Holiday in Bali

It didn't upload the pictures I uploaded in order so they are all mixed up but here are the high points of our trip to Bali! ...

On Sunday, we went snorkeling in the ocean [obviously]. I was pretty nervous, but it was lots of fun! I didn't swim down too deep, being that I was just getting the hang of it. But I had a great time learning and doing something new! I definitely want to go again! Maybe in Hawaii or Thailand next time ;)

Erik went a little deeper ... He caught on a little faster! :) He loved it, too!

After we went snorkeling, we went to a temple near by. We had to put these "shawls" on cover up our knees. You can see the temple in the background. It was a beautiful view, we got to see the sunset over the Indian ocean, and then watch a traditional fire dance.

Before we went over to the temple (yes we did all this in one day) we went to Turtle Island. It was basically a mini zoo with turtles, birds, and some monkeys. Oh, and snakes!

Me holding the turtle! I thought I was being pretty brave :)

The boat we went snorkeling in. Well, not the exact one, but ours was very similar.

Beautiful sunset!

Okay, we're going backwards in time now. This is on Saturday. After our bike ride (which is down a little) we went to the monkey sanctuary. I was a little skiddish of the monkeys as you can see. But it was neat to see all the little guys (and big) running around. And Erik really enjoyed it.

During the bike ride, we stopped at some rice patties and helped the local women. At least we tried to help. The mud made our feet softer :)

Heading out for our 25k bike ride! It was 98% downhill though .. PTL! :)

Breakfast before the bike ride ... beautiful scenery and yummy food! And GREAT friends :)

At the end of our lonnngg, but wonderful day. Happy friends <3

New day. Friday. After we got some massages in the morning, we spent most of the day relaxing by our wonderful pool.

Where we got our massages! They were definitely FULL body, so it was quite the experience, but very relaxing and wonderful! Glad I had Erik there! :)

Our first day there (Thursday) was spent on Sanur beach. About a 5 minute walk from our hotel. Lots of fun shops there, and a beautiful beach.

Our hotel room. We loved it. It was perfect! :)

We got to eat at some wonderful places this trip, this was one of them!

Well, that pretty much sums it up. We had a lot of fun and felt so blessed each day. The Lord really looked over the details of the trip and kept us safe and healthy. Chris and Katie were wonderful traveling partners. If anyone is interested in a trip to Bali, let us know! :)

We're back in Jakarta now just relaxing at home for the next few days. We have a couple of places in Jakarta we want to see that we haven't had the chance to yet. But mostly, we are just going to relax in our apartment and watch a lot of movies! We are so thankful for this relaxing time! We head back to school Monday, September 5th! We'll be ready! :)

A day or two in K1 and K2

They were so proud of their puzzle completion! And so was I!


Block center! Boys like to frequent this area!


SO happy to be playing the ABC game!


Red and white on Indonesian Independence Day!

Batik day! Batik is the traditional Indonesian formal wear!


We LOVE to make a mess in K-1

I like to call this shaving cream art :)

Let's complete the task

Today I listened to David Platt preach on Matthew 24:14. For those of you who don't know the verse at the top of your head, or have a Bible right there, it says this:

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

David focused his attention throughout the sermon on unreached people groups. His main point being that if we complete our task by reaching these people groups, then Jesus will come! As I was listening, I began searching the internet for unreached people groups in Indonesia. There are 7 unreached people groups from Indonesia in the top 100 list of most unreached people groups. WHAT?!? This hit me hard! One of the people groups (the Sunda- they are the largest unreached people group in Indonesia) are in Java [the island we are on]. It is a little hard for me to sit in my comfy apartment, eat my yummy dinner, take a warm shower, and then get into my soft cozy bed and sleep throughout the night without a worry. I have no doubt in my mind that the Lord has placed me and Erik here for a reason. I know he wants us in Jakarta at this time, teaching at the school, and reaching the families and students we are. I have to admit, after hearing David's sermon today, it is a little hard. I want to be with the Sunda people. I want Jesus to return and take me home. And I want as many of the Sunda people with me, as well as other people in the world who haven't heard about Jesus.
Don't get me wrong. I want to be here, too. I just want to make sure that I am not getting too complacent at a Christian school. I want to make sure I am doing what God has called me to do...
David ended his sermon quoting someone I have never heard of. But it really got my attention.

"I know only one thing: Christ has not yet returned; therefore the task is not yet done. When it is done, Christ will come. Our responsibility is not to insist on defining the terms of our task; our responsibility is to complete it. So long as Christ does not return, our work is undone. Let us get busy and complete our mission."
-George Ladd

What does this mean for me at this moment in time? I'm not sure. I'm still chewing on what David and Jesus said. Jesus called us to complete the Great Commission. My prayer is that I would be making disciples daily. Whether that be my students, my parents, people I meet around, or maybe even someday the Sunda people, I know I need to be doing it. It should be number 1 on my to-do list when I wake up in the morning. My desire is to grow closer to Christ daily, and in turn, to draw people to Him.

I have also been listening to Steven Curtis Chapman today. I couldn't help but connect David's message with this song and sing it at the top of my lungs today:

Nobody stood and applauded them
So they knew from the start
This road would not lead to fame
All they really knew for sure was Jesus had called to them
He said "Come follow me" and they came
With reckless abandon they came

Empty nets lying there at the waters edge
Told a story that few could believe and none could explain
How some crazy fishermen agreed to go where Jesus lead
With no thought for what they would gain
For Jesus had called them by name and they answered

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die
For the sake of the call

Drawn like the rivers are drawn to the sea
No turning back for the water cannot help but flow
Once we hear the Savior's call we'll follow wherever he leads
Because of the love He has shown
And because he has called us to go we will answer

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die

Not for the sake of a creed or a cause
Not for a dream or a promise
Simply because it is Jesus who calls
And if we believe we'll obey

If you would like information about unreached people groups I would encourage you to visit this website : www.joshuaproject.com - It is a great website with some awesome resources. Jesus calls us all to complete the task of the Great Commission. Let's complete it so we can go home!

A little tour of apartment 307 ...

I posted some pictures of the apartment on Facebook, but I thought I would give my Blogger friends a nice little tour. Some things have changed from the pics on Facebook as we have become more settled in .. [we are really enjoying our little place, and it is slowly becoming our own]


{I finally got a shower curtain ... it really brightened up the bathroom! And it makes taking a shower much more enjoyable}


{Our bedroom. I love the black and white theme}


{Our kitchen table/couch and eating area. It's cute}


{We were very blessed to be given a TV with the apartment. And we love the shelf thing. It has been fun decorating with what we do have. And that door you see off to the left there is our bedroom}


{Cute little chair and side table. And you can see where our balcony is}

{This is what you can find in our fridge. It's probably the fullest it's been}

{Our pantry, or whatever you want to call it}

{And again ...}

{Part of our kitchen}

{View from the kitchen when you walk in ... it's coming along}

There ya have it! I hope you enjoyed the tour! Feel free to come visit anytime! :)

My Kiddos!

Here are my K-2 sweeties! :) My K-1's aren't ready for a group picture yet. It takes all my energy to get them to sit for a story, so not sure they could stand for a picture all together! Maybe term 2! Ha!
But I just thought you might want to see the kiddos I am spending all my time with!

<3

One week down!!

Well, we just completed our first full week (Tuesday-Tuesday)! I am actually sitting at my desk at school now waiting for Erik to be ready to leave. My kiddos leave at 1pm, the senior school students don't leave until 3:00, so I am a little bit more ready to leave by 3:30 than Erik is. Anyway, what a week!! I am loving having my own classroom to do what I want with - the freedom is fun, but a little overwhelming! :) This school is seriously a dream school. The facility is amazing and I have been loving every minute of being involved here. Here is a run down of the past week for ya ...

School. Like I said it is going great. Erik is really enjoying his Bible class and of course he loves his PE classes. He doesn't have any of my students, so they are missing out for sure! My 17 K-2's are so sweet and smart. I was surprised to find out that almost all of them can write their name, and some of them can already read - a big difference from my preschoolers last year. So I am already having a blast with them! My K-1's are a little bit of a different story. Out of the 6 of them, 4 of them have been crying almost everyday at least for the first hour. I even have a kid who has thrown up and the beginning of everyday, but then he is fine. He just does it for attention I suppose. I am definitely learning patience with these kiddos. I will be excited for the day when I can sit down with them and we can actually do something! :) I am SO thankful for my two assistants (Mia and Helen)! They are so helpful in K-1 especially since a lot of them don't speak English! All in all, school is wonderful. We feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful school!

Apartment. Things in the apartment are coming along really nicely. We finally got a shower curtain and they moved our shower head up for us, so we have a somewhat normal bathroom! Still no stove, but I am learning how to live without it. We are settling in more and more each day and I am really loving the place we are in.

Church. We found a church that we love! It is called Jakarta International Christian Fellowship (JICF). The pastor is the principal at another SPH school. We are thinking and praying about taking a trip to Greece/Turkey with the church over Easter. The trip would follow Paul's missionary journey.

Fun. We have been able to do a lot of fun things already! We went and saw Harry Potter this weekend, and we have been to a new mall every weekend! The other staff at the school is always planning fun events (like a felt fun party we had last weekend). We love spending time with them, and it has been great getting to know people. I really didn't expect to make so many close friends so quickly.

Prayer. Please be praying for my K-1 class. Pray that the crying and throwing up stops soon and we can start focusing on routine and rules of the classroom so we can eventually get some learning done. Pray for patience and strength for me to get through those days! Pray for Erik as he has to develop his own curriculum for Bible and PE. This can be a very overwhelming task, he has a lot on this plate! Continue to pray that we would become more and more settled here. Thanks so much for your prayers - they mean so much!

Bye for now!