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.

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.

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 .

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.

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.