My journey to Indonesia

2008-07-07T09:29:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm not sure if anybody is still reading my blog, but in case you are, I made it home safely on June 6. For the last few weeks, I've been bummin' around and giving presentations. In a couple of weeks, I'm going on vacation with my parents and then I'm going to my best friend's wedding and then finally, I'll be moving to Orlando some time in August. If I get around to it, I'll post some more pictures.

2008-02-12T03:52:00.000-06:00

I've posted several pictures from my recent trip to a village. Please scroll down and read my post about the trip as well as looking at the pictures. Hope you enjoy.
Showing the Jesus Film

One of many tropical rivers through the mountains

The students in my group doing Kid's Club

My living quarters - mine is the one with the orange towel. We hung mosquito nets over our sleeping bags to keep the bugs away.

The Caravan plane that I flew on coming back to Sentani

2008-02-12T03:43:00.001-06:00

Traditional men's dance

Slicing open the pig

Pulling out the insides

Pulling the insides out of the insides

A "pork chop" - pulling a chunk of cooked pig out of the pile of banana leaves ready to eat - yum yum

2008-02-12T03:26:00.000-06:00

Work Projects
Fenceposts that we painted and drilled wholes in

Putting up the fenceposts and barbed wire after painting

Helping the locals shovel mud and rocks to widen the path

Working on a hydro-electric project

Scooping mud out of a drained pond - actually, we're just playing in the mud

2008-02-12T03:13:00.001-06:00

Hiking to a smaller village with my group

Crossing the suspension bridge

My new friend who always held my hand and helped me on the trails

My group's village

Me with some of the people in the village

The men who helped us cook our food - and this is the room I slept in with my four female students. We got to know each other really well.

2008-02-12T02:58:00.001-06:00

The Porter plane that I flew in on

View of Papua from the plane

Can you see the plane?

The crowd of villagers waiting for us

The name of the whole valley

2008-02-12T02:37:00.000-06:00

I just got back from O.E. (Outdoor Education) and I'm sick, exhausted, and so glad I went. I spent 12 days in a small village with all the HS students and staff. There were a total of 82 westerners there and I was in charge of a group of 9 students. We spent time learning the local language (with help from our host family) and their culture. For example, as soon as we arrived, we discovered that they love to hold your hand as you walk up and down the trails (girls-girls and guys-guys). We flew in on several small airplanes flown by our very own MAF and SIL (Yajasi) pilots. Most of the planes fit about 9 or so people plus we had separate flights for our baggage. You can imagine how many logistical things had to be worked out. While we were there, we also did several work projects, including building a fence, moving a huge wood pile, finishing a hydro-electric pipe system, and moving mud (not easy). During the two weeks, each group hiked separately to a smaller village for three days and spent time with the locals. My group had a great time getting to know the people in our village - I made a friend who was constantly by my side. We did a Kid's Club, which included songs in Indonesian (even though most of them only speak the local language, not Indonesian) and we performed a skit about the Prodigal Son after which we gave them coloring sheets and crayons to go along with the skit. Then we played games and gave out candy and bubbles and other stuff. We had to cook all our food on a camping stove and for veggies, we had to rely on what we could buy from the local people. We bought a lot of greens and green beans and cucumbers and they gave us bananas and cabbage, which we traded back to them because we had too much food. One night, we tried to cook our veggies over the open fire, but we weren't skilled enough to keep the fire going so a couple of local men helped us cook. After the three days in the smaller village, all the groups regathered and had a pig feast. We watched how a local man shot the pig with his hand-made arrow and then chopped it up. After that, they put the pig in a pit with hot rocks and vegetables (wrapped in banana leaves) and steamed it. Wow was it delicious. I've never tasted pork so good. The whole two weeks, we slept on wooden floors and used outhouses that we dug. Both of the girls' outhouses had to be moved after they filled up half way through the two weeks. The guys didn't have that problem, though. Every morning and evening, we were ministered to by two guys who came from the States. It was very refreshing to have "outsiders" minister to us. On one of the last nights, we showed the Jesus Film and the rain held off until right when the movie ended - God is good. Overall, it was a great time, even though we all came back exhausted. And to top it off, we all have amoebe and maybe worms and I have a sinus infection. But not to fear, we have lots of cheap medicine here - and you don't have to hassle with a prescription. We all came back on Friday and went back to school on Monday. The students have three projects they have to finish up describing what they learned during the two weeks - Anthropology, Geography, and a journaling project. It was a great learning experience for all of us and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see the heart of Papua.

2008-01-11T20:06:00.000-06:00

Just a few things I saw at the bird and reptile parks. Aren't they beautiful?

2008-01-11T20:04:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun in Bali. My friends and I were able to go to an English speaking church and visit an orphanage. We also went to a bird park and reptile park and got to watch people weaving, carving wood, and making silver jewelry by hand. We spent New Year's Eve huddled in Starbucks because it was pouring rain. When we walked back to the hotel after midnight, we had to walk through the flooded streets and there were lots of drunk people flying down the road on their motorbikes screaming. We went bowling a couple of times and saw National Treasure 2 at the theater for only about $1.50. Near the end of the trip, my friends and I decided to hike up a volcano so we left the hotel at 2:30am and started hiking at 4am with our guide. At 6am we made it to the top just in time to see the sunrise. It was so amazing. I also went to the waterpark which was very impressive. On the last day, I tried boogie boarding, but it wasn't so fun because the water was so disgusting - it was full of trash. My last meal was at Bubba Gump's, which is my favorite place to eat there. I also had several foot and back massages because they were only about $5 for 1 hour. School starts on Wednesday and 3 of my students will not be here - one has medical problems, one can't get her visa renewed, and one's house burnt down. It will be hard to see them go. I'm also going to have a few new students so things will be different and adjustments will be made. Well, that's life at an MK school.

2008-01-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

A FEW PICTURES FROM BALI

Women making boutique by hand

A pelican (or something) at the bird park

Oops, I forgot to rotate this one of me holding a male and female iguana

Sunrise from the top of the volcano

Volcano

2007-12-26T21:26:00.000-06:00

Flying to a village (Wamena) 5000 ft above sea-leavel

Me and my friends in Wamena

Traditional entrance for the Dani tribe (Wamena)

Dani children in their hut (Wamena)

Dinner! (Wamena)

Crossing the suspension bridge (Wamena)

2007-12-26T21:05:00.000-06:00

Sunset

Beach Trip

Malaria Medicine - seven pills all at once

Mount Cyclops on a clear day

Me and my roomie

2007-09-14T04:52:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot - please keep praying for the visa situation here. My visa is still fine, but some of my students' families are already making plans to leave soon and start their furlough early because their visas will not be renewed. Others have been able to get extensions, but nothing permanent.

2007-09-14T04:28:00.000-05:00

Well, the weekend has come and I think I am over the malaria. Fortunately, I did not miss any school. I am still tired, though, and I have a cold that has been dragging on for almost two weeks. I will try to rest as much as I can to avoid getting sick again. Things are rolling right along with school. Progress Reports are already being sent out. I have now volunteered to be the Student Council Sponser and the students are so thankful because nobody wanted to do it. You may of heard of the recent earthquakes in Indonesia. Thankfully, I am far away from them. In fact, I didn't even know about it until someone in the States emailed me. The earthquakes hit on the West side and I am on the East side, separated by hundreds of miles and many islands. I have heard reports that the damages were minor and only a 10 foot Tsunami hit a small area. I have tried again to post more pictures on my blog, but unfortunately, my internet connection is not fast enough to load them. I'll keep trying.

2007-09-10T06:04:00.000-05:00

I had an awsome time at the beach last weekend with my students. I'm looking forward to what God has planned for us this year. I have some not so good news - I just found out that I have malaria. There is medicine for me and I should be fine, but I am already tired all the time and I expect to be tired all this week too.

2007-08-25T03:25:00.001-05:00

Hey everybody. Sorry, I haven't been too faithful in writing weekly posts this summer. I just finished the first week of school. I'm teaching 6th grade math, advanced 8th grade math, Algebra 2, Geometry, and AP Statistics. It's quite a load, but I love it. I would like you to please pray for the spiritual battle raging here. I won't mention too much detail on the internet, but there is a huge visa issue here with other SIL members (PTL teacher visas are ok). About 30 families, including all of our admin, might not get their visas renewed in the next few months and extension options are becoming more difficult as well. Please pray for this situation because it also involves many of my students who are unsure how long they will be here. In addition, our kindergarten teacher and HS principal will not be here for at least the first semester because they both have cancer and are seeking treatment in the States. Thank you for your prayers. I will keep you updated as things progress.

2007-08-01T02:51:00.000-05:00

Woops, guess I haven't written a new post in a while. I've kinda been bummin' it lately. I finished the summer course I was teaching and now I have two and 1/2 weeks left before school starts again. I will be teaching 6th grade math, 8th grade advanced math, Algebra 2, and Geometry (and maybe Pre-Calculus). I went on a camping trip a few weeks ago, which was awesome! I went snorkeling, boogie-boarding, and cooled off in a fresh water stream that ran behind our camp. We also had smores one evening and played some fun games. We (me and 3 families) took a 2-hour boat ride to get there and had our own private beach. And the best part is that I only had to pay about $20 for the entire 4-day trip. Wow!

2007-06-30T03:21:00.000-05:00

Well, things have been interesting this week. I practiced driving the motorbike that I'm borrowing for the summer. While I was driving, the hand brake broke, but fortunately, I still had the foot brake:) It is now getting repaired. Today I am baking bread and cookies with my roommate, who is from Korea. She is making an American dish tonight for dinner - sloppy joes. I'm so excited. Tomorrow, there will be a softball game and BBQ to celebrate the 4th of July, but we will also have non-Americans joining us, which will be fun.

2007-06-15T04:01:00.000-05:00

Beach

Sunset

Boat Ride

Oh Yeah

Surfin' with Ronald

2007-06-15T03:45:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I was finally able to load some pictures. The pictures above and below are from my trip to Bali. Here are some things I was able to do: visit an English-speaking Balinese church; go bowling (3 times); go shopping; eat at A&W Rootbeer, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, Krispe Kreme, Bubba Gump Shrimp (3 times), and a Mexican place; visit the bombing memorial park; participate in water sports - banana boat, jetskiing, and parasailing; watch Pirates of the Caribbean 3; go to a water park with some cool water slides and a lazy river (that's where I spent most of my time); and on the last night, some of us singles went out on a boat and watched the sunset - it was so amazing. Then we ate dinner together on the beach. And to top it all off, as we were all sitting on the beach enjoying our last night in Bali, gazing at the stars and watching the waves come in, there was a shooting star. I was speechless. God really showed His stuff :) Now I am back in Sentani and I'm teaching math to some Indonesian students (in English) twice a week. It's somewhat of a challenge, but also a great experience.

2007-06-10T23:40:00.000-05:00

Group Picture

Balinese Church

Having fun in the sun

Parasailing

Bombing Memorial

Bubba Gump

Balinese Gong

Flying over Bali

Banana Boat

2007-05-31T18:48:00.000-05:00

Thanks for being patient with me - I haven't updated my blog in a while - you know, end of the year busy-ness. A lot has happened lately; I'll try to sum it up. My wisdom teeth surgury went very well. I only had a little pain afterward and IBProfen took care of that. No swelling, no infection. I didn't even miss any school - PTL. We had a band concert last week and I played with the HS band as a "guest artist" (according to the program). It was so much fun - our program included Mouret's Fanfare, Beach Baby, Beauty and the Beast, Barbosa is Hungry (standing ovation), The Great Escape, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. Yesterday, I moved into an apartment at the school and my new roommate is a young lady from Korea. My previous roommates will all be headed back to the States soon and a new family is moving into the house we were in. Tomorrow, I am flying out to Bali to enjoy some vacation time. Thankfully I will not be traveling alone, however. This summer, I will be working with some Indonesian students to help them learn math and computer skills as well as English. I'm already having a great summer and it looks like it'll just get better and better.

2007-05-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

The wedding last week was a lot of fun. We only went to the reception. The actual ceremony is really just a lot of paper signing and legal stuff. At the reception, the bride and groom sat on a magnificently decorated stage with their parents. They looked like royalty. There were a few events - cutting of the cake, pictures, etc - and then we all ate dinner. The food was great and the decorations were fabulous. On Friday of last week, I played in a hockey game - HS staff and moms vs. HS students. It was awesome - I've only played once and I didn't know the rules too well, but I ended up scoring the first two goals for our team - WOW (insert exclamation mark 'cause blogspot won't let me). We won the game - something like 11 to 2. I can't believe I actually scored - must have been beginner's luck :) On Saturday, I went to the beach. It was so relaxing - got a nice tan too. Today, I am going to get my wisdom teeth out. It should be a simple surgury, but please pray that I will not have any complications afterwards. Tomorrow is a holiday so I'll be home recuperating. I'll keep trying to post pictures - so far, it's still not working. I need a faster connection I think. Anybody got any advice?

2007-05-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have tried and tried to post more pictures, but every time, it fails. The internet connection here is not always good so it's just not happening. I will try again. Lately, things have been a bit stressful because it is the end of the year. My AP Calculus students took their AP Exam yesterday. They were nervous, of course, but I know they have been working very hard and I'm sure they did fine. Today, I am going to my first Indonesian wedding - I'm so excited and I can't wait. I've heard it's very different from an American wedding so I'm looking forward to the new experience. As things are winding down for the school year, we are looking for more ways to relax, so this weekend we are going to the beach again. The beach reminds me of a deserted tropical island (except it's not on an island, but rather a penisula). It's very different from beaches back home, but still lots of fun. That's about all that's going on right now. I will keep trying to post the pictures.

2007-04-26T21:58:00.000-05:00

Last week was crazy: On Sunday night, April 15, I was in charge of our weekly SIL meeting. I organized the music and the speakers. I reported on what we did during OE (Outdoor Education) with my students. During OE, we worked with a group of Indonesian students who are part of a program called TITIP. They are learning English and western culture, how to lead worship services, and things like that. So I asked some of my students as well as some TITIP students to speak about their OE experience. It turned out that we had a lot of extra time, so I opened the floor for other students to speak. Some of the most unexpected students came forward and really shared their heart - it was amazing. I'm sure that if I had asked them to prepare, they would have said no, but because we had extra time, they volunteered. God was really working. I got a lot of compliments on the meeting, but I know it was all God's planning that made it happen. Well, that was just the beginning of the week. On Wednesday, we had portfolio projects due for all the teachers so I spent many hours on that. Then, progress reports were due. On top of that, we had two 2-hour seminars on Child Safety and Abuse on Tuesday and Wednesday night (6:30-8:30). Well-well, I go to bed at 8:30 so it was really hard to focus, but I made it through. On Thursday, we had a half day so the students went home after lunch, but the teachers met with the seminar leaders for 3 more hours. Then, there's more . . . On Friday, my roommates and I invited two TITIP students home with us for "Home-Stay," which is pretty straight forward. The students come and stay at your home for the weekend and they learn about western culture. We had two wonderful girls and we taught them how to make bread and omelets and pizza and they taught me how to fry fish and make a green bean dish with garlic and onions and eggs. It was delicious. But then, there's more . . . On Saturday, we had the Classical Concert. I played a duet with the elementary principal, who plays the cello. It went really well - the concert was very professional and we had a variety of music - piano, voices, clarinet, trumpet, and cello. One group consisted of 4 piano players on 2 pianos and they played Babes in Toyland - it was great. One of the singers was actually on her way to becoming a professional singer before she came here and the others are just about as good as her. They sang some opera (in Italian) and some other songs - WOW.

2007-04-09T19:37:00.001-05:00

Wow. He is risen - He is risen indeed. What a great Easter weekend. I was able to participate in a new tradition. We woke up at 3 am Easter morning and then joined hundreds of other Christians walking down the main road carrying torches and singing praises to God before attending the sunrise service. It was amazing (even in the rain). Since my last posting, many things have happened. I am living at a new location and I have made some new friends in the community. A few weeks ago, we had a huge rain storm which caused massive flooding and damaged several bridges. There were also landslides on the mountain which caused hundreds of houses to be filled with several feet of mud. In response, the HS students I work with spent two weeks digging out houses, ditches, and roads. We also held kids clubs in each work area in which we sang songs about Jesus and performed a Bible skit for the children. We are still hearing reports about how much we impacted our town. What a blessing to have this opportunity. Most of the mud has been removed and the flooding has gone down, but some low-lying areas are still suffering because they are in the flood zone and could easily flood again with a big rain. Some of these people have built make-shift homes on higher ground. As for the bridges, temporary bridges have been built either around or over the original bridges to allow traffic to flow. However, some of them are one-way so we usually go one direction to school and then take the back-roads home. As for fresh fruit and vegetables, it has been a huge blessing because we thought that with the destruction of hundreds of gardens, fresh food would be in short supply, but God has provided and we can still buy what we need. Praise God for all the wonderful things He is doing.

2006-10-19T19:44:00.000-05:00

This is the road leading from my apartment to the school which I walk along every day. It takes about 5-7 minutes to walk one-way and has a gorgeous view in all directions. Also, it is the only road that goes to the school so I often see students, parents, teachers, and almost everybody along this road.

2006-10-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

This is my apartment building, which has three apartments. I live on the second floor on this side of the building (you can see my screened-in porch along the side). My downstairs neighbor is a young lady who teaches at the HS and on the other side of the building (second floor), is a young couple from Ireland who are also teachers.

2006-10-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of me when I first set foot in Sentani. Behind me is Mount Cyclops and somewhere at the foot of the mountain is the school.

2006-10-19T17:45:00.000-05:00

I have now been in Indonesia for 7 weeks. We just finished our first quarter of the school year and I spent last weekend averaging grades and filling in report cards. What a relief that's done! Two weeks ago, I visited an Indonesian church with another teacher. She and I had a great time and I really enjoyed being immersed in the culture. Since I live at the school, I don't get to interact with Indonesians too much. Before church started, the power had gone out, which happens all the time. So instead of using the keyboard and the microphones, the music leaders just switched over to guitar and sang out the songs. I would guess that there were about 50 or more people there and the room was almost full. I can't even describe the feelings I had when I heard all these people praising God and singing out to him - the very same God that I have known and worshipped my whole life! What a blessing to get this small glimpse of heaven; I can't wait to be around the throne of God and hear all the people singing in thousands of different languages. Just hearing one is amazing! The other teacher I was with translated for me and I really enjoyed the sermon. Afterward, I met several of the church leaders as they stood outside the door and shook our hands as we left. The pastor's wife began a conversation with us and invited us to dinner. So this past Tuesday, we went to their house for dinner. We arrived promptly at 7pm (as polite Americans ought to) and as we pulled in the driveway, the teacher I was with realized that we should have been more "culturally appropriate" and waited until after 7 to arrive. Just as we were contemplating this, we saw the pastor and his wife pulling in behind us on their motorbike - the guests had arrived before the hosts! We felt a bit embarrassed, but fortunately, they were very kind people and told us not to worry about it. While the pastor's wife cooked dinner, we sat in the living room and looked through a wedding album - the pastor's wife's sister was recently married this summer. The sister was also at the house and she explained to us how an Indonesian wedding goes while we explained to her the details of an American wedding. We had a great time just chatting and soon dinner was ready. We went to the back of the house and sat in various chairs while we ate and watched the video of the wedding. The food was delicious! We had rice (of course) with two different "toppings" - one was a mixture of beans and beef while the other was a mixture of carrots and other vegetables. We also had small bits of chicken that had been fried - this may offend some southern people I know :) but it was the best fried chicken ever! It was different than fried chicken in the States (a lot smaller for one), but it was so crispy and so full of flavor. I ate so much and went back for seconds and thirds (much to the pleasure of the pastor's wife). We had such a great time fellowshipping with them and even though I really didn't understand very much of the language (the lady I was with translated when she could), I felt like I was with real down-to-earth people as opposed to strange people from a foreign land. It goes to show that when you have the common bond of being a part of God's family, you can feel a sense of belonging anywhere.

One more bit of news - praise the Lord that the science teacher is finally coming! He'll be here tomorrow. We've been asking God for a long time to bring in his finances and he has answered our prayers (just as he did when people were praying that my finances would come in and I could come). Thank you all for the comments you are leaving. I enjoy getting them so please continue posting your comments. God Bless.

2006-09-15T23:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I've completed two weeks here and my classes have been going pretty well. My students range from 8th grade to 12th grade - Algebra 1 to AP Calculus. It rains every few days and when it rains, it pours! The power goes off almost every day. We have a generator at the school, but we can't run the AC when we're on generator 'cause it sucks the energy right up. Sometimes, it gets pretty hot and humid inside unless the power comes back on within an hour or so. I have joined the HS band and am loving it! The band director has been away for two years so some of the students are a bit rusty, but they're getting better everyday. In the past, the band has had several adults join in and hopefully there'll be more than just me this year. We're practicing for the Christmas concert so all I have in my head is Carol of the Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and The Jingle Bell Rock, even though it's only September. I'm getting to know some of the other single ladies - we have a Bible Study on Monday nights. Also, I went to my first church service, which was held at the school (so I can just walk). The congregation is pretty large and consists of missionaries from various organizations. It lasts for an hour and a half and the music is great! They even get the students involved in the worship band. The school really is a spirit-filled place - it is evident that God is working in the lives of the MKs (missionary kids) and the faculty. I am amazed at the students' mature behavior. They're respectful to adults, they have a good work ethic (complete HW, don't cheat, participate in class), and they have a good overall attitude. It's not perfect, of course, there have been a few bumps in the road and there's still some "drama" that goes on, but there is a big difference between this school and other schools I've been in - the whole atmosphere is pleasant and teachers actually look forward to coming to school and teaching. On another note, I will be starting to learn Indonesian this coming week. I'll be working with an Indonesian tutor twice a week; he also teaches Indonesian to the students at various levels. I'm looking forward to this so I can start to feel more connected with the people here and I can communicate with them. That's all for now.

2006-09-04T18:15:00.000-05:00

I have arrived in Indonesia! I got here Sunday morning, which was Saturday night in the States. I'm still recovering from jetlag, but it's not as bad as it could be. I was able to sleep all night in Taiwan during my layover so by the time I got here, I was already transitioning to the new time zone. I started teaching my classes yesterday. I have 5 classes: Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Pre-Cal, and AP Calculus. I'm a bit nervous about AP Calc. because I've never taught it before and I haven't used it in several years. Please pray I'll be able to do a good job preparing them for the AP Exam. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous!!! My apartment is on the second floor and I have a screened-in balcony around two sides which has the best view ever - you can see Lake Sentani, the airport (you can even see the planes landing and taking off), the whole town, and the HUGE Mount Cyclops behind the school and even the waterfall high up in the mountain. Its like right out of a fairy tale! My apartment is not airconditioned, but the school is. It's not so bad, though - I just open the windows and leave the fans on. We're up on a hill between the town and the mountain so we get a very good breeze. From my apartment, I can hear roosters crowing, birds chirping, planes taking off/landing, and even the motorcylces that are zipping through the streets down below. They drive on the left side here and most people drive motorcylces, but there are a lot of cars too. Driving is quite a different experience - they've offered to find someone to teach me how to drive a stick shift so I can get my licence. I can't buy a car, but they have extras available to borrow when you need to. The mountain is covered with huge dark green trees and literally towers over us behind the school and the hills are covered with beautiful palm trees. It's like a tropical paradise!

2006-08-25T16:57:00.000-05:00

I have the green light. I have purchased my ticket and awaiting my departure date, which is August 30th, 2006 from Baton Rouge, LA

I have many things to get done before leaving, but with my mom and dads help and of course God's help, I am sure I will get it all done.