Visitors

When Franklin Ishida from the ELCA stopped by Sabah on his tour of Asia a few months ago, he asked the Malaysia YAGMs what our favorite experience so far was.  It was a really tough question and an overwhelming proposition to have us think through soooo many new experiences and pick just one thing that stood out above the rest.  But I was suprised how quickly I came up with my answer: visitors.  I love having visitors.  At first, I felt really guilty about this because I’m sure the ELCA would rather here a story about an epiphany in my personal faith or a great moment or emotional bond I’ve developed with the kids I work with.  And believe me, I have had many, many of those.  But what really stands out to me is when I’ve had the chance to share those things with friends and family from home.

I have been very, very lucky to have had several visitors this year to keep me busy.  Right after Christmas, my lovely girlfriend Hannah came and visited; we spent time at Jireh Home and also found some free time to hiking/jungle trekking, snorkeling, and wildlife spotting.  In March, my friend Rob Greenland from Wisconsin came and helped us build a soccer field at Jireh Home.  In April, ELCA intern Peter Harrits, who is working in Kuala Lumpur, came over from West Malaysia to climb Mount Kinabalu with me.  And just this week, my mother, Holly, and sister, Anna, went back home after a visiting me here in Sabah.  My mom was here for over three weeks and my sister for about ten days, so it was a nice long visit making it worth the long travel.

The first week my mom was here, she joined my normal life at Jireh Home. She was a HUGE hit with the kids.  Though she doesn’t speak any Malay and many of the kids still struggle to make conversation in English, her relaxed, out-going, and positive demeanor made them feel comfortable with her right away and they warmed up to her.  And this is actually really rare in their culture; many Malaysians, I find, are very reserved, shy, and slow to trust new people.  Of course it helped that my mom brought games and we had a blast showing them how to shoot rocket balloons, or start their glow bracelets, or play UNO.  My mom also helped with my English classes, making the kids introduce themselves and ask Holly questions.  And she played piano duets with some of my more advanced piano students.  She mentioned in her last blog, too, that since the kids were on school holiday but not home in their villages yet, we took a few kids each day on a special outing.  Nothing extravagant, but any chance to get out of Jireh Home is exciting.  We went to a waterfall one day, a pagoda, an aquarium, a crocodile farm, and Sabah’s traditional Harvest Festival.  Holly also helped me coach a choir of Jireh Home kids that were preparing to perform at a benefit dinner for donors of JH from England.  She got them to loosen up for “La Bamba” (which I taught them earlier) by telling them it’s a sexy dance so they have to shake their hips.  They thought that was hilarious and they were a lot less stiff and bored looking after that.  And she got them make sing the Christian ballad “Still” like a prayer instead of another song to sing at the top of you lungs.  It was a great week and I know JH would love to have my mom around full time.

The next week, my mom and I flew off to Vietnam for a vacation.  It was great to take a break from Malaysia for a while and experience a different culture.  The big difference I immediately felt was absence of Islam. Although the government is socialist in Vietnam, it still felt much more liberal and relaxed than Islamic Malaysia.  It was a liberating week.  We did a lot of fun things like snorkeling, I went SCUBA diving with my new license, rode motorbikes, ate a delicious $5 lobster cooked on the beach, windsurfing, etc.  We also did some more sobering things such as visit the War Remnants museum aboutt the Vietnam War.  It was very interesting to see the Vietnamese perspective on that atrocious genocide.  People are still suffering today from the land that was destroyed and the dioxin from Agent Orange that still lingers in soils and waters.

After Vietnam, Holly and I went back to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, where my sister joined us.  She missed her last flight and had to sleep in the Hong Kong airport to catch the next one, but she is such a good traveler, she took it all in stride.  We went to a two concerts–Randy Brecker at a jazz club, and the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra playing Mahler No. 1.  It was my first taste of really good live music in a long time and I relished it.  I met the Principal Trumpet of the MPO afterwards and we chatted; he knows from correspondence already because I auditioned and got on the sub list for the MPO.  We also went to the Lake Gardens to see a beautiful Butterfly Garden, but our main attraction was a pack of monkeys that took up residence nearby and were highly entertaining.

Back in Sabah, we relaxed, went snorkeling, went to a headhunter village and saw real skulls, and went to some hot springs.  Then it was quickly back to Jireh Home, this time with my sister.  The kids were very eager to meet Anna and to see my mom again.   We had a great last few days with the kids, including a trip to the beach with everyone.  Goodbyes were terribly teary and lasted longer than a Minnesotan goodbye.  Now I really dread when I have to leave.

Being able to share Jireh Home with loved ones is invaluable.  I can try to explain it and send pictures, but you really don’t understand until you visit it. Having people visit also renews my appreciation for this country.  Seeing things through their fresh eyes reminds me of interesting things I’ve long since taken for granted.  They also ask questions that I’ve since stopped asking.  They notice things like how no one wears their shoes indoors, or only use a spoon to eat (never a fork or knife), or the incredible vegetation growing everywhere that I have since taken for granted.  Visits kind of give you a new lease on your experience abroad.  It has been absolutely fantastic, and I’m so thankful to everyone and God for making visits possible.  So although ‘having visitors’ maybe isn’t the ELCA’s favorite answer to the question ‘what’s been your best experience?”,  I think I have good reason.  Visitors aren’t great because they provide an escape for me, rather, I get to take them into my world for a while.  I get to show them the wonderful kids I work with and the unique lifestyle I’ve adapted to in the Malaysian countryside.  It’s not about me getting to spend time with a Westerner (although that’s good, too), but about getting to guide a Westerner through the beauty and challenges of fantastic and wild Sabah. I wish I could share this experience hand in hand with everyone of you…but I guess a blog will have to suffice.

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