Christmas and New Years have both come and passed by in this new home. It is so hard to believe that there is snow at home as I am taking strolls under a hot sweaty sun. But, alas it is now January and the Malaysian adventure has been a roller coaster these past four months. There have been both challenges and highlights to this time so far and my outlook for this new year is so far so good as the close to last year ended on a great note and this one starts with vigor. However, before I get into the new year here is how last year came to a close. For Christmas the other YAGM volunteers and I accompanied Reverend Laura and Bishop Thomas to an kampung in Sabah called Sapulut or Sepulut. It was a wonderful time to see a different side of Malaysia, experience another way of celebrating Christmas. We attended a neighboring church service on Christmas Eve and then attended the BCCM Sepulut service on Christmas. Both services averaged three hours and consisted of Christmas songs (very much the same as the states but in Mandarin or Bahasa Malay), a sermon, a little scripture, and then a performance. The majority of each service was spent on the performances where a few groups would present a song or two to the congregation. We were asked to perform and so we sang some all time favorite Christmas songs! Overall it was a great time visiting the kampung and seeing another way of life. I think my favorite part was when we went to for a hike one evening to the school. We started at the church we were staying at and walked through a part of the village, past the market (a long building consisting of a few rooms that are open once or twice a week), and over the river on a hanging bridge. Once across the river we started hiking up the hill on a small path that would defiantly be a small creek when it rains. The following pictures are of the bridge and the school. This school is all grades for the surrounding kampungs. There are also dormitories (not shown in this photo) because it isn't possible for the children to go home each night. This Christmas was great and opened my eyes to new ways of celebration!

After Christmas it was time to get back to teaching at Care Haven, move apartments (I now live with Ellen at Sabah Theological Seminary), and get ready for the new year and new job. To bring in the new year the Erika, Ellen, Katherine, and I attended a BBQ and a live band with our new friend Kevin and his friends. It was a fun night and interesting to see how the New Year was celebrated on the other side of the world. Also, it was like a time warp because as we were entering the year 2010 our family and friends back home were still living in 2009. Crazy to think about! The night was fun but it is still hard to believe the year 2010 is already here. I'm excited for it to begin as with the new year comes a new job and new adventures!