Basketball Indonesian Style

The first basketball games of the season at Mountainview are in the books.  The varsity teams, both boys and girls, won their first games.  Dana and I are coaching the girls' varsity team so we were pleased to start the season on a positive note.
We began the season with some question marks.  Last year we graduated seven seniors from the team, including the starting five.  Even the girls, themselves, this year didn't seem confident that they could compete with other teams.  The good news is that they can.
Thursday evening we had our second game.  We were supposed to play a high school team but they cancelled a day before the game.  Instead we played a club team made up of high school and college players.  We lost.  It was close, but in the end, more experienced team won.  What prompts this blog is not the fact that we started the basketball season 1-1.  I write so that you may understand some of the differences between Indonesia and the U.S.
For example, on Thursday the girls' game was supposed to be first followed by the boys' game.  We usually start around 4 PM.  4 PM came and went and still no girls' team for our team to play.  The coach, who was there, kept telling me that his team would arrive in 10 minutes.  If you were new to Indonesia, you might think that the coach meant that the team would actually arrive within the next 10 minutes.  Despite the words that the coach was using he meant that his team was late.  In truth, he hoped that they would arrive in 10 minutes but he had no idea.  So, after waiting 20 minutes, we decided to let the boys' play first.  The boys' team was already there.
I was pleased when some athletic looking Indonesian girls started showing up during the boys' game.  Good I thought, at least we'll get to play.  Now, I've been here long enough to know that things aren't quite what they seem.  Toward the end of the boys' game, two members of the Indonesian girls' team got up and left.  The coach explained to me that they were in high school students and had to be home by 6 PM.  Fortunately, the team still had five players present.
By game time, the Indonesian club team had rounded up one more player to make six.  We gave them jerseys to wear so their tops matched and got under way.  Just before half-time three other Indonesian girls joined the team.  I was glad they could make it.  It made for a better ball game.
In Indonesia, you never know exactly what to expect, except that it will surprise you.  Blessings, Jeff

Boys, Drums and Ramadan

Indonesia is primarily a Muslim nation.  As such, most of the people here observe Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month.  This year marks the third Ramadan that we've experienced.  It seems like with each year we notice something new.  This year it was the drums.  In celebration of the end of Ramadan, the people of our city parade through the streets with floats, candles and drums.  This year our neighborhood put together a drum corp.  It included roughly 20 boys and young men.  Towards the end of Ramadan, they began to practice for the parades.  Everyone in the neighborhood listened as the boys would practice for 30 minutes or more.  Sometimes practice extended through much of the day.  One afternoon, practice was convened in our backyard.  Of course we didn't know what was going on at the time.  All we knew is that boys started flooding our backyard carrying all sorts of plastic buckets and sticks.  For the next hour, the sound of beating drums echoed throughout our house.  Dana grabbed her camera and captured a little bit of the action on video.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to load on the blog.

What impressed me about the boys and their drums was not their stamina, though I thought they would never quit, but their willingness to let others participate.  After an hour of near continuous practice the boys stopped and preceded to sat in a circle to talk and eat snacks.  While they snacked, the little boys in our neighborhood who had been watching took their turn on the drums.  None of the older boys stopped them.  No one restricted the little ones access to the drums.  It was fun to watch the little boys try to mimic the rhythms practiced by the older boys.  After about 30 minutes the younger boys grew tired and moved on to other things.  The older ones packed up their make-shift drums and sticks and marched out of our backyard.

As I think back on the incident, three things come to mind.  First, the rhythm of the drums.  I can hardly remember it now, but at the time I could think of nothing else.  Second, how good the group sounded considering their training the quality of their instruments.  The drums were old paint buckets with a large blue container for the bass drum.  I don't know where the bass drum originally came from.  I've seen containers like that used for hauling fish, ice and water.  The final thing was how open the older boys were to letting the younger ones play with their stuff.  Indonesians tend to view stuff differently from Americans.  Stuff is meant to be used, not simply possessed.  The boys used our backyard because we weren't using it.  They didn't hurt anything and left the yard relatively clean after their practice.  In the same way the older boys let the younger ones beat away at the drums while they enjoyed a snack.  They weren't using the drums right then so why not?  More important than gaining insight to how Indonesians view stuff was the example being put forth by the older boys.  I assume it was something that they were taught when they were small.  Let the younger ones play.  It allows them to participate and gives them something to look forward to in the near future.  In the U.S., it seems like as adults we set so many boundaries around what youth can and can't do that we push them into doing nothing.  Or worse yet, we push kids into doing things that aren't beneficial to them just to give them something, anything to do.
Well, Ramadan is over as are the parades and sounds of beating drums.  All that remains are the memories.  Memories of boys, drums and Ramadan.

Up Close and Personal with a Volcano!

During our fall break from school, we decided to take a quick trip to Bromo, a mountain/volcano.  Bromo is located on the eastern half of the island of Java.  After about four hours of travel we passed the sign marking the end of central Java and the beginning of east Java.  Five hours later we were out walking on a sea of gray sand from one of Bromo’s previous eruptions.  At the center of this enormous sand pile was the crater known as Bromo and along its edges steep cliffs that seem hold the sand in.

As the sun went down, so too, did the temperature.  Suddenly for the first time, we felt really cold in Indonesia.  We decided to go to bed right after supper since we wanted to get up early to enjoy the sunrise.  At 4 AM we piled into an old jeep that took us 4 km to the base of a lookout point.  From there we journeyed on foot up a steep sandy trail that eventually became just a long stairway.  After 200 steps we reached the lookout point and waited for the sun to rise.  I was glad that we had chosen to buy stocking hats as souvenirs.   Not only was it cold, it was also windy.  Gradually, more and more people joined us at the lookout point.  Most of the people were European.  A gentleman from France took our picture.

After enjoying the sunrise we head back down to the jeep.  Our next stop was the crater.  After a 15 minute ride, our driver deposited us about 3 km from the crater.  It is amazing how far a kilometer feels when you’re hiking up a steep sandy hillside in the higher altitudes.  It took a number of rest breaks, but we eventually made it to the crater rim.  The view was wonderful but a bit frightening.  The rim was only 1-2 meters across and covered in sand.  Looking down into the smoldering crater, I thought to myself, “only in Indonesia”.  In Indonesia, everything that you do as at your own risk.  Standing on a thin sandy rim looking down into what appeared to be a bottomless pit made a shiver run down my spine.  So, we took pictures and headed back down the crater to the jeep.

Fifteen minutes later we were ordering hot coffee and tea with our breakfast at a small restaurant located on the steep hillside bordering the sand sea.  As we ate, the wind picked up outside turning the sand sea and crater into a cloud of dust.  I was glad we weren’t still on the rim of Bromo.

Twelve hours later, we pulled into our driveway in Salatiga.  Home sweet, home at last.  Twenty-one hours in the car for a glimpse of more of God’s creation.  After a hot shower and a good night’s sleep the trip felt worth it.  I had ever stood on the rim of a smoking volcano before.  I had never contemplated how much force it would take to pulverize a rock mountain and reduce it to just a sandy crater.  Indeed, God has made an amazing world.  Blessings to you in whatever part of the world you live.  Jeff

What's on your Christmas list?

Do you remember what you got for Christmas? What did you ask for? Was it a couple cans of Dr. Pepper? Maybe some Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or a bag of Doritos? Maybe you were wishing for something really special. I know what you’re thinking, Velveeta! Oh, what’s that? None of this stuff was on your wish list. Really?

Today we received two packages from friends living in the US. The packages were filled with things like small cans of Dr. Pepper, Doritos, beef jerky and brownie mixes and yes, Velveeta cheese. While I know that these items sound fairly ordinary in the US, they are extraordinary to have here in Salatiga.

What we received today was more than food. The items were little reminders of the friends and loved ones we know living in the US. Today we were reminded that there are people praying for us and Indonesia. Thank you for your support.

I will probably get in trouble from my wife for what I’m about to write but here it goes. The food items are great. The little cans of Dr. Pepper, something you can’t get in Indonesia, will brighten our day when we’re feeling particularly homesick. However, I also recognize how expensive they are to send. I feel a little like our feet have been anointed with expensive perfume and then swiped with someone’s hair. It’s humbling to receive gifts like that.

We give thanks for the blessing of relationships and the way in which God continues to care for us. Instead of food, another option is to send us an email. It may not taste quite as good as a Dr. Pepper, but we enjoy hearing about what’s going on in your lives and what God is doing in your midst. Like the food, it will remind us of you, of your love for us and our love for you.

May God encourage you this week through those around you and may you seek to encourage those whom God puts in your path.

Students say the most interesting things!

This year I’m teaching freshmen Biology.  I’m really enjoying the class.  I have fourteen students, twelve of whom are boys.  One of the exciting things about students is that you never know what they are going to say, especially freshmen. 

Last night while I was grading papers I came across one such example in an essay entitled How Biology Touches Our Lives.  I received all of the expected answers like contributions to safe food, medicine and the prevention of disease, care for the environment and predicting nature events like earthquakes. 

However one student surprised me a bit.  He stated that “without Biology we wouldn’t know how to reproduce.”  His comment made me laugh.  In fact the more I thought about it the harder I laughed.  I’m not completely sure what the young man is hoping to learn this year but I’m afraid that he’s going to be very disappointed with my Biology class.  We won’t be studying the topic of how to reproduce, just cellular reproduction and genetics.  I think I’ll invite his parents to field the “how to reproduce” question at home. 

If you are a parent reading this post, you might want to sit down with your child and help them understand the "how questions" of reproduction and the appropriate context for its application, namely within the marriage covenant.  I know these can be awkward conversations but I think they are important ones for parents to have with their children.  If you've already had sex conversations with your own kids, please pray for those of us who haven't.  In our household, we've had the conversation with one but still have two to go.

Sitting can be a struggle no matter where you are.

School started last Tuesday. By all indicators, we’re off to a good start. Of course everyone is trying to get back into the rhythm of school again, including me. My voice has been a bit hoarse from talking more than usual and I’m sleeping a bit more. After our first day of school, I came home, ate supper and then proceeded to sleep for the next eleven hours.


In class, my students are also having to get used to being back in school. After about ten minutes of sitting, they begin to squirm and fidget in their seats. There were a few students in particular that were having trouble one day remembering how to listen with their mouths shut and their bodies still. As I encouraged them to discipline themselves, I was reminded of a time not so long ago when I was struggling to sit still.

We were about five hours into our flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Tokyo. While five hours is a long time to sit shoe-horned into a seat designed for people much shorter than I, I was finding a way to enjoy the trip. Unfortunately, the eleven hour flight wasn’t schedule to end for another six hours. Suddenly minutes began to feel like hours. The little airplane projected on the flight map that the airlines use to mark the flight’s progress seemed to stop moving. For the next six hours, I tried to direct my thoughts from my present reality. The truth was, I really didn’t want the airplane to make an early landing, especially in the water! I found myself concentrating on the hope that the pilot would get us to Tokyo safely and as quickly as possible. In the end, that’s just what happened. While I understand the physics behind flight, I still find it amazing that in just eleven hours a person can travel over 6000 miles. And thanks to the skill of the pilot, land right where everyone expects to go.

This memory changed the way I felt about the students struggling to focus in class. Suddenly, I realized that they were feeling kind of like I did as a passenger on the airplane. The primary difference was that they, or their parents, were counting on me, the teacher/pilot, to get them where they needed to go, safely and as quickly as possible. As my feelings towards the students changed so did my actions. I suddenly felt a wealth of patience to draw from as I continued to encourage them to discipline themselves so that they and the rest of their classmates could be successful in class.

One maxim that I repeat often is that God’s people’s biggest problem is amnesia. They forget what God has done for them. Today I give thanks for the gift of memories; memories that God can use to help mold this lump of clay into something pleasing to Him.

Our Return to Indonesia!

It's been a week since we left Oklahoma and our family and friends to complete our third year here in Indonesia.  Our return has been very refreshing because there is a coolness in the breeze here compared to the hot climate of the midwest.  Currently we are trying to get over jet-lag in order to be better prepared for school which begins next Tuesday, Aug. 9.  Please pray that we are able to over-come this quickly.

During our trip to this side of the world we had time to reflect on our summer spent in the states...  what a wonderful time we had.  In May we felt "empty" and we have returned to Indonesia "full".  Thank you to everyone who had a part in that.  We were able to visit three congregations who continually have a part in our family:  Pleasantview Mennonite Church in Hydro, Oklahoma; Hesston College Mennonite Church in Hesson, Kansas; and Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, Nebraska.  Thank you to all three churches for their continued support.  We covet your prayers during this last year of our three year commitment to Mountainview International Christian School. 

Wisdom from a Street Vendor

During our school's Christmas break, we were blessed to host some friends from the US.  I must confess, I've always had some questions about spending large sums of money to stay connected with people across the globe.  The central question being, is there a better way to use the travel money?  Over the Christmas break we were on the receiving end of this question.  Instead of money, we received the far greater blessing of renewed relationship with our friends.  I know it cost them a great deal to visit us in Indonesia but their presence was priceless.

During their stay, we took them to Java's cultural center, Yogya.  We travelled by angkota (small mini van), bus, becak (a tricycle with a seat in the front) and train to help them better understand life in Indonesia.  In Yogya, we visited the busy street of Jalan Malioboro (jalan = street).  This particular street is filled with shops and street vendors.  It's a bit like shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) except that it is busy year round.  You meet all kinds of interesting people when you walk down Jl. Malioboro.

One of the people we met was a street vendor who was wanting us to go see a "batik" exhibition.  Batik is a time consuming fabric coloring process.  Foreigners are warned against such invitations so we politely continued on our way.  We met him again later in the day.  This time he kept Jay Dee and myself company while Dana and Wendy finished some shopping in a nearby store.  Fortunately, he spoke more English than we spoke Indonesia allowing us to carry-on a good conversation.  It was a chance to learn about Indonesia through the eyes of the marginalized masses.  His clothes were well worn and hung on a small gaunt frame.  With rotted teeth he told us about the Javanese and the culture of Yogya.  Then he made this stunning comment.  "You Americans are hollow, but rich.  We [the Javanese] are poor but full."

God could not have used a better spokesperson to deliver such a message!  Here was a poor, malnourished, street vendor commenting on what many believe to be the most blessed nation on the planet and he was calling it "hollow".

After living in Indonesia 18 months, I understood what he meant.  In the US so much of our lives revolve around the amassing of stuff, the pursuit of getting stuff or making enough money to buy more stuff.  Such a world is almost unimaginable to Indonesians like this street vendor.  Food, shelter, money to send their chldren to elementary school and then high school, these are the concerns of many Indonesians.  The absence of wealth or disposable income has forced Indonesians to find value in other things namely relationships.  Indonesians are a very social, community focused people.  They find their "wealth" in friends.
 
It was hard to say good-bye to our friends as we left them at the airport gate.  As I reflected on their visit and our provincial encounter with the street vendor, I realized that I was starting to better understand what God desires for His people.  It is fullness.  It is community.  It is shalom.  And it is shalom I wish for you. Jeff

The Christmas Letter

At home in Salatiga for Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Selzers.

I usually write “Greetings from Indonesia” however I realize that we are only five people on an island of 160 million.  I was reminded of this reality on a recent shopping trip to a nearby city, Semarang.  The city was crowded as was the mall that we went to.  Even in our small city of Salatiga there are a lot of people; roughly 10,000 per square kilometer.  In contrast, the city we moved from in Oklahoma had roughly 1000 people per square mile.  One square mile contains 2.59 square kilometers.  In other words, Salatiga has 25,900 people are living in the same space that 1000 of our fellow Oklahomans live in.  While I don’t mind it, I’m still not used to the high population density.  

I suppose that each year one could write about how quickly the year has come and gone.  In truth, it has.  This is our second Christmas in Indonesia, which is hard to believe.  We celebrated it with members of the house church to which we belong.  The casual observer may have thought we were back in the States celebrating with friends and family were it not for the sounds of the free range chickens that roam our backyard, children dressed in shorts, a mix of languages; English, Dutch and Indonesian and the sound of rain on our home’s tile roof.

This year has continued to be a year of firsts even though it is our second year in Indonesia.  The 2009-2010 school year ended well and gave way to a much anticipated summer break.  Within a few weeks the kids were bored.  Dana and I were busy with school summer projects and lesson plans for the fall. 

At the end of June we were excited to host the first of our guests from the States.  At the end of June, Gerry and Jean, my parents, were able to come and spend about two weeks with us.  It was good to see family and take them to see the sights of Salatiga.  We also explored the countryside by visiting a pass that overlooks Mt. Merapi.  Who would have guessed that a few months later Mt. Merapi would make international news?  Mt. Merapi’s eruption was the biggest seen in over a hundred years.  It forced the evacuation of thousands.  Only now, is life slowly beginning to return to normal.  We were fortunate in Salatiga to experience only a little ash fall.

Two weeks after saying good-bye to my parents, we welcomed Dana’s mother, Lynn, her sister, Betty and our nieces, London and Sidney.  This time our sightseeing took us beyond the island of Java to another well-known island, Bali.  We enjoyed boogie boarding, eating Mexican food, touring the island and shopping.  Normally in Indonesia, our family sticks out like a sore thumb.  We’re relatively tall and blonde.  In Bali, we were just a few of the many foreigners enjoying Indonesia’s beauty.  To the surprise of many of the shop owners, we were different from most foreigners in that we could speak some Indonesian.  Between our limited Indonesian and their limited English, we talked about where we lived and what we did.  We met a number of merchants who were from Java, one man grew up in a city about one hour from where we live.  It was fun making these connections and using our Indonesian to barter for souvenirs.  All too soon it was time for our guests to leave and school to begin.

The school is a bit short staffed this year so everyone is a bit busier.  I’m teaching three bible classes, three P.E. classes and coaching girls’ varsity soccer and basketball.  Dana is also busier this year with a bigger class, mentoring the other first grade teacher and helping me coach basketball.  The first grade class was so big this year that the school split them into two different rooms.  One room was just not big enough.

Quintin is a freshman this year.  He enjoyed playing JV soccer this fall and is currently playing on the JV basketball team.  He spends most of his time reading and studies only when he must.  These are his words, not mine.  This past fall he participated in an activity called “Battle of the Books.”  Mountainview had four teams.  Each team read ten books and then answered questions derived from the books.  The best Mountainview team advanced and competed in a “Battle of the Books” showdown within the league Mountainview is associated with.  There are six international schools that participate in competitions once in the fall and once in the spring.   Quintin’s Mountainview team didn’t win, however he was chosen to replace one of the winning team’s members who couldn’t go to the league tournament.  Mountainview ended up winning the “Battle of the Books” at the tournament.

Abby and Zach continue to have fun playing soccer and spending time with friends.  Abby is always working on something and Zach seems to have found a love of reading.  This fall, the elementary had a science fair.  Zach’s science fair project involved finding the optimum angle of incline for rolling a ball down a tube.  For his efforts he won the fourth grade award for “Scientific Genius.”  Abby’s project had to do with the production of carbon dioxide by yeast.  None of us are quite sure how to apply the results of her work, however the judges awarded Abby the overall Science Fair Project winner.  We were surprised and very proud.

We continue to find our service to God at Mountainview rewarding though we miss all of you.  Thank you for all of your support.  Without your prayers and encouragement our presence in Indonesia couldn’t happen. 

Blessings to you and your families as your celebrate the remarkable event of God coming to dwell with His fallen creation that we might be once again restored unto Him.  We are encouraged by the stories of what Immanuel (God with us) is doing in Indonesia and how people are coming to faith.  With these stories we also hear the pain new converts endure when they are cut off from their families and communities.  Whether in the US or in Indonesia, we pray that God will continue to call all people to Himself.  And that the called will be resolved to live as a new people, redeemed by God for the purpose of living in right relationship with God, each other and all of creation.

Blessings to each of you in 2011.