A quick {or not so quick} update

Hello from our home in Kemang Villiage, Jakarta, Indonesia :) Well as most of you know, we are back in Indonesia and already into the school year here. The first day of school was on Tuesday July the 24th (so we're 2 weeks in already). It's kind of hard to know how to start off this blog since I haven't written since we left in June for the summer, but instead of catching you up on the wonderful, restful, memorable summer we had in the States, I will just pick up with what's going in life here.

We moved into our new apartment in Kemang Village right when we got here. Thankfully, the boxes had already been moved from our old place to here and all we had to do was unpack boxes. It has taken about 3 weeks, but I am finally feeling like I have the place looking the way I want. Today Erik and I went out and bought a carpet for the floor in the front room which has made the biggest difference and made the place look more "homey". It is definitely my favorite home purchase I have ever made! And we got a great deal! :) We are also loving the fact that instead of 20 minute, sweaty, walk to work, we now have a 30 second hop over to the school! We feel very blessed to be in the place we are this  year and are very thankful ... Here is a pic of part of our front room with the new carpet {you can check out my Facebook page for more apartment pics}

 

On the school side of things, we are loving it! It definitely an adjustment coming back from 5 weeks off of now work and all fun, to almost 10 hours days, 5 days a week. We LOVE our jobs, but we (especially Erik) work hard! :) I got to say hello to 20 new and old (from my K1 class last year - now K2) beautiful, precious 3 and 4 year old's and Erik is loving being able to devote all his time into the sports and PE program. The exciting thing about working at a new school is that we almost doubled in our staff this year. We have already made great new friends, and we are super excited about the new relationships to be had and also thrilled about coming back to our friends from last year :). That's pretty much all from the school side of things for now. Here are a couple pictures of my classroom and my sweet kiddos ..

 Me and Miss Mia with the K2's on Batik day last week

We got our own class set of kids Bibles this year, and the kids are loving it! We were checking out the story of creation here :)

Welcome to K1 :) I only have 5 little guys right now (will get more as the year goes on most likely) This is what we do after we play on the playground :) Definitely my favorite part of the day ;) 

Well, that's all from me :) Thanks again for your prayers and love. I will update again soon with specific prayer requests as we get deeper into the year. We love you all.

Bye for now. 

Time flies when you're having fun!

As I was trying to think of a creative title for this blog (I still haven't thought of one currently) I don't even know where to begin really. I was thinking about writing a "wrap up" blog but the nice thing about technology is that I really feel as if I have been able to keep everyone up to date on the events going on in our life over here so I don't feel the need to "catch up" everyone on the year. I am very thankful that when our families pick us up at the airport, we will be able to pick up right where we left off. So, I'll send a quick shout out and thanks to the world wide web. Without you, this year would have not been the same.

So, all that jabbing to say, there are still definitely a few reflective thoughts I can share about our first year here ..

As Erik and I begin to pack up our apartment it's crazy to think how fast this year has gone by. It really doesn't seem that long ago that our principal picked us up at the airport and brought us to our apartment. The first weeks here were full of shock, nervousness, and excitement! I really can not believe that we are wrapping up our first year here. It has gone so fast but we have really enjoyed it so much. We have both learned so much about teaching and working in a school - the experience we have gained this year alone is tremendous. We are VERY excited about coming back next year - we have been told that the 2nd year is so different (in a good way)! I am excited to come back and feel like I know what I'm doing. I am also very excited for our new apartment! I am excited about the friendships we have made here this year and am already looking forward to re uniting with many of them in July! Lots of things to look forward to as we pack up this apartment and get ready for the next year and chapter of our lives here .. :)



Our last few weeks here have been just as busy (if not busier) than normal. Grades are due next week, as well as portfolios, and we have to pack up our classrooms in boxes so they can be cleaned this summer. So we definitely have lots to do at school as well as packing up our apartment! Among these things, we had (and have coming up) lots of fun things! Erik played in a softball tournament 2 weekends ago (they won in their division) and I had a field trip to SeaWorld to wrap up my Ocean unit as well as fun classroom parties! Erik also got to have a pool party and dunk contest with his basketball team to end out their year! What a fun coach! :)

Here are some pictures of the softball tournament and my field trip as well as some other pics..

We had an Arts Fest a couple weeks ago at school, and these pictures are from the photo booth there. It was a basically a carnival for the students - lots of fun and a great success!!
{Katie and Mia are in the pictures with me}

SO blessed and thankful for the fun and laughter my husband brings to my life :)  

Chris and Erik after they won the tourney! Woo Hoo!
Katie and I had a fun time watching them play! We got Starbucks! ;)

The whole team (most anyway) after the win! Erik loved playing with these guys and he is beyond thankful for their friendship - all great, Christian guys who he can't wait to play with again next year!

My kiddos looking at the ... ? I can't remember what this was. When I showed the pictures to my kids in class they swear the guide called it a mermaid ... Ha ha. So who know :) Pretty sure it is a manatee!

Posing in front of a HUGE mummified (preserved? not sure what the right word is) sting ray! They were pretty amazed!

The whole group with my wonderful class moms who helped me out with all the kids - as you can see we had our hands full :) What a fun day we had!! 

As we finish up these next 10 days here in Indo until we head to the States for the summer, please be praying for rest. We have a lot of things to finish up and we both have a strong desire to finish the year strong. I am already feeling a bit "checked out" but I hope and pray that I can hang on and finish the year out with patience and glorify God by doing everything to the best of my ability! Please pray for smoothness as we pack up our apartment in boxes (the school will be moving the boxes to our new apartment while we are home) and also as we pack up suitcases to come with us home! Packing has a way of stressing me out sometimes - I need my Mama for stuff like this! :) Pray for my 27 students above and their families. I love them all so dearly and hate to let go of them next year. I am glad I will have some of them again (my K1 students) and that I will see most of them across the hall in K-3!

Thanks, as always, for the prayers and support! We love you all and can't wait to see those that we can this summer! The next time I write will most likely be from America! YAY! :)

Bye for now. 

For all the mothers in my life ...

I have so many mother figures in my life that I look up to and love so much. I am so thankful for each of them and don't know what I would do without them in my life ... This blog goes out to them today :)

For my Grandmothers ... 

Mama Jo aka Jo Jo - You are so dear to my heart. I look up to you and cherish the the time I get to spend with you so much. I love to watch you support Daddy Mike in his ministry and you are an amazing friend and mom to your children. You make the best palates on the floor to sleep on and you're the best piano player I know. I love how similar we are and how we think the same way and I love your hugs! I am so blessed by you, Jo Jo. Thanks for being a great example of godliness to me! Happy Mother's Day to you! I love YOU!
Granny - You make me smile so much! I love how much you support Erik and I. Your are such a supportive grandmother - I never wonder if you are proud of me :) . You fried salmon and biscuits are probably two of my favorite things! Your house will always be one of my favorite places to be. I love you Granny - Happy Mother's Day! :)

For my Mother-in-Love ...
Karleen - Never in a million years did I dream that I would marry into such a wonderful family. You are the sweetest mother-in-law I could have ever asked for and you raised one wonderful son! :) You made me feel so welcome into your family the very first time I met you and you have never stopped making me feel loved and accepted. You are such a good example of faithfulness to me. I have only known you well for about 4 years, but I have seen you and your family go through some ups and downs and you never once questioned God or His plan. I love spending time with you and talking with you. You make the best buns ever! :) I can't thank you enough for welcoming me into your family and loving me like your own daughter. I love you so much! Happy Mother's Day Karleen! :)

And for MY MOM! ...
Mom - I could seriously go on and on forever about how much you mean to me. I tell you all the time how much I appreciate your friendship, but I really can't explain with words how much your friendship means to me. I absolutely love how we can talk about anything and always be honest with each other. You are one of the few people I can be 100% myself around always! You are such a great example and you always have been. One thing I specifically remember about growing up is watching you have your quiet time. I love how much you love to study the Word and God and actually take it to heart. You don't just read to read and that is evident by the way you live your life. You are such an amazing support to Daddy and I think you are a perfect example of what a godly mother and wife looks like. You are hilarious and you are fun! I don't think I have ever not liked something you have cooked and I love hanging out with you! And I like how I can borrow your clothes because you have style! Too bad I can't fit in your shoes though ... ;) You always give good, smart, well thought out advice, and you listen to me! I absolutely adore you mom and you mean the world to me! I miss you so much but L-dub I will see you soon! I can't wait to sit on the kitchen counter and talk to  you while you're cooking! :) I love you mom - Happy Mother's Day!

And last, but certainly not least, shout out to all those other mom's out there in my life that are wonderful mom's ...
Carol, April, and Aunt Barbara - You are all the coolest aunts on the planet and great mothers! I love you all  so much and am thinking of you on this day too!
Mrs. Jana - You are like my second mother! Thanks for caring for and supporting me in everything I do! I love you and your family so much and am SO thankful for you on this day especially! :)
Lindsey - Happy first Mother's Day! I know you were technically a mother last year, but I am sure it means so much more to you this year being able to hold Brayden in your arms! You are a wonderful mother to Brayden and a great wife to Peter. And you will be a great aunt to our kiddos some day! :) I am so glad and thankful to have you in my life! Happy Mother's Day to you! I love you! 

Brittany - I know that you are a wonderful mom to Caden and I can't wait to meet him! I hope that your first Mother's Day is a wonderful one too! I love you and miss you!

And to all my many friends out there who are having babies and being wonderful moms - happy Mother's Day to you, too! I can't wait until I can join the mother club too some day!

I am SO blessed to have so many wonderful mother figures and examples to look up to! I love you all so much and I hope that your Mother's day is wonderful and that you don't have to do a thing! :)
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!


Bye for now ...

Checking In!

Well, it's been awhile since I have last checked in {my bad!} and I thought I would just give a quick update on things that have been going on in our world ...

As many of you know, during our spring break we went on a tour to Turkey and Greece. It is SO hard to explain how amazing the trip was for both of us. We had amazing weather, spent time with great friends, made new friends, and learned so much. It was so cool to be places where Paul and the people of that time actually were. It was a trip of a lifetime that we will never forget! It's hard to pick just one picture to share from the trip but one of the highlights for me was probably standing on Mars Hill. Paul gave his sermon to the philosophers and "deep thinkers" of that city - he preached about their "un-known god" and statues they were worshiping. Our tour leader, Dan, read from Acts 17 and it was crazy to be standing right on the hill looking out at statues of Greek gods galore! Like I said, an experience we will never forget! It's going to be hard to say no next year when Dan leads another tour! :) 

{check out my Facebook for heaps more pictures}

After we got back from our trip we had a day to try to recover from jet lag and get ready for the last few months of school! We are now well into term 4 and are already counting down the days until we get on a plane and head back to the States! We have about 7 weeks left - we head home June 8th and arrive to Seattle June 9th. For those of you who would like to know, we will be in the Northwest (Pacific Beach, WA mostly) with Erik's fam from about June 9th through the last week of June and then we will be in Rapid City, South Dakota with my fam until we head back to Oregon (for a friends wedding - yay!) and again to Seattle on July the 15th! It's a short time, but we are excited to see family and friends and are hoping we can see as many of you as possible :)

It is crazy to think that we are already making plans for this summer and are even thinking about next year! Next year, not much will change for us as I will continue teaching K1/K2 and Erik will continue teaching PE. The only real changes are that Erik will no longer be teaching Bible (something that is a little bittersweet - he is excited to be able to devote all his time and energy into the PE and sports program but he will miss the time he got to spend with the students in the Bible classroom) and I will have another teacher teaching with me! Mia has been my teaching assistant all year but next year she is no longer "assistant" status and her and I will be co-teachers! I am SO excited about this. Mia has done so much for me this year and I am excited that we get to continue to work together next year even closer!
Also, as we think about next year, it is sad to think that we will be losing some of our teacher friends that we have gotten close to this year. But, at the same time we are SO excited to welcome new faces to our school! There are 2 girls coming from Corban (1 that I know really well) and we are so excited about it!

AND one more big change next year is that we will be moving!! We are moving to an apartment building right next to the school. This is something that we are VERY excited about! They are closer to the school (no more walking), the kitchen is bigger, and they are in Kemang Village. We will be able to take an elevator down to a grocery store (a HUGE one - basically the Indo version of Walmart), and we are about a 30 second walk away from the mall that they have been building all year. So, as you can tell, I am just a little excited about it :) Chris and Katie will be moving there as well and the new teachers that are coming that are married (without kids) will live there also! We were very thankful for our apartment this year, but are also thankful to be moving to a new one! God is good!

So, as we wrap up this year in the next few weeks, please be praying that we stay focused and finish the year strong. We both still have a lot to teach, plan, and grade before we can be "finished"! Also, you can be praying that we will be able to move into our new place June 1st (a week before we leave) so we can get everything all unpacked and not have to worry about it once we get back after summer break. Like always, thanks SO much for your prayers and love. We love you all and are looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

Bye for now.

March Madness!

With basketball and softball games, basketball practice, PJ day, grading, conferences, craft days and parties, church searching, staring term 4, getting "hit" by a car, and all the other normal responsibilities of being a teacher, spouse, and friend, I would say that March has for sure been one of our craziest months so far. Even though we didn't have that much more of a load than normal, we have been going without a break since Christmas pretty much! 3 months is a lonngggg time for us teachers and for our precious students :)
Needless to say, we are looking forward to our spring break coming up this Friday! For those of you who don't know, we're headed off to Turkey and Greece to follow Paul's 2nd missionary journey! We are SO excited for a break and of course to see and learn all about a place we have never been! When we get back we'll be finishing up term 4, celebrating our birthdays Indo style, and then heading to our home(s) in the States on June 8th! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. It has been incredible and challenging. Even though, we are definitely looking forward to the summer with family and great friends (and FRESH air ... and good FOOD .. and sunshine ...) - I know that we will be excited to come back to our home here. It's amazing the peace and joy you feel when you believe you're doing what the Lord wants! This promise has really reigned true lately {from Psalm 37}

Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

For those who are evil will be destroyed,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land

I hope those words encourage you like they do me :)

Before I sign off for now, here are some pictures from our pajama/reading day at the beginning of March. It was so much fun - the kids really loved it! They sure know how to make me smile :)

The books after the madness was all over. I think this proves our day was a success!

All the primary teachers (K1-G2) in our PJ's. I love all these ladies and am SO thankful for all of them!

We divided all the kids up into groups with different ages and they read to each other

Mrs. Heather (the G2 teacher and her husband) doing a skit/readers theater with "Green Eggs and Ham"

7 of my 10 K1 students! Aren't they cuties ... :)

Bye for now my friends ... Thanks as always for the prayers, love and support!

Luffa's and Little Things.

These are luffa's. You can obviously guess which one is who's ...

{You're probably thinking "why in the world is Amanda blogging about Luffas". Well, let me tell you in advance that this blog isn't meant to be interesting, educational, or insightful, I just wanted to share a sweet story}

Anyway, the other night I was taking a shower and I voiced my annoyance about how every time I take a shower I have to take Erik's Luffa off over the faucet to then take off mine. I asked Erik if this also annoyed him every time he took a shower - he of course said that he never thinks about it. Silly annoyance I know, but hear me out - many times I forget that his string is over mine and I pull mine off and they get tangled and then I usually burn my finger on the faucet. So I kinda have a reason to be annoyed ;)
So tonight, as I was in the shower I realized as I took my pink Luffa off the faucet that his blue one was not over mine. That thoughtful husband of mine remembered my complaint and put my Luffa back on top when he was finished using his. It was something so small that made me smile. Erik definitely got some brownie points for that one - and little did he know that something so small would mean so much to me.

As I was thinking about how much this "little thing" was so big to me I was thinking about how much little things matter to me [in good ways and in bad]. I need to think about the little things that make me smile on a daily basis. When I do so I am always amazed at God's amazing grace and love towards me.

Some other little things that have made me smile this week ...

• Coffee/great conversation with 4 very special friends of mine at this season in my life
• The perfect song at the exact moment I needed to hear it
• Baking a cake from scratch and not messing it up or yelling at things in the kitchen in the process
• 18 four-year-old's smiling shyly and happily at me as they walk into my classroom
• Skype dates
• An encouraging message from a friend on Facebook
• McDonald's delivery
• A ride home from school when I wasn't expecting it
• A student telling me "I love school"
• One of my closest and dearest friend getting engaged
• Coming home to a clean apartment thanks to our helper
• Coke
• Finding the new best chips at the store
• Thinking about my sister in Africa
• Kids in pajamas
• American Idol nights
• Thunderstorms

I am sure there are so, so many more little things that I have smiled about this week, but these are the ones that come to mind tonight.

Thank you Lord for Luffa's and little things.

"So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures."
James 1:16-18 [The Message]

Welcome to Mrs. Amanda's Class

I thought that some of my blogger followers might want to see the 28 little reasons why I love my job so much ... And I thought some might want a little bit more detail about what I do exactly - I know we've been here for 7 months [CRAZY, huh?] already ... but better late than never ;)

These are my K1's. For those of you who don't know K1 is made up of 3 year old's. I had 3 two year old's at the beginning of the year but as of December, they are all 3! I started the year with 6 K1's and now I have 10 little rascals!
K1 was probably the hardest thing about my job at first. I just didn't know how to teach them, but as the year has gone on, and with help from my amazing assistant, Mia, I am really loving them! I am even excited for K1 next year (can't believe I'm saying that ... haha)
They really love to make a mess as you can see above :)

Welcome to K2! I love these kiddos so much! I don't even know what we were doing here. But this is our ABC carpet where lots of learning happens ... hopefully ;)
K2 is made up of 4 year old's. Some of them may turn 5 by the end of the year, but they are all 4 right now. I have 18 kiddos who all bring something incredibly special and unique to our classroom. Some are angels (almost) and some are challenges, but I love [and even like] them all and I am so blessed to have them as my first real class!

We took our first field trip (K1 and K2) in November to a "farm" here in the Jakarta area. Here they were listening the guide talking about fish (in Bahasa of course - so I never knew what was going on). This was a crazy day - but full of educational fun :)

Some of my favorites [oh wait, did I say that? ;)] on the bus ride home from the field trip.

K1 and K2 (not everyone was here on this day) on Indonesia's Independence Day. This was a fun day with a big lunch and fun games! That is wonderful Miss Mia in the back! :)

I can't believe that I have been teaching these kiddos for 7 months! Term 3 is over March 9th! That means only one more term to go after that! It's crazy!! I have already learned and grown so much!

I love the feeling I get when I hear one of my kids in the morning say "good morning Mrs. Amanda" with a huge smile on their face and I will never get tired of it when they give me a picture they drew me at their house over the weekend or tell me they love me. These kids bring so much joy to my life and I am SO blessed to be able to say that I LOVE my job! Yes, I am tired a lot, yes, they drive me CRAZY sometimes, and yes, some days I don't feel like really going to work, but when I think about it, I wouldn't want any other life right now.

I pray that I am making as big of an impact on them as they are making on me. Please pray for these kids. About 12 out of my 28 kids do not come from Christian homes. And many of my kids from Christian homes still don't have anywhere close to the kind of life I would hope for them. Pray that I am able to continually show them Christ's love each and every day. I sometimes get discouraged with their age. It is hard to see if I am having any impact on them at this age, but I pray that, if nothing else, they feel loved when they come to my class.

Thank you for caring, encouraging, and praying!
Bye for now.