The latest pictures from our trip

Last week we went to Yogyakarta-

We visited Borobudor, a silver factory, and one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia.  It was a busy week of traveling and site-seeing.  Here's some of the stuff we saw!  Enjoy!

 After driving for about 4 hours, we arrived in Banjar.  We stopped to eat, and we took a few pictures.  There was a nice J40 Toyota Jeep across from where we ate, so I had to take a picture!  Later we went to a village at the foot of the volcano where there were a ton of Toyota and Willys Jeeps.

Here are some shots of us at Borobudor.  It's the most visited tourist site in Indonesia.  It was hot and there were a lot of folks everywhere.  But it was fun to be there and the site was amazing!

Everyone going to the temple had to wear the garments around the waist....  The temple was several levels- square at the bottom and 3 circular levels at top....

Next, we walked near the foothills of Merapi.  The volcano erupted in 2010, and over 300 people were killed over the month-long series of eruptions....

 The volcano is somewhere behind the cloud of smoke...





The foundation of a house can be seen in this picture- the flag indicates that someone was buried by the debris when the flow came rushing down the mountain.....

Here's a shot of Merapi from a distance.  We were never terribly close to the mountain, but we did walk around old roads, and previous pyroclastic flows.  Here's a picture of a house we walked by.....

 After the volcano in the morning, we went to a silver factory- where they made everything from earrings to horse-draw carriages from silver.  It was interesting to see how they worked with the silver, since we have often watched our Navajo friends make their jewelry.  They used silver wire to make everything, and I didn't see many stamps or bigger sheets of silver like we would if we watched our friends in New Mexico make jewelry.

The airplane was pretty amazing- the cockpit opens to reveal a silver pilot too! 

 On the way back home, we detoured to a beach.  (it was a slight 5 hour detour!)

The crabs made some cool patterns on the sand!

The beach was not very crowded, but it also wasn't the most beautiful sandy beach we had ever been to....  Apparently our driver did not want to take us there because of the prison island that was located a few miles away!  We were the only Bules (white person) around.

Our friends Amu and Hani on the boat--

The boys had such fun, chasing the waves, feeling the current, and simply messing around! 

We took a brief boat ride and then played at the beach.  The waves were kind of big, and it appeared that there was a drop-off, so we let the kids play near the shore, but not swim.  Everyone had a blast! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

I talked with a good friend today and he asked a great question.  I was talking about how different it was here and how we are all adjusting.  He asked, "If you could do it all again, would you still go?"  Without hesitation, I said yes.  He said, "Then you are doing the right thing."  While it is hard at times  to be here- especially around Christmas- we know this is what is best for our family right now, and we are convinced it's part of God's plan.  We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and tell you how much we appreciate your thoughts and prayers!  Have a great Christmas break and New Year!

At Mason Pine, where the kids like to swim---

Jace being goofy at home!

Kadin on the way to his Christmas program at church- 

About two weeks ago, we had the staff Christmas breakfast.  The kids played games and we sang some Christmas songs.... Erin got this video of Jingle bells.

God bless and have a wonderful Christmas! -mekj

Maaf

Maaf is "sorry" in Indonesian. We didn't realize it had been so long since we last posted. Time sure does fly by! We have continued to speed along on this fast paced life style! I will try my best to catch everyone up on what has been going on this last month.

We will start with "the boys"...Jace is continuing to enjoy school. He especially likes his Mandarin class. His teacher says he is a great to have in class and that he enjoys telling everyone about Jesus! He enjoys playing in the puddles during and/or after a rain. Jace lost his two bottom teeth this past month too. The tooth fairy even comes to Indonesia:) A whopping 10,000 rupiah for each tooth (that's $1 USD)! A 10,000 rupiah bill just seems to be so much more than a $1 bill to a 4 year old.  Jace is enjoying his time here, but says he misses America and Great Wolf Lodge.

Kadin continues to go to school:) Unlike Jace, he does not have quite the enthusiasm his little brother does. This could be because he has much more to do in second grade:) He is continuing to excel in math and enjoys reading Star Wars books. Kadin looks forward to swimming and soccer lessons every week. He was sick most of the month of October with what turned out to be bronchitis. He was almost the first in our family to have an appointment at the rumah sakit (hospital-I actually was the first...) The hospital was actually very good. The staff was very helpful and friendly. We were fortunate that the doctor working in the ER the day Kadin went in spoke very good English.  He is so much better now. Please continue to pray for his adjustment to school, his classmates. and his behavior at home. "Boys will always be boys" as he keeps telling me!

Matt is kept very busy with school and other "outside" activities. He enjoys teaching his students and tries to challenge them daily with the Word of God. It is so neat that he can speak freely and openly about God's love. Matt continues to go with the guys from our block to play soccer every other week. He uses this time to build relationships and hang out with them. Most speak some English and none are believers. One of the gentlemen asked Matt the other day about Christmas and if it was really when Christ was born. This was really neat to be able to converse about this and about some of the other things that came up in the conversation. Matt has started meeting once a week on Wed with some men of the school at 6am for a time of study and prayer.

I am continuing to stay busy. I don't know where the time goes. I continue to take Bahasa Indonesian lessons twice a week. I am getting to where I can understand what is being said in conversation. I have been practicing with my helper and also with the ladies who live on our street. I keep telling myself that one of these days it will just flow from my mouth:) That is what I am praying at least! I have enjoyed meeting weekly with a group of ladies from school for a time of prayer and encouragement. I have also started to help out and volunteer with some functions at the school. God has placed many people in my path during these last couple of months-I am excited to see what He has in store for me!

We are continuing to go to BIC (Bandung International Church) in Bandung on Sunday mornings. They now have a full time pastor that is from Canada. They have been without a pastor for awhile. So this is a huge answer to prayer. The church has a good children's program. They will be having their Christmas program this Sunday. We have enjoyed worshiping there for now. We will see where the Lord leads as to where we end up.

There is so much that has happened and /or that we have done this month-so I will not go into detail, but will just "jot" them down for ya. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email any time. We love hearing from ya! Happy "past" Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for each and every day!!!

This past month- Matt drove a friend's car in the city and we are still alive to talk about it
-we celebrated Thanksgiving with friends
-we decorated our Christmas tree in shorts!
-I started my tb medication
-Matt and I had our first "date" in town while leaving the boys with a teacher friend.
-we started drinking hot tea in the evenings because the temps are actually chilly:)
-the rainy season is here and it rains every day (mostly at night)
-we spent many evenings outside our home building relationships with the neighborhood children and their families or helpers
-the boys had their first report cards and did great!

We miss all of you! May the Lord be glorified in all that we say and do! Love, mekj ( oh-we have been updating the picture page of the blog!)

Never

It was around this time last year that I uttered those words.  It's one of those moments that I can say I actually have learned from!  Saying those words and having that attitude ushered in a new period in our lives.

It started slowly.....
We were in Angel Fire, NM for the annual meeting in October.  My mom and dad always come up in October, and we always tried to make it to Angel Fire if they were there.  I was talking with Mom about some things that happened to our family recently.  She went to bed, and I thought everything was fine.  But Mom came down the stairs about thirty minutes later and asked me point blank: "Matt, how long do you plan to live there in New Mexico?"  Erin was at the table with me, and I looked Mom in the eyes and said, "Mom, I will never leave the reservation!  I want to stay here forever!"  This wasn't an argument or disagreement, but I was convinced our family was right where God wanted us to be, and Mom was convinced I may need to consider other options at some point in the future.

Less than a year later, we moved halfway across the world.

Well, God taught me a lesson!  I have generally been pretty good about the whole "if the Lord wills" idea from the book of James. But I have learned to NEVER utter the word never again.  While I still don't fully know all the reasons God wanted us to move to Indonesia, I certainly found out very quickly that I must obey, despite what I thought-or what I had said.  God is certainly stretching us through a transitional time right now, and while it is painful at times, I take comfort in knowing we are exactly where God wants us to be.  In fact, without that knowledge, I don't think anyone in either of our families (here or in the States) would be able to endure the separation we are going through.

So as you go through this week, remember the importance of not being rash or confident in what you think is God's plan.  He has a way of changing things quickly- not on a whim, but as part of his plan to use us for his glory.  We can't be used if we think we have arrived exactly where we need to be.  I spoke rashly with overconfidence.  We have learned to be much more dependent upon God's plan instead of our own.

Thanks, Mom, for asking a thoughtful and tough question.  It's amazing to see how God uses the simplest things to change our perspective, attitude, and eventually- our lives!  God bless ya!
Love to all- mekj

We are back to blogging

Hello, and sorry for the long delay!  We are trying to figure out a consistent day that we can remember to blog!  For now, we just wanted to give you a basic update.

School is going well for everyone involved!  The boys are adjusting to their new classrooms, and I am figuring out how to best teach my students.  The first quarter is almost over already!  Kadin has homework often, and I usually have a few papers to grade each night.  On Fridays, there's often a soccer game at school, so we hang out and watch the games before heading home.  Pray for Kadin as he adjusts to doing homework regularly.  He often wishes he didn't have homework, but what kid WANTS homework!?  Pray for me as I teach my classes.  I want to be sensitive to use teachable moments to instruct the kids spiritually.

Erin has been busy making friends and learning the language.  She has tutoring twice a week, and she works on homework between her Monday and Friday classes.  She's cooked a few meals, made her own Bisquick from scratch, and learned to ride her motorbike.  In addition to tutoring, she attends a women's Bible study and has enjoyed getting to know other ladies from the area.

Relationships- I am playing soccer with about five other guys on a pretty regular basis.  I usually sit and watch as my back won't tolerate much playing, but it is fun to get to know my new friends.  We play on Thursdays, which would be Wednesday morning for most of you in the US.  Erin has made some friends in the neighborhood as well, and she has a walking buddy.  Unfortunately, the only day they have been able to walk has been Thursday afternoon.  But they enjoy the time walking and talking.  It's great to have been blessed with some friends outside of our close-knit BAIS community.  Speaking of BAIS, we have made some great friends there too!  There are several families with kids our age! One of the reasons we wanted to move was because of relationships.  We are so thankful that God has provided friends here.  We still miss our friends back home dearly, and always will, but we are excited about our new relatives!  Pray for us to have wisdom in our relationships and that God would be able to use them to draw us all closer to Him.

Changes in general- While we have been here almost 2 months, we still find things that we are lacking!  It's not a major problem, but when we need something, we cannot simply go down to the store and get it.  Case in point- air conditioning for the master bedroom.  We know what we want to get, but we have to go to town to get it.  Luckily our friends are going to take us on Saturday, so hopefully we can get A/C in our room by the end of next week.  While in town, we will also look for hair clippers, as the boy's hair is getting long; standing lights, since the house is still a little dark; a DVD player so we can watch movies while Matt works on the computer; and other miscellaneous items.  Clothes are still things we need to shop for too, but we can only do so much during one trip!  The biggest change we have had now is transportation.  We both have motorbikes now, and they are great to use to get around Kota Baru (where there is not much traffic).  I plan on taking my bike to town one of these days, but the traffic is a little daunting.  Hopefully we can ride the bikes to church fairly soon, but who knows!  The boys like the bikes a lot, and they like to help me wash them on the weekends!

Lastly, we want to thank you for your prayer and financial support.  We live in a very dark place spiritually, and at times it can feel oppressive.  Please know that your prayers are crucial to the work we are trying to do out here.  We truly are not alone, and we need prayer warriors that are willing to lift us up in prayer.  God bless you all, and have a great rest of the week!  -mekj

Kadin on my (eventually his) motorbike!

Jace lost his tooth the other day!  His first one! He was visited by the tooth fairy and given the equivalent of a US dollar.  He was very excited!

Jace also wrote his name on his own for the first time the other day!  He was so proud of himself!

Sorry for the delay!

Wow!  Has it already been a week or so since I posted?? We are sorry, but it is an indication of how busy things are around our house!  Praise God for the chance to serve here!  Opening day of school we had a chapel service.  The secondary principal led the worship songs!  How many schools in America have the principal lead worship for the student body on the first day of school?!?  About a week ago, I went in to Dan's office. (Dan's the secondary principal) I mentioned how we were struggling at home with transition and the boys.  He stopped talking and said, "Let's pray." So right there in the middle of the school day, he prayed for our family.  Amazing.  After being in public school for so long, I am constantly amazed by how simple situations can be seen and addressed from a spiritual perspective.  It's neat being able to ask for prayer requests from students, and pray for their quiz they are going to take in science, or math class.

So we have been busy adjusting to our new home.  It's the main reason we have not posted pictures or blogged lately.  We will try to get better at posting, and please know we are thinking of you guys and covet  your prayers.  One of the neatest developments has been our neighborhood.  Thanks to a new neighborhood friend, we have been able to meet numerous families with children, and the kids have played all weekend together.  All told, we probably spent about 6 hours this weekend building friendships.  It's been great.  I have not gotten as much work done for school, but it is neat to be able to form friendships with our neighbors!

Kadin and Jace have enjoyed school, and they are making the adjustment.  Kadin is still not used to doing homework, but he will adapt!  I too have grading or work to do almost every evening.  I try to keep one day or so during the school week open so I can fully dedicate it to family.  But there's a lot to do when you teach five classes, four of which you have not taught in a while.  Next year should be a little easier!

Well, I need to close for now.  We will try to post more pictures and blog more often.  It's been an adjustment being busy and having friends over most nights of the week.  We either talk with neighbors, or go see fellow BAIS families down the street throughout the week.  It's quite different from our other country lifestyle!  We are about to order two motorbikes this week, so we will have transportation soon!  Please continue to pray for our transition-especially that the boys would make friends here, and feel like this is home.  Pray for Erin and I as we learn to balance the different things vying for our attention.  Erin's busy with Bible studies and women's group, and I have a study that will be starting up soon too.  As always, please keep our physical protection in your prayers- travel safety and health in particular.  Sickness is going around the school already, and we praise God that we have been healthy and have not experienced any major illnesses.  Your prayers are effective.  God bless, and have a great week! Thanks so much for your prayers and support! -mekj

Busyness begins...

Well, it has begun! The children are both at school, Matt is working, and I am at home for 3 hours a day by myself! So... needless to say I will have a little more time to keep everyone up to date than Matt:) He loves to blog so I am sure he will still chime in every once in a while , but for now I am going to attempt to let everyone know how we are doing and how you can be praying for us!

Where to start - Kids have been in school now for a week. Both Kadin and Jace really enjoy both their class and their teachers! Today as I dropped Kadin off a group of about six girls flocked his way to greet him(they of course were his classmates). He jumped right into conversation. There's just something about watching your little boy as he interacts with girls that makes a mother think "oh it's too early for this... " Jace on the other hand holds my hand tightly until we reach his classroom door:) Both boys are so blessed to have wonderful Christian ladies as their teachers this year. We feel like both boys will do just fine this year. We are just praying that they will be able to show the love of Christ to their classmates and friends this year.

Matt, as you may already know, has his plate pretty full this year :) Even though he is extremely busy trying to learn all the new routines, etc. he comes home almost every day and says how he still can't believe he is able to pray before class starts and how he can speak about God so openly! He absolutely loves it!!! The staff he works with are truly amazing and the students are polite and very motivated. It is such a mission field where he is at! Please continue to pray that he is able to find ways to clearly present the Gospel every day in his classroom.

Well, with a very quiet house in the mornings I am trying to be open to what God would have me be doing with my "free" time. There are so many opportunities for me here that I am praying God would clearly shows me what direction He wants me to go in. For now though, I am simply trying to help my family get settled in to our new home. I have been doing things like ordering curtains (since the ones we have now are on loan and they don't fit the full window-and being on the park we need some privacy), learning how to grocery shop,etc. I will be meeting a lady tomorrow who could possibly be my language tutor:) Both Matt and I do agree that this year should be the year I learn the language as best I can. This will then open so many more ministry opportunities for me in the years to come. I have a helper who speaks little English, so it can be kind of awkward and difficult to communicate through out the day for us-she has already said she would practice with me once I start my lessons. I am so thankful for Google translate :) So... be praying that this "not so young" mind can pick up the language quickly and easily :) I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve here in this location. God is so good!

Praises and prayer requests :Praise that immigration went smoothly yesterday and we are officially able to be in this country! Praise that we are finally feeling settled and making new friends. Praise that we have not been terribly sick (some head colds and some stomach problems, but nothing major). Praise that we have this opportunity to serve Him even in a place that is so dark. Prayer for continued protection to and from anywhere and everywhere (traffic is truly something one must experience before truly understanding) Prayer for us to be examples to those we come in contact with. Prayer for my language classes to work out.

That's it for now:) So much more I could write about, but will save for another time. Thank you for your support, both financially and more importantly through your prayers. Drop us line anytime!

Wow!

Okay.  It's been an amazing time!  It's such a surreal experience to go into a school where we open the day with prayer, pray at lunch, pray for each other, and pray for the school.  It's so cool to think that this is a possibility now- to be able to express my faith AND teach at the same place.  Now I know that  I could have done this at a "Christian" school in America, but we're in a country that is basically closed to missionaries.  It's amazing to think how BAIS has been given government permission to run a Christian school here in Indonesia!  God is so good, and I am humbled to be a part of this work.

About thirty minutes ago, we got back from a dessert and prayer meeting for our school.  We prayed for each class individually.  It was cool!  And we need it.  Thank you all so much for your prayers.  It is becoming more apparent how important it is to pray.  I mean we have known that coming here, but now we REALLY know it.  There is so much that can go wrong here in the physical world, let alone the spiritual realm that we so often don't even think about. (often because we don't want to think about it...)  So Erin and I are trying to pray more diligently for our boys, our actual house, our family, etc.  We have been praying that God would open our eyes to our need and that the Spirit would make us more aware of the spiritual battles around us.

As I was walking to work today and praying, I thought about all the people around me and the fact that many have probably never heard the Gospel.  There is such a need for the Truth here, and at times Erin and I have been frustrated, because we cannot communicate that Truth because of the language barrier.  It's neat, however, to think of the opportunities we will have to speak the Truth at school!

I need to wrap this up, since I have work to do.  But please know how much we appreciate your prayers.  Thanks too for the financial support!  We really need a team of supporters behind us, and although we cannot see you personally now, please know you are part of an important outreach!  God bless you and good night- or morning- as the case may be!  -mekj

Oh yeah, one more thing- the Pictures and Comments from Indonesia page-
I want to figure out a way to share pictures with you all, without using the main blog page.  So we did the picture page, but it always puts the most recent pictures at the bottom of the page.  We are up to 40 pictures now, so I realize there's a lot of scrolling to see the new ones.  I will try to figure out if there's a more convenient way to share the picts, but in the meantime I wanted to point out that you can actually click on the pictures to see them in a larger format.  Then ALL the pictures are shown below as thumbnails (small pictures).  You can scroll horizontally to see them and this may be easier to find the newest ones.  The pictures won't have comments on them, as they do on the actual page, but you can always go back to see the comments.  Just a thought.... night!

Meeting Friends

This has already been an amazing week!  It is neat to see relationships and doors open up.  Since we live right next to the park, it has been great for the kids!  The boys love playing with all the other kids in the park.  They have started to develop friendships with some of the kids they see regularly.  One of the kids our boys play with lives right next door- it's fun to see them interact.  The other day, I brought out the boy's Transformers, and they all played right next to the park.  I was able to talk with our neighbor, and he gave us a neat gift of food.  In addition, Erin has met other neighbors because of the park as well.  One friendship has led to another and we are starting to get to know our neighbors.  Erin met one neighbor the other day and told me I had to meet them.  So I went over after work, and met the husband.  He in turn took me to our next-door neighbor and I met him.  They invited me to play soccer with them last night.  It was a blast.  We played in a indoor-type arena. It was great fun kicking the ball around and just hanging out.  After the game, we just sat at a table and talked.  My two neighbors speak fluent English, so we were able to converse easily.  I hope to be able to hang out with them some more!  The next soccer night is in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I can go and be a part of that again!

The only bad thing about soccer was my back.  As many of you know, I hurt my back some years back (no pun intended).  I had some concerns going to play soccer, but I just couldn't miss this opportunity!  So I played, even though my spine started to scream at me five minutes into the game.  Then the pain seems to subside, so I figured everything was okay. Well, long story short, I am typing this with a heating pad behind me, and my back is messed up again.  We are praying for a quick healing, and I guess I will have to go next time as just a spectator!

School-wise, I am starting to put together some year-long plans, but I have a ton of work yet to do.  It will all work out, but these next few weeks will involve a ton of new work.  That's okay though.  I met my mentor teacher the other day, and he's also the history department head, so we got to talk about the Asian History class.  I now have a better idea of what to do, and soon I will figure out how to do it as well!  God's been good, as usual- so it will all work out in the end!  It's such an exciting and crazy time right now!

Thanks so much for your encouraging emails and prayers.  Please continue to lift up Kadin and Jace.  It's been hard for them at times, and we are praying for a smooth transition.  Overall, they have handled things like a champ, and we are proud of them!  But they do mention their grandparents (and friends), and they miss them a lot.  Pray too for my back and for me as I prepare for my classes.  I want to be a good steward of my time, and that takes discipline.  I will try to post some more pictures in a bit.  Kadin and I caught a huge lizard on our walk home from school the other day!  It was cool!  Take care and God bless! -mekj

Hello from Indonesia!

Greetings everyone!  We are sorry for the long delay in getting the blog going again!  We have been busy beyond imagination!  We've been here about a week, and our house is starting to feel like a home. The new beds and other furniture come on Monday.  We have pretty much been shopping almost everyday for something.  It's been quite the experience.  Thanks for your prayers.  Erin is feeling a little sick right now, but the rest of us are okay.  The boys are exhausted from their long days as are we.  I am not sure if we are over jet lag or not- we tend to still wake up around 4:30am.  We often hear the "call to prayer".  You sure can get a lot done before work when you wake up that early, but I sure have to start getting used to going to bed before 9pm!  I know everyone wants pictures, so I will try to work on that tomorrow.  I just wanted to put up something quick for now to let everyone know we are doing fine- just extremely busy.  Please pray for travel safety for us.  The roads are very hectic, and even riding a bicycle can be dangerous.  Pray too for our health.  We would like to avoid the typical traveler's diarrhea and other illnesses!  It would be great to stay healthy.  Erin feels a little sick as I type this.  Thanks again, and I will try to add pictures in a day or two.  God bless! -mekj

Just a few days left!

Wow.  It's hard to believe August 4th is almost here.  I said goodbye to my brother and his family today.  It was sad.  In a way, we have it easy- our family faces the excitement of a new adventure ahead, while our close family and friends just face the same-ol'-same-ol'. We know we will have challenges ahead, but in a way, we are ready to get settled into a new place.

We have finished our packing, and are pretty much ready to go.  We have 7 plastic tubs, and two huge suitcases (hello overweight charges!).  We also have two smaller bags to check in.  The boys each got a Spiderman backpack, and they are excited to take it onto the plane!  (They go around grandma's house wearing it often...)  Pray for us as we travel- we have a layover in Seattle and Taipei, and we wonder what the boys will be like by the last leg of the journey.  It's about 10,000 miles total- about 21 hours of flying.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!  We truly need the protection of our Savior, and we covet your prayers.  Pray too for my parents, my brother, and Erin's parents as the reality of our departure sets in.  Pray for us too- we will need time to cry and adjust, but I imagine the plane ride won't be the best moment to do that!  The big transition is on our minds now- we know we will have the honeymoon stage first, but then the reality of the culture shock will hit us.  Pray for us to treat each other with grace and understanding as we make the adjustment.  Pray too for me as I have to jump into getting ready for my classes as well!  That's the short list for now!  We will post more specifics as they come up.  Several of our PFO friends have already flown out, and it is good to hear how they are adjusting as well.

God has been so wonderfully gracious and good to us.  We are honored and blessed to be able to serve in this way.  Thanks for your interest and support.  I better close for now, but there will be more interesting posts to follow!  We miss you all already! God bless you all!  Don't forget to email us too!  -mekj

11 Days and Counting!

Hello!  The time is growing short!  We are excited about the move, but so sad about leaving our family behind.  We just wanted to give a quick update on what is going on currently...

- On Friday, we said our goodbyes with Erin's parents.  It was a sweet, but sad time.  We know we parted well.  Thanks for your prayers regarding this.  Her parents are now enjoying cooler weather in Colorado, while we are sweltering in the Dallas area!

- On Sunday we went to the evening service at Denton Bible with my parents.  As the service was wrapping up, Erin whispered, "You know, this is our last Sunday service in the States..."  It was enough to tear me up!  We were blessed to be able to have heard a great sermon and worshiped with fellow believers.

- Today, Tuesday, is the day we are selling the car!  Our friends from San Angelo are driving up to get the car, and they are bringing all our boxes as well. (While a Prius is a great vehicle on gas, there's not a lot of capacity to take luggage and boxes!) The sale will be our last thing to go!  Then we will begin the process of packing our stuff into various suitcases and plastic bins.  It looks like we will have a total of 10 containers/luggage.  Praise God that the car sold, and please continue to pray for us as we do our final packing.

- Our time grows short.  We have less than two weeks.  It's hard to describe the emotions.  After being without a place of our own for the summer, it will be nice to have a home- even if it is on the other side of the world.  On the other hand, it is sad to think that we won't be seeing family for quite a while.  It tugs at our hearts when the kids talk about how they miss Nali or Chee (Erin's Mom and Dad).  Pray for us!  We are so close to our departure that we feel the stress almost daily.  We want to "be anxious in nothing" but our human nature has us tend to focus on the "What Ifs." Pray that our time with my parents, and my brother and his family will be full of sweet memories.  


- As our time to move gets closer, our friends across the pond have been frantically preparing for our arrival.  We have curtains, a stove, a fridge, and a washing machine waiting for us at our new home. The biggest change is cabinets in the kitchen!  Yeah! Our house is starting to look like a home! And thanks to the school tech guy, we have Internet at the house up and running as well!  Check our the slide show video if you want to see what the kitchen looks like now!  A ton of praise and thanks goes out to all our friends in Indonesia that have worked to get our home ready!  Thanks especially to Wendy and Ibu Beti!  God bless you all!


Lastly, we are playing with video now.  I figured out how to upload to YouTube, and hopefully in the future we can post some home-made videos of what we see in Indonesia.  We don't want the blog to be hugely time-consuming, but we would love to be able to post more pictures and video as we move and transition to our new home!  Thanks so much for your prayers and support.  God bless! -mekj

Notice the Changes?

Okay, I promise to make this short---
We made two changes to the blog.  Both concern the items on the right-hand side of the page.

1. We retitled the "Organizations We Are With" to "Useful Links" and we added a click-able third link that will take you directly to our support form.  (In our conversations with friends, it became apparent we needed to make it easier to access the support form, so we added a link!)

2. Instead of an "Upcoming Events" section, we converted it to some items to pray for.  We will try to update this as needed.

Thanks for your interest.  We hope this makes the blog more useful and user-friendly!  Let us know if you have any suggestions!  As always, feel free to contact us as well- we want to know how best to pray for you as well!  God bless! -mekj 

Being or Doing?

While visiting with some friends this week, this idea came up- are we too busy "doing" instead of just "being"? Ps. 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." While we need to be about doing Kingdom work, there are also times when we need to be still and just be with our Lord. Sometimes our need to serve him gets us busy doing good things instead of waiting upon him to show us the best thing to do. I thought we would share that idea with you. Busyness is not always godliness.....

Speaking of busy though, we have been- in a good way! :-) We have been blessed with the chance to meet with several friends over the last week. Each encounter has been such a blessing! It started out near Longview, seeing some friends on the way back from Mississippi. Our most recent visit was with some dear friends we had not seen in about 10 years. It was fun catching up on each other's lives! It's so neat to see how God works through all his people - in such a variety of ways!

We sent out an email the other day to everyone- thanks for your support! We want to especially say thank you to those who also took time to respond back. It is encouraging to hear how God is working with you as well.  We truly want this to be a team effort, so please know we are praying for you all as well.

I don't want to go over old news, but we would like to give you some more info-

1. We met with the ABC elder board on Thursday. It was a chance to talk more specifically about what we will be doing and what our needs are. Please pray for the board to have wisdom as they seek to know how much the church should get involved. We definitely want the church to be praying for us.

2. The ABC youth group started their mission trip to Thoreau today. We think this is the first time we have not been involved in the trip in about 23 years. It feels a little weird knowing the youth group we've come to know over the last 4 years is going to NM, yet we will not be there. Please pray for the kids as they work and provide two vacation Bible clubs in the area. Satan would love to mess things up and discourage these youth.

3. We have about 6 days left in San Angelo. Pray for us all- Erin, myself, the boys, and Erin's parents as we say goodbye. This truly is a bitter-sweet time. We have made some great memories with her family, yet the time is so short now that it is hard to not think about our final day. Pray that we part well- affirming and encouraging each other, and crying too. :-(

4. It appears I will be on KCRN radio again! Jim usually hosts the show, but since he will be in NM on the mission trip, he figured they would call in to the show. I could be at the station, and together we can talk about missions-short and long term. Pray for the show to be an opportunity for others to see the need and role of missions. Pray for me too- that folks could see how God has used missions to teach and shape our family. Not everyone is called to move overseas, but we all need to be about sharing the Gospel and short term missions can really allow you to see how God can use you. The show airs at noon on Thursday. (channel 93.9 FM if you're interested :-)

5. Finally, praise God for he has shown himself to be faithful! Things appear to be moving along smoothly, and while the boys have been slightly ill lately, that's it, despite all the moving around they have done. Continue to pray for our family and the actual move/transition to Indonesia. We are in for a lot of changes. Pray that we handle the challenges and demands gracefully and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. (that way we show HIS fruit and not ours...) Pray for my history class too- that I will remember stuff I am reading now. 

I think that's it! I thought this would be a short post, but once again, I was talky.  God bless, and drop us an email! - mekj

Happy Past Fourth!

Hello everyone! PFO is almost over. This is a mixed blessing. We are all exhausted from the lessons, interaction, and late nights. It has been a great blessing being here and making connections. Even Kadin and Jace have made some good friends, and we are so happy about that! With the closing of PFO we have only about 4 weeks left in the States. We are praying for sweet times of fellowship with our family and friends as we wrap up our time together. It's kinda sad to think that we will be saying goodbye to Mom and Dad so soon.

Last night we participated in the PFO's "Almost Talent Show." Our team from Bandung decided to do a spoof on some of the things we have learned at PFO this week. We set ourselves up as a redneck family. If you know me, you know this idea was perfect for me! ( our days of living on the ranch or out in NM were a good pool of stories....) What was neat was watching how Jace and Kadin did onstage. They were absolutely precious! Needless to say, the skit was a hit! It was a ton of fun! Then after the show, we all went outside to the parking lot to watch the fireworks from Snowden Park. The kids loved it. The show was fun, and it was neat to watch Kadin and Jace interact with their friends. This evening, the boys will be part of their own children's program, and we are excited to see it. Kadin and Jace have begun to sing snippets of their songs, and wonder what the whole program looks like.

One last thought- how do you pray? I have been trying to start a bible study on prayer (it's by Timothy Keller) and he cites Jack Miller and the idea of "maintenance prayer vs. "frontline" prayer. Maintenance prayer is inwardly focused, short, and done without much thought (or heart) - it reminds me of the prayer we do sometimes with the boys right before bed. We are all tired, and we pray mechanically, sometimes without thinking much about what we are actually praying for or about. Contrast that with frontline prayer, which seeks to humble yourself, become aware of sin, and concerns itself with seeing/yearning for the Lord to reveal his glory. I know I am not saying it as well as Keller, but I just wanted to share how God has convicted me lately.

Okay, here's the last paragraph, I promise.... We just got our mail from PFO, and there are some returned prayer and donation cards. We have gotten a notice of a few of these, but some are new. So if we have not sent out thank you to you personally, please know we will be working on those in the next few days. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks for your continued prayers and support. God bless! -mekj

Visas, Octopus, and a Party

We have a huge answer to prayer - our visas have come in! It took a total of about 10 days from the time I sent it in to the time they were sent back to my parent's house. We were told to expect the process to take about 6-8 weeks. I think that if you include the work done in Indonesia, it probably did take several weeks. But we are so thankful that this last step has already been completed. Please pray for the rest of our team to be able to get their visas in a timely manner. God has been so gracious!

We ate octopus last night! Kadin and I just ate a small tentacle. We were at the Grand Buffet, eating out as a school team. Our family had never been to such an interesting buffet! It was a Chinese restaurant, but it included everything from pizza to octopus. The food was great, and it was fun to simply hang out as a team. After dinner, we went to NICS' home office. It was neat to see the place where the folks we have been talking or emailing with work. They have a wall with a map of the world and pictures of the NICS schools. I included a picture of Kadin and Erin looking at the map.

Today is Kadin's birthday! Erin has worked the party out for today. Just a few minutes ago we saw him and his friends having a party. I will post a few pictures below. All week long the kitchen staff have come out clanging pans and singing happy birthday to the (un) lucky person in the room. Tonight, the staff will have a small cake for Kadin when they " surprise " him. Even some of our Bandung team got Kadin a gift!

PFO is going strong, and we are learning a lot. We come home exhausted each night.

Below are some pictures - from flying kites to the party Kadin had with his new friends. Thanks for your prayers and support! God bless you and have a great weekend! -mekj

Live from PFO

Not really, but we wanted to update you on what's going on with our family at PFO....

First, Kadin and Jace are loving life. We thought they would not want to be separated, but they have enjoyed the time apart. We have seen Kadin interacting with the other kids in his class, and it has been fun to watch! Jace too, loves his teacher and class- during the initial parent meeting, he sat next to his teacher instead of us! So this has been a huge answer to prayer- Erin and I can relax knowing the kids are not just in good hands, but that they are loving the time as well. (We think the plan is to keep the kids so busy that they are plumb worn out by the time we get them back in the evening.....)

So with the kids gone, it's kinda like PFO is like a date instead of lectures for Erin and I :-)
For us, we have met folks we have talked with and emailed over the last five months. Within a minute of arriving, Mrs. Parks, our first contact who helped place us in Indonesia, came up to us and we met. It was fun to finally meet in person! On Tuesday, we met Pete, our director. Jace went up to him immediately and gave him a huge hug! It was cute.

We have also met our fellow Bangdung teammates, as well as starting friendships with other couples/singles. The classes have actually been useful, and we are learning a lot. We have learned how to pronounce "Bandung" correctly, too, thanks to the three staff that have come to help at PFO as well.

I started to write this last night, but instead of finishing, I started talking. Our host family has been so gracious, and last night the husband and I just hung out and talked. It was a blast talking with a fellow believer and learning from each other! Our hosts have two wonderful boys, and it has been fun to watch all four kids interact!

We have so much more to talk about, but for now I need to go. We thank everyone for your prayers and support. Have a great rest of the week! -mekj

This is Kinda Long....

Tomorrow we leave for PFO in Mississippi (this is our missionary training for two weeks)! That means half the summer is already over! Yikes! I don’t feel nearly ready for that history class, but I am trying to get some knowledge crammed into my cranium!

I have to recommend a book- Give them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick. My mom has read the book already, and I have just started it. It is all about NOT raising “good kids”, but kids transformed by the reality of the Gospel. The author asks a good question- how is our “Christian” parenting different from any other parenting that teaches good morals? If you are a parent raising kiddos, this book is a keeper!


Here’s the next thing God taught me(through a Tim Keller sermon) recently: How to see anger in a Biblical light. I don’t often think of God as an angry God. Our society certainly likes to focus on God being a loving God. But if you love someone, you will get angry at things that threaten them. God is the same way. He’s angry at the cancer of sin in our lives. He is still a God of love, but the Bible is clear- God is “…slow to anger, and abounding in love.” (Ps. 103:6; Ex. 34:6) Christ, too, got angry- at the money changers in the temple, and the unbelieving religious rulers to name a few examples. (John 2, and Mark 3) My problem is that I tend to be angry at the person and not the sin. Or that I let my anger spill over into excess or that I want to act upon my anger instead of letting God handle the situation. Keller had a great soul-searching thought- “If you look at the things in your heart that most anger you and ask this question- What am I defending? You will find the answer to what your heart loves the most.” (Because the things we love are the things we defend and get angry about.) Keller points out that individualistic societies put too much emphasis on expressing anger, and communal or moralistic societies tend to tell people to suppress it. Only the Bible has a radically different view- that anger is good, but can be destructive when misused. Even Paul writes in Ephesians “In your anger, do not sin.” I need to recognize anger is not necessarily wrong, but I must be sure to focus it on the right thing- like the sin in my own life. 


So while we have been in Texas, God’s been working! What a surprise! I wish I could have great nuggets of wisdom to share all the time, but honestly, my walk with God is not always that exciting! I have prayed that I would grow closer to God throughout this journey. Sometimes I feel like he is stretching me, and other times I feel like I am in a fog. That doesn't mean God is unfaithful- it just means we walk by faith and not by sight- or how things feel. As we have told folks about our move to Indonesia, people asked if we had peace about the decision. And at first, we would tell people about the peace we had. But to be honest, this journey has not always been peaceful- for a variety of reasons- and peace is not what we seek. I am sure Christ didn't feel “peaceful” in the garden of Gethsemane before the Cross. On one level he had a settled–ness about his obedience, but on a very human level, he was stressed! So we don’t look for peace as an indicator of God’s will- but he does give us an assurance that is hard to describe. Perhaps that is what Paul talks of in Philippians when he discusses the “peace that passes understanding…” It’s a different type of peace than what we normally think of….. 


Thanks for listening to my ramblings! It’s fun to see how God is working in our lives! Let us know how we can pray for you and how God is working in your life as well! We appreciate your prayers and support. The time is short now. We are excited and sad at the same time! Ready and not so ready! Please continue to pray for the kids as they adjust to being in multiple places every few weeks. Pray too that the visa process will continue smoothly. I was called today and had to send a copy of our itinerary. I guess that means they are working on it!  God bless and have a great weekend. Church family- please know how much we miss you all! Sundays are the most difficult days because we are reminded about our family back in New Mexico. Who knew you could miss Crownpoint?? Take care everyone! -mekj

Visa News

Greetings from Corinth, Texas!  We went to ABC in the morning, and then traveled to Corinth Sunday afternoon.  As we headed toward Coleman, we could see dark clouds on the horizon.  We figured the storm would miss us, but by the time we reached Cross Plains, it had started to rain.   By the time we reached the interstate, it was pouring!  A few miles later, we thought there was an accident ahead- all the cars were slowing down, and it looked like the right hand lane was completely stopped.  It turned out that everyone was slowing down because you couldn't see ahead because the rain was coming down so heavily.  We slowed to about 20 miles per hour and trudged along.  The downpour was one of the worst I have driven in.  (the worst was probably in Florida, a few years back when my brother Marty and I actually had to pull over and wait the storm out.)  Luckily, we had Rain-X on the windshield! It allowed us to keep on driving as the water rolled off the glass clearly. (I highly recommend it.)  God was gracious- we made it through. 

Now for the real news- On the 14th, we received our Telex Visa!  This means the long-awaited visa process could be started.  On  Saturday, we completed the paperwork.  Pete, the director, was helpful in answering questions, and the school sent examples of how to fill out all the blanks.  Hopefully, we did it all right! The consulate in Houston should get the paperwork by Tuesday.  It will take some time for the processing, but eventually we should get our passports and visas back in a few weeks! Pray for a glitch free processing and return- we did the best we could filling out the paperwork in duplicates, but since it was our first time, I am a little fearful of having done something wrong or having left something out. God's just teaching me not to worry!  Duh!

Our family is getting excited about our next trip- to PFO (prefield orientation). We will head for Mississippi June 23.  The summer is flying by, and it has been great to see family.  We have all talked about how we miss our friends and home in NM.  Sundays seem to be the most difficult, since we are reminded of where we used to be as we worship with others.  But we can see how traveling this summer is one way God is preparing us for the final goodbye in August.  Thanks for your prayers and support.  We hope everyone is having as much fun as we are!  God bless! -mekj

The Latest

Here's an update on what has been going on.... we've been a little busy and I apologize for the delay in posting something!

On Wednesday, I arrived in San Angelo with the Uhaul. The original plan was to take the truck to Amarillo and then transport our few boxes in cars and trucks. But, needless to say, plans change! So I ended up going to San Angelo by myself on Weds. I unpacked the truck, and then on Thursday, Jim Stanley picked me at the Uhaul place. Jim was gracious enough to then take me to the radio program he was doing! I was a little surprised when he said "WE" would be on the air, but it was really cool. Jim does a weekly hour-long call-in program on KCRN in San Angelo. Sometimes he gets a lot of calls, and other times not so many. But it was neat to see the "inner" workings at a radio station, and then to be on the air with my friend! One listener even called in with a question for me! (It was about if I was just called to be a missionary, or was my wife and family called too...great question!) The folks at the radio station were some of the nicest I've met, and it was fun to be a part of the program.

Since I had a few days of time alone, I started to work on our PowerPoint presentation. Jim had told me we would have the evening service to share/present, so it was time to get to work! Thirty or so slides later, we had our presentation ready. It was a blessing to be able to share with our home church in Texas what God was doing in our lives, and how we needed their help. We will meet with the elders of the church on our return visit after PFO. (The meeting is scheduled for July 10th, tentatively.) If you want a copy of the PowerPoint, email us, and we will send you one!

I say we have been a little busy, because in reality, we are simply enjoying time with family and friends. On Monday, we were invited to have dinner with a friend from ABC. The kids swam in the pool, but had to get out once the thunder started. For the first time in weeks, San Angelo got rain! (Of course it would be the day our car gets its bi-annual cleaning!)

Lastly, I had to share a cool devotional thought I got from reading Spurgeon the other day. The devotion was on Numbers 11:21-23. Remember the story about quail in the desert? Moses was told by God that the people would eat meat. Moses, thinking like we do, wondered how he was going to provide meat for all those people. God sets Moses straight in verse 23- "Is the LORD'S arm too short?" Why do we try to do things in our own strength when we have a God that is willing and able to work through us and for us? If God has said he will do something, why do we doubt or try to do things on our own? It was a great reminder for me- God's going to provide the way, I just need to trust in him! Well, that's enough for now. One of these days I will actually try to post a little at a time instead of waiting too long! Thanks for your continued prayers. Things are moving quickly now. We should get Visa info in a few days and that will be a fun adventure! Pray too for the kids- the transition has been hard on them, and just when they are getting used to one house, we will be moving on to another. Pray for Erin and I to have wisdom through it all! Let us know how we can pray for you too! God bless! -mekj

Cheers and tears

You ever had one of those weeks that was just packed with events? That describes our last few days! On Friday, we had a lock-in with the youth of the church. (A lock-in is where the kids have to stay at the church all night, doing all sorts of activities EXCEPT sleeping...) We tried to recover our sleep on Saturday, and then on Sunday we had our goodbye dinner at Crosslands. Monday we picked up the Uhaul, packed it, and drove to Albuquerque. Before getting to Albuquerque, we had to stop by Henry and Casey's house to say good bye one last time. (They leave right near I-40, and it was a great time of fellowship!) By Tuesday, we were in Amarillo, and today I am writing you from San Angelo. We will now live in Texas with our families for the next two months before we fly out on August 4th.

 So the last week has been full of fun times, and sad times- sometimes both at the same time! (did I use the word time enough??) The lock-in was a blast, but it was kind of sad knowing it was going to be our last event with the youth! Our boys loved being at the church all night, even though they did go to sleep around 1 or 2am.

Sunday was a difficult day. We went to church, and it was difficult seeing and doing things for the last time. Erin and I found it hard to sing the praise songs without tearing up- partly because the songs are so meaningful, and mostly because we knew it would be a while before we would sing with our church family again. Then we had the big dinner after the service. It was fun talking with friends and hanging out. There was a lot of laughter and smiles at first- until they had a time of sharing after dinner had been served. This was the beginning of the end- the part we have all been dreading as a church family for months. It was touching to hear what our family had to say about us. It is hard to put into words what happened. We felt honored to be able to see how we had impacted the lives of our church family. I say church family, but in reality, our church was our family. Most of the families have watched our children grow up, and two in particular loved to spend time with them on a regular basis. We would drop the kids off and go on a "hot" date to Gallup (laugh, laugh- if you know anything about Gallup!) Another family we have known for over 20 years. We have been through a lot together! Our pastor was more than simply our preacher- he and his family became close friends. His son and Jace have become best friends over the years, and it was especially touching (read: gut wrenching-) to see the tears as the goodbyes were said. It was not all tears- folks made jokes (about me especially) and we were all thankful for the times of laughter. But there was no denying the emptiness we all felt knowing that this was our last day together. The only comfort we had was the sovereignty of God. We knew we needed to leave and walk in obedience on this new path, and our family at Crosslands knew they had to allow us to go. So we rejoiced in the way God worked, even if we were sad about having to be apart from one another. Even as I write this days later, it is hard to find words to express our feelings. It was an honor to serve, and very difficult to say goodbye. But we will meet again, and with modern technology, it is much easier to stay in contact and make the long distance between us seem shorter.

Have you ever seen the Duvall movie Get Low? (The analogy isn't perfect- but we were blessed to see what folks thought of us!)That's what I asked our church family when it was our turn to speak. Being able to see and listen to stories about how God used us in the lives of others was a privilege. I told our friends that we weren't dead yet- just going to the other ,side of the world! Another thought we had about the Sunday dinner was how great heaven will be- there won't be the need for goodbyes- we will all be together, glorifying our Lord! We ended the event with the church laying hands on us and praying for us.  Then we began the tearful hugs and last words to friends we won't see for about two years or so.  We all cried like babies, but that's okay.  I am still sad writing about all this, but there is a calm reassurance as well- to disobey and not go would be far scarier than heading to Indonesia!  So we are excited and sad at the same time.  It seems like a paradox, but it's not- don't worry, we aren't going crazy- I did that a looooong time ago!   It's late- I better close for now.

Thanks for your continued prayers!  We want to thank our family/friends out in the Thoreau area for the wonderful dinner and time we shared on Sunday.  Across the ocean, our friends in Indonesia have started getting work done on the house- things are getting ready for our arrival.  Cabinets, window screens, internet, etc. are all being worked on!  Our thanks goes out to Wendy and Courtney especially as they have encouraged, advised and helped us get the house ready!  Thanks!  We will speak at Angelo Bible Church this weekend- it's the church we grew up at- please keep that in your prayers!  I wanted to include a few pictures of the move- the kids tried to help as much as they could, and then they simply played around the truck!  God bless and good night!
--mekj

Jace wants to help!

This is Uhaul's smallest truck- a 10 footer....

Kadin helped too (he's taking a break here....)- we used about half of the space for our stuff..... 

Fun in Crownpoint

Today was our goodbye party with our church family.  It was a time of sweet and sad fellowship.  Before I post about that though, we wanted to share some pictures of the fun we had in Crownpoint.  The carnival came to town, and we figured, "When will the boys get to do this again?? " We have never gone to any of the carnivals we have seen set up across the reservation.  But we wanted to create a cool memory of Crownpoint, so we took the plunge!  It was extra fun because we got to do it with our adopted family and their grandkids. 

The boys loved this one ride, so I took a few pictures.  Kadin got sick on another flying/spinning ride and that was a whole other adventure!  We will discuss the goodbye dinner tomorrow or the next day....  I am too emotionally drained to post about it now.  We are so blessed to have a loving church family, and the chance to create memories of fun.  Thank you Lord! -mekj

God's plan and a Kite

As our move draws near, we have reflected on how gracious God has been. Erin and I can see how the move to the teacher housing in Crownpoint and then the move to Texas is God's way of gradually letting us learn to let go.

Because of our unique situation, we get to prepare and say goodbye in stages. This is gracious of God. We have been allowed to transition to a smaller house, with less things, and now we get to say farewell to dear friends we have known for years. But next we get to see and live with family, while we have even less items to bring along. We will then get to say goodbye to our family. So we can see how the Lord is allowing us to transition in stages rather than all at once. Heck, by the time we finish the summer bouncing around between family, we may be ready to have a place of our own! (even if it is on the other side of the planet!) It's just neat to see how God has figured the whole process out, long before we had a clue about what was going on!

Next, I must ask a question - when was the last time you flew a kite with your dad?

This past weekend in Angel Fire was a great blessing. We found two kites to fly, but there were too many trees around the house to get them going properly. So we all headed to the park. Once there, the boys promptly forgot about the kites and instead headed for the playground. But dad and I were determined to get the kites going. With 20mph winds, the task was not too difficult. So dad and I got to play with kites together, while the kids played at the park! It was great! Of course, the kids did come over once both kites were airborne, so we got to create another memory with kites and grandparents. It was a fun time!

Finally, here's the latest - I finished my 450page history book, so now I am rereading it and going to take notes. I am also looking for a good book on the various eastern religions, hopefully from a Christian perspective. Please continue to pray for me as I try to catch a clue about Asian History!

Our house is in boxes, with the remaining furniture to be taken tomorrow. (it's kinda hard to cook without pots and pans!) We pick up the Uhaul next week.

We were able to visit and say goodbye to our dear friends in Cuba on the way home from Angel Fire. We visited for several hours before heading home. Without their help, we would never have been able to sell our house. (they are the owners of it) God placed them in our lives from the time we moved out to NM. Looking back, it's easy to see how our deep friendship was all part of a larger plan. (what an amazing God! and he has planned out the interactions in the whole cosmos -not just my life! )

Jace cried about moving for the first time. Last night both boys just broke down, shortly after putting them to bed. Some of the emotions were just because they were tired, but Jace actually voiced some concerns about the move. We were able to talk with both kiddos and reassure them. (it's good that Jace is able to talk a little about this stuff, so this is an answer to prayer, even though it's sad to see.....)

School is over! Actually, I have two service days left, but the grades are complete, and my room is almost ready for inspection! Praise God for this year. (we wonder what would have happened had I not been transferred to Crownpoint..... but then it was all part of His master plan!)

That's about it for now! God is taking us through the process, and it's a fun ride! Please continue to pray for us. The Visa process should start in a few weeks, and that will be the next big adventure! Have a great rest of the week! Hopefully one day I'll learn to blog shorter posts! God bless! -mekj

A few pictures from the trip

We thought folks would like to see some pics of our trip to Colorado.  There's the boys before entering the mine, at a waterfall outside Silverton, by the big bear at Honeyville, and the view from Molas Pass.  Enjoy!

Busy time

Sorry for the delay!  Every time I thought about blogging, other things came up - mainly the need to sleep!  The problem with going so long without updating everyone is that there is so much to say! 

Thanks for your prayers for the school.  Most of the teachers have been placed in local elementary or secondary positions, so it looks like no one will lose their job.  I am aware of only two teachers that still need to find placement.  This is an answer to prayer.  Continue to lift up the situation - it seems there's a new rumor every few days! 

Our family is doing well.  The boys are starting to verbalize their questions about going overseas, and it's a good time to explain things and prepare them for the move.  Kadin misses the lake house, and Jace is starting to figure out that a move is coming.  (it may be the boxes and sleeping bags have tipped him off!)  But overall the boys are adjusting well.  We keep telling them it's okay to be excited and sad at the same time- a hard concept for Kadin and especially for Jace.  Erin and I are also doing okay.  We have now had our goodbyes with several friends and family.  (last Monday a friend from Wyoming; this weekend- Erin's relatives in Colorado; tonight, our dear friends at the lake)  The long weekend trip to Colorado was a mini vacation for our family.  We had a lot of fun. We stopped at the train museum in Durango, saw tons of waterfalls, and visited family.  On the way back we went on a mine tour.  The boys loved it, although Jace was a little scared at times!  I was able to spend some quality time with the boys, including teaching them the art of dirt clod wars.  (Erin's cousin had tons of dirt at the house, and the clods were lonely without being thrown!)  While in Colorado, we were able to visit with most of her family and with our friends that have lived overseas for many years. (it was fun talking with them.... they were the first couple to see the benefits of moving because they had already lived overseas as well.)  I was also able to talk with a family member that's been to Singapore 27 times!  He gave some great tips on safety and planning.  The trip was truly a blessing. 

I better wrap this up!  We want to thank everyone that has given financially to help us on this journey.  Please know that we are encouraged and grateful for your support.  As we get closer to leaving, we are reminded about the importance of prayer.  We covet specific prayers for our physical health and protection.  We ask too for you to pray for our spiritual protection.  We cannot act alone; We need opportunities and wisdom that God alone can provide.  God bless, and thanks for your prayers! -mekj

The Latest

It's been an interesting week at work.Three of the rural middle schools in the district are going to combine with their nearby high schools.  This is due to budget cuts and low enrollment at the three mid schools.  Crownpoint Mid, where I work is one of the schools being consolidated.  There's lots of questions left unanswered, but the deal has been approved by the board.  We are praying for those that may loose their jobs or have to move to another school in the district.  While the decision does not affect our family, it does serve to confirm that now is a good time to move on!  As I sat in the staff meeting, hearing the news from our principal, and watching the reaction of staff, I wished we could stop and just pray.  Many staff, parents, and students are upset.  It's times like this that you realize what a comfort the sovereignty of God is.  Please pray for our school.  I want the year to end well, especially for the students. 

In other news, we had another moving sale today.  We had over four tables of stuff in the morning, and now we are down to just one.  We were able to sell most of our stuff!  We may have one final sale right before we leave to get rid of the the last few rugs, our card/dinner table and a few other items.  Praise God that we were able to sell most of the stuff.  The boys did well as they watched more of their toys get sold off!  Even their beds are gone!  (We call night time camping now, since they are using their sleeping bags!) 

I continue to read about Asian history.  It feels like I will never be able to learn enough, but I do know more now than when I started!  We have less than a month to go before we move.  We are getting excited about the next phase of our move, but it is also sad.  Saying goodbye is never fun, and we find ourselves doing more and more things "for the last time".  We took the boys to a park in Gallup the other day-we have driven past it hundreds of times, but figured we should stop and finally check it out.  It was their first and last time to be at that park. 

It's been an interesting week!  Thanks for your prayers and support.  We cannot do this alone.  Happy Mothers Day!  God bless -mekj