Jet Jockee

Too funny.
Facebook is reconnecting the world.
We just spent a few days connecting with a outrageously fun friend I've not seen since dating his brother in the early 80's.
Another lifetime ago.

But for the past 9 years I've known he is mutual friends with our colleagues, and last week I saw he was going to Thailand. So I posted on his wall:
YOU'RE SO CLOSE, YOU'VE GOT TO COME ON DOWN TO SINGAPORE!

He took up the invitation and is my son Cameron's new super hero.

Living in a modern city in the middle of South East Asia, a hub for travel elsewhere, we get a lot of guests coming through here on their way somewhere else. It's an interesting and regular part of our life that those we influence, or are influence by, often are people we only see for 2 hours or a few days and then may never see again.

So when I announced that an old friend of mine was coming to Singapore my boys, 12 and 16, rolled with it without rolling their eyes. Sure. They'd go out to lunch with another visitor friend of their parents they'd never met.

"I'm not going to tell you, but sometime over lunch, ask him what he does for work" I whispered to Tyler.

This friend hands a dollar bill out to each of my boys, "This is my bosses dad."

Seriously.

He's working for a wealthy family in the Middle East. He works 6 weeks wherever the plane is, then has 6 weeks back home in Seattle. This 4 months the plane is being serviced so he's seeing what there is to see in South East Asia and using up Marriott reward points enjoying the executive club and a room with a view.

What does a missionary family do to entertain a single man who for work hangs out in 5 star hotels of Monte Carlo or Paris waiting for his employer to decide where in the world they want to party next, or whether they'd like for the jet to courier some of his favorite fruit from their home town?

What could we possibly do that he may not have done before?

We took him to a FISH SPA, a new gimmick alternative to a Chinese foot massage. We spent 40 minutes letting the Turkish "Doctor FIsh" swarm our feet and nibble off dead skin.

A lot of living has gone on in more than 20 years since I've seen him as a teenager, but mannerisms, the sense of humor, the voice inflections, the twinkle in his eye as he talks about a prank or tells a joke comes out of a grown puppy-man who loves life and brings life and affection to everyone he touches.

And he touches a lot.

As I enjoy our first big bear hug, or see him throw Cameron in the pool, or watch him put his hand on the shoulder of the hotel's bell captain or the ice cream seller as he speaks to them (or the gals at the stoplight, in the RED BULL convertible, whom he asked for samples...and got4 cans by climbing across the backseat of their car and riding along with them to the next light!).

I am reminded how powerfully affirming and humanizing it is to warmly touch other people when we speak to them. Cultural appropriateness be damned! No one - not even strangers - seems to mind a hand on the shoulder, or a hug from the side. I'm encouraged by watching Randy to embrace my outgoing American culture and keep being generous with affection here.

I also believe that he's encouraged by spending time with his old friends here. I know he was observing things about us that influenced him. I'm not sure what, but he was loved on for the last 5 days. Days filled with rich memories, great conversations, a quick time of prayer. With our colleagues the Webbs, we were a chorus of voices from his past who can imagine the impact of what his ultimate contribution could be from his unique position.

Am I a dreamer to see in him a 21st Century Daniel or Joseph? Maybe. But as he heads off to Vietnam and Cambodia on this little Asia tour, I can hopefully envision and pray for the influence he will have as he spends time with God and then simply shares the genuine faith & relationship with Jesus part of who he is with the friends he makes, and touches, through his work.

If he can find a way to do that, the Holy Spirit can do the rest of the talking.

Abnormals at El Barrio, Singapore

Abnormals at El Barrio, Singapore
Originally uploaded by K!Mberly

I think we've found a home for him...

PRESCRIPTION: the Spiritual RED BULL of fellowship in Egypt

SINGAPORE. 60% Daoist Chinese. 16% Christian.        

Pop: 4 million. Cultural hub of Asia.

My head is spinning from jet lag, career euphoria and a clash of cultures. There’s an Indian Festival going on in the common area of our concrete apartment blocks. My boys are playing funky American hip hop on the stereo. And though Asia has been our home since 1997, I just got back from turning 47 (middle aged?) in the Middle East.

ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT. 90% Muslim. 10% Christian. 

Pop: 80 million. Cultural hub of the Middle East.

No. I didn’t mix with the terrorists suspected of bombing a popular tourist spot (Day 1) or have a chance to meet more than one Muslim; a girl who’d just graduated from college in Islamic Law (Day 11). I spent all the time in the middle with 80 of the most passionate followers of Jesus of the millions of Arabic speaking Coptic Christians living in the 10/40 window.

SELF-DOUBT. Is it really a good idea to leave your family for 11 days? I mean really, you’re depressed. You’ve had a hard time juggling homemaking and a few teaching commitments. You’re rarely speaking your hard earned and easily forgotten Chinese in day-to-day life. What are you doing running off to the Arab world to teach drama when you’re a failure in Asia as a wife, mother and missionary who can’t keep toilet paper stocked in the bathrooms let alone be involved in any really significant theatre related work or ministry? 

HEALING. Despite having the world’s most supportive and positive husband, I have become world-class at negative self talk. 

However, New Year’s 2009 found the children and I making seriously positive steps toward equilibrium and health on all fronts (so far, 20 doctor visits, 6 prescriptions, and 4 books to figure it out!). Amazingly, it turns out that part of my healing was a solo trip to Cairo. 

SHOULD I GO? When I was invited to come teach Drama Teams again this year, I brought it up with my sensible lady friends in Bible Study. The 6 who since August have most intimately seen me struggling in readjustment to life in Singapore. Instead of saying, 

Egypt? Are you kidding?,  they said,

Egypt! You HAVE to go!

I called the conference planner. I wasn’t sure how Playback Theatre, the style I’d taught last year, could be used with their theme this year to “Train the Trainers.” I could see how it might work to have 4 days to take Actors, or Directors, or Script Writers or Technicians to a level where they might be able to pass on some skill. But I needed to ask him directly: Do you really need me there this year? I was sure the answer would be “Not really, …but thanks for asking.” Instead we had a 2 hour conversation that started with,

I don’t think you understand that you’ve made a huge impact on these people. You are famous here. The first thing people ask when I tell them about the conference is, “Will Kimberly be there?” I’ve told them all “Yes!”…. You have to come.

(Egyptians, by the way, are world class at making people feel special. He may very well have said the same to all of the other trainers!)

So, by faith and credit card I booked the ticket and knocked on only two doors to pursue extra funds to help cover the cost in our internationally flagging economy. Door number two, a Singaporean pastor, followed up with an email, 

Have my secretary cut Kimberly a check for the entire cost of her flight. 

I made 2 Corinthians 12:9 my theme verse for the trip. The Apostle Paul had been complaining about having some kind of a nagging problem, his thorn in the flesh, when he heard God speak to him:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

WEAKNESS INDEED. I made my itinerary to arrive a day before the 5 other international trainers to make sure I’d get over jet lag. A sore throat and drippy nose hit and the now irregular curse hit my aging female reproductive organs full force. By the 3^rd of the 4 day conference I couldn’t get myself out of bed for breakfast. While my achy body waited for aspirin, vitamins and the healing of Jesus to kick in, downstairs the conference prayed for me because I had no voice. I laughed about my theme verse and thought,

The only way I’d be weaker and his power more perfect is if they brought me in on a stretcher and all laid hands on my English teaching notes to learn by osmosis!

BUT THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN. And he cares about you and I and our little attempts to please him. More than I could have even imagined before, his power was made perfect in my weakness. Needing to be flexible, and not knowing ahead of time who or how to prepare, I brought those notes from last year, and the Holy Spirit clearly lead my pedagogy for each of the 13 training sessions. I fell in love with the 10 students in my Playback section who quickly bonded, learned to love and trust each other, grasped the difficult and unusual concepts for this new style, marveled that they could use their whole bodies in worship and storytelling, stretched their creativity to the limits and told me over and over, 

I didn’t think this kind of theatre camp; creativity was possible for Upper Egyptians. 

I was skeptical at first, but now I see how amazingly powerful this can be used to bring people closer together and find common ground.

Playback gives us an unforgettable platform for sharing our testimonies, our stories of faith; our prayers. Not just among us in our drama teams, or in our church meetings, but somehow, as you’ve said, God will show us how to use it in our communities to bring down the walls between us and find what we have in common so that maybe we can open doors to share more…

The class did a performance on the last night. You’d have thought they had been rehearsing for more than half a year. One first time observer called it “miraculous.” A dozen told me they wanted to learn it too. Perhaps my class will train them. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to return again. My fellowship with Egyptians for a week was like a Long-lasting Spiritual Red Bull energy drink. I’m more than just pumped, psyched, and excited about being back in Singapore. I’m full of love and motivation to serve my family, navigate the health issues to complete healing, and follow through on many wonderful opportunities I have to merge my other loves: Jesus Christ, artists and theatre. Especially the group of Christians in Theatre that’s recently started meeting Thursday nights. But that’s another story for another letter.

That Self-talking censor is silenced, and I hear myself saying instead, 

I wonder how much Arabic I can learn by 2010?

Playback Class in Egypt

Playback Class
Originally uploaded by K!Mberly

A great week teaching Playback in Egypt this week. Wow! Amazing students. Tons of fun. Eager to hear what and how they end up using it in their cities/teams/ministries...