“Selamat Hari Natal dan Selamat Tahun Baru!”
(Merry Christmas And Happy New Year!)
We hope this letter finds everyone filled with the spirit of Christmas. Finals are done, grades have been recorded, and the last program has been performed, and yet here in Indonesia it does not feel like Christmas. In fact if we didn’t look at the calendar we could say that it is August. We are used to telling the passing of time through the four seasons. Here our weather is the same year round, except for six months of the year when we get rain almost daily. So instead of it “feeling” like it is Christmas with the cold weather, we will carry the “feeling” of the Christmas season in our hearts and share that with those around us.
Experiencing Indonesia
We arrived in Salatiga, Indonesia, on July 9, 2009, and have been trying to make sense of the many changes in our lives. Moving from a town of 1200 to a city of 176,000 is enough of a change to send a person into shock, but throw in a new language, new ways of transportation, new cultural expectations, new jobs & school setting, and to top it all off we feel like giants in a land of short people! Fortunately for us, our Indonesian neighbors are very forgiving and understanding of our “foreign” ways.
During Fall Break we traveled to Yogyakarta with friends. To reach our destination we traveled by bus and then by train. That was quite the experience. We enjoyed every minute of it and plan to travel by train again.
During Christmas break we are planning to travel to Pacitan with three other families. Pacitan is located on the south side of the island and will be our first trip to the beach.
What have we been up to?
Like every year we’ve been busy with our different interests and pursuits. Quintin continues to read, read, and read! One of his favorite authors is Brian Jacques. If he’s not reading you can find him playing games on the computer, His current favorite is “Age of Empires. “ Not only does Quintin spend time on the computer at home, but he will catch the angkota (public transportation) and meet friends at NEO’s (a computer hang-out) where they will sit side by side and play computer games for hours!
Abby continues to amaze us with her creativity and imagination. She spends much time and energy writing and illustrating stories, as well as producing plays in our living room with friends. She also enjoys playing soccer and basketball and is extremely competitive (if you can imagine that).
Zach enjoys spending time with his two friends, Ezel and Jimin. He is taking after his brother in that he also spends much time playing computer games.
Dana still enjoys scrapbooking, but is having to create pages digitally. According to her “It’s just not the same type of therapy as when you are physically moving the elements around and creating 3-D pages!” Dana also spends much time and energy preparing lessons for her first graders, which she is enjoying very much!
Jeff has been busy being a teacher. He has a broad curriculum guide to follow but no student textbooks so much of his time is spent lesson planning. Outside of school, Jeff spends time trying to learn the language and explore the city.
Reflections
What a year of contrasts. Last year we greeted 2009 with family in Oklahoma. This year we anticipate celebrating the New Year with friends in Indonesia. It’s hard to put into words what it feels like to be a foreigner in a foreign land. Most Indonesians are very gracious and patient. However, when we go downtown to shop, small fearful pointing children remind us that we are different. I hope that no matter where we are we would always embrace diversity as an opportunity for learning and understanding and not a platform for fear and division.
At a Christmas gathering, a long-term missionary told a story about a Muslim man in the last stages of life whom he recently met. This man was sleeping only two hours a night. When asked why, t man replied that he is preparing himself for hell where he knows that he will get no sleep. I continue to be astounded by Muslims who persevere in their practice of faith without hope. Indeed, the harvest is upon us and all around us. Christ’s message of hope and healing for all people is not outdated nor is it obsolete in the post-modern world.
As I reflect on our first six months in Indonesia I’m still surprised that we’re actually here. There was so much for God to work out in order for us to come. The only credit we can take in that process was the willingness to be available. I give thanks for God’s care and provision. Through your availability, your prayers, your fellowship and financial support, God sustains us. This Christmas season, we rejoice in the message of hope found in the birth of the Messiah and give thanks for the great cloud of witnesses that we enjoy fellowship with.
May God bless each of you in 2010!
