Juxtapositions: Ash Wednesday and Chinese New Year of the Goat

This year Ash Wednesday and Chinese New Year Eve came on the same day. Chinese New Year celebrations are so important, even the Roman Catholic cardinal in Hong Kong gave his flock an official "dispensation" from Ash Wednesday fasting.

At the Lutheran Theological Seminary (Hong Kong) we had the imposition of ashes in the morning followed by Chinese New Year feasting in the evening.

On the first Day of the Chinese New Year (it's the Year of the Goat) we combined traditions by going on a 14 mile wilderness hike (walking with Jesus), scaling the steep climbs of the Hong Kong hills (almost like mountain goats). LTS students from Myanmar are much better climbers than their international professors from the flatlands of the Midwest (USA) and the Netherlands!

Our hearty friends and colleagues from the Netherlands.

Happy we can still climb mountains together!

Definitely the last hike for this particular pair of shoes!!!

"These hills remind us of home" Seemed to me
they weren't even breathing hard.

We did it! Here's to a great start to the Chinese New Year of the Goat...
and the Holy Season of Lent...

18The high mountains belong to the wild goats...

24How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; 

the earth is full of your creatures...

30When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

- from Psalm 104

Dancing a Prayer of Sadness

We received word of a terrible, tragic  death of the 24 year old friend of one of our sons.
Our world will not be the same.
This is the kid who lived down the street. Who slept over at our house in a pile of boys in the basement. Who had a world class science project. Who got up in the dark winter mornings to get to 6 a.m. team wrestling practices at the school. An athlete and a scholar.

Whose Mom & Dad took him to church, showed up at every school event, whose Mom & Dad loved him madly. Who was our son's good friend, and fun. A law school student.

Who was a Christian. Who, yes, messed with drugs and alcohol, which everyone expected was a passing thing. Maybe it was or wasn't, but somehow this bright young man lost sight of all light, and got desperate. And took his own life.

Our son called us, facetime, across the continents and ocean. This is when it's hard to be so far away. There are times when to see your kid on a little phone screen is not enough.

In Christian tradition, it's Lent, and at the LTS chapel we entered into the season of dust and ashes with (of all things) dancing.

Southeast Asian dancing is expressive, from the arch of the foot to the plane of the outstretched hand.
Just so, our spirits try to express sadness, and anger, and confession, and more sadness, in prayer.

It is for just a death like this,  that we Christians insistently cling to hope beyond all hope: That there will, in fact, be full redemption, a rising up, of this particular and beloved life, the good friend of our son.

In Romans 8:26, St. Paul writes:  the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

Seminary Olympics... for the sport of it

The opening ceremonies

Seminary Olympics held in the yard of our home in Hong Kong with inter-Asian and inter-national students. .... something we first experienced at LSTChicago many years ago. The Hong Kong version included the 1) cardboard slalom doubles event, 2) edible medals, and 3) fastest recitation of the books of the Bible (in one's own language). Below are some of the top contenders, can you recognize the languages? Can you guess who won?

Notice the fancy footwear for the "slalom doubles"

Alas, the edible medals did not last the night...

Sometimes it's good just to have fun together!

You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. 

All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. 

You're after one that's gold eternally.

-- St. Paul writing in I Corinthians 9:24-25  THE MESSAGE BIBLE

Merry Christmas 2013 from Hong Kong!

We celebrated the last of the Advent Sundays in a tent sheltering us from the rain. 

The church provides a welcome respite from the Hong Kong crowds... and you thought Christmas

shopping crowds were bad in your hometown??  (These are not, of course, Christmas

shoppers but just the normal Sunday afternoon crowds at the metro station!)

But we've also been surrounded by voices of peace & joy from all over the world this Christmas, as we've celebrated Christ's birth with professors and students...

 from Hong Kong,

from Cambodia

 from Germany

from Myanmar

and Wayne and I have our house full of men... our "boys" have beat the Midwestern and East coast storms and have landed safely in Hong Kong.

Merry Christmas from Hong Kong!  With love and joy in our Savior's birth,

Christa & Wayne

"The angel said, 'Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. 

This is what you’re to look for: 

a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.'

13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises..."

Luke chapter 2

19 out of 19 visas approved!

Flower arrangement courtesy of my friend Carol
who helped me clean, cook, and then
gathered this glorious bouquet
for the table in our
Wisconsin home.

Just received word this morning: the nineteenth international student visa has been approved! Joy!

Meanwhile, the international students have been arriving at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong... they just experienced the annual Student-Faculty retreat, and for sure some of them are deeply homesick and wondering what they've gotten themselves into.

My husband-the-professor reports having a "welcome back to Hong Kong" stomach virus which thankfully didn't attack until after he'd nearly completed the retreat...

 and I'm packing to rejoin him in Hong Kong... where I'll at last get to MEET those 19 students whose names we've been keying in over and over again, whose lives will be changed by studies and the relationships they'll be building at LTS.

Still, it's hard to say good-bye... again... to our three sons -- one of whom just moved to New York City... one suitcase and one job offer in hand...

A last breakfast of Al Johnson's Swedish Pancakes

and it's always hard to say good-bye to my 89 year old mother... plans for a big celebration are underway for her 90th birthday party next summer.... something to look forward to!

Changes are in the air... maybe a good time to remember that none of us belongs wholly to any particular place - not Door County, Wisconsin, nor Hong Kong, China, nor New York City, nor Yangon, Myanmar, nor a village outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (two of the places the new international students are from)... 

Maybe a good chance to think about these words (paraphrased) from St. Paul nearly 2,000 years ago:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. 

Romans 12:1-2

The Message (MSG)

overdue post: Conference in Yangon, and waiting for 19 visas

This is a way overdue posting about the 2013 MMF JOINT THEOLOGICAL CONSULTATION in June

An annual event sponsored and coordinated by the Mekong Mission Forum (MMF)

 in co-operation with the Association of Theological Education in Myanmar (ATEM)

 and the Judson Research Center of the Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT)  

and which yours truly, that would be me, attempts to plan and coordinate from Hong Kong, together with some fantastic people from Myanmar...

2013 Theme: SUFFERING: Eyes to See, Ears to Hear: Walking with Those Who Suffer

Newly refurbished conference room... 

SO impressed by LTS alumnus Dr. Saw Christopher (Wayne's first doctoral student)
as he gives an insightful lecture on IDP's (internally displaced persons) in Myanmar. 

The chance to visit with the wife of a current LTS HK student - her husband is coming for a home visit this summer.

A total of forty-four  pastors, theologians, and seminary alumni took part in the Consultation, a majority from various regions of Myanmar, but also including international participants from Cambodia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and even as far away as Norway!

Informal fellowship time, meals, and even an excursion to the beautiful Shwedagon Pagoda allowed participants to talk, network, share concerns, and in some cases, clear up misconceptions.

Small group discussion proved enlightening, challenging, sometimes sobering.

We had invited a wonderful speaker, Rabbi Stanton Zamek from the United Jewish Congregation in Hong Kong. It was the first time for many Mekong participants to meet a real live Jew, not to mention a Jewish rabbi! Oops, except of course, for Jesus. Remember? Jesus is a real live Jewish rabbi, too.

Among the attendees at the conference was the woman in the center, who has been accepted at LTS Hong Kong for a one year diakonal ministry program starting in Fall 2013... which begins with orientation at the end of this month. However, we are waiting for approval of her student visa from the Hong Kong Immigration department!

Nineteen international students are awaiting visas. Yours truly has spent hours and hours and weeks and months (since January!!) organizing & filing papers for these 19 students, copying, scanning, faxing, telephoning, even going to the immigration dept. in person.

I am hoping, really hoping these 19 visas will all be approved in the coming two weeks. 

Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,    they shall walk and not faint. -- Isaiah 40:30-31

A morsel from the chopsticks...

Just for a slice of life... or maybe I should say "a morsel from the chopsticks": Wayne is off in the Mainland of China this week, visiting Christian churches with some of the other seminary professors, I'm getting ready for a conference in Myanmar (Burma) next week... trying to organize hotels, speakers, logistics of flying in Mekong folks from Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand... I'm really excited that among others, we'll have a Jewish rabbi giving a presentation, since few of the Mekong Christians have had (any?) exposure to the faith in which Jesus was raised! But oh, those logistics. Hotel rooms. Speaker bios. Airport pick ups. Will Buddhist vegetarian food fulfil Jewish kosher needs for our Jewish guest? Oops, I haven't gotten my Myanmar visa yet...

Meanwhile here in Hong Kong:

• One day last week we had nearly a foot of rain in 12 hours. 
• We have snails the size of a fist crawling up the walls of our house (thankfully only on the outside walls, so far)
• I have killed not one but two giant tropical cockroaches since my husband is gone, and...
• Two days ago one very large monkey was swinging in the trees outside our home. I closed the door very quickly so he wouldn't get the idea of coming inside. One of our neighbors actually once had a monkey come and grab a banana out of the fruit basket on his dining room table !

At work we got our first set of rejections on all nineteen of the student visas we are hoping to get approved for next fall's incoming students. This dismays me but does not stop me... time to start sending in yet more documentation - proof of employment, proof of previous degrees and certifications, explanations to the Hong Kong government officials of what exactly is theological librarianship or why would a student from Myanmar need a masters degree in diakonia, anyway? So I make copies, scan folders, try to find the right words for the officials... respectful but not too fawning, 

A co-worker invited two of us Americans out for "hotpot". Should I tell you the shrimp were so fresh they literally kept jumping off the plate? That was a little... extremely fresh even for my adventurous tastes.

It's a fascinating, fascinating life.

Next week -- return to Burma. Stay tuned!

Taste and see that the Lord is good;    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.      -- Psalm 34:8

Days of May - Finishing Strong

We... and our students... are working hard for a strong finish to this seminary academic year.

Final edits for a ground-breaking dissertation
take place at our kitchen table.

The defence of the dissertation... on Hospice care in Myanmar... is coming up next week..

First complete sermon given in English!  -- Keo, one of the Lao students sponsored by the  ELCA -
is flanked by his English teacher, classmates, and much love and support.

Yours truly had the opportunity to take a class in the History of Christian Mission.
Most important take-aways? 1) the translatability of the Gospel and 2) It's not "our" Christianity
anymore (not that it ever was a religion that only belonged to one ethnic group or culture)
Visiting prof. Dr. Bas Plaisier was fantastic as were my fellow students.
From left to right can you guess our nationalities? (Hint: they include
Hong Kong Chinese, Mainland Chinese, Myanmar, Dutch, American, Indonesian, Vietnamese
Answer on the bottom of the blog)

Ah, sometimes in the flurry of the last weeks of classes, it's good to get high.
Yes, you know what I mean.

High up on the Hong Kong mountains, with Dr.s and students.

The semester is almost at an end!!!

Breathe deeply, take the opportunity to marvel.

Do you see the rainbow?

So, last Thursday I hand-delivered the final packet of student visa applications to the Hong Kong Immigration department. We have nineteen international students hoping and praying the Immigration officials will say yes. Typically we don't find out for sure until the last minute, and only after numerous letters, phone calls, additional documents have been submitted. I can only hope my approximately two months of labour on these applications (so far) have not been in vain.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. 

Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that 

your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 

(St. Paul, encouraging the Christians in Corinth 1 Corinthians 15:58 )

ANSWER TO THE ETHNICITIES OF THE STUDENTS/PROF. IN THE FOURTH PHOTO DOWN (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT): USA, VIETNAMESE, MYANMAR, INDONESIAN, DUTCH, MYANMAR, HONG KONG CHINESE, MAINLAND CHINESE.

Back from Burma

More than ever, I'm realizing that life is all about relationships. One of the best things about visiting Myanmar is getting picked up at the airport by an LTS alumnus (and his wife! I finally got to meet his beautiful wife this time) who helps me schedule my time, makes sure I get to my hotel alright, rounds up the prospective students for our seminary in Hong Kong, and scouts out the best little Burmese diners in the world. :)

I got to stay at the Royal White Elephant Hotel
this time.

where they do not go all out on their decor.

but they ever so helpfully equip the bathroom with
plastic sandals, which alas, were too small for my feet.

I was excited about the fact that there was a
hotel hairdryer! Until I plugged it in and...

CRASH, pop, BANG a big explosion, busting the cord in two and
killing all the electricity in the room. But not,
thankfully, me.

THIS, this is why I was here. Four women, four men, hoping to enroll in graduate studies at LTS in Hong Kong, in order to strengthen their Christian churches, schools and seminaries back in Myanmar.  They took English
grammar and essay tests, then a short one-on-one conversation with yours truly, who is also in charge of
international scholarships. We have prospective students in New Testament, Old Testament, Pastoral Care, Diakonia (Service), and Theological Librarianship (yup there is such a thing and it's pretty important!)

Afterwards, a delicious restaurant meal waited us.

This is what heaven is gonna be like, with Lal
taking the role of St. Peter with a big welcome meal.
(The vegetables in Myanmar are like none other, and the
shrimp are gee-normous!)

I had a couple of extra hours in the morning (before the double flight back to HK) and
thoroughly enjoyed a leisurely stroll along Inya Lake and along Pyay Road.
Ads and billboards are sprouting up everywhere in this newly "opened" land,
the gods of commerce are flexing their muscle.

February 28, 2013 along Pyay Road.

"Think of the cliche that nobody ever gets to the end of their life and wishes thy had spent more time at the office. It makes good sense, of course, up to a point. But here's a more interesting perspective: At the end of your life, will you wish that you had plunged more of your time, passion, and skills into work environments and work products that helped people to give and receive more love? Can you see a way to answer 'yes' to this question from your current career trajectory?" -- Timothy Keller in Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work p. 206 (Dutton, 2012)

New Year of the Snake!

Happy Chinese New Year (also known by some as Vietnamese New Year! :) )

Did you know the early Christian church was known for the coming together of cultures, and its JOY?! At Lutheran Theological Seminary we get that! 

Playing "rock, paper, scissors" - did you know this game
was invented by the Chinese?  

At one point during our International Student's Chinese New Year Party, I laughed so hard I thought, oh oh, I've had too much to drink... only to remember there was absolutely nothing alcoholic at the party.

My other joy this week is that I finally went in person to the Hong Kong Immigration Dept. to help plead the cause for one of our Mekong students applying for a renewal -- and we made it through the system!!! His approval should be arriving in the mail in a couple of weeks, which is great since the student in question is exactly the kind of good-hearted, smart, and culturally observant pastor who can benefit the most from the LTS education... and go back to benefit his community and the Christian witness in his home culture (of Cambodia).

So, as of Sunday, it's officially the Year of the Snake!! Despite the bad press snakes get from that early story of the serpent in Genesis, there are actually several positive pictures of snakes in the Bible, including Jesus' own teaching to his disciples, as he sent them out:

   

“…be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  (Matthew 10:16b)

May we grow in wisdom, innocence, and joy in the Lord this year.

Happy New Year of the Snake!