I have entered my Jubileeth year without much fanfare in a foreign country. Tomorrow I am heading back to work and 5 days of lectures await me. I thank God that my health held up despite the cold weather. It is winter here and it rained whole day today. I made many new friends and a few will turn to be good friends in coming years.
Scholars are human beings. Most I met are humble people. The few were a bit aloof which could be due to their uneasiness with the rare appearance of Asian scholars in their midst. I was told this was the first time more than 10 Asian scholars attended in a Conference which remains much Euro-centric. I was even tested on my German and I failed miserably. But I managed to engage in meaningful conversations during the Seminars and even once during the main paper I asked a question to the Professor who spoke in French. I met many scholars whom I had only known through their scholarship. Friendly lot, they were. Profs Richard Hays, John J. Collins and Adela Yarbro-Collins, David Hellholm, Martin de Boer, etc. I sat through a seminar with Tom Wright and Dean of Yale Divinity School. I was extremely proud of my doktorvater, Prof Trebilco who gave the best of the 4 main papers. He sat beside me in the last session and I could not resist sharing with him my joy, "It is my birthday!" And on my way back there was this huge double rainbow and I thought I heard the Lord said to me, "Son I am with you". I said, "Lord if you are with me then everything will be alright."
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