Live Out Loud

"There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man." - Martin Luther King Jr.

What I often say: "I'm not good at this" What I really mean: 'I'm not comfortable doing it, so I won't' How much easier it is to just say "I can't" than to choose to do something that's a bit uncomfortable. Change and breakthrough will come through small decisions to obey. I want to overcome

A typical lunch (Zha jiang mian), costing about $3 Food here in Singapore is very affordable, never mind tasty. For lunch every day, my co-workers and I go to the food court at our school, which has a wide range of food options ranging from $2.50-$4 (USD). When I worked at Deloitte, it would be a treat for me to eat out for lunch. Here, because it is so affordable (and perhaps even cheaper to eat out than to pack lunch), I eat out every day.  My favorite part of my job so far has been going to lunch with my co-workers every day. /// We meet for church here at the mall. That sounds a bit strange, but there are quite a lot of spaces attached to malls here so it's actually quite common. Naturally after church, we go eat together at the food court at the mall. On Sunday after church I unexpectedly ran into my co-worker at the food court. Turns out his church also meets at the same mall on Sundays :)

#1: Being able to bless co-workers through Asian buns:  I woke up late for work, leaving no time to eat breakfast at home like I usually do. I started dreaming of the Asian buns I could eat at the bakery downstairs and simultaneously thinking about how I wanted to respond to co-workers when they would inevitable wish me a happy birthday. The idea of blessing others came to mind and I ended up bringing 15 buns to the office instead of 1. I'm not sure if this was the HS but I could tell this counter-cultural act left an impression on my co-workers. Hoping people come to see over time that it is the grace of God that allows me to be this way.. #2: Discovering a surprising loophole in the airline refund system: Back in April I bought airline tickets in advance to visit my brother in Seattle during Labor Day. Of course back then I thought I would for sure be in PHL and booked tickets that way. When I found out I was leaving the country, I called American Airlines to find a way to at...

Talking to co-workers in-person instead of sending an email or instant message Having lunch together every day instead of eating at my desk Commuting an hour to get to a church gathering

Singapore can feel pretty suburban, despite being a global city. Maybe it's just the area I work and live, but I find comfort in the suburban-ness  I should always bring a packet of tissues with me, since restaurants don't offer them as standard protocol Food and drinks are sweet by default. If you want things less sweet, make sure to ask for it (ie: "kopi o kosong" for black coffee) HMCC_SGP didn't feel much different than HMCC_AA, despite being a fraction of the size The people were a lot more open than I expected; I'm excited to get to know them! Despite my prior impression of Asian females, girls in our church here play sports! I'm especially excited to get to know some of the sisters who play basketball and/or rockclimb :) I'm really happy to be here. More than I ever felt 

Today I begin a new season of my life as a student affairs professional in Singapore. I've never been to Singapore but I hear it's quite an efficient and law-abiding city (both of which are strikingly fitting with my personality). I do have anxieties about starting from scratch in a city where I only know three people, but can't help but think that my year in Philadelphia prepared me for a move like this. A card I received last summer when I left AA I knew one person when I was moving to Philly, an old middle school friend whom I was happy to reconnect with. Deciding to leave Michigan for grad school was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but one I knew I very much needed. Leaving behind everything I knew in a familiar place to start over seemed illogical, but I came to see my relationship with God in a new light through the challenges of being in a new city, investing in a new church, and surrounding myself with a new community. If there was one trut...