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.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
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!!!
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!!!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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.
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.
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