Ho! Ho! Hot Christmas!

I must say it was hard to get in a Christmas-y mood in such a warm climate! What few decorations I put up threw me into a sweat! Our local mall caught a little of the flavor of it with their beach-themed Santa scene! I guess it underlines how much our Christmas views are formed by cultural and geographical traditions. It's given us the opportunity to become more aware of the baggage we carry and focus on the message of Christmas.

A definite highlight for us was Christmas caroling with a group from church to some families at a low-income apartment complex the church has been ministering to the past year. In addition to singing, we gave the families gifts of rice and cooking oil, and brightly wrapped candy packets for the children. Volunteers who had worked with the children on English explained the meaning of Christmas and prayed for families of mostly Hindu background. It was truly special to watch the faces of parents and children light up at our arrival, clap along with our music, and relax in peace to the strains of Silent Night.

We also partnered with a group of friends to host a Christmas party for students from the many universities surrounding us. We arranged a room to meet in at our apartment complex and the rest of the team did all the work! About 35 students came, representing a wide array of  countries. We had snacks, played games, took pictures, sang carols, and heard the Christmas story--something new for many of our guests, who see the commercial side of Christmas in the stores, but may never have heard what it's really about.

As I thought about some of my counseling experiences before Christmas, I was struck by how the goal of counseling fits the Christmas season--helping to reconcile people to God and to one another. What a privilege to be involved in bringing peace where there has been strife.

As we look ahead to the new year, we have much to look forward to! We're both gradually getting more involved at church. Tom preached his first sermon here in November, and will continue to do that periodically. Janet has been helping with children's sermons and book-readings at the church's Children's Library, as well as giving a parenting seminar. She'll also start helping lead a women's small group in the new year. Tom will begin a new term of teaching Jan. 14. Besides teaching, he is looking forward to helping facilitate both a book club and film club at his university. And Janet is excited for the 21 students from Malaysia who have enrolled in CCEF's online class--something she was recruiting for throughout the fall.

So there is much to keep us busy, following a long-awaited visit from our kids, Jen and Joel, the first half of January!

Wishing you peace and joy in the coming year,

Tom & Janet

Innocent Pleasures

In this season of Thanksgiving, I enjoyed an article from my CCEF class called "Innocent Pleasures," by David Powlison (from the Journal of Biblical Counseling, Fall 2005). In the article, he poses the question: "What are the supreme pleasures of life? What are the truest, most satisfying, most purposeful and lasting pleasures? In other words, what pleasures in your life leave no greasy residue—no regret, no stain of guilt, no hiding, no obsession, no sour fatigue, no negative consequences?" His conclusion...People—God and neighbor—are the supreme pleasure.

Considering all the things that give us pleasure, that's quite a bold claim. But as I think about the things I'm thankful for here, it has a ring of truth. Thinking over the last month...

Where the Klang and Gombak Rivers come together

Walking home along my favorite stretch of river in central KL, I was filled with a sense of worship, the beauty of the world around me, the remarkable privilege of being involved in change in a person's life. I was on my way back from a counseling session that I thought went really well, turning a corner it seemed, with someone I've spent quite a few weeks with. How great to see God at work in someone's life!

Recently I surprised a new young friend, a student from mainland China studying in a nearby university, with a Bible in simple English and Chinese. Her spontaneous hug made words unnecessary, but she said it was the most precious of gifts. She's full of questions about the Christian faith, eager to have an "adopted Mom & Dad" while far away from home, and I look forward to future time spent together, learning from one another.

Just yesterday, what a great feeling it was, while waiting on the street for my ride, to recognize another young woman from my apartment floor who gave me a warm smile and greeting. We met her on the elevator, another international student eager to come over and practice English while getting to know an American.

Sunway University entrance

As for Tom, he has greatly enjoyed attending the weekly Christian Fellowship meetings at Sunway in the last month, after being invited by one of his students who deduced he was a Christian from some of his remarks. It's been a great opportunity to get to know and encourage some of the students on campus, as they seek to grow in their faith.

How encouraging it was for him to receive an email from a student who was as eager as he was to start a book club on campus! She invited another friend, and after a couple of organizational meetings, they are excited to try their first meeting later this month before students hit finals and the semester break.

People--God and neighbor--are indeed a supreme pleasure. And so we are full of thanksgiving for these and many other opportunities God is giving us, as we encounter God and his work in us and others here in Malaysia.

Blessings,

Janet & Tom

Tree of Life

Tree of Life batik by Agung

I've been captured by yet another metaphor: the tree of life. I suppose it started when I had some time to kill between a counseling session and a class I was taking at St. Mary's, an Anglican church in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. I took the opportunity to wander around one of my favorite places--Central Market. This is a permanent, covered, 2-story structure packed to the gills with little shops of handicrafts and artwork from around the region, not to mention a great food court. One store in particular drew my attention--it featured batik artwork of a few local artists, and one of the featured pieces was The Tree of Life by an artist named Agung. Interestingly enough, as I struck up a conversation with the girl in the store about how the imagery plays out in the Bible, she started naming all the foreign tourists who had brought up the same subject! Kind of put me in my place that it wasn't actually an original conversation piece (not that she meant it that way).

Central Market entrance

Anyway, I kept thinking about it. In fact I searched the Scriptures for where it talks about such things (with a little help from my daughter Jen scanning and sending me relevant pages from The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery). And what I'm left with, is an overwhelming sense of the shade, refuge, safety, and contentment we find when we drink deeply of the living water that God offers us. But also, when we do that, how we can offer shade, refuge, and refreshment to others who come our way. I'm holding onto that imagery for what I can offer here in Malaysia. I'm continually reminded of my need to "drink deeply," but also to look for opportunities (with all the people I mentioned in the last blog post) to offer some shade.

Central Market interior

In some ways life has gotten more routine here--although never a dull moment! Tom's very busy keeping up with his classes (already half-way through the first semester!). I spend a lot of time from home supervising my CCEF online class. But then there's all kinds of unpredictable in-between moments. If we're intentional about it, they can be times spent with people and offering shade. Here, as anywhere, there's always the risk that we miss those moments, especially if we're not "drinking deeply" ourselves. Perhaps we could pray for each other, that we would be "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever we do prospers." (Psalm 1:3)

Blessings,
Janet for us both

Feed My Sheep!

As you may have noticed from my blog titles, I've been following this food-oriented strand as I've been going through the book of John, which I finished today with a final food image: If you love me, feed my sheep! A fitting image here in Malaysia, where both physical and spiritual food is offered in such a variety of forms.

Buffet at a restaurant we walk to often

Which leads me to a short digression on one of the great things about Malaysia--so many options and mixtures of the best of foods from all over. Sometimes I'm not quite sure what I'm eating, but the flavors and techniques of China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and various Western options are all blended in interesting ways that make for never-ending exploration possibilities. I would not be exaggerating to say there must be 100 restaurants within walking distance of where we live!

But back to the injunction of feeding sheep. The last few weeks have begun to open up numerous opportunities to get more involved in people's lives here. God seems to keep opening up different gates for us to get to know the various "sheep" he's put around us:

• a weekly counseling opportunity for Janet
• significant conversations after church when people hang around to talk
• growing relationships with co-workers for Tom
• mentoring possibilities among women at church
• great enthusiasm by Tom's supervisor for him to start up a book club for English students
• partnering with and mentoring an American team of young adults who are doing student outreach at the many universities in the area
• beginning to meet neighbors, and help them practice English
• deepening relationships with church staff and leaders
• numerous conversations at various conferences (4th one next week) by Janet about CCEF, potentially leading toward students for January classes
• skype calls with friends and family at home to keep up ongoing relationships

Lots of "sheep feeding," although clearly the feeding goes both directions! So we would greatly appreciate prayers that would enable us to be good encouragers, and to grow in our gifts of hospitality as we open the doors of our apartment and our lives, to share both physical and spiritual food with those God puts in our paths.

Blessings,

Janet & Tom

My first ever attempt to cook steamed fish Chinese-style. Yum!

Some of our favorite selections

Sometimes you don't want too many details...

Living on spiritual bread

With everything still being so new here, one of my prayers has been that I would have more of an attitude of living on "spiritual bread." What do I mean by that? I guess because I tend to get so caught up in details that I can control, I'm trying to have more of an attitude of expectancy and looking to God for what comes next. Well, this has been a big week for what comes next!

Tom started his classes this week! It was a great confirmation of why we came here in the first place, as he loves the classroom environment. He has 2 classes of freshmen working on basic academic reading and writing skills. These classes each have about 20 students each, most of which are Malay, and about 20% are international students--coming from Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia, and surrounding areas. Then he has a class of close to 50 on leadership, for students in their final year of study. Each class meets twice a week, so he will be busy preparing, teaching, and grading as he gets used to a full teaching schedule. His colleagues, some of whom are Christians, have been very welcoming, supportive, and encouraging as he gets started.

Janet has begun networking with people to find out more about Christian counseling that already exists in Malaysia, and begin exploring how CCEF can fit into the picture to serve Malaysia most effectively. A number of conferences and seminars are going on this last week of August and into September, where there are opportunities to interact with pastors, lay leaders, and Christian counselors. So Janet pulled together a brochure reflecting the information from CCEF's website, in order to have a platform for interacting with people effectively about CCEF and the resources it offers. It's been a great help to partner with Equip, an existing Malaysian ministry that provides access to courses to equip people with basic theological training through Australia's Moore College. So it's been a busy week of laying some groundwork.

We are very thankful for all these opportunities and people we're meeting. Not to mention great thanks for Jen, our daughter, finding a place to live, and getting moved in with the help of her brother Joel and others! So please continue praying for us as we begin to get pulled into more of the details of what we came out here for, that we would continue to have an attitude of expectancy and living on "spiritual bread" as we begin to get involved in more of the details.

Blessings,
Janet (and Tom)

Home Sweet Home Away From Home!

Well, it’s been a week of pretty hard, physical labor! In between various meetings, explorations to different kinds of stores, and other activities, we spent 3 days repainting 3 rooms in our new apartment. Then Tom headed to work at Sunway, while Janet cleaned and organized the apartment for the next 3 days. So the way I calculate it (biblically speaking), it is good, and now it’s time to rest! Here’s our new address, if you care to send anything other than email:

Tom and Janet Nygren

L06-07, E-Tiara Apartments

Jalan Kemajuan

47500 Subang Jaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Lots of “firsts” this week—first time Janet drove in Malaysia (on the left of course); first time cooking a meal in our apartment; first time at an internet café; first time on lots of new Malaysian foods; not to mention Tom’s new job, meeting new people, etc. One thing we haven’t been able to set up yet is our own internet in our apartment, so we are currently dependent on visits to the internet café in the building next to ours. We’re thankful for that, but if our correspondence is a bit spotty over the next couple of weeks, that’s why.

We have been warmly welcomed in by the church and people here, and now that we’re more or less settled in, we can start exploring more fully what our church involvement will look like, and how Janet’s schedule will fall into place. We’ve had numerous conversations/meetings already toward that end, but we are letting the dust settle a little before we try to figure out our place here. We are SO thankful to the many people who have made this a smooth “landing” for us—Sandy & Mandi for hosting us the first two weeks, Phil & Barb for furnishing our apartment so completely, many church people here with advice about how to go about things, encouragement from so many of you on our email list, and of course your prayers as we sip from the hydrant of living water that is as plentiful here as on the other side of the world!

Blessings,

Janet & Tom

Street scene in "Little India"



Merdeka Square in city center of Kuala Lumpur



Our apartment building is the one in the middle that's a bit darker at the top

"Oh my! What will we do with all this stuff?"

Our new living room



Guest Bedroom & Office--First Guest arriving on Friday!

Master Bedroom

Kitchen

Settling In

[x]   Safe arrival with luggage intact
[x]   Get over jet lag
[x]   Sample local food (just beginning!)
[x]   Navigate roads successfully, driving on the left (a work in progress!)
[x]   Find an apartment (signing a lease on Wednesday)
[  ]   Move in (arranged for Thursday)

We're making great progress! People here are pretty amazed at what we've accomplished in one week. In addition, we've had the joy of worshipping on Sunday with our local congregation here: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church (CDPC) Puchong. What a great feeling to sing familiar worship songs and worship the same God among his people, though in different circumstances. We are so thankful for the many notes of encouragement from our extended "family" at home, as well as the supportive new friends here, even as we begin the challenge of remembering names and faces.

Today (Tuesday) was a bit like peeking under the Christmas tree as we peered into the many boxes left to us by Phil & Barb DeHart to set up house. Furniture, cooking supplies, linens, etc. right down to Barb's spices, which will make for a quick transition to our new home. We chose a 2-bedroom apartment not too far from where Tom will work (though driving will be necessary), in a bustling area where shopping, restaurants, taxi stands, and the commuter train line are all within easy walking distance.

Besides looking for an apartment, Tom has met with his supervisor at Sunway University, where he will begin work on Monday the 13th. We've begun meeting with church leadership about how we might get involved, and we've done a little exploration of the city while we have free time. We've also been spoiled by great home-cooked meals at the home we're staying at, while we play the role of "Uncle Tom" and "Auntie Janet" with the kids.

I'm not sure my mind has fully grasped yet that I'll be here longer than a visit, but God continues to show himself faithful, sustaining our family on both sides of the globe. I pray that we might be faithful as well, "taking Jesus at his word," as the father in John 4:50 did when Jesus promised to take care of his family.

Safe arrival in Malysia...so now what?

Who would have thought we would be so close to the wire for our departure? The last few days are a bit of a blur, but God's mercy is evident even in the fact that all we needed to get done was done exactly at the time we needed to head out to the airport, 3 a.m. on Sunday, July 29th. Perhaps not the relaxed atmosphere I would have chosen, but I am thankful that we made it! Many thanks for the helpful hands, the notes, calls, visits, meals, prayers, well wishes, hugs, and yes, tears, that are evidence of the support and encouragement of so many who stand behind us and with us, sad to see us go, yet excited for the next step God leads us on in our journey.

The trip itself was smooth and uneventful, our luggage some of the first off the plane in Kuala Lumpur, intact and all accounted for, all 203 pounds of it. We're so thankful to be staying with friends who are putting us up until we can find a living space of our own, and playing "aunt and uncle" with their four children while we invade their space. So now what?

We can now identify with some of the feelings of our daughter, Jen, knowing we are on the right track, yet a bit disoriented, not quite knowing some of the details to come--where we will live, how we will be spending our time, exactly how God's provision will square with the needs we don't even know we have yet. Tom's job at Sunway University starts in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime we have to figure out what it means to settle in. As we spent time in the park yesterday with our host family's children, I found myself thinking about my own weaknesses--the challenges of getting to know new people in a new place when my natural inclination as an introvert is to keep to myself and try to solve my own problems. That might work for a short-term visit, but it struck me anew that I'm here to stay for awhile without the usual friendships and supports--am I ready for this?

As usual, God's word was a comforting reminder that there's much more to this than my own weaknesses. In John 4:34, Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." He goes on to talk about harvests that we have to wait for, for which others have begun the work, but we participate in as they come to fruition. It reminded me that the real satisfaction of being here is not in finding the perfect apartment, or even figuring out exactly what my schedule will be. What will sustain me and give me satisfaction, a sense of "being full" will be participating in the work that God has set before us, in partnership with those who have gone before us. I need to be patient, knowing that the crop is still growing, yet being confident that he who brought us here will accomplish his purposes, beyond what we can ask or imagine. 

And so I continue to ask for your prayers. To help us be patient with things like jet lag, finding a place to live, understanding our place here, and most of all to remember to look to God, not just ourselves, for making decisions and moving forward in the plans he has for us.

The Nygren Advenure Begins!

It’s a big year of transitions for the Nygrens! We held off sending out the traditional Christmas letter since details were still up in the air at that point, but the time has come…

 We’re moving to Malaysia on July 29!

Although it might seem sudden to some, we’ve been thinking about this process ever since Tom began pursuing a master’s degree in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) four years ago. Over the past two years, Tom has had the opportunity to teach ESL part time in local colleges, and every class he’s taught has confirmed his desire to teach full time.

Why Malaysia you might ask?

 As our children move on towards independence (more on that later), we wanted to explore work overseas again, and in fact, full time ESL positions are much easier to come by in overseas contexts. The harder question was actually where to begin looking when opportunities are so widespread, as well as finding a place where Janet could serve. We started our search in Malaysia because of the personal connection we have to Phil & Barb DeHart, friends we have supported for many years in their work with the church in Asia. From the beginning of our conversations, God seemed to be paving the way for our next steps in ways we could hardly imagine.

So what will we be doing?

Tom will be a lecturer, teaching English at the Centre for English Language Studies at Sunway University in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. This will be a full-time position, initially for one year, with the possibility to continue longer if things go well. Janet will be a liaison for the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), which focuses on equipping the local church to help people connect biblical truths with everyday life challenges. This is an application of her Master’s in Biblical Counseling that she received from CCEF/Westminster Theological Seminary in 2008. Over the past few years, she has been using her training  in the context of the local church as well as in helping to administer online distance education courses for CCEF. She sees this opportunity in Malaysia as a next step in applying her training and experience in a new context where it is much needed.  A preliminary conference in Malaysia in January confirmed that what CCEF has to offer will be eagerly sought after by the local church in Malaysia. As a liaison for CCEF she will help to establish CCEF classes among leaders and lay people, working with local churches as well as a seminary in Kuala Lumpur.  So we head out on July 29 for at least a year, possibly longer as we see how things go.

And what about the children?

Jen graduated magna cum laude this May with a BA in history from Denison University in Granville, OH. For years she’s been thinking about teaching , but as she approached graduation and thought about her future, she analyzed her heart’s desires and goals, and decided she really wanted to pursue student ministry. God seemed to be paving the way for Jen as well, and very quickly she found her place as an intern for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. Just in the last couple of weeks she’s found a place to live, a part-time job to help support herself, and opportunities to meet with students, confirming her desires for the coming year. She’s very excited!

Joel just completed his sophomore year at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. He is in a 5-year program in which he will earn double degrees in performance in jazz piano and recording arts engineering and is looking to complete a master’s in acoustics in that time as well. So he’s set there for the next three years, enjoying all that Baltimore has to offer for him. This year he started taking organ lessons as well.  He works hard to balance piano practice, playing in ensembles, and keeping up with course work, as well as taking on local gigs, participating in music leadership in his local church, and helping start a chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Peabody.

So with Jen and Joel both settling down in supportive environments where they are pursuing their futures and doing things they love, Tom and Janet prepare to purge their house of things like toddler toys and other non-essential items accumulated over the past 17 years! We just found renters for our house (friends of friends, a wonderful answer to prayer!), but are still looking for someone who might want to adopt a 17-year old cat.

We welcome your prayers over the upcoming transitions for all of us. While we are excited about our adventures ahead, it is also difficult to leave loved ones and our church family behind. They tell us that the beaches in Malaysia are second to none, so any of you who’d like to venture that far across the globe have an open invitation!