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!  =)