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