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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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)

Sunset










Beach Trip










Malaria Medicine - seven pills all at once










Mount Cyclops on a clear day










Me and my roomie

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.

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.

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.

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.