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!!!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, March 16, 2007
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.
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.
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