Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family back home.
Christmas 2009 is a new experience for Tobi and me. We find ourselves about 10,000 miles from you. Instead of cold and snow we are experiencing a Christmas of 90 degree heat and humidity. The whole world is lush and green. The only place one sees even a hint of Christmas here is in the shopping malls. They have a number of them around town and most are very upscale and go all out to decorate for Christmas and New Years.
Tobi and I have not done any decorating of our apartment. Tobi didn't think she could bear it. Too much of a reminder of family and the wonderful Christmases of past years. So in the morning we'll sleep in till 8am or so and then open the gift we got for one another. Nothing else has arrived yet, although some of the kids sent us online credit for e-books. Tobi got me a Sony "Reader" for my birthday and so now I can just download my books onto my Reader.
I have to say that when we first arrived here and for the first couple of months Tobi felt a bit overwhelmed. Everything was new and different, especially her job. She had gained a certain level of comfort in her job back home, having done it for about 14 years, but the job here was completely different and the few days of overlap with the girl she replaced were just not enough, even with the training she had received. I found myself on many evenings figuratively talking her down off the ledge. Luckily she has terrific bosses here and they are very understanding. She has learned quickly and has started to feel like she is a definite asset to the office here.
As we were preparing to come to Malaysia we wondered why we were doing this. We had our reasons for making this leap, but both of us felt as if there was another reason, or perhaps many other reasons, why we were being led here. Now that we've been here for 9 months some things are beginning to come more clearly into focus. We believe more strongly than ever that this was the right thing to do at this time in our lives. We miss our children and our grandchildren terribly. It's probably ridiculous since they are being cared for so well by their parents, but we have often thought that they need us. I guess it's more likely that we need them. It probably does us more good to play Peek-a-Boo with Jaylee or listen to Bella's stories, or see Nixon's smile than any small benefit they may derive from a few minutes on Skype every week or so.
The other day we were talking and I said to Tobi, "You know, when our time here is up and it's time for us to go home, we are really going to miss this place." That thought has given us a renewed sense of urgency to be engaged with this country, this community; because I can already sense the sadness I will feel when it's time to go. We have some friends here who are already very dear to us. The Wintheisers, the Renners, the McKinleys, the Loke family, Claire and Lilian Lim, Miow Lin, the Doxeys, Sega Appanan, the Kofoeds, our wonderful missionaries and their wonderful investigators. The list is long and I haven't done it justice. Tobi's bosses, Legal Attache Greg Gilmartin and Assistant Legal Attache Chuck O'Neal and their wives, Caryn and Colleen have been a great support.
Know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers always. Our family and our old friends are precious to us. We miss you.
As I write this is it approaching midnight on Christmas Eve. I haven't heard any sleigh bells yet but I'm sure Santa is on his way. (He starts here and works his way west. It makes sense logistically when you think about it.) Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
Scott and Tobi
Merry Christmas! We sure missed seeing you when we were in Utah last week (although we did see a few of your kids and grandkids). As we gathered for a small Bingham family brunch, Pam mentioned how much she appreciated and missed the two of you--the gathering was very fun, but we noted your absence. Love to you out in Malaysia!
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