christmas

What a Christmas.

Dinner and games with some amazing folks on Christmas Eve, homemade eggnog while introducing White Christmas to two lovely ladies, Christmas day with my family-away-from-family, clear Skype reception (for the most part) to be able to talk with family and watch them open presents...

And the grand finale - my little sister is engaged!! Congratulations, Regan and Isaac!! So excited for you two! And so grateful Skype held up long enough to be able to see this beauty!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."  

walking on water

The house seems so empty. It's crazy how loud silence can be.

Tuesday my two housemates (and partners and just really awesome friends) went back to the US, concluding a series of goodbyes this holiday season. The city is now short two single ladies, one wonderful couple, and four energetic, beautiful blonde-headed girls.

This time has been much anticipated with anxiety, to be honest. More goodbyes. Another transition. Joy.

It's easy to look at the situation and fall into worry and insecurity. And I did there for a little while (another honest moment). Who am I to be heading up the English center? What am I going to do without all those late-night motivating and strengthening conversations? What happens if (when) everything falls apart and we lose all momentum and I have no idea what to do next? Can I really do this?

But you know what? All of those questions up there, they're all focused on the wrong thing. They're all about me. Who am I? What am I to do?

While some of those questions up there may hold some value, most are just unbelief covered in worry. I'm reminded of a story about a certain someone who tried to walk on water but started sinking when he shifted his eyes to the storm around him instead of on the One who was walking towards him. Pretty humbling.

Isn't that more or less exactly what I'm doing? I am so quick to look at what's around me and flip out because I can't possibly do it, when all I'm supposed to do is fix my eyes on the One who CAN. (Haven't I learned this already? I think I'm like Peter in more ways than one.)

So here's what I've learned so far in my version of trying to walk on water:

He's our Father, our good and perfect Father. And if our dads here know how to give their children good gifts, how much more so our good and perfect Father! We are not abandoned. We are His beloved.

He knows what He's doing. It's no coincidence that we're in the situations we're in. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows how to draw us to Himself. That's what He's doing, you know. Drawing us to Himself. Making His name known. And, in the process, making us more like Him. We can't walk on water, but He can. When the wind and waves are raging all around us, all we gotta do is trust and keep walking with our eyes fixed on Him.

Let's try this whole walking on water thing again.

Recipe 2: Nina's Oatmeal Bread

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Several of you have requested the recipe for that delicious bread I posted a little while ago. I have gotten permission to post it, so in honor of the amazing woman who has taught me so much about cooking, mothering, and being a woman after His heart, ladies and gentlemen, Nina's Oatmeal Bread:

Oatmeal Bread

COMBINE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Flaxseed/wheat germ (optional)
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp butter/margarine

POUR OVER and LET SET:

• 2 cups boiling water 

DISSOLVE:

• 1 pkg (little over 3 tsp) dry yeast
• in 1/2 cup warm water

When batter is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast.

STIR IN:

• 5 cups flour (may substitute 1 cup flour for 1 cup whole wheat flour if desired) 

DIRECTIONS:
When dough is stiff enough to handle, turn onto floured board and knead 5-10 minutes (or use mixer with dough hooks to knead).

Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

Punch down and let rise  again.

Shape into 2 loaves, place in greased 9x5x3 loaf pans.

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.

Cool on rack and brush loaves with butter for soft crust.

it is well...

This weekend, two very dear friends of mine got married. They are one out of a dozen couples to have gotten engaged since I've been overseas and are the sixth out of my close friends to have tied the knot.

I tried to skype in during the service to see even a tiny bit of the wedding. My moms iPhone signal was really weak in the cute little country ch- where Stephen and Elizabeth were getting married, and that's not even considering how sketchy my internet is. But, a stroke of luck! The call made the connection, and singing filled my ears with surprisingly good quality. The connection lasted maybe 30 seconds, enough time for me to catch a glimpse of people sitting in pews and a guitarist up front, and then it cut off.

I consider it no coincidence that the first and only part of the wedding that I was able to witness was the song "It is Well." Seeing all of my friends together, hearing my mom's beautiful voice, knowing that friends are moving into a new phase of life while I'm on the other side of the world... it all made me a little homesick, to be honest. But as Mom and I tried to reconnect, my heart sang the words that I heard moments ago:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say:
It is well, it is well with my soul.

In that moment, I was reminded as to why I'm here. I'm not here because of the adventure and excitement, although there certainly is a lot of that here. I'm here simply because the Son said "Follow me," and this is where He led, and He's worth abandoning everything for.

The following morning, we had an all-day event for students who wanted to take things deeper. Some of the students we knew were born again, but others... not so sure. The event went really well, and we met the next afternoon to go out and scatter seeds, if you will.

Two hours later, we got back together, and... we have a new sister! One of our own scattering the seeds realized that being a believer isn't about who her family is or if she was sprinkled as a baby but rather about trusting and following the Son! We went back to a friend's house, and she was dunked right there in the bak in the bathroom!

As we sang praises to the One who has rescued us out of darkness, my heart was overwhelmed with joy - joy in being an undeserving daughter, joy in witnessing the Father make a life brand new, joy in knowing He is power and truth and love.

I know if I had been back in the States this weekend, there would have been great joy in being with my loved ones and witnessing two lives commit to being one. But instead, I got to see something eternal happen - a dead girl made alive to see and adore His glory - and hey, that's worth it all.

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more!

Praise the L0rd! Praise the L0rd, O my soul!

It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul!

one year in

A year ago today, I stepped foot into this beautiful, hot, wonderful country. It’s unbelievable that that much time has already passed. It’s been full of laughter, awe, worship, tears, challenges, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

10 things I love about this country (aside from the people):

• The cicaks – these little geckos not only eat the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue, but I also think they’re super cute.
• The food – when I first arrived in this country, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the food. It was a lot of rice, and it was spicy. But now, it is some of the best food in the world.
• Fresh fruit juice - Divine.
• Speaking in another language – Okay, so I’m far from fluent, but it’s still really cool to be able to understand and even slightly communicate in another language.
• Driving a motorcycle – Yeah, there are some times when I fear for my life and others when I battle road rage, but all in all, it’s a rather fun experience.
• The landscape – Turn one direction, mountains. Another, the beach. Does it get any better?
• Batik fabric – this beautiful fabric is wonderful, and each province has their own unique style.
• Greeting friends with a cheek-to-cheek embrace – I loved this when I was in France, and I was thrilled to discover it’s here as well.
• Being community-oriented – Honestly, this took me a while to adjust to: neighbors coming in and peeking in my room, asking about every little thing, etc. My housemates have stories of, while battling dengue, waking up to find neighbors standing over the beds, watching them. Now, though, it’s a source of comfort. Our neighbors have our backs. The first two weeks after we moved in, the little ibu next door sat outside our gate every night, making sure we got home safely. Relationships matter.
• Dependence on the Lord – There is absolutely no denying our dependence on the Lord in this country. Day in and day out, it is very clear: WE NEED HIM. Need Him for sanity, need Him for comfort, need Him for strength, need Him to do it all really… In the States, that fact can be clouded, but here, it is very, very evident.

10 things that have changed:

• Ideas of cold - 70 degrees is coooold. Guess that’s what happens when you live in 90-degree weather with high humidity year round. When we went up to the mountains, I wore a sweater and shivered.
• How comfortable I am with physical contact with the same gender - It’s a totally normal thing now to walk hand-in-hand with a good girl friend. Nothing is thought of it. Extremely awkward at first, now it’s a common thing even among my American girl friends.
• My eating habits - Remember when you were a kid and your parents always scolded you for eating with your hands? Yeah. Forget that.
• The definition of an address - Want to know what we say when we give our address? It’s the blue and grey house next to the red house in the neighborhood behind the orange building on this one street. To receive a package, I get a text message from the post office telling me to come pick one up. To pay bills, I take last month’s bill down the street to a guy’s house who has a computer set up in his living room. Mailboxes are a thing of the past.
• My idea of showering - Warm water spraying down automatically from a shower head above me is a faint memory. Now, my arms get a daily workout as I dump cold water over my head. It’s rather refreshing in the middle of blazing hot day in the tropics though.
• My cooking abilities - Not that I’m this awesome cook or anything, but through being under some pretty awesome ladies, I can now successfully make some things taste like America (some things).
• My driving abilities – Piggybacking off of loving to drive above, my driving abilities have also changed drastically… and not necessarily in a good way. I’m a lot more aggressive now… I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in trouble when I get back to the States.
• Handshakes - After lightly shaking someone’s hand, you bring your own up to your chest. Please don’t think I’m weird if I come back and do this. It’s a really hard habit to break.
• Standards for movies - Going to the theater here is a magical experience – It’s dark, they’re speaking in English, we’re eating candy and movie popcorn… It’s almost like being in America, and it’s worth watching movies that I would never consider seeing if I was actually back in the States. 
• Ideas of cleanliness - When it comes to the bathroom, wet is clean. If the food has no roaches, it’s good. Ants? Extra protein.

It's been a crazy year, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here and witness what the Father's doing. Thank you, Asia, for making me more like Him. I'm looking forward to the year to come.


"And we know that for those who love G-d all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If G-d is for us, who can be against us?"
- Rom 8:28-31

home sweet home

The house has been such a blessing. It's so nice to have a quiet, (relatively) private place to come back to. I love it. I'm checking out paint prices to make it even more cozy. We're thinking a nice cream might like good. It's hard to find something to go with the pink floors though..

Thank you to those who have helped us in this process of finding a house, working out kinks (i.e. the water only works at certain times during the day), moving in, and making it a home. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The view from the foyer. To the right is our "living area," and to the left our kitchen/dining room.

The entranceway

See that sink in the back right corner? First sink I've had where I'm living in six months.
I literally jumped for joy and broke out into song when I saw it.

Our reading nook

Our back. The cream door leads to a bathroom.

  

Our cooking area. We have a two burner stove and an aluminum box
that sits on top of one for an oven. It actually works fairly well.

See? I'm making bread! Thank you, Asia (and Nina), for making me more domestic.

The ladies share this room

And this is mine! There's a bathroom to the right with a western toilet.

It's actually quite roomy.

Just had to post a picture of the final product. :)

 

the summer in pictures

What a summer. Vacation, visitors, new roommates, moving... A lot's gone on. To make things simpler, here's a glimpse of what I saw.

My new house! Despite not having any previous tenants, it still needed a bit of work. Finished pictures to follow.

We got dressed up in the traditional kubayas and went out and took photos. It was a very girly day.

Borobudur - one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World

 

 

Buddhist holy waters

Balinese fire dance

Terraced rice patties

tikus island

This post is long overdue thanks to my recent war with dengue (which, by the way, I'd say I'm 95% over - just working on getting my energy back now), but here it is finally.

A couple of weeks ago, back when Jerushah was still here, we got a group of friends together and went to the little island about an hour off the coast called Tikus Island, or Mouse Island. It definitely deserved its name; the place was tiny, but it was beautiful. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

We first had to get a group of 15 people together because you can't just take a normal ferry over. No, that'd be too easy. You remember those fishing boats from a couple of months ago? The long, wooden, brightly-colored ones? Yeah. We took one of those. Somehow, two navy guys joined our excursion, and they were a huge help climbing into the boat as we waded in and fought the waves (sadly, my phone was a casualty). One stood at the front of the boat; the other in the back. It felt so official. There isn't really anything on the island itself, only a couple of buildings, but there is a tower you can climb up. I've overcome many of my fears, but I've decided I'll always be afraid of heights, particularly climbing up high ladders with no sort of protection at all.

The water was crystal clear thanks to the corral surrounding the island, and a beautiful shade of blue... so gorgeous. We borrowed snorkeling gear from some friends and went snorkeling... if only my camera could take photos underwater. So many fish! It was unbelievable...

Sadly, I don't have any pictures to share of snorkeling, but here are some from the rest of the day:

Can you tell I can't keep a straight face?

Just a little excited