New Year, new attempt!

It's been too long, right? I have never been big on New Year's resolutions. Mainly because I used to make them and then promptly fail a few weeks later. So this is not a new resolution, but it is an attempt to at least give a brief update and throw out a few pictures...

So here goes-- 

Grace- (the last post already mentioned this, but a picture provides a more vivid view-)

While this did not seem like God's love at the time, we can now look back and see how He not only used the incident, but miraculously provided for all of our needs during this scary time. Everything went smoothly- from the operation, to the removal of the plates in October. Kadin has full use of his arm, and a story of God working in and through his life.


Growth-

August 2015

December 2015

It is amazing to see the changes that come in just a few months. Both boys are no longer just boys- they are young men. The other day, Jace went to the store by himself, picked up drinks for his brother and grandfather, paid at the counter and met Mom at the door. Kadin too is able to do so much on his own. He will be a mid-schooler in just a few more months!! 

Erin and I have grown too. Erin is teaching pre-K 3/4, and I continue with English classes. I have never been stretched so much as I teach the students here at BAIS. Every year is a new challenge, and each week gives us both opportunities to not simply teach, but to minister to the needs of the students and families we work with. While we do miss home- especially around times like now- yet we know this is where God has us (we just signed another 2 year contract), and we can see how he is using not just Erin and I, but also Jace and Kadin to reach those that don't know Him. 

This is part of what makes us feel sorry for our friends and family back in the States- the kids are growing up, and they don't get to see their cousins or grandparents nearly enough. But we have close family here as well, so again, we see God's provision and grace. 

Grandeur- 

Sumatra summer road trip- Bengkulu

Our family here consists of three other Indonesian families, and this past summer, we traveled about 2000km through the southwestern part of Sumatra. It was an amazing, and at times terrifying trip. (the road conditions there give a new meaning to the term potholes and crazy driving...)

Through it all, we were able to enjoy time as one big extended family. The boys still talk about the trip, and even want to go back! As the driver, I am not sure if I want to do that again, but it was fun taking a low clearance vehicle on roads that looked like Colorado Jeep trails at times! One section of 18km road took over two hours to drive- not because of traffic, but because of the road being so bad. It takes a different outlook to drive there- the amazing thing is not the potholes or twisted roads- it's that a road was once put there in the first place!


Gosh- 20 years of marriage!

How do you take a selfie again?!?

This past August, Erin and I celebrated 20 years together! We went away to Singapore for a few days and had a great time. It was the first time we had been without kids in over 4 years. It was so much fun to just hang out and enjoy our friendship. God has been good to us over these years, and we have been blessed beyond what we could have imagined. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

How can I possibly update in one blog post, what has been going on over the last 9 months?!? There has been so much that has happened, and there are so many stories and evidences of God working among and through us this past year. It has very little to do with us, and everything to do with Him. We would love to tell you more, and I hope that this year we can be a little more diligent about keeping in touch and posting. As always, please feel free to call us, or email us anytime. We would love to chat with you and let you know more details. 

A few final thoughts-

Over this break, I was reading through the book of Colossians. I was struck by a verse in chapter 4:12- 

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

I want to encourage myself and you to not just remember each other in prayer, but to struggle on behalf of others in prayer as well. What an amazing thought! I don't pretend to know exactly how that looks or works. In fact, I would like to do a study on prayer to learn more. But I do know that prayer is so very essential in our work as servants of Him. Please continue to lift us up- the staffing needs of the school in the upcoming year, open doors and hearts for ministering the Truth inside and outside of school, safety both here and as we travel (We just bought our tickets- we will be in America this summer Lord willing!), wisdom in counseling/advising those that come to me for help beyond English questions, deeper relationships with our friends here, for the boys and us- as they grow and we guide them as God desires.
Thank you for your support- financially and through prayer. We are here because of your faithfulness there. May your new year be one that richly reflects the Glory of the King.
-mekj

Time flies by...once again!

Hi and boy does it "fly by" when you are having fun and are extremely busy:)

We would like to start by saying thank you for your support and prayers through out the year! We weren't meaning for this to be a "yearly" update, but time got away from us. So we will do our best to give some short updates and highlights from the year...

October
- We started up our Good News Club once a week.  We had anywhere from 15-25 kids every week. So thankful for a teacher who was willing to open up her backyard for this!
- Kadin had his first set of stitches on his leg because he tripped and landed on a rusty old drainage cover lid. Thankfully no infection occurred and he healed quickly.
- BAIS held their first "trunk or treat". We didn't open it up to the community this year because we wanted to see how it would work. It was fun, but a little wet!  It was fun to see all of the cars and motorbikes parked under the awning so they could have the trunks opened up:) Hopefully next year, the community will be invited and this could be used as a witnessing tool:)

November
- SEW was held at BAIS for three days. This was a time when the school stopped all its "educational" activities and focused directly on the spiritual aspect of life. There were many students who joined our heavenly family during this week! PtL! Matt had the opportunity helping lead a young man to Christ this week as well. It was such a joy to be a part of His work.
- We spent Thanksgiving day in Jakarta with our friends working on getting our Indian visas. It was such a treat to get to have free refills and a yummy hamburger from Karl Jr's as our thanksgiving meal!

December
- This was a very busy month as it is for most all of you. The boys had their Christmas program and enjoyed performing their musical masterpieces:)
- Once we began our three week break we headed to India with some good friends. It was an amazing experience! We traveled starting from the South and ended up in the North-where we even got to play in the snow! This trip was very uneventful and such a blessing. It really made us appreciate Indonesia once we returned.

January
-We tried to get caught up on everything and tried to recover from the very busy break:)

February
-We were able to spend my birthday in Bali. We have decided that this is a great time to have a much needed break with just the family before the busyness really began :) We had a wonderful time!
- Bali was a great bday gift that kept on giving! After a quick trip to Singapore for medical things (a few days after Bali), I found out I had dengue. I had never felt so bad in my life. Amazing what a little mosquito can do to a person. Even after nearly 9 weeks, my body is still feeling some of the lasting effects of this illness.  I still get very tired after 5 pm every evening. Especially after a full days work. I've had some people say this can last up to 18 months! Yuck! I didn't believe them, but I do now...

March
-This month whizzed by! BAIS had their annual Week Without Walls. This is where the students leave the "walls" of BAIS and go out into the community for service projects and ministry. The group that we led went to the same local Kampung school behind our old development. We were able to paint a mural, have health checks done, donate a water tank, and build relationships here at this school. Our group of students did a great job. They came away realizing how blessed we are. They were able to experience manual work (remember, our group of students tend to have everything handed to them). They also were able to show God's love to elementary children who attended this local school. We were able to do so much during WWW because of your prayers and your donations.
- Right after WWW spring break began!!!
-God had other plans... The day before we were to go with some friends to a local beach about 6 hours away (called Ocean Queen), Kadin broke his arm and had to have surgery. Many of you prayed for him during this time and continue to pray for him. This had been a major life change and adjustment for us all. There have been many life lessons learned and I'm sure there will be many more to come from this accident. HE has been faithful through it all. PtL! Continued prayers are needed. Kadin is in Pt and had another surgery in 12-18 mths to remove the plate and screws.

April
-We had a wonderful Easter with our BAIS family. We celebrated His resurrection here at the school. We also had activities for the children and a potluck on this day. We are so blessed!
-We moved into a new home in a different development. The prices of housing continue to increase. Our previous landlord went up too much for the size of the home we were previously renting. For the price she was asking, we found a home in a different development that is bigger and fits our families needs better. We were saddened to leave Jingga, but are excited to make new friends and build different relationships. Our friends in Jingga are forever our friends! The relationships we built there will continue to remain strong! PtL Be praying that we can be a light now in Naganingrum (Naga) :)
- Good News Club ended well. We are already talking and praying about next year.
- Jace turned 7! We had our first bbq at our new house. Lots of friends came to celebrate with us.  It was fun!
- I took on a teaching position that was offered by BAIS for next year. I will be teaching the preschool morning class. I will have no more than 10 three and four year olds:) I'm looking forward to this neat opportunity!
- May is crazy here! So many things going on. Be praying that the year ends well and that we continue strong for His glory!
-June 4th will be here before we know it! This will be our last day of school! Then summer break. The plans are to go on a road trip to Sumatra (island next to us). We will blog about that later;)

Hopefully we will be able to be more consistent with posts once summer begins! Pictures will be posted soon for each month. Thanks for your prayers and support! We miss you all, but we know that this is where we are to be during this season of our lives. Email or call anytime. If you ever want to come visit a tropical island, you always have a place to stay! In His Love, mekj

Some pictures for everyone--

Thanks, Amu for taking the family pictures!!

Add caption

A typical Saturday- fun with friends!  We washed and lubed the bikes!

Most days after school, the kids all get together and play around at the BAIS playground!

First day of school! 

Time sure does fly by!

Well, we arrived back in Indonesia on Aug 5th! We enjoyed our overnight stay in Japan and didn't feel too bad as we entered into our home around 3am.The flight home was uneventful! We thank God for the time we were able to spend with friends and family over the summer.

As soon as we arrived home the boys went straight to their play room and we started to unpack. Jet lag was definitely felt more by all coming back to Indonesia than going to the states. Our break was over. We started school in service on Aug 11th and the kids started school on Aug 14th. Ever since then we have been pretty busy. We cannot believe it is almost October! Time sure does fly by!

To get you caught up a little on what we are all doing this year - -
Erin is working at BAIS the first 3 hours of the day. She has a few hours in between her "work schedule" and her Indonesian class. During her free hours she is meeting with her accountability partner, preparing for the Good News Club (that starts Sept 18th and will meet every Thursday), meeting with a group of Korean mothers to teach English to, and is trying to eat lunch with each boy at least once a month. She enjoys her schedule and enjoys what she is able to do.
Matt is continuing to teach English to the middle school and high school students at BAIS. He has 5 classes a day. He is also taking Indonesian classes once a day for the first time! Matt is also helping out with a guys study once a week during lunch, mentoring a student once a week after school, helping out with an English class once a month, and tries to play soccer with the neighborhood guys twice a month. He tries to use his time wisely since he doesn't have much of it:)
Kadin is in 4th grade this year. He is one of two boys in his class of 12 students. He is having to learn how to manage his time wisely due to the amount of homework he has this year. He is doing his best and continues to excel. He enjoys playing soccer with the neighborhood kids and would like to try out for the swim team when the time comes.
Jace is in 1st grade this year. He is one of 10 boys in his class of 14. He is also having to learn how to manage his time. He also has quite a bit of homework each day. He enjoys playing outside and enjoys soccer as well.  He is doing really well.

Well, that's our schedule!  We continue to build relationships with friends and family over here. God has placed us in a very unique community which we are very thankful and grateful for. We thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Although we love where we have been placed for this season in our lives, we truly miss all of you and wish we were closer. We will end with some prayer requests as you remember us in your prayers - -
-prayer for the Good News Club that is held every Thursday from 4-5:30
-prayer for us to make the most of every opportunity set before us
-prayer to be able to balance our busy schedules, continuing to take time for Him and our family
-prayer for continued health
-prayer for continued safety

Thank you once again for your prayers and support. Have a blessed day!!! Mekj

Tomorrow morning we leave for home (or Indo, or our other home....what do we call it?)  It's been a blessing to be here in America and at home with our friends and family Stateside.  We look forward to meeting our friends in our other home back home in Indonesia!  But before we leave, we wanted to give a shout-out to all the great food places we have visited!

Soooo, in honor of American food, here's a list of where we have eaten in the last 60 days!  It's also the reason we have not lost any weight like we had hoped!  It's been fun eating at all those places we missed!  What's your favorite place to eat??

God bless, and let's stay in touch!  -mekj

A little taste of America--
Taco Bell
Rosa's
Francos
Henry's
Taco Villa
Sonic
Whataburger
5 Guys
Papa Murphy's
Zetners Daughter
Chick fil a
Mcd's
Little Caesar's
Chilies
Red Lobster
Rudy's
Blakes
Churches
Subway
Schlotsky's
Johnny Carinos
Loan Star Hamburger
Pei Wei
Frozen Yogurt with toppings
Donut Stop
And many of these places were gone to multiple times this summer!

Greetings again everyone!  We are now back in Texas, and will be in San Angelo for about a week.  We speak at Angelo Bible Church on the 20th of July, so you can be praying for us as we try to paint a picture of what God is doing in Indonesia.  It's been a busy summer- 4500+ miles and about another 500 to go!  Our time in NM was especially fun!  We will post pictures of that later!  Here are some picts from a few of our adventures......
Enjoy...

For starters, water gun fights are always fun! 

After arriving in Texas, we traveled to Georgia to see cousins.  Here we are at Vicksburg to check out the memorial park.....

  

On the way back to Texas, we stopped at the USS Alabama- it was a slight detour!!

next to the Alabama was the USS Drum, a WWII sub... 

We have added 4500 miles to my dad's car- Thanks DAD!- here's a pict of one of the state rest stops we checked out.... 

Ah, to have a riding mower- every boy's (man's) dream!

Amarillo is the headquarters for the American Quarter Horse Association... here is one of the many horses that you'll find throughout the city.... 

fun with cousins!  

God's grace!  See the blown tire?  It happened as we tried to pass at 75mph...  No one was hurt!  Thank you, Lord!

At the Durango museum... cool display.... 

We have been taking pictures of the boys with this bear since they were little.... 

The train in Silverton.... 

Site of the epic snowball fight... FYI- Dad won!  ;-)

Ahh, cherries!  Yum!  

Playing at Dana's house!  The dirt in the background was the site of several dirt clod battles....

Waiting for the parade to start in Ouray... Carl drove, and we threw candy!

The start of the parade in Ouray- lots of fun! 

Waiting for the fireworks to begin... (at Ouray, CO)

the view as we head to Red Mountain Pass... one of the only sections of flat road for 30 miles!

Pict from a pass on the way back to Farmington....

At the hotel in Aztec.... we have only stayed in hotels 4 times this whole summer!  Thanks to everyone who let us stay with them!!!

In case you didn't know.... We are in the States!  We have been busy travelling, spending time with family, and getting caught up on our doctor visits.  The kids have especially enjoyed going to multiple parks and swimming pools, going to two different churches, and trying out American fast food!  God has been good, and we are excited to meet many of you over the next month and a half!!  Currently we are in the Denton, Texas area, but we will be traveling to the Southwest later this week.  I will try to post some pictures of our adventures later, but for now, we wanted to at least post a quick hello- since it's been waaay to long since we said anything at all!  Here's a rough outline of where we will be over the next few weeks-

at Jakarta- ready to start the trip!

CO/NM- End of June to early July (We will speak at Crosslands
on July 6th)
San Angelo, Texas- July 13-21 (speaking at ABC on July 20th)
Denton, Texas- July-August

Erin has a new phone number as well- feel free to email us if you want it!  -mekj

The Latest

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!!  

It is amazing how quickly the time goes by!  We have now been here in Indonesia for a year and a half!  The first six months are a blur as we struggled with transitioning to the new culture and job, but now we are finding ourselves not even noticing things we used to think were so different or alarming!  Our family is doing well, and we have been blessed by God beyond our expectations!  God has been so good to us and we are so thankful for the chance to work here with NICS at BAIS.  

Perhaps one of the biggest pieces of news for our family is the fact that we now have a car!  It has been a blessing to be able to drive the kids in the car instead of being out in the rain on a motorbike!  Having a car has enabled us to have much more freedom in being able to go where we need to go in a safer vehicle.  It's a Honda Brio, a car made in Indonesia and part of a low cost, green car program on the island.  Before we started shopping for a vehicle, I did not know that many of the cars here are three cylinder vehicles!  This one has four, and gets us around town just fine.  We thank God for the blessing of a car.  

The car was an early Christmas gift of sorts, and the other big blessing was Erin's parents coming to visit!! The kids have loved having them here to talk to face to face, and it has been fun watching them together.

Here's some picts of our latest adventures!

We started out the Christmas break with the boys!  We headed to our friend's house.  I usually don't ride with this many kiddos on the bike at once!  (but it is possible!)

We had a couple days to relax before Erin's parents came on the 24th.  The kids were so excited to pick them up at the Jakarta airport!  Our good friend, Amu, graciously drove us there to them up.  Her parent's flight had been delayed from the start in Dallas, so their whole original itinerary was ditched.  But the flight was uneventful, and everyone was very helpful.  They arrived in the afternoon instead of in the morning, which just meant they got to experience the traffic of Jakarta!  We even took a side road "short-cut" courtesy of Google Maps.  It actually worked out, and we all got to see a part of the town we normally wouldn't- complete with an open air market!    

at the airport!

After a couple of days, we took the family to a neat restaurant up in the Lembang area.  Kampung Daun is a popular place, and has pretty good food!  Everyone made it there before me.  I had to take the car in for its 1000km service (yes, the service schedule is different here-) and was stuck in another part of town that morning.  As I drove up to the restaurant, I was stuck in Bandung traffic- for three hours!  It was a nice place to relax after the traffic.  

Chee (Erin's dad) likes to play soccer with the kids.  The grandparents enjoyed seeing the boys' friends as they came to visit.  Jace learned to ride a bike over the break as well, so now he and Kadin are not only soccer buddies, but bike buddies!

One of the things we like to do with Nali and Chee is to play "42."  Here, Chee is teaching the boys how to play dominoes....

Earlier this week, Kadin had to go to the hospital due to his chest congestion.  When we left, this beauty was sitting in the lot near our car.  It's neat to see the older Jeeps and Toyotas here on the island.  This one was done up particularly well.  It reminded me of the Jeeps we had back home, and the fun adventures we had...

Curug Cimahi is a popular local waterfall.  It's kinda in the heart of the city, which makes it all the more amazing.  It's height is about 85 meters....   I had gone there at the end of summer with the new teachers, but this time it was with the whole family! The boys loved swimming in the area- they were all over the rocks and in the water- and stayed pretty dry- except for Jace- he slipped and fell in!  He dried off pretty quick, and we had a change of clothes!

Just the other day we went right downtown- the ladies to the mall, and Amu and I to a play center in the mall.  The kids had such a blast and were totally worn out.  Here's a shot of them as they zone out while waiting for the pizza to come!  (yes, this is Pizza Hut!) 

That's just the last week or so..... We will try to add some more later, but for now, we want to at least get something up for everyone to enjoy.... (besides- I have to figure out how to transfer some other photos first!)

Have an awesome new year!!  -mekj

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!