Long Time...

I must apologize for the lack of entries on this blog spot. Our lives the past month have been a blur of activity. We are just now beginning to regain our breath as we flew through Nov. As of right now classes are over and we are into final exams in the High School. Jalen has 3 more days of school and then begins the Christmas break. We are all really looking forward to having some time as a family in which we can hang out together and maybe go site seeing.

Something that I have been extremely excited about is the fact that I have had the opportunity to help coach an Indonesian basketball team. We were entered into a local tournament in the city which is about an hours drive away from Sentani. It was great fun, the guys, who I am coaching ended up 3 - 2 and almost got a spot in the Semifinals. This was a huge improvement as usually they do not win. I had a blast as we beat some teams that going in I was not expecting to beat. Great time!! This of course meant long days and nights going in and out of the city on the motorbike. Every time I left I said a little prayer for safety and God answered. I have found an incredible amount of fulfillment in this area and love going to challenge the kids with basketball and myself with Indonesian. Amazing how God gives us these opportunities.

Janna has now concluded preschool for this semester and is now in the process of planning another semester. Kaya loves school and it would truly be a shame if she had no place to go.

Jalen had his Christmas play last night, and watching your one year old son sing in a costume is absolutely incredible. I thank God everyday for my family and how He has kept us together and relying on each other in all circumstances. What a support network.

Well that is all for now. I will try to be better than I have been at writing on this site. Darren from Papua OUT!

Where has October gone??

October has been one incredibly fast month for our family as we continue to figure out what we should all be involved in. Currently we continue to try to reach out to the people who are around us. On saturday morning one of my friends, Roy, phoned and said that he had caught some rats for my snakes. So I said come on over, he and one of his friends came over and we had breakfast together. It is neat to be able to talk about cultures and to see the differences as they tried to eat toast with jam. We talked about what they liked to eat in the morning and how our cultures were so different. Really neat stuff to hang out.

Then last night Kaya invited one of her friends over for supper. Her name is Sarah and she and Kaya have really started playing well together. She is in SD 5 which means grade 4 or 5 at school and she loves coming over to play with our kids. Kaya really wants her to stay for night and so we think this Saturday she will come over for night. So last night around the supper table we spoke Indonesian and tried to teach Kaya and Jalen some more words. Sarah thought it was funny when Jalen told me to sit down and eat. This is something that Janna and I tell Jalen and Kaya all the time, "Makan dan duduk", so Jalen knew what it meant.

We continue to struggle to know what all to get involved in and when to say no so please continue to pray for us. Darren from Papua OUT!

Volleyball over, Soccer Starting...

Well as most of you know I have taken on the role of athletic director here at the school while the person who was doing the job is in the US for medical reasons. This involves finding indonesian teams to play against and basically to answer any questions that people have regarding athletics here at the school. This past week the volleyball season concluded and now it is indoor soccer season here at HIS. Should be interesting. That also means that Janna no longer has to coach the volleyball and has more time now to pursue other things.

I have begun coaching an Indonesian basketball team on thursdays after school. The first week there were maybe 15 people and then the word got out, the next week there were around 40 kids. We will see what happens today. I have also been asked to start teaching some ESL classes to some of the local guys. I would love to do this. Janna has already begun with about 30 kids that come to our house all the time to jump on the trampoline. I would be teaching some older guys. We are thinking about converting our garage into a classroom area. Please pray for us as we reach out to the local community in these ways. We always need extra strength as we speak in a different language.

Jalen just got his first report card and he is doing great. He still needs work on reading and writing but we think he is progressing and learning the things that he needs to learn. We are currently trying to get some tools for him to help him in the classroom setting. There are now things that can magnify up to a screen. We feel that this would drastically reduce the amount of energy that he uses to focus on the small words.

Kaya is getting over her tropical diseases and we thank God for healing her body.

Please continue to pray. God Bless! Tuhan Berkati!

Kaya is sick..

Kaya is sick with malaria and dengue fever. Please pray for her. Her case of malaria is not too bad but she has to take some nasty medicine to try to get rid of it, so please pray. Thanks.

Jalen is 6...

Jalen is now 6 and we had quite the party yesterday. Yesterday Jalen's entire class as well as some of his older and younger friends came to our house for Jalen's Bday party. It was two hours of insanity!!! Around 20 kids running around our yard yelling and out of control. Jalen had a great time and I think that all of his friends enjoyed it as well.

Other than that volleyball season is drawing to a close for Janna. Next week Friday will be her last games and then it is over. She will be glad when the season is over. She has had a great time and the girls have improved a lot but there just comes a time when it feels like it should be over.

This weekend ends the month of Ramadan here for the Muslim people. So please continue to pray as we try to reach out to the people here. As some of you know Ramadan is the month of fasting that ends with Idul Fitri. Idul Fitri will occur this weekend, basically it involves lots of prayer time and the Mosques have chants and prayers 24 hours.

That is all for now. Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

Life...

Life is going well and we continue to understand what it means to serve God with our whole lives. I was very touched this past Sunday with what the pastor of our church had said. He talked about not throwing time away on fruitless things. He spoke also on prayer and the fact that we need to pray and something will happen. Before we leave the house each morning pray that God will use you. Then look for those opportunties to be used. So often it is extremely scary to pray that prayer because what if God takes us out of our comfort zone?!? Amazing things can happen outside our comfort zone. If we truely want to be used by God to do His work we need to be asking Him to show us.

Another verse that I had underlined from a while ago and once again is becoming real is found in Luke 3:9, "Kapak sudah tersedia pada akar pohon dan setiap pohon yang tidak menghasilkan buah yang baik, akan ditebang dan dibuang ke dalam api." Wow! If I am not producing good fruit, I will be thrown into the fire. Powerful verse! Am I producing good fruit? How can I tell? Lord use me this week to produce good fruit. Amen

Praise

We are so thankful this week again for electricity. There is a rumor right now that PLN, our power company, has bought some new generators in which they are hoping to power Sentani. This is a huge praise as now we are hoping that some of the power issues will be resolved and some of the stress which this causes will evaporate.

In other news I now have 2 snakes. On Saturday I went to the market and bought a live rat trap to give to our house helper to see if we can catch any rats. Then yesterday morning as I was getting on my motorbike to head to school one of our neighbours came over and said that she had a live rat. SWEET! I love live rats. So yesterday morning the rat went in with my two snakes. Last night was so fun as the snakes are active at night. They knew he was in there and one of them was on the hunt. This morning the rat is still alive, we will see what happens tonight.

That is about all for now.

Friday!!!

Today is Friday. Usually that would mean that I look forward to the day but as it turns out Friday is my busiest day of the week. This week is even crazier than usual. Each class in the high school; Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, prepare a meal each friday for the community as we watch the volleyball games. SO this week I was in charge of finding the teams and refs for the volleyball, but now I also am the sophomore class sponser and so am in charge of feeding 250 people as well. YEEEHAAA!

So by about 8:30 pm tonight I should be home and ready for a break. Last Friday I was ready by the end of it to rip into something or someone. So please pray as this Friday has the added stress of the meal. Our class is going to serve subs: chicken and beef. So lets hope that everyone has done their jobs and we are ready for this night. Also I hope that the teams and the refs show up. So Saturday is really the day that I look forward to.

Have a great Friday everyone....

A typical Tuesday

Tuesdays begin much like every other day. Smacking the alarm at 6 am and sleeping as long as possible. Our family then gets ready to get to school. I, Darren, am at school by about 6:45 am. Then Jalen leaves our house at 7:15 in a car with one of the teachers that lives near us. 7:15 I am in prayer meeting to begin the day. Jalen is at school until 11:45 at which time he gets in the bus to head home. Jalen has half days for 3 days a week because we just do not have enough teachers for full days.

I teach until 3:00 at which time we have staff meeting until around 4:30 or 5:00. Then it is home for supper and putting the kids in bed around 7pm.

On Tuesdays Janna and Kaya are at home working on the many things that need to be done around the house. Today Janna was going to solve a problem of our house helper and try to find someone that we can depend on.

I am so glad that God gives us families to stand beside, to help, and to be there when we need them. Our last couple of days have been extremely stressful and so we would ask for prayer from you guys, our supporting family. Thanks

Power...

It has been interesting here as we deal with the constant power outages, Kaya beginning school, Janna beginning teaching, and of course KAYA'S BDAY.

Kaya turned 4 and had a great time playing with her friends and getting a minature kitchen set. She likes to have tea parties and play with toy food. We are absolutely amazed that our youngest child is already 4. Unbelievable. We continue to pray that God will work in our children's lives as often we feel so inadequate as parents. God be gracious to us.

The title of this blog is "Power" and it has a two fold meaning. One is that our power is off so often and continues to be a stress in our lives. But two is the power of God. There are always things happening on the mission field to missionaries as well as to the school where it just seems like Satan is working. One of the mission leaders the other day said, "Now we have front row seats to see God work." This mission is going through some difficulties right now and it is amazing to hear these types of sentences coming from people in the midst of struggle. But it is so true, God works when we cry out to Him in times of stress and struggle. I have just been amazed at the attitudes of people here while under extreme stress. Praise God.

Please continue to pray as we live here. Thank you so much for remembering us in emails.

Survived the beach but here comes Monday...

Wow the beach trip went great thanks for all your prayers. Here is a little run down of the beach trip. I left for the beach with 6 students to set up the beach for the rest of the high school on Wednesday at noon. We arrived and began set up at around 4:30 pm. We worked well into the dark and then had to wake up early the next morning to finish it off. The rest of the high school then showed up and we set up camp and had a great couple of days snorkeling, beach soccer, fishing, listening to a speaker, working, and just hanging out. Great way that our high school tries to bond right at the start of the year. I returned home to Janna and the kids Saturday at 4:30 pm. Great to be home with the family again.

Monday. Oh precious Monday. Today here is what is on our plates.
Janna - gets everyone ready for school, teaches preschool, coaches volleyball
Darren - have to find teams for the volleyball teams to play this Friday, teach, find refs

After I write this down it does not seem that bad. Hopefully the day runs smoothly. Please pray for Janna as she begins to teach preschool. She has done tons of work preparing and I just really want it to be a positive experience. Good luck to all. God bless.

Off to the beach

Off to the beach I go with 6 of the grade 12 seniors. We are going a day early to set up the entire camp for the high school beach trip. Our high school every year at the beginning has a time of bonding and spiritual renewal as we begin the year. I have gone 3 other times in the past but never as the initial set up man, so it should be interesting. Please pray for the students as we begin the school year. Also there is malaria in this area so please pray. We always take all the precautions that we can but there is always that one mosquito that wrecks it for us.

Also please pray for Janna and the kids as they stay home and look after everything here. Jalen is enjoying school and still has a cough.

Thanks for your prayers. Darren from Papua OUT

First week of school is done...

Well the first week of school is done and things are beginning to be worked out. God is good and His plan is perfect. That has been the theme as we have opened up this school year. So many things happening and many of them we do not understand but God's timing is perfect. This concept is a difficult one at times to remember but it is in those times that we must remember it.

This morning in chapel one of the teachers shared with us some of her life story and how when she was young she began building up "theological" walls around her heart. She knew what she believed and so when her husband died suddenly from falling off a roof she had those walls which she knew she had to stay inside of. Very interesting to me, to think that we have to prepare our hearts today with the truths that God has given to us so that when we face difficulties we can hold onto them. We do not suddenly have the truths the second we face hardships if we are not prepared before hand.

Take the moment we have now. So often these past two years I have found myself thinking "Oh when we do this then I will be fulfilled and happy, Oh when I get to Indonesia I will be fulfilled and happy, Oh when our AC is installed I will feel fulfilled and happy, ..." I have been realizing that we never reach that "perfect" time or place. Grab the moment NOW and just decide to be fulfilled and happy.

Rambling thoughts of Darren on this first Friday of the school year. Talk to you again soon.

School Starting AHHHH...

Teachers Orientation is now over and it is time to bring on the students. This Monday school starts and will be a rude awaking to many people. I am excited about getting back into the classroom.

God has been good. Families are now starting to return from furloughs, holidays, etc. and Sentani is starting to fill up again. Great to see friends returning. Yesterday some of our good friends from last time returned after a two year absence and it was absolutely great to see them.

We continue to feel as if we are in God's will and continue to pray for the spiritual battle that is all around us. Thank you for all of your prayers as well. Keep on the armor!

Update on our school...

Want to update you all on our school Hillcrest International School. Please continue to pray for this school, each year before school it is a panic getting everything in place and getting the teachers situated. This year is no exception. Last night one of our administrators (and a friend of mine) found out that he has cancer and needs to return to the US. This will not only leave a tremendous hole in for the school but is also extremely hard on the family. Please pray as this all gets worked out that God's Will be done.

Lord we want to trust you give us the strength to do so.

Things looking up....

Things are looking up in terms of our medical situation here. Jalen's arm is healing fine, my knee is responding to the antibiotics, Janna is getting rid of her cough and so we are feeling good.

Our house also is looking more and more set up all the time and it is beginning to feel like home. Last night Jalen and Kaya had their first sleepovers in the new house and it went great! So they are making friends, which is a huge answer to prayer as well.

Please pray in the upcoming weeks for all the teachers at HIS as we begin the school year. Most of the teachers are arriving this week and then next week we begin teacher orientation, then the 20th we begin. Lots to do before this time so just please pray.

Thanks again for all your support.

Sorry... So long in coming

Unbelievable! The last post was June 20th. We are sorry about that. Since the last post we have moved across Indonesia and hooked into different interent providers. One of these blocks the website blogspot so we have been unable to access the site. Anyway, here is an update on our lives.

We are now living in Papua Indonesia, we have set up our house and the kids are really enjoying having some room to bike and run around. For those of you who have not yet heard, Jalen broke his arm the 3rd day after we arrived here and so has had a cast on his arm until about 3 days ago. Needless to say he was ready for the cast to come off because with the cast there was no swimming. He got his cast off and immediately wanted his training wheels off his bike. SO the day after the cast came off he learned to ride without training wheels.

Kaya loves dogs and our new neighbours have a dog that had 3 puppies when we arrived. She was over there playing with them and just loving the attention that the puppies would give her. Of course she intantly wanted one, but Dad has held firm so far. The puppies have now all been given away and so the pressure to get a dog is off for a while.

Other than that Janna and I have been trying to set up our home and keep the ants at bay. We have done some serious things to the yard and the house. The yard was full of rocks which we removed. In the rocks we found 2 cochroch nests, piles of ants, bees, and of course a snake. The snake was not a poisonous one and so I picked it up. Let me back up. There were cochroaches by the hundreds coming out of this hole by the tree so I spraid insect killer in the hole and out came the snake. I think that the snake did not like the insect repellent because after I picked it up it proceded to bite me 2 times. My first snake bites, cool! Our Indonesian yard worker told me that the snake must be evil because usually that type does not bite. I enjoy snakes and so now I am currently building a place to put them when I find them.

Today is the first day that I have gone to the school to begin preparation for the coming school year. The students arrive on the 20th and the teacher orientation is a couple of days before that. Right now it sounds like I am teaching AP Calculus, Precalculus, Algebra I, Physics, and possibly Statistics. Should be interesting! I am excited to get back into the classroom and teach some higher level mathematics.

Talk to you again soon. Now these will once again start to come on a more regular basis. See yah!

We are off....

We are off to Papua tomorrow night. We fly through the night on Friday to arrive at our destination, Papua. We all have been working for two years to get to this point. So thank you so much everyone for hanging in there with us. We plan to update our web page once we get to Papua, so look forward to that.

God is good, we realize that new everyday in how he orchestrates the littlest details.

Thanks everyone.

Quick Update....

Quick update on what is happening in our lives. Jalen has graduated from Kindergarden. Kaya has two more days of school left. Darren has 4 more days of school left. We have 5 more days in Bandung. That is about our lives in a nutshell. We are busy getting all the last minute things taken care of before moving to our base assignment in Sentani. We are really looking forward to getting to our house and getting everything set up.

One item of prayer is for our container as it is currently on a boat heading to Papua from our island here on Java. We are hoping that it arrives on the 26th of June, according to the schedule, but this is Indonesia and so nothing is ever as it seems. Please pray that this container will reach its destination dengan selamat (with safety). Also pray as we say goodbye to everyone here in Bandung that we can show Christ's love to the people here. We also have excellent friends that we have met here that will be posted in other parts of Indonesia, this is always a sad time.

Jalen has already began to experience the life of a missionary as he said goodbye to some of his friends in kindergarden that most likely he will never see again. The life of a missionary is filled with goodbyes, and often times tough ones.

Well we are excited about finally getting to Papua, we are sad about leaving friends here, we are stressed about the little details of moving, and we are excited about what God continues to do in our lives. Talk to you again soon.

Wow...

Wow has time ever been flying here once again. My parents have come and gone and had a great time. We had an awesome time with them, showing them around Bandung and showing them some the western part of Java. I think that they had a great time, and we most certainly did. So thanks mom and dad for taking the time and money to come and visit it means a ton to us.

Since they have gone we have had to keep busy packing. For the last two days we have had our packers in our house packing up all of our belongings here to send to Papua by boat. So right now our things are in Jakarta being loaded on a boat for Papua. We continue to thank God for how everything works out and how he blesses us.

Janna has already completed language school and I have 2 weeks left. It is amazing that after about 2 years of working towards the goal of getting to Papua, we have almost reached it. Maybe I should not say we, but God, has almost reached it. We have learned how to rely on Him for things. It is amazing how vulnerable we are. I think no matter where we live we are vulnerable but we get into a comfort zone and we think that we have all this power over our own lives. Living outside that comfort zone we really feel that vulnerability and thank God for his work in our lives.

One more very important thing to mention, although it is difficult for me to because it means that I am old, is that our eldest son is graduating from Kindergarden on Thursday. I still can not believe this! WOW! I know for most of you this is sudah biasa (normal) because you have already experienced it but for me this is something. Anyway thanks for all your prayers during this incredibly busy time in our lives.

Tuhan Berkati (God Bless)

Whirlwind...

It seems as though life has once again turned into a whirlwind as we prepare to move again, try to study, have a great time with family, keep having time for our kids, and try to keep our minds in one piece. Right now has been an extremely stressful time for our family so we will need your prayers now more than ever.

It seems as though we have been in transition for the past 2 years and now that time is finally drawing to a close. In our minds we have pictures of what Papua is like, due to the fact that we have lived there for 3 years, but as we get closer and hear from people in Papua we are realizing that life there is going to be different than last time and we need to be ready it. What I am trying to get myself prepared for is the fact that I have an idea in my mind of how our house, work, and life will go, but in the time that we were away I am sure that lots has changed.

Please continue to pray.

Parents have arrived...

Parents have arrived and all is well. My parents arrived May 10th and we have had a great time with them so far. Dad is driving the motorbike around Bandung and picking up Kaya from school. Jalen and Kaya were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa in the airport of Jakarta. We then travelled to Bandung from Jakarta.

So far I have just been showing them around the city of Bandung. The kids have already showed them the Bandung SuperMall which has a minature fantasy land inside. So Grandma had to ride the rollercoaster and Grandpa had to ride the ferris wheel. Great times.

Janna has 2 days of school left and then she is done. WOW time is flying. God has been good. Thanks again for all your support.

Curve Ball...

Please continue to pray for us as we live overseas. There are certain stresses due to culture, food, interpersonal relationships... Right when you think you have settled in and are adjusting another curve ball is thrown, so please just continue to pray for us.

We have appreciated all your emails telling us how your families and friends are doing. Please keep the emails coming they encourage us in times of troubles. Yesterday was chapel at school and I gave the message, of course in Indonesian, and I spoke about faith. Interesting again to study about faith and the characters in the Bible that it mentions had faith. Hebrews 11. They had not yet fully received the promises of God but they saw them from a distance and believed.

Give us more faith Lord.

Singapore....

We have just returned from our children's doctors visits in Singapore. What an interesting/exciting/fun experience... The first day we arrived we checked in at our hotel and decided to go out and see one of the malls that we had read about in the "Lonely Planet" guide to Singapore. Going down one of the escalators Jalen got his foot stuck in the escalator. Janna had to pull his foot out and the blood was dripping off his foot. There were multiple people willing to help and so we found a clinic no problem. His toe was not too bad but the escalator had tried to rip it off!! No stitches because it was on the crease of his foot. So needless to say the next couple of days involved Dad, me, carrying Jalen around where ever we went. After about 3 days he was limping around on it again.

If you have never had the chance to travel to Singapore you should. It is extremely hot and humid, it reminded us of Papua. Currently we live in the cold compared to Singapore so that took a while to get used to. Probably the best part of the trip was when we went to visit some friends in Singapore and we stayed with them for 2 nights. We had a great time and our kids absolutely loved it. It is always nice to get out of the hotel and touristy areas and see what Singapore is actually like. So thankyou so much Steve and Lisa for your hospitality.

Also great talking with them about what God has lead them to.

All in all an interesting trip and once again we are happy to be home in Bandung. About 2 more months left until we move to Papua and about 2 weeks until my family comes to visit. Should be fun!!!

God continues...

God continues to bless us. We are so encouraged being here! We are encouraged with our supporters and the great emails that are sent. We are encouraged in the Lord feeling like this is becoming our home. God has given us a love for the people here. We are encouraged in how great everything is coming together to move back to Papua.

We continue to realize that we are Gods insturments. Our only goal is to follow Him and strive to become closer to Him. God takes care of the rest. What a freeing feeling to know that God is working on our side. At times we as humans think that we are so knowledgable, so powerful, so smart, so understanding, so incredibly selfish... We are nothing! We do nothing! God we need you.

Verses that have become real to me lately are found in Ephesians 4: 1 - 7. We as Christians need to remain united in the Holy Spirit. I love the first verse. "Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God." Man do I ever want to lead a life worthy of my calling. May we all be prisoners of the Lord. Amen.

Back to Jakarta

This past weekend we were back in Jakarta for MAF management meetings. No we are not management but since Jakarta is so close to Bandung, all the language students were invited to go to the meetings for 3 days. What a great time of meeting old friends from Papua. Janna and I are so absolutely excited to get out there. But we have about 3 more months to go before that is a realization.

One great thing that we heard during this meeting was where we will be living. That is exciting for us to hear and now we both can not stop thinking about the house and what we need before we move there. As MAF career staff we must outfit the entire house ourselves. So this is going to be expensive and difficult as you can not buy many things in Papua, so now we must decide whether to buy here and ship or wait and just see what we get.

Janna and I continue to learn language and interact with the people here. God continues to lead and we continue to seek Him in our lives. During the meetings this past weekend a pastor from the states came and spoke to us about John 1 - 2. John knew who he was and who he was not, and he did the work that God wanted no matter what. He also was so close to the work of God that he could recognize where Jesus was. Amazing. If only we could be like that.

Yoyjakarta

A city located in Central Java Yoyjakarta is a city that is close to one of the seven wonders of the world in the Buddist temple Borobudur. Jason Pratt, a friend of mine, and I traveled some 8 hours by motorbike to get the city so that we could go to the temple. What an amazing sight!! Built in 750 AD the temple is absolutly huge. The temple has 10 levels: 1 - 7 are about the worldly life and what you should not do. What happens is that people come and walk clockwise around the temple looking at the carvings in the rock. The first 7 levels are about worldly life and how to overcome the worldly. The next three levels are about how to reach nirvana. Very interesting. We also learned about the beginning of Buddism and Karma.

Close to the city is also the tallest Temple in Indonesia. Borobudur is the largest and Prambanan is the tallest. This temple however was built about 100 years after Borobudur and has recently been damaged from the earthquake 27 May 2006. So we were not allowed to enter the temple due to reconstruction.

We then traveled the 8 hours home and the last 2 hours were in the rain. Great fun on the motorbike! Hopefully soon you can see pictures on our website of the temples.

Jakarta...

Jakarta has had a flood recently and so when we went to Jakarta this weekend we talked to lots of people that had been affected by the flood. We had a great time in Jakarta with Janna's parents. We went to the local amuzement park and the kids had a great time. We also had a great time watching the kids, even though the temperature was hot, hot, hot. Jakarta is close to the ocean and so is at sea level elevation, this means that it is hotter than Bandung that is up in the mountains.

The kids said goodbye to grandpa and grandma which is never easy and we prayed for a great trip for mom and dad. We had a great time together with family and really appreciated the fact that mom and dad made the effort to come. Thanks.

During their time here we were able to experience and do so many things. We tried to show them some of the tourist attractions around Bandung, many of which we had not been to. All the while trying to keep up with language school. Language school continues to go well and we continue to be amazed with how quick our time here is going. Next thing you know we will be in Papua. We continue to dream about Papua and the fact that we are ready to go. Even though we are ready right now to go (in our hearts) we realize the importance of language. The last weekend in Jakarta I realized how much more comfortable I am in this country now that I can speak the language a little bit.

Hope everyone is doing well. We are doing well and continue to be so thankful that you all have supported us in coming here. Without you we would not be at the spot we are and we thank you.

Back from Pangandaran...

We took a trip to the south of the island of Java to see a beach where one of the tsunami's hit. Our family and Janna's parents went to the beach to hang out and see some of the effects of what happened. We had a great time talking to people and hearing some very interesting stories about what happened. I guess the water receeded a great distance off the beach and some of the kids were playing soccer on the beach. Some of the people playing soccer had heard about the tsunami in Aceh and that the water had receeded there too, so some of the children ran and told their parents. The rest of the children kept playing soccer and most of them were swept away by the wave. One of the ladies told us that her older son ran from the beach but could not convince his younger brother and the younger child died. So much devestation and loss of life. The government has told the town not to begin rebuilding because they think another tsunami is coming. The last one hit in July 2006. People there are beginning to get their lives back on track and it was interesting to see all the devestation to the buildings.

We are now back in school and coaching bball. The next little while sees us quite busy studying language, travelling for a bball tournament, travelling to return Janna's parents to the airport in Jakarta, travelling to MAF meetings, and studying studying studying. Is going to make for a quick month.

Please continue to pray for our health, desire to learn the language, and schooling for the children. Thank you so much for all your prayers. Talk to you all again soon.

Onto the next unit....

This past Friday Janna and I both moved onto the next unit of language study, putting Janna in unit 7 and me in unit 6. We are both continuing to work hard at learning the language and hope that by the time we leave Bandung we will have a good grasp of the language.

This up coming week we are traveling to the South coast of the island of Java to Pangandaran. A beach area that was hit by the tsunami about a year ago. It is a popular vaction spot for Europeans and Indonesians in Bandung. People that we have talked to here are not exactly sure what state of repair all the buildings are in, but we are going to go there and see it anyway. There is a national park and some surfing spots near by to where we are staying and so we hope to go and explore some of the different things that this island has to offer. It will be a long drive for the kids but they are happy when we say the words "swimming pool" so we hope that this will get them through the long drive. Janna's parents will also be with us.

We continue to thank you all for the support that you have been. The Christmas cards and presents were tremedous and were a real encouragement. It is not easy to be on the other side of the world for Christmas but all of you helped us with that. Thanks.

Our children continue to love school. One story that occured two days ago now is that Kaya was playing and somehow jumped off a very high place and has hurt her foot. She does not put any weight on it yet and has been crawling around trying to play with all the things that she normally does. The doctor did not see it as anything serious and so we hope that it will soon heal. Please pray for continued safety and well being as we live here. Some of the students that are on my basketball team have recently been diagnosed with Dingy Fever. So just continue to pray that God will protect. Thanks again.

Janna's Parents have arrived....

Mertua saya tiba ke Indonesia bulan Jan 19. My inlaws have arrived in Indonesia jan 19th and have been settling in here nicely. It was great to see them again and the kids are having a great time. Of course us getting them from the airport could not be without adventure. The Jakarta airport is not that well labeled and so we ended up waiting at the wrong gate for them for about an hour while they were waiting for us for the hour at another gate. Jalen and Kaya were so patient as they waited and waited and waited. It felt like they would never come.

Mom and dad brought us a bunch of Canadian candy which was great to see. I was pumped. They also brought gifts and other things from Canada, thankyou to all of you who sent them something to bring us. We are very grateful for great supporters and friends. Thanks!

We continue to need prayer for relationships and adjusting to a different culture. We are realizing that fitting in to a new culture is more difficult than we expected this time. We are trying to be flexible with everything but at times are struggling thank you for your prayers.

God continues to be faithful. Language school is going well, Janna is in unit 6 and I am in unit 5. Last Monday at chapel I shared a sermon in Indonesian. So we are seeing some of the progress. Janna continues to be great at the language and leaves me in the dust. However I do not need to rely on her for everything now. In Papua if we ever needed someone to speak Indonesian it was always Janna. It is now to the point where it is equal and I really like that.

Thankyou so much for all you do. We need the support team in Canada to keep praying. Thinking of you all.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year....

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone who reads this blog site!! We continue to be blessed by God's provisions. We have just moved into a new house here in Bandung and it is better suited to our family. Jalen and Kaya each have their own room and there is a room that we can use for our families who are coming in the new year.

This break we went to the south west coast of Java for the holidays. One of my friends and I rode motorcycles and Janna and the kids went in a car. We had a great week as the kids explored the ocean for the first time, learned how to dive in the pool with there goggles, and watched the fireworks that we set off. All in all a great time and there should be some pictures on our website soon. We hope that all of you also had a great time this season and we also hope that you spent some quality time with your families. We have been missing ours this break and are really looking forward to them visiting us.

God has been faithful to us in once again teaching us how to live as a family overseas. There are certain stresses that happen that Satan uses to break up what God wants in our lives. We are learning how to be better enemies of Satan. May we all be Satan's worst enemies.

Have a great holiday!!