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! :-)

News and Fun

Hello from the land of volcanoes, earthquakes, and rain!  

I have been busy at work planning the last few weeks of the year.  In my senior class, we have read the book, Cry, the Beloved Country, and it has been fun to get the students to think about social justice and how they are going to live their lives outside of high school.  It's such a blessing to be able to share the Gospel as the opportunity arises at work!  Erin's still doing the cooking classes, and building friendships and relationships through that venue.  The boys are involved in school- Kadin just had his Spring Concert - and it is hard to believe Jace will be five years old next week!  We have gone to the kampung where we installed the hand washing station a few times in the last few weeks, and we met some of our Indonesian staff that live there and work at BAIS.  Pray for us to be given opportunities to share, boldness to do it, and relationships to form which will allow growth.  Thanks for all your prayers and support- it is so encouraging to know you are praying for God's work, and our role in it.  

We have been busy lately, but we wanted to at least put up a few pictures of our latest adventures-

(Hopefully we can post some spring break pictures soon, and share the story of that adventure!)

Last weekend I took the boys to the kampung to play soccer- these are the kids we met at the school when we did the hand washing station.  We played soccer, and the kids also took us down to where they fish behind Jingga (our housing area).

Here's another shot down at the kampung river- can you find Kadin?

Today, we went to Bandung Treetop Adventure.  It was a blast.  The kids did one course, and Erin and I did the higher levels.... here's some various shots of the place and the kids-

It's a little blurry, but shows Jace having so much fun.  He tried to climb to the more challenging course, but the safety instructor caught him as he was climbing the ladder!

Safety first!  The kids (and all of us) had two carabiners- you always were attached to something- or were supposed to be! 

Here's a shot of me on the "red" course.  It was challenging, but not as high as the "black" course I did earlier-

Here's the family right after we harnessed up!

 

Two weeks ago, the special forces from the local airbase practice rappelling from their helicopter, and the boys and I went to watch it up close.  They were taking off and landing in the neighborhood behind our house.  It was fun to talk with the security and the soldiers!

WWW

This week we are on vacation, but last week we had Week Without Walls. It was our first time, and what a blessing! The whole purpose of WWW is to teach the kids (at BAIS) to serve. To that end, there were probably about 10 activities the students could join-everything from Habitat for Humanity to painting a mural at the army base.

I was part of a group that went out to build a hand washing station for a local school. The school has two faucets in a back room. That's the extent of the water they have available for the kids. We ran some pipe, electricity, and installed a water pump to provide 10 faucets where the kids could wash their hands and feet. It was such a blessing to work with the staff and students. The kids did an awesome job, and never complained! It was a blessing to see the faces of the local school kids as they saw running water come out of the faucets.
What's really cool though is that some of our students want to come back and play soccer with the kids throughout the rest of the year. Our group seems to have bonded with the kids at the school and they don't want to have this be a one time deal. God's working on their hearts and teaching them to serve! Mission accomplished.

Has it really been almost two months?!?  Sorry!
We have been a little busy, but we will try to do better with the updates!

We wanted to put out a quick note to let you know what is going on this coming week.  Monday-Friday, the kids go to school but have no classes.  It's called SEW and WWW.  (Spiritual Emphasis Week, and Week Without Walls)  The goal is to focus on God and then to teach the kids how to serve others.  I will be working with a small group of high school boys in the mornings after the worship and "sermon" time.  Pray that the Spirit would lead and that we would all be convicted to live more authentic lives for the Kingdom.  Then as part of WWW, I am in a group that is going to a local school (grades 1-6) to build a hand washing station.  We will teach the kids how to wash their hands and brush their teeth properly.  It's a lot like the mission trip projects I have done for years, but now I am working with local Indonesian staff and students from the school.  Not all the students are Christian.  Pray that this week they would come to know Christ personally.  Pray for servant's hearts.  There are 7 adults (all believers) and 15 students.  Jace and Kadin will be part of a group as well.  Jace will be learning service by helping wash teacher's motorbikes, and Kadin is part of a human video project.  The goal of the WWW is to teach kids to serve, so I am praying that they would see how God can use them even in small ways.

There is so much to get caught up with, but this will have to do for now.  Know that you are in our prayers, and we thank you for your prayers and support!  God bless, and we will be in touch! -mekj

Strength and Shield

"I am your strength and shield. I plan out each day and have it ready for you,long before you arise from bed. I also provide the strength you need each step of the way." excerpt from Jesus Calling.

This was my morning devotion. There could be not have been better words for me to read today. I just had to blog about them! :) I think it is so amazing how God knows exactly what we need to face each and every day! Over the past two days I have had a group of ladies over to our house to do some "western" baking. This opportunity came about because of the "small" Christmas gift we had given each of our neighbors on our block right before Christmas. My helper and I spent two weeks making pies to give as gifts. Most all of these neighbors had never had these "sweet things". We made lemon meringue pies and of course the good ole apple pie itself. I thank God everyday for our helper who fits our family so well and who knew how to make apple pie! Anyways...a few of the ladies on the block wanted to learn how to bake these pies. So we set a date and time and started to bake! It was so much fun. Although we do not speak much of the same language we had a wonderful time being together and learning from each other. Only one of the ladies who attended is a believer. Most are Muslim or don't have a religion at all. We all decided that we should get together to do this once a month! I never would have thought that almost six months after moving to Indonesia I would have the opportunity to have non -believing, and almost non- English speaking ladies coming into our home to bake- or even that I would have a helper that knows how to bake pies better than I do! Wow!

Back to what I was reading this morning-I was somewhat nervous of how things would turn out. I wasn't sure if things would go smoothly, I didn't know if I could speak in bahasa well enough to visit, etc.  All of these "worries" were thrown at the feet of God who knew that by making simple pies as gifts at Christmas time this door would be opened. God gave me the strength that I needed to make it through and not burn anything:) J/K, but seriously, everything went so smoothly. I could not have done it without His help. Please pray with me that this "activity" would grow into something other that just casual talk and fellowship. These ladies need Jesus and now I have a chance to build friendships that can, Lord willing, last for eternity. Thanks for your prayers and support. We love and miss you all, Erin