We have returned from two weeks in Merauke Papua. What a great opportunity to serve others here in Papua. This year we were teamed up with a missionary on the south coast of Papua. The home of swamps, monsoon rains, crocs, kangaroos, snakes, not rocks, and HEAT! At night trying to sleep sweat would be dripping off my forehead. Trying to sleep while you are in a pool of your own sweat is difficult.
God was at work in the lives of our students again this year. Seeing how the students and leaders change on OE is just an amazing experience. This year another teacher and I led OE and it went very well.
Again I am sorry that I do not write on this site more. Facebook is taking over. If you would like to follow us closer please sign into facebook and look for me as a friend.
Thank you so much for praying for my family over these two weeks.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
One month...
It has been more than one month since I have written on this site and it seems that it is getting more and more difficult to do, especially with facebook.
We are more than half way done holidays right now and it looks like the rest of my holidays will be spent doing school things. I travel to Merauke tomorrow to scout out our OE location for this year. I will be there for 3 days with another teacher. Then I get back and right away have a board meeting. Our current director has been in the States for the past year with medical conditions and we just found out that he will not be returning. So once again the school must go into flexibility mode. This seems like our lives out here, flexibility. This at times can be extremely difficult for me, as I would like to make some type of plan. Usually you find that all your time planning something comes up as a waste of time as once the time nears nothing works like you thought anyway. One of the lessons I am learning here in Indonesia.
Well our Christmas went well. We had some neighbours to our house along with some Indonesian friends for Christmas morning where we had waffles and talked about Jesus birth. Jesus is often forgot at Christmas time and so we had a little prayer time asking to remember the meaning of Christmas and what that means to us.
A couple days later we had approximately 20 young people into our house to play video games. They are young people from our church that I have coached in basketball and gone to soccer games with etc. One of them had just returned from a 6 month "mission" trip to the south of the island. Great to see him again.
Some of our friends here have been going through some extremely hard family issues lately and so Janna and I decided to take them to the hotel here for 2 nights. Now I do not think that they had ever been to a hotel and one of their children had never been in an elevator, she was petrified the first time it started to go up. We hope that it renewed them to continue on for the Lord and that we love them and are here to help in any way we can. So much pain around us, we feel like if we can walk alongside of people here that we can show the love of Christ to them. Christ does not promise an easy road and that is why we need fellow believers to come along side and be there for us. What we do not need are fellow believers pointing fingers! So often we get into the pointing and not the helping. To think that I am better than anyone else is a dangerous place to be. CS Lewis calls pride the great sin. Lord take this great sin away from us so that we can be used by YOU.
Talk to you in another month. Or catch us on facebook. Janna has pictures of the things that I have been talking about here. See yah! Thank you all for being people who walk along side us in your support.
We are more than half way done holidays right now and it looks like the rest of my holidays will be spent doing school things. I travel to Merauke tomorrow to scout out our OE location for this year. I will be there for 3 days with another teacher. Then I get back and right away have a board meeting. Our current director has been in the States for the past year with medical conditions and we just found out that he will not be returning. So once again the school must go into flexibility mode. This seems like our lives out here, flexibility. This at times can be extremely difficult for me, as I would like to make some type of plan. Usually you find that all your time planning something comes up as a waste of time as once the time nears nothing works like you thought anyway. One of the lessons I am learning here in Indonesia.
Well our Christmas went well. We had some neighbours to our house along with some Indonesian friends for Christmas morning where we had waffles and talked about Jesus birth. Jesus is often forgot at Christmas time and so we had a little prayer time asking to remember the meaning of Christmas and what that means to us.
A couple days later we had approximately 20 young people into our house to play video games. They are young people from our church that I have coached in basketball and gone to soccer games with etc. One of them had just returned from a 6 month "mission" trip to the south of the island. Great to see him again.
Some of our friends here have been going through some extremely hard family issues lately and so Janna and I decided to take them to the hotel here for 2 nights. Now I do not think that they had ever been to a hotel and one of their children had never been in an elevator, she was petrified the first time it started to go up. We hope that it renewed them to continue on for the Lord and that we love them and are here to help in any way we can. So much pain around us, we feel like if we can walk alongside of people here that we can show the love of Christ to them. Christ does not promise an easy road and that is why we need fellow believers to come along side and be there for us. What we do not need are fellow believers pointing fingers! So often we get into the pointing and not the helping. To think that I am better than anyone else is a dangerous place to be. CS Lewis calls pride the great sin. Lord take this great sin away from us so that we can be used by YOU.
Talk to you in another month. Or catch us on facebook. Janna has pictures of the things that I have been talking about here. See yah! Thank you all for being people who walk along side us in your support.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Month of Celebration
We have just come back from a long weekend at the beach and it was a much needed time of relaxation. Getting away from the 'normal' is always a good way to reflect on where you are at and where you are wanting to head. I really enjoyed just sitting by the ocean and watching the waves roll in. Absolutely amazing to be mezmorized by the waves.
Paul Juneau and I went a day earily to set up the camp for our families and then spent two nights with the families. Had an excellent time watching the kids enjoy the water and sun. God blessed us with only a little rain during the nights. The tarps had been set up in such a way that no rain got into our tents, PTL. Paul and I had a great time figuring out how to set up the camp. I have now done it a number of times and feel that I am now confident enough to set up camp and that no rain will hit our sleeping spots.
Now is the push til the end of this semester. We have 8 more class days until the final exams. This semester has been amazingly fast. Our family is really looking forward to the break. We hope to not travel anywhere except around Sentani area. Flights are getting more and more expensive within Indonesia and so it is hard to go anywhere as a family.
Well must go to Physics class. Have a great day everyone!
Paul Juneau and I went a day earily to set up the camp for our families and then spent two nights with the families. Had an excellent time watching the kids enjoy the water and sun. God blessed us with only a little rain during the nights. The tarps had been set up in such a way that no rain got into our tents, PTL. Paul and I had a great time figuring out how to set up the camp. I have now done it a number of times and feel that I am now confident enough to set up camp and that no rain will hit our sleeping spots.
Now is the push til the end of this semester. We have 8 more class days until the final exams. This semester has been amazingly fast. Our family is really looking forward to the break. We hope to not travel anywhere except around Sentani area. Flights are getting more and more expensive within Indonesia and so it is hard to go anywhere as a family.
Well must go to Physics class. Have a great day everyone!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Another year...
Wow life is just flying by... another year of my life has come and gone and now I must celebrate another birthday. I feel that God has taught me so much in this past year I am not sure where to start. This past weekend I spoke at our spiritual emphasis weekend for the high school and I focused on Romans 1 and 2. The books that I have recently been reading, my experiences as of late and sermons... All seem to be pointing to the same type of theme. That is to die to self, stop judging, you are no better than anyone else, you can not do anything on your own.
Romans starts by telling us about the Good News of Christ. Why is the good News so good? Well because of the bad news. The bad news is then explained in the rest of chapter 1 and chapter 2. Chapter 2 questions the Jews on their thinking. You think you are better?? You think you do not do these things?? You think because you have the law you are superior?? Think again. How often do we/I think these same things. The bad news is that bad people are not out there... they are here they are me. I can not be good without Christ, but wait I know the Bible, I have Christian parents, and I am a missionary for petes sake. Doesn't that count for anything?? NO it does not. If we think any of these things save us they do not. CS Lewis says that until we understand that there is a Moral law and a Power behind the law and that we fail at keeping the law, then Christianity will speak. It does not speak to the people who think they are just fine, who know the right Christian speak, who go to church on Sundays, who are missionaries. We must realize that we are sinners at the totality of our being (Bonhoeffer).
Romans points out that there is no room for judgement in the Christian life. Judging means we know better, well yes we know better but do we act better. Not only do we do things that are wrong we encourage others to do the same actions. WOw Romans can hit in the gut. Some other gut hitters are verses like:
Romans starts by telling us about the Good News of Christ. Why is the good News so good? Well because of the bad news. The bad news is then explained in the rest of chapter 1 and chapter 2. Chapter 2 questions the Jews on their thinking. You think you are better?? You think you do not do these things?? You think because you have the law you are superior?? Think again. How often do we/I think these same things. The bad news is that bad people are not out there... they are here they are me. I can not be good without Christ, but wait I know the Bible, I have Christian parents, and I am a missionary for petes sake. Doesn't that count for anything?? NO it does not. If we think any of these things save us they do not. CS Lewis says that until we understand that there is a Moral law and a Power behind the law and that we fail at keeping the law, then Christianity will speak. It does not speak to the people who think they are just fine, who know the right Christian speak, who go to church on Sundays, who are missionaries. We must realize that we are sinners at the totality of our being (Bonhoeffer).
Romans points out that there is no room for judgement in the Christian life. Judging means we know better, well yes we know better but do we act better. Not only do we do things that are wrong we encourage others to do the same actions. WOw Romans can hit in the gut. Some other gut hitters are verses like:
- only those who persist in doing good - persist, seeking, these words mean that we are constantly trying to do good. So often I think well if I can be at 51% good and 49% bad when I die then I will be okay. PERSIST
- God will judge your secret life - ahh God is just and will judge our secret life. So the outward appearance that we so nicely put on means nothing?!?
- You teach others, do you teach yourself? So easy to say things but do we/I follow what I teach.
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