Merry Christmas!!

Hello Everyone!

Have a Merry Christmas!  We have already celebrated over here on this side of the pond, and we have been truly blessed!  God has abundantly provided for our needs and even our desires, and it is due in part to your participation with us and the work NICS is doing here in Indonesia.  Thank you so much for your support- the thoughts, prayers, advice, phone calls, emails, and financial support.

Here's a family shot of us all in front of the tree:

As things settle down after today, we will try to post some more pictures of our latest escapades!  God bless, and cherish that time with family!  -mekj

Hello from Indo!

Here's a brief update and some pictures- 

We signed a new 2 year contract! 

 As we sought God's direction for this decision, it became clear that God would have us stay.  While we would love to be closer to our State-side family and friends, we know that this is where God would have us be.  At times we dearly miss the chance to talk and share life with our family and friends back home, but we see how God has been using us here in the lives of not only the students I teach, but also fellow staff, and our neighbors.  It's as if the work has just begun.  I used to run cross country, and I always liked running looong distances.  I felt that the first mile or so was just a warm up.  It's similar to what we are doing here.  It takes time to just get used to living overseas, let alone working effectively.  We look forward to continuing working with all the people God has placed in our lives.  We so miss "home" in America, but the fact is, that the America we left is forever gone, and we are okay with that. Our new home is becoming more comfortable with each passing month- and that is a good thing.  The boys love it here, and while my work is very time consuming and difficult (at times), it has never been more rewarding.  God has blessed us with a wonderful place of ministry and we are so grateful for the opportunity to continue to work and live here.  We cannot do this alone, and we want to thank all of you have supported the work NICS is doing here.  Together, with your prayers and financial support, we have been able to share the love of Christ to many people.  Thank you!

We are coming to America this summer!  

We are in the process of buying the tickets.  We will be in the States from June 9th to August 3rd.  We are so excited about having the chance to come and visit family and friends in person!!    It's been two years, and while we are more "used" to living over here, we still miss America at times.  (especially around this time of year- Thanksgiving and Christmas)  We look forward to seeing many of you in about 7 months!  The time goes by so quickly!

Changes are coming at BAIS- Three big changes- 

- A new director:  Pete is taking a job at the home office.  He will be overseeing the directors in the field.  He will be travelling to the 20 different schools each year and helping the directors as they lead the schools.  

-A new high school principal- Next year, we will have a new principal for the high school.  Dan, the current principal, is heading back to Alaska.  God has clearly opened a new opportunity for his family there, so they will be leaving BAIS as well.

-BAIS will be debt free at the end of this month!  This means that a new construction phase can start in the spring, Lord willing.  

With all these changes, please pray for the leadership of BAIS and NICS as many decisions need to be made.  Exciting times! 

Family- 

Everyone here is doing fine.  We have been remarkably healthy, Jace has finally lost his two front teeth (just in time to sing that song for Christmas), and Kadin's turning into quite the young man.  Things have been busy here- both Erin and I have lesson plans to do this year, and now that I am more comfortable in my job, I am able to try more things, which leads to more work!  So I am usually up till 10:30-midnight grading or reading in preparation for the next day.  We all love our various roles and spheres of ministry, and it is such a blessing to see how God is using each of our talents here in Indonesia.  

Finally, below are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.  We will try to update more often.  The busyness of life has too often caught us, yet we will try again!  Thanks for your prayers and support.  We look forward to your emails, Facebook posts, and phone calls!  God bless!  -mekj

email- mesquiers@gmail.com

phone- 1 505 906 6008

Sunset at the end of the road in our neighborhood!

Construction near the end of the road- It's so much fun to play on! (The boys had just gone swimming and we decided to see how the latest construction was going.. we found a new playground!

 

The new road being built ends with this view.  This is probably two miles from our home, inside Kota Baru.

A neighbor's birthday party!  Most of the kids the boys play with were there! 

At what age does washing dishes become NOT fun??

Frog anyone?  They say it tastes like chicken.  I don't think so.  But it was not bad!  This picture grossed out a few friends!

The school always has cats around.  That's good.  They help keep the cobras away!  (that the the couple of mongoose on campus)  Everyone is in the process of trying to tame the kittens to see if they will let us pet them.  The are still pretty wild! 

I built a bamboo bench with nothing but bamboo, some wood, and coconut rope!  It's still standing! Yeah!

Another waterfall above Bandung.

On the way to the waterfall pictured above... 

The boys love playing right in front of the house!  

Lizards are always fun to play with!  Kadin got his first lizard bite the other day! (not from this one-- this guy is small!)

 

Top and bottom of the falls- This is in Bandung...

 Kawah Putih- volcano 50km from home

This volcano was cool- the water in the crater was a blueish green! 

 

Isn't the water amazing!  It was not hot, but swimming not recommended! 

This was our fist time to see a tea plantation up close!  So cool! 

At the tea plantation!

Favorite jersey day during BAIS spirit week!

We miss the firepit from our home in NM.  The boys loved the bamboo fire!

Oct. 31- I love to read character day!

Wow...It's been too long since we last blogged! So this may be a little long....

 Well, the summer is upon us, so we should have some time to catch up!  What a year! (school year that is-) As we look back over the last 10 months, it's amazing to think about the changes God has brought our way.  He has been so good to us- we have been so healthy this year, and we know that is not our own doing.  We have made great friends in our neighborhood as well as at work.  God has opened up opportunities to minister at home, through WWW, and by simply going to the local village to play and build relationships.  Both Erin and I have been challenged through Bible studies and personal readings.  And at work, I have seen the uniqueness of BAIS.  It has been a challenging, but rewarding year.  

So, what have we been doing since April 20th?  A lot!  We had Jace's bday party, the Senior Banquet, Senior Finals, a friend's bday party, Kampung soccer, baking classes, kindergarten graduation, senior graduation, "regular" finals, staff banquet, and checking out of school for the summer.  And those were just some of the events.  We won't go into details for all the events, but you do need to know a few things- 

•  Jace had a great 5th birthday!  It was not a huge party, but we went to an indoor play area downtown with a few of our friends.  The kids had so much fun playing in a huge jungle-gym/trampoline/blow-up slide.  They played for hours. 
• At BAIS, they have a senior banquet right before the kids graduate.  It's a nice dinner, and then each senior has someone speak for them.  I had the honor of speaking for one of my students.  It was touching to hear the various friends/brothers/sisters talk about their senior.  This was an event that started to clue me in on how different graduation at this school was compared to other places I had taught.
• On of the reasons it was hard for us to blog was that senior finals snuck up on me!  I knew they were coming, but I was not ready to finish the year out so quickly.  Then I had to turn around and start creating new finals for all my other classes as well.  Add in the other essays I was grading, and I had been pulling 1 o'clock nights for weeks in a row.  I would try to catch up on sleep over the weekends, but those became busy with other end of the year events as well.  By the time school was almost over, we were all ready for a break!
• The boys and I are still playing soccer with the local kids.  It's been fun getting to know the kids and having the village kinda get used to us being around.  On our last visit, a young boy and I "conversed" through my phone and Google translate.  Pray for us to have wisdom on how best to build friendships there without coming across as the "rich" kids.  In fact we are rich compared to them, but we don't want that to be the focus.  We simply want to make friends and build relationships.  There have always been a core group of kids Kadin and Jace always play with, and we look forward to where God will take these friendships.  
• Erin and the ladies still do cooking.  The classes are once a month.  There is a group of about three ladies that usually come.  It's a time to build friendships.  They love to learn new things to cook, and it has now led to our helper teaching other helpers "western" meals.  Those meetings start this week.  
• Senior graduation was something else.  It was like a family affair- the kids graduate and then there are tables where they have memorabilia and their yearbook to sign.  Everyone walks around talking and sharing with each graduate.  What was more amazing than the graduation was how often I saw seniors back at the school AFTER they had graduated!  I learned how some of these kids saw BAIS as not a school, but FAMILY and HOME, and they struggled in saying goodbye.  I remember graduating from high school and not going back- yet here were these kids that longed to stay in touch with fellow students and teachers.  The school here truly is something special- the kids see it as a home and not just a place of learning.  Pretty cool stuff. 
• After graduation, the staff banquet came up.  It was a time to allow us all to say goodbye to those staff that would be leaving so soon.  Just like the students feel like BAIS is home, so did the staff.  The dinner was also a chance to talk with friends we would not see over the summer.  
• Checking out of school.  All I can say is, WOW!  I am used to some folks being in a hurry to start the summer, but when 90% of the staff are not just starting summer vacation, but flying overseas a day or so later, it gives a whole new meaning to leaving for the summer!  Since we are staying this summer, we did not feel rushed, but I still had to check out quickly- because the administration was leaving the country too! 

That's most of the big news for now.  I could go on, but this blog has taken long enough to write for now!  We will try to post more often and be less wordy!  Thanks for your prayers and support.  God has been so good to us, and we lack nothing.  This is because of those that pray for us.  It is not our own doing.  Please continue to lift us up.  We need wisdom in knowing how best to spread the truth here.  We want to be deliberate and bold, yet we don't want to move ahead of the Lord's timing.  Pray for safety as we travel this summer.  We plan on taking a trip to Jakarta by train, to go camping with the guys, and go to Bali later this summer.  

For the first week of summer, we went to Singapore.  We had some medical stuff to take care of, so we decided to spend some extra days there since we had already paid for the tickets.  Singapore is only about a two hour flight from Bandung, but it is almost a world away.  It was such a different experience being in a country where English is spoken, and in a place that does not have traffic.  We enjoyed learning the transit system and exploring the different stations.  It was incredible to see all the cargo ships and container docks/systems.  The airport was amazing- more like a mall than an airport!  And everywhere we went there were huge skyscrapers and apartment buildings.  It was quite the experience.  

Singapore and subways.  Can you think of one without the other?  We just returned from Singapore, and the majority of our time seems to have been spent on the subway!  

The haze from the fires in Sumatra was severe.  It enveloped the whole area and made it difficult to enjoy the outdoors! 

The morning sun is just above the building....

The S.E.A Aquarium was awesome, but tiring!

It was such a blessing to be able to stay in Singapore at our friend's house- thank you White family!!

Here's a few more pictures from the subway and from around the city....

We  found a Subway, and dug in!  It was so yummy! 

A funny video of Kadin! Enjoy- he was not hurt! :-)