatter.  They’ve gotten rather friendly, and one ran out beside my foot and paused to gawk at the towering beast attached to it.

-The wasp that built a nest on Zach’s chair – so speedy – a little home and then a round doorway to stuff a caterpillar in, seal it up and start the next one.

-The haze – Zach waking up and heading out of the room thinking his glasses were fogged up.  Can’t breathe.  Worse inside our bungalow because it isn’t air-tight and then gets trapped inside.  Extra outings to avoid the haze – only to find it lingering in the malls and everywhere else as well.

-Gathering around food – growing up in a close family that truly enjoys sharing meals together, I’ve always appreciated gathering around food.  Malaysia, however, has managed to bring this to a new level.

-Learning to cook chicken rice and Chinese food at our friends’ houses.

-Free time in shopping mall movie theaters as a reprieve from the heat.

-Stations of the Cross at BLC.  Absolutely fantastic.

-First Fridays at BLC.  Treasured times.

-My peanut obsession this year – knowing the good brands of peanuts at all the local grocery stores, a new one for me.  (And I’m done with peanuts now for a LONG while.)

-New favorite foods of mine: chicken rice, mutton rendang, dry curry pan mee, dim sum – especially the yam ones, banana leaf rice, sotong (calamari/squid), lemon cookies, ice lime tea…

-Hosting Peter and Phil and others at the bungalow.

-We do most of our shopping at a Chinese Medicine Shop, Tong Woh, which has Rootbeer, bread, muesli, and peanut butter/jam: our essentials (since we rarely eat at home). 

-Zach and I have both been sick a lot this year.  A few months in a wanted to try a local remedy for my illness, and Zach ventured off to the Chinese medicine shop.  The guy at the counter responded to his inquiry: Panadol, second floor.  *Not what I was hoping for.* J

I thank God for the opportunity we have had this year on internship, and for the Holy Spirit's presence as we live out our days here.  It has been far more than we hoped it would be.  It has been a blessing for us as newlyweds, as well – facing a very new place with countless joys and challenges that we get to experience together.  I am excited for the positive impact I know this year will have for us in ministry and the congregations we serve, as family members, friends, and parents, in our community involvement, and so many countless other ways.  What an absolute blessing this has been.  Life truly is wonderful.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas greetings to you all from the bungalow :-)

Back when the tree had leaves...
Now: No leaves, No snow. Winter?

A very blessed Christmas season to you all! We hope these days and weeks of advent have been a wonderful time of fellowship and shared joy. Zach and I enjoyed a Skype date at my family’s Christmas celebration, and I saw parents, brothers, nieces and nephew, and an aunt and uncle. It was lovely :-) The kiddos couldn't stop making faces at the camera, and were particularly impressed by the werewolf transformation feature of my computer’s visual effects. Technology sure can make distances feel smaller! My Mom and Dad will be visiting Malaysia in two weeks as well. We are excited to show them around, and the four of us will also be taking a holiday to Thailand. Life is good!

As a married couple both going into ministry, and necessarily completing internship at two different churches, Zach and I received a wonderful Christmas Eve gift of being able to attend worship together for the first time in 4 ½ months. Bangsar didn’t have a Christmas Eve midnight service, but Luther House did – so we got to usher in the day together with candles and joyful praise. We are continuing to grow and learn what this call to ministry means for both of us, and are being equipped each day by the grace of God. This was a lovely treat though :-D

One thing we have enjoyed in Malaysia is the beautiful concept of hosting open houses during the festivals. We attended one shortly after arriving, for the Muslim Hari Raya festival (New Year), and there were also similar opportunities during the Hindu Deepavali (festival of lights). For Christmas it is the Christians who open their homes and share food and fellowship. Some invite friends and family, and others open their homes to anyone who wishes to come. It is certainly difficult to go hungry! We continue to enjoy the hospitality and fellowship that is such a gift of the culture here.

Buddy can't be Malaysian - he doesn't like people.
He is the house's dog, but he still won't let us near...
But he has a cute ear!

Also, on Christmas day, the Lutheran Church of Malaysia hosted a High Tea with the Prime Minister of Malaysia and other dignitaries. Although Zach and I didn’t manage to cram the event into the busy week, it was an interesting opportunity. There were about 1,000 in attendance, and the event is an annual one that is hosted by different Christian church organizations each year, and is sponsored by the government. Bishop Lok was able to raise awareness of some issues and challenges.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/church-leaders-happy-with-najibs-pledge-but-wary-it-wont-trickle-down/    (hold control when you click and it will open a new window)

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/i-am-pm-for-all-najib-tells-christians/ 

(The parliament is due to call for an election by April 26th, with a 60-day grace period, and many in Malaysia have been waiting two years for this. Tensions are high in many cases, and patience is low. Please keep the country in your prayers as things may escalate as time goes on. – We are safe though. - )

We hope this finds you well! God’s peace to you as we usher in the new year. May you grow in the fullness of God’s grace each new day.

Emily

I loved growing up on Steamboat Bay/Steamboat Loop -
and recently discovered another wonderful use of "Steamboat"!
Steamboat is a meal where you have a boiling pot and throw tastiness into it: so many different
kinds of sea food and meats and mushrooms and greens and what-not.  Very tasty!
And such a fun means of fellowship :-D
A big thanks to Shirley Tan & family for the introduction!

The Jam

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is an interesting city. One of the interesting things about the city is that, over the course of time, the roads have not been able to expand with the amount of people driving cars. There just isn't enough space in the city to expand the roads further. Also, cars have been subsidized by the government so they are easier to purchase than earlier in history. Also, the weather here is so hot that it can be quite miserable to try and walk anywhere. If you have a car, however, you can stay in a nice, cool, air conditioned place as you make your way to work. The bus system is not completely reliable either, at least not with being on time. With all these factors combined, you have the "jam." This is the perpetual condition of the roads here in KL. Starting roughly at 6am until around 11pm, the main roads are almost completely clogged with cars. There is always the "jam" that has to be considered before you go anywhere (at least if you are driving). Many people must spend around two hours driving to work. Therefore, some people spend around four hours a day in their cars. This phenomena can actually extend throughout peninsular Malaysia during public holidays. We took a trip to Penang (which we will write about soon!) which is around a four hour drive away from KL. We took a bus there and it took around six hours to arrive. On the trip back, which was the Sunday at the end of a holiday weekend, we left Penang around 2pm and we arrived back in KL at 1:30am. It took us almost 12 hours to arrive home. We even tried to take back roads that most people don't know about, and even those were jammed. It is quite an interesting aspect of Malaysia that has become part of its culture. Because of the jam, it is hard to tell when people will arrive for events. Therefore, there is a grace period that is "understood" for most all occasions that allows for around 30 minutes of leeway for people to arrive because of the inconsistency of how long it will take for people to arrive. (It also makes for a convenient excuse if you are running late, but we can't use it because we don't drive! >.< ). Because of the delay, it is more or less understood that things will not start on time. So if a meeting is scheduled for 10am, it is expected to start probably around 10:15 or later depending on who is still missing. Here is a picture of a normal day in peninsular Malaysia =)

We hope this finds you all well! God Bless you and keep you strong in your life of service to Jesus Christ!

History of the Lutheran Church of Malaysia (LCM)

     This is a brief history of the LCM.  Those of you who are reading this who are in the LCM, please let me know if I say anything inaccurate!  So here goes... =)      There were two main cultures that were brought to Malaya (before the LCM existed).  There were workers from India who were brought in for rubber tapping.  There were also Chinese workers brought in for tin mining.  The Swedish church was one that focused on preaching the Gospel to the Indians.  These Indians who chose to follow Christ were the beginning of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malaysia (ELCM).  This organization still exists today.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), as well as many other churches, targeted the Chinese in Malaysia and these Chinese workers were the start of the LCM.      The LWF began it's missionary work towards the Chinese workers when they were put into "New Villages."  Here is an excerpt from good old Wikipedia.org to explain why these villages were set up (can read the whole article here)

     "The original purpose of the New Villages in Malaysia was to segregate the villagers from the early Malayan Races Liberation Army insurgents, which were led by the Malayan Communist Party, during the Malayan Emergency. It was part of the Briggs Plan, a military plan devised by British General Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as Director of Operations in the anti-communist war in Malaya.

     The plan aimed to defeat the communists, who were operating out of rural areas as a guerrilla army, primarily by cutting them off from their sources of support amongst the population. To this end, a massive program of forced resettlement of Malayan peasantry was undertaken, under which about 500,000 people (roughly ten percent of Malaya's population) were eventually removed from the land and housed in guarded camps called 'New Villages'.

     By isolating this population in the "new villages", the British were able to stem the critical flow of material, information, and recruits from peasant to guerilla. The new settlements were given around the clock police supervision and were partially fortified. This served the twofold purpose of preventing those who were so inclined from getting out and voluntarily aiding the guerrilla, and of preventing the guerrilla from getting in and extracting help via persuasion or intimidation. The British also tried to win the hearts of the new settlers by providing them with education, health services and homes with water and electricity."

     In March of 1952, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) convened its 1st Southeast Asia Lutheran Conference in Penang, Malaysia to talk about the Chinese in these "New Villages."  In 1953, there were international mission projects from the USA, Germany, Sweden, and Hong Kong to the "New Villages." In 1962, efforts were made to make a national Lutheran Church in Malaya (Malaysia was still Malaya at that time). There were significant differences, both theologically and culturally, between the Indians and Chinese who made up most of the Lutherans in Malaya at that time.  Because of these differences, both the ELCMS (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malaya and Singapore) and the LCMS (Lutheran Church of Malaya and Singapore) were formed.  The church in Singapore has since developed its own governing body, the LCS (Lutheran Church of Singapore), thereby disconnecting itself from these two churches which is why they are now the ELCM and the LCM.  The LCM became a member of the LWF in 1971.

     The first bishop of the LCM was the Rev. Carl Fischer in 1974 followed by Rev. Peter Foong (1977-1985), Rev. Daniel Chong Hoi Khen (1985-1993), Rev. Gideon Cheng (1993-2005) and the current Bishop, Rev. Philip Lok (2005-present).  For a more in-depth look at the history, please take a look at this link: Our Story.

     The current partners who are supporting the LCM are the ELCB (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria), the LCA (Lutheran Church of Australia), the FELM (Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission), and the ELCA. Please keep all these churches in your prayers so that the ministry going on here in Malaysia may continue for  God's glory and kingdom.

     I hope that this post finds you all well.  I also hope that God may move in your lives to bring you closer to Jesus and to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Please keep the LCM in your prayers!  =)

Are you eating with a fork?!?

Emily here.  A bit sniffly - probably from the haze - but doing well.  The husband and I just had a scrumptious lunch of Chicken Rice, which I know we are going to miss in ten months when we head back home: rice cooked in the chicken water, topped with moist flavorific chicken, two slices of cucumber for good measure, and sprinkles of cilantro that are easily picked off and discarded... Mmm... Life is good!  Of course, this is eaten with either (1) a plastic flat spoon, or (2) a spoon and fork.  This makes me really happy!  Mostly meals in Malaysia are eaten with a spoon and fork, the latter used to shove food onto the spoon.  Even if the last few bits of rice are clinging to the fork, you often see someone brush them off onto the spoon and then sayonara into the mouth.  Shortly after we arrived we were out to eat with some church friends (shocking, I know), and someone laughed at Zach: "Ha!  You're eating with a FORK!"  Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle.  It still makes me happy :-D  Silly Shipman outsiders... what do they know...

After two months in, many things have become normal routine that once seemed strange.  Though the heat still feels like we are walking through a lava field, and the humidity makes us question whether we are land creatures or are swimming through the sea, it is now becoming old hat that we shower in a tub with no shower curtain, that the haze makes my nose run and my throat hurt, and that movie theaters offer the option of caramel corn or salty (heavier on the caramel).  In addition to the caramel corn option there are other joys - the most frequent being my daily joy of finding an empty bathroom: each time I hold my breath to make sure I don't scream if I find a cockroach.  (I'm still surprised the neighbors didn't come knocking after my first night of screams.  Poor Zach came home at 1:30 am after a meeting to find me curled up on the couch attempting to sleep under the timer-set fluorescent lights, disturbed by the war zone in the bathroom.  I had given up on killing them after four missed attempts and discovering my inability to smack without screaming...  Turns out I married a knight in shining armor!)  Lately the creepy crawlers have been on holiday :-D  Praise God!  As for the lizzys, I appreciate the chirps they make, especially when they coincide with amusing moments in the movie we are watching, or when they provide entertainment for us in other ways...

My childhood aversion to rice is no more, and I happily eat it 2-3 times daily, and am developing a taste for spicy foods as well.  Our schedule is predictably unpredictable - which I'm still getting used to.  Nights run really late, which is getting easier.  And of course our vocabulary is changing: We call air conditioning "Air-Con" rather than "A/C", and getting a ride with someone = "follow me" or back home = "I'll send you", while "last time" refers to pretty much any point in history.

Beyond all that, we are meeting some really fun and amazing people.  Both churches are very welcoming and often we are both invited along to cell groups, events, and fellowship at each other's churches.  We are truly being exposed to a lot and have a lot on the books for the months ahead!  We are so blessed to be here in this place, and to be walking this road of discernment for what God is calling us to.  Life is good :-D

Deer Park and Elephant Park

Sorry it has been a while since we posted.  On 17 September we visited a deer park and an elephant park with some of our new friends.  A group of people from Luther House Chapel (Zach's church) took us out to see the deer park and the elephant park.  The deer park was actually a small zoo-like area.  The deer were in two different areas.  One was fenced off quite a ways away from where people were.  The other was an area where some of the deer had been selected to be petted/fed by visitors.  The food that was available to purchase to feed the deer was a sliced potato, much like a french fry (but not deep fried). Next to the deer cage was also a cage for an ostrich, who also enjoyed these potato pieces, but was not as adept at missing fingers as the deer were.  There were also many other creatures on exhibit at the deer park.  There were guinea pigs, snakes, chickens, cats (interestingly looked like house cats...), peacocks, mouse deer (called a chevrotain), hedgehogs, and many different types of tropical birds.  I am sure I missed some of the animals, but the point is that there were many varieties of animals that were wonderful to see.

The elephant park was another interesting experience.  This place actually is an elephant refuge.  When there is an elephant that is separated from its parents when forest clearing happens, or when there is an elephant that is causing disturbances in an area, or when there is an elephant that is injured in a life threatening way, they are brought to this park to live.  We were able to take a guided tour to meet three elephants.  All three were very young elephants, around 8 or 9 years old.  One had been mauled by a tiger and had lost its tail in the fight and had over 30 puncture marks in its back.  Another elephant lost its foot to a trap.  The last elephant that we met had broken its leg and it had healed badly.  These elephants had been trained to be friendly to strangers, even allowing food to be put onto their tongues.  The park also had younger elephants in some holding areas that could be fed by visitors.  The food that was available to feed the elephants were peanuts and small bananas.  Also available for visitors was the opportunity to ride on an elephant and to actually swim in the river with the elephants.  We were not able to do these activities, but it was definitely worth the trip anyway.  We posted some pictures to our picture hosting website here. Our other pictures are also on that website and another link is found on the right sidebar under "Photos Here."

We are loving our time here so far and we are hopeful for what the future holds for us here in Malaysia. I hope this finds you all well.  God Bless!

-Zach

Nepalese Ministry

Malaysia has become a place where workers from other countries come to work because they can earn more here than in their native countries.  A large portion of these migrant workers come from Nepal.  They are under contract to work for three years before going back home (possibly to come back again for more work depending on their circumstances).  Many of these people work at restaurants here in Malaysia.  Those that do usually have room and board paid for (live upstairs at the restaurant or somewhere close and eat at the restaurant) so they can send almost all of their earnings back to their families in Nepal.  Nepal is not an English speaking country (the British never conquered Nepal. In fact, the Nepalese defeated the British soundly and made a treaty with them afterwards).  Because they do not speak English, they have a hard time here in Malaysia where most people can speak English (plus Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Tamil, and many other languages).  However, because these workers do not make a lot of money, they usually would not pay to take courses in English.  Here is the opening that the Church found to minister to the Nepalese.

Luther House Chapel (the church at which I am an intern) is joined with a few other churches to engage in ministry through helping the Nepalese migrant workers here in Malaysia.  This program began in the early 2000s by offering free classes in English, computers, and guitar for the Nepalese migrant workers.  After about a year, they began having a worship service after the classes that were open to the Nepalese to attend.  This ministry has grown over the years and now has two different sites where classes and worship are offered.

The Nepalese religion is primarily Hinduism.  The culture is such that it is difficult for people to convert to Christianity in Nepal because of the social and family related conflict that emerges.  Therefore, it is difficult for people to go to Nepal to preach the Gospel and be heard.  The ministry here is important because it reaches out to the Nepalese that are here needing education.  It also allows for the proclamation of the Gospel without the social constraints found in Nepal and an opportunity for these new Christians to go back to Nepal to spread the good news of Jesus Christ as a native of Nepal.

Please keep this ministry in prayer.  Thanks!

-Zach