Tim Maynard trying his skill at the blowgun.

The ladies take a turn.

Pak Nelson taking aim

Pak Nelson in full Dyak regalia

Tarakan has been celebrating its 12th anniversary for about two weeks. The last day of the party was held on Sunday at the beach. One of the main attractions for those of us with MAF was the blowgun competition. One of the national MAF workers was competing and several of us went to watch. David Holsten, our program manager, told me that he has seen Pak (Sir) Nelson shoot sparrows off of the rafters of the hangar with his blowgun. These blow guns are made of a hardwood which they drill out with hand made tools. There was even a women’s competition and these ladies were good! For a joke, David and Tim Maynard (the MAF maintenance specialist) entered the competition. They were such a novelty, they go their picture on the front page of the newspaper.

Ladies’ Christmas Program at the Siloam GKII* of Tarakan.

Saturday the women of the church I attend held their annual Women’s Christmas Program. I thoroughly enjoyed it mainly because it was so culturally rich.

Part of the reason I attended was that the MAF women had been asked to sing a song in English for the program. But let me start at the beginning.

The program was to begin at 2:00. But in keeping with what the Indonesians refer to as “rubber time,” it actually didn’t start until 2:30. And even then, not all the participants were present. Gotta love it! ☺

The program had three parts to it: A. A singing competition. B. The actual program. C. Business reporting: financial report, presentation of the winners of the singing competition, handing out gifts to the staff etc.

The singing competition was very interesting. Seven different groups of women participated – including a group that didn’t arrive until almost 3:00. ☺ Each group dressed in matching outfits; some wore identical batik shirts with black skirts; others had designated a style of clothing but allowed a variety of colors. They mentioned later that the style of clothing prescribed was “traditional” – long batik skirts with lacy sequined blouses. One group of ladies even sported identical hair styles. It was obvious that they had spent a great deal of time and effort not only with their singing but with their appearance also. They all sang the same song: Am I a Soldier of the Cross – in Indonesian of course. They were all very good. The group that won had incorporated a little choreography. ☺ Really just a simple stepping from one foot to the other. We were kept in suspense concerning the winner until the very end of the program. One thing that amazed me was the level of noise going on in-between performances. It seemed that everyone was talking to their neighbors as the next group prepared to take the stage. You can't let things like that bother you.

After the 45 minute competition, the “program” began; basically a church service – congregational singing, scripture reading, special music and a short sermon. The buleh (white people) sang their special music during this part. I don’t think we’ll quit our day jobs. ☺

The business session happened last. I missed most of what was said – much too fast and too many unknown words for me to follow. The two MAF women with me tried to translate bits and pieces.

Around five o’clock, the program ended and it was time for food. The food was served outside. We were fortunate that it didn’t rain and it wasn’t unbearably hot either. Of course, no meal is complete here without a huge container of rice. In addition a chicken dish, noodles, a bean dish similar to black-eyed peas which was very, very spicy and tasted sort of like liver, a mixed vegetable dish, and salty rice porridge were served alongside the rice. I tried it all. ☺ Most of it was quite good but the beans were too spicy for me.

As women finished up eating, they tossed their leftovers into a box on the ground. Soon, three dogs – possibly strays, I don’t know for sure – discovered this source of food and were having a hey day. Fortunately, we had been directed to eat inside and so I was spared having to eat my food while watching the dogs eat theirs. ☺

And so at 5:30, three and half hours later, it was all over. Another cultural experience added to my list. ☺

* This church is a Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination church. The Siloam is just a distinguishing name such as Mt Zion, Berea, or Bethel might be in the U.S. The GKII stands for Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia which loosely translate to Gospel Tabernacle Church of Indonesia.

Friday was another interesting Muslim holiday. They sacrifice cows to commemorate the time God asked Abraham to sacrifice Ishmael. That wasn't a typo. I meant to put Ishmael since that is who the Muslims believe Abraham was to sacrifice. I don't know anymore details about this particular fesitivity. I need to find out and post on my next entry.

Last Monday, I had eight young ladies come to the house for English Club. I hope they all return. But one never knows from week to week how many will attend. I thoroughly enjoy English Club and hope to continue helping Kathy when she returns next week from the U.S. Please continue to pray for that endeavor.

Faith, my first grader who arrived in October.
My entire class: Carter-12, Grace-9, Faith-6.

Last week, I had several opportuniites to practice riding my scooter. Little by little I am gaining confidence. My only "worry" now is crossing over two lanes of traffic in order to make a right hand turn. Yes, I said right hand turn. In Indonesia they drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Left hand turns are a piece of cake - I only have to watch one lane of traffic. Right hand turns are the hard ones. I am learning all the back roads that keep me from having to cut across the dreaded two lanes. :o)

I have had three English club meetings so far. Unfortunately, the second one was poorly attended: only one girl came and she had to leave shortly after arriving because she had a terrible cough. Last week four girls came. I hope for a better turnout tomorrow. I will only have two more English clubs at my house before Kathy returns and takes over again. I will probably continue to attend; I am enjoying it. The girls are so sweet! Two of these girls come to my house on Fridays to tutor me in Indonesian. They don't laugh too hard at my mistakes. :o) The word for hair is rambut and rambutan is the name of a fruit. Also if you want to say "your hair" you say rambutnya. You can guess where I am going with this, right? Yes, I said that I really liked this lady's new style of fruit. I keep praying that God will give me the gift of tongues. :o)

The MAF team will gather on Thursday evening for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We will even have a turkey; not an easy item to find here in Kalimantan. As you gather for your Thanksgiving remember to thank God for the small things - things like electricity, being able to understand the people around you, driving your car in a sane environment, consistent internet etc. Don't take the small things for granted. :o)

Little Red Scooter

My new method of transportation while in Tarakan. I'm still not proficient in its use so have to depend on the goodwill of my fellow MAF team members.

The little school I teach at is called Peningki Hill School. Since I am the only staff member at the school, I get to decide how many days off we get. I decided to take off last Friday, October 30th. Teacher in-service day. :o) I actually got to do something fun. I went to Balikpapan. Due to the oil in Balikpapan, a lot of Westerners live there. So the town has a lot of amenities that Tarakan does not have. For starters a really nice hotel. I spent two nights in Balikpapan relaxing. It was great.

Tomorrow it is back to school again. It will also be my first day to be in charge of the English Club. It will be interesting to see how we cope - I don't speak Indonesian and their English is weak. It will be good for both parties.

Little Red Scooter

I bought a Suzuki scooter today. I will have transportation now and won’t have to be dependent on the goodness of the rest of the MAF team. It gets 120 miles to the gallon!!!! I may have to consider getting one when I get back to the States. I didn’t get to bring it home with me today or I would include a picture. Maybe tomorrow. Now I have to learn how drive it. Hopefully, that won’t take long because it is fully automatic. No gear shifting.

Kathy Maynard, my neighbor just up the hill, is going to the U.S. this Friday and will be gone for five weeks. She hosts several English clubs at her house during the week. Everyone wants to learn or improve their English so she is constantly getting requests to be included in her clubs. I have agreed to take over her Monday afternoon club for the five weeks she is gone. I met three of the girls last Monday – all of them Muslim and all very nice young women. Pray for them and me as we get to know each other.

It is humiliating to realize that one is ethnocentric. Today a men’s group sang at church and I was surprised at how very good they were. Why was I surprised? Did I think Indonesians couldn’t sing? I should have known better than that because the singing in church is always good. The instrumentalists are good and they all play by ear. I hope I learned a lesson.

The men’s group (choir really) will represent East Kalimantan in a competition in Samarinda sometime in the near future. Today they sang a sampling of their repertoire. They sang three songs and the last one was in English – “He is Jehovah”. They did pretty well with the English.

During church I take notes from the Indonesian Bible I use. At home I either ask other MAF team members to help me with unknown words or I compare the passage with my English Bible. It is very frustrating not to be able to speak the language. I have learned a few words but not enough to communicate with ease. I communicate through gestures and blank looks. Won’t it be great to understand and be understood by all language groups in heaven? Now that will be the gift of tongues!!!

My Classroom

The earthquake that hit Padang on the island of Sumatra was not felt here in Tarakan. The MAF program in Aceh on Sumatra sent one of their planes to help in the relief effort. They didn’t need to stay very long since the main airport was able to open very shortly after the earthquake.

The team from Palangkaraya was able to return home this week. The air quality finally went from “dangerous” to “good”. I know they were ready to get back to their home.

Rebecca Hopkins, a MAF pilot’s wife, invited several people to her house last Tuesday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of a Muslim friend’s conversion to Christianity. Let’s call her Ann. About a year or so ago, Ann started having dreams which led her to ask questions about Jesus. She went to the MAF ladies with her questions and as a result of their interaction, Ann became a believer. The one thing that had kept her from making a commitment for quite a while was the reaction she knew she could expect from her family. And she was right. When Ann finally told her parents about her conversion to Christianity, they kicked her out of their house. Fortunately, Ann has taken the first step toward reconciliation with them. Pray that her parents would be open to hear the words of the gospel.

Monthly, the wives of all the MAF staff – American and Indonesian - get together for a time of prayer and fellowship. Last week, the meeting was held at Ibu Helen’s home. Ibu Helen is the widow of Pak Simeon. Pak Simeon was right hand man to David Holsten, MAF’s program manager here in Tarakan. Pak Simeon had a fatal heart attack in June of this year. It has been a huge blow to many people. Pak Simeon was such a crucial part of MAF here in Tarakan that the word indispensable comes to mind. His wife, Ibu Helen, shared with us about her struggles as a widow. But mainly, she was able to express her faith that God is a good God whose plans are for our good. Ibu Helen is a really neat Christian woman and I look forward to getting to know her better.

Tomorrow we start our 7th week of school. How time flies. I need to post a picture of my new student. Maybe I’ll remember that tomorrow.

Church and Cicaks

The church I am attending is a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. (You may or may not know that A.W. Tozer preached at a CMA church for many years. That was just a freebie.☺) The church is called the Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia. A word-for-word translation is: Church Tabernacle Gospel Indonesia. A less literal translation might be Gospel Tabernacle Church of Indonesia. Today five young adults were baptized. That makes a total of 12 baptisms in the month of September.

It is a fairly large congregation and has many similarities to church services in the U.S. However, the offering is a distinctly cultural experience. Upon entering the church, we are given three offering envelopes. Printed on the envelopes are specific directions for the proper way of inserting one’s money into the offering bags: don’t fold, no coins, no torn or ragged money, etc. At offering time three bags are passed; each one for a different ministry of the church. But on the last Sunday of the month, everyone processes to the front of the church and deposits their offering into two boxes. Part of the purpose of the envelopes is to prevent embarrassment when someone can contribute only a small amount or nothing at all. After a prayer and many announcements the third offering is taken up but in the regular way with an offering bag being passed around. I guess the three bags keep the accounting simple. Or maybe not. ☺

Since I last wrote about the smoke problem, it had improved a little bit – at least here in Tarakan. But this week we have slowly seen more smoke coming in from the south and today (Sunday, September 27) it is so bad again that I cannot see the ocean from my porch. There is a thick haze over the town. The rainy season will help with the smoke but no one can predict when the rainy season will start. They say El Nino has messed things up and it isn’t as easy to predict as in the past. The smoke problem isn’t anywhere as bad as in Palangkaraya. Three hundred fifty people were admitted into the hospital there in one week due to health issues related to smoke.

I had a cicak (cheechahk – gecko) wriggle out of the trash can as I dropped something in there today. That isn’t the first time that has happened. I never fail to jump back twenty feet. If I just had warning about their whereabouts, I wouldn’t be so squeamish. It’s just the suddenness of their appearance and the way they swiftly wriggle away that always startles me. I have to keep repeating, “They are good critters. They eat other insects. They are good critters. They are good critters.”

I also had a toad in my kitchen last week. Carter – my sixth grader – loves bugs, spiders, snakes, frogs, toads… you get the idea. He caught a toad, and placed him in a gallon jug with grass, a rock and some water to make him comfortable. Carter left the jar in the hallway of the school (the school is in the basement of my house). He assured me it couldn’t escape. So the next morning I had a toad in my kitchen. Somehow I managed to shoo him out. When I went down to get ready for school, Carter’s toad was not in its jar. I came to the conclusion that it had to be the toad that was upstairs in my kitchen. But how did that thing get upstairs? The only possible way would have been to hop up the stairs and then on into the kitchen. That is a long and toilsome trip for a toad. ☺ Moral: Keep a tight lid on your pets!!!!

Eid al Fitr Visits

Ramadan ended Saturday evening at sundown. This means Muslims are no longer required to fast during the daylight hours. The two days following the end of Ramadan are called Eid al Fitr. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break fast”. After prayers the morning of Eid al Fitr, people visit their relatives, friends and acquaintances.

I went with my neighbors (Tim and Kathy Maynard) to visit two families. The first one was Pak Kipli’s family. Pak is the equivalent of sir. Pak Kipli is the man who takes care of our yard. Pak Kipli and his family are poor and live in a rather ramshackle house. They are squatters and have been kicked out of their home but somehow returned. (I didn’t quite catch that part of the story.) They have saved enough money to buy some land but plan to continue as squatters until they are forced to leave again. By staying, they hope to be able to save some more money to help with their move. We were fed several dishes at Pak Kipli’s: some kind of sticky black rice packed inside a banana leaf, two kinds of chicken dishes, a sweet rice ball which had been put into some sort of liquid that was allowed to ferment, and various cookies and sweets. I managed to eat some of the sticky black rice, the chicken and the different cookies. I tried the fermented rice balls but could only eat half of it. At least I tried and hope I didn’t offend by leaving half of it.

The next family we visited was Ibu Wati’s. Ibu is the equivalent of Mrs. Ibu Wati’s family is much better off than Pak Kipli’s. Ibu Wati lives just a little way down our road. I travel that road from time to time and felt it would be a good idea to get to know my neighbors. Thankfully, at Ibu Wati’s house we weren’t served a meal but only cookies, peanuts and some sort of chip thing. And we had cold Coke! ☺ Toward the end of our visit, she served us punch. It was pink, sweet, had some sort of gelatinous squares floating in it and some small seeds which looked like poppy seeds. The way to partake of the punch is to drink all the liquid and then use a spoon to scoop out the gelatinous squares. It was doable.

Of course, when one visits, one has to shake hands with everyone who is present and wish them Selamat Eid al Fitr, or Selamat Malaam. Selamat means happy – not exactly but close enough. Eid al Fitr of course is the name of the holiday and Malaam means evening. And handshaking here is not what we think of in the U.S. Handshaking here is just a bare touch of the hands. Some people touch their hearts after the hand shake. Others put both of their hands around yours. Still others touch their elbows with their left hand as they shake with their right hand. The children take your hand and touch it to their foreheads.

I really do find it all fascinating. My biggest regret is that I can’t speak to these people. I learn a tiny bit more of the language each week but it really isn’t enough to carry on a conversation.

That is it for tonight. Selamat Malaam to you .

My new students: Carter (6th gr.) and Grace (4th gr.)

And another thing....

We had a couple of nice rains and although it cleared the air here in Tarakan, Palangkaraya's air is still heavy with smoke. We keep praying for lots of rain.

I don't think I have mentioned the scheduled electricity outages. Each of the neighborhoods takes a turn having their electricity off for about 4 hours. Yesterday's outage was supposed to have been from 9 to midnight but it didn't happen. Saturday is our turn again; this time from 8:30 to noon. Usually, it is around 10:00 before the electricity actually goes off. It stays off until approximately 4:00. I collect water to have on hand since I depend on an electric pump for my water supply. I really notice the warm weather when there are no fans to stir the air. But since I know there is an end in sight, I can endure. :o)

Next week I get two days off from school due to Eidl Fitri, the end-of-Ramadan holidays. I'm not real clear what goes on those two days so I will have to update you after I have lived through it.

Another "smoke" story

One of the Palangkaraya pilots was at the house this morning trying to get the school computer fixed. I began asking him about the smoke situation. He told me that the past two years, the government has intervened. Australian helicopters were leased to dump water on the fires. Then the military went around to the villages near the fires, attempting to find out who had started them to threaten them with imprisonment if it happened again. But this year, the pilot said, the government hadn't interfered at all, possibly for two reasons: first, they were claiming that there was no money for it this year. Which is feasible since the economy is bad world-wide. Second possible reason is that this is an election year and the politicians don't want to antagonize voters. The people starting these fires depend on this method for clearing their land. They really don't have an alternative at this point because machinery is too expensive for them. "It's just the way we do it; there's nothing to be done about it." I was told that when the smoke gets really bad, there is tension between the neighboring countries of Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. This morning the wind was right out of the south blowing the smoke up our direction. It isn't so bad that we need to wear masks. Hope it doesn't get to that point. I asked what it will take to end the problem and he said rain and lots of it. A little bit won't help. The rain has to go deep into the peat where the fires are smoldering. If you want to pray for us here in Tarakan, pray that God would send rain.

BTW, the school computer didn't get fixed. It's a problem that is going to require throwing money at it. :o)

Smokey Borneo

In Indonesia it is a common custom to burn off the old crop to get ready for new plantings. Sometimes this doesn't cause a problem. Other times, due to a lack of rain it becomes a huge problem since the burning produces a lot of smoke. That is the situation now. The smoke from all the burning has become a major concern. I'm told that you can even see the smoke from satellite photos. MAF has another base here in Kalimantan located in the town of Palangkaraya. The smoke in that region is so bad that the pilots cannot fly, ash falls from the sky like snowflakes and the smoke-filled air makes breathing hazardous. The two families from that base had to evacuate to Tarakan. Yesterday and today the air around Tarakan has been filled with smoke also. From my little porch I can sometimes see the mountains on the other side of the bay. But because of the smoke, I can't even see the bay. The Tarakan pilots are flying but have only a mile or two of visibility. We are praying for lots of rain and a change in the wind direction.

The MAF team in Palangkaraya has three families. One family is in Canada but have plans to return to Kalimantan next week. Due to the smoke issue, they tried to postpone their trip for a while but weren't able to because of non-refundable airfare rules. So they will be arriving in Tarakan early next week. They have asked if I would be willing to let their second grader come to school while they are here in Tarakan. I said yes thinking this would be a good way to prepare for the addition of my permanent first grade student who doesn't return to Kalimantan until October 3.

I am finding out that a lot of Muslims who become Christians begin their journey toward faith in Christ by having dreams in which Jesus appears to them. Last night I heard another story of MAF team members being instrumental in helping a man move from questioning to accepting Jesus as Savior. And his journey began with dreams. Before this, I would never have imagined that dreams would be a way God would communicate with people. But it seems to be happening amongst many Muslims. Whatever it takes right?

Tarakan Tales

I have been in Tarakan for a week now. I arrived at 2:30 a.m., Saturday, August 22^nd, Oklahoma time. I left Tulsa approximately at 2:30 p.m. Oklahoma time on Wednesday the 19^th. So basically it was a journey of 60 hours. That is better than several months on a ship.

My flights were all uneventful – thank the Lord! I even had extra seats between me and my fellow passenger for most of the trip

Actually, the most tiring leg of the journey was the one from Jakarta to Tarakan. We made three stops before arriving in Tarakan. Here are the names of the towns in case you want to look them up on Google Maps. ☺ Semarang, Surabaya both on the island of Java; Balikpapan on the island of Borneo. At each stop, everyone had to get off the airplane, take their carry-ons with them, go through security again and reboard the plane.

That wore me out. Thank goodness going through security on domestic Indonesian flights isn’t anywhere close to being as rigid as security in the U.S. That would have been a beating.

Most of the MAF staff came to the airport to welcome me which I thought was very kind. The MAF program manager and his wife have been a great help getting me settled. And that goes for the rest of the MAF staff here. All of them have been willing to help me out anyway they can.

The house where I will live this year had been spruced up for me, some food items were here to get me started and a meal schedule was awaiting me. I didn’t have to cook for an entire week because each evening I was hosted by one of the MAF families. How nice is that!

I live on Penginki Hill. Just a few steps further up the hill is another MAF family. It will be nice to have close neighbors. I will be sharing a house helper with them. A house helper is a wonderful thing! Ours is very efficient and hardworking. She even ironed my clothes. Wow!

My neighbors offered to give me a ride to the church they attend. I accepted their offer and went to the Siloam GKII church. It is a Christian and Missionary Alliance church. Of course, I couldn’t understand most of what went on. I had an Indonesian/English Bible with me so was able to at least follow along when the Bible was read. Seven teenage girls were baptized that morning. A neat experience to have on my first Sunday in Indonesia.

Ramadan began the Friday before I arrived. Ramadan is the month of “fasting” for the Muslims. They don’t eat or drink anything from sunrise to sundown. After sundown they can break their fast and the do in a big way. The month is somewhat a big celebration that lasts 40 days. The mosques are extra loud during this holiday – at least it seems that way to me. ☺

School begins tomorrow. I have spent most of this week getting ready for that event. The classroom has a fresh coat of paint, the pencils are sharpened, and the new books are on the desks. I think we’re ready to begin.

Still learning the ropes....

I think I'm going to like blogging. (Aren't all these new verbs interesting? Will they make it into the next Webster's Dictionary?)

The task I set for myself today was to clear my bedroom of all the stuff I am leaving behind. That would be things like sweaters and long sleeve shirts since I won't be needing them at all where I am going. You might wonder why I couldn't just leave them in my room. Corrie has a friend (Abby Morrero) who is moving in to keep her company and to help with the expenses. Abby is a sweet girl so I'm not too worried about wild parties while I am gone. :o)

With that task accomplished while the day is still young, I might just have to give myself another task. Believe me, I won't have trouble finding one.

So I will sign off for now and return tomorrow.

My kids

My beautiful kids. Corrie, 23, and Jon-Michael, 20.

Beginnings...

Corrie is helping me set up my blog so that friends and family can keep updated on my adventures. I'm moving into the 21st century! Stay tuned...