Trip to the Zoo and a Prayer Request

Above is a picture of Laura and our friend Deasy at the zoo. The second picture is of Steve and his new friend.

Today we went to the zoo with our Indonesian friend Deasy. This was our first trip to the zoo here. It was so much fun because it was so different than an American zoo. I’ve never been to a zoo, where they let you touch most of the animals. For example, we held hands with a monkey, got sneezed on by an elephant, and were face to face with an angry tiger. The snake area in this zoo was incredible. It was a garden with bushes and trees that were covered in snakes, komodo dragons, and iguanas. The only thing that separates you from the snakes jumping out of the trees is a chain link fence, and yes, we did have one jump right at us. The snakes couldn’t crawl out of the chain link fence from below, because of a 6 ft cement wall below it.

This was a fun opportunity for us to build our relationship with Deasy. She has been super helpful to us as we learn the language.

Please pray for us to have wisdom giving money to people. We learned an Indonesian proverb this week. “Where there is sugar, there are ants”. Meaning, people will be your friends if you have money. To the Indonesian’s around us we are rich. Just this week we are starting to get bombarded by people hinting for money. We have been friends long enough now, that they are comfortable asking for things. Some have made up elaborate stories, which we find out some are not true. Some we know are true. We are having a hard time deciding what to do to show Christ’s love, and not just throw money at people. We do feel that we have the responsibility to help people if there is a legitimate need.

First Trip to the Doctor

Today, we took our first trip to the Docter (doctor). Laura has had sinus and throat problems for a couple of weeks now. We heard that this doctor spoke good English so we thought we would be able to get the care she needs.
When Laura called to make the appointment we found out that just because the doctor speaks English doesn’t mean that the receptionist does. So, Laura had an excellent opportunity to put her Indonesian to use. She was able to make the appointment, and to take care of a few extra details.
After a short wait at the Dr.’s office, we were admitted to see him. His English was the best we have heard from a non-Westerner the whole time that we have been here! We found out that he was also fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, German, and of course Indonesian. He did an excellent job diagnosing Laura and giving us all the information we needed about the perskripsi (prescription), including where to get it.
After the doctor’s office, we went to the Apotik (pharmacy) to get Laura’s prescription filled. During our long wait, we started to talk to the lady sitting beside us. She is an Indonesian of Chinese descent, and has faced some hard times because she is Chinese in an Indonesian society. After talking for awhile, we found out that she is a Christian. This is the fourth Christian that we have met apart from school or church. She was able to teach us what Christians say when they greet and part in this society. When Christians meet, they say, ‘Shalom.’ When they part they say, ‘Good-bye, See you later, or God bless you.’

Language Study

Our language study is going well. Every day we add more and more words and phrases to our vocabulary. We are really enjoying the challenge of learning and applying this new language. It makes me wonder how it could be possible to learn another language within the United States. How can you really learn a language if you don’t have the opportunity to use it extensively day after day? It has been a great experience so far.

Our House

We finally got all the bugs worked out of our water system. It really takes a lot of stress of off us now that we don’t have to constantly worry about positions of valves. Before, if a valve was left in the wrong position, we could be out of water for a day, which is not fun.
Today, Laura saw our first roach. Where there is one, there are more. So, we are taking precautions to keep the rest of them out. There is a great roach repellant here that is a natural deterrent. We’ll be putting that out after we get this blog posted.

Our Friends

We are continuing to develop friendships with the people in our neighborhood and community. Yesterday, a motorcycle taxi driver invited Steve to come to his house sometime. For the last several weeks, this driver stops and talks to Steve every time that he drives by, passenger or not. Tomorrow, Laura is getting together with a couple of Indonesian Christian ladies to study the Bible. What an opportunity for all of them to grow! We are also continuing to develop relationships with non-Christians in our community.

Thanks for supporting us as we are here. Prayers are being answered all over the place. Thanks for your part!

A Month of Wonder and Surprises

Today we are looking back over the past month because we have completed Unit 1 of our language studies. We are amazed at how much we have learned in one month! Now, we are usually able to say what we need to say, but not quite able to express emotions or detailed thoughts. From prior experience with other languages, that’s REALLY good for one month of studying a completely foreign language!

A few people that we have met have helped us to learn the language. Two of them are becoming good friends.

Everyday after school, we go out to talk to the people and use what we learned in class that day. During our first week here we were going up our street and stopped in to a little store (warung) just to try out our new found words. When we began introducing ourselves, the shop owner asked (in English) why we came to talk with him. He asked if others had told us about him because he speaks English. We were surprised and told him that we had no idea that he could speak English. We chatted for a few minutes and then he told us that he wanted us to teach his daughter better English. She works in a hotel and needs to understand people when they call to make reservations or if they have a problem. We said, ‘Sure.’
Since then, we have become friends with he and his family. We get together every few days to work on our languages. We teach them English and they teach us Indonesian! It is a great friendship.

The second family that I want to tell you about is that of our new friend, Ibu Kokom. Steve had been going to another warung and visiting with the men that came to socialize. This was great for his language and culture learning. One day, a lady walked by on her way home. She stopped and asked Steve to come to her house. He said that he would be glad to come by, but not until the next day when he could bring his wife. She said that she would be waiting.

So, we went the next day. We stopped at the warung to chat for a minute. Then, we headed up the hill along the narrow winding walkways. We didn’t know where we were going, only that she lived ‘atas’, on top. We asked people along the way and they pointed us in the right direction. Finally, we rounded a corner and there she was talking with some friends. She was very glad to see us and said that she had been waiting. However, this was not her house. She led us up and around a bit more to her house.

When we climbed the last set of muddy concrete stairs, she stopped and said, ‘This is my house. It is small.’ It was very small, by American standards, but it was also very clean and neat. (That’s a task in and of it’s self because she has four young boys.) We took off our shoes and went inside to sit on the floor.

After talking for a few minutes, she brought out some pictures and a bag. She pulled out a Gospel of Luke and said that she was a Christian. We were a little surprised and excited. She was the first Christian that we have met outside of our church and school. Christians are rare in this part of Indonesia and especially among this people group! She then told us about how she came to Christ. Some other missionary ladies about ten years ago had befriended her and led her to the Lord. She said that after those two ladies left she had always had a missionary lady to disciple her. Then she said that the lady who was helping her had left for the States yesterday!!! Wow!

We have been to her house once and she has been to ours once. Today we went with her to watch the neighborhood volleyball matches. That was really neat to experience more of the culture. Guess what!? They play volleyball just like we do in America! It was nice to understand what going on for once!