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!