NTM

Becoming reacquainted with my youth …
I’ve spent the past few weeks studying from home, and most of that time has been translating childhood stories from English into Indonesian, and then working with a tutor to correct them. So far, I’ve completed 7 of them, including Little Red Riding Hood, The 3 Little Pigs, Goldilocks and The 3 Bears, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and am currently working on The City Mouse and The Country Mouse. It’s been fun, and helpful.
~ Please pray that I’d be able to finish out this month strong.

Opportunities …
Two other tutors have also been a help in giving me specific opportunities to talk. One of them is of the main religion here, and we have been going over the tenets of her faith during our sessions together. A couple weeks ago she asked me to tell her about my own faith, so we spent last week’s session talking about what I believe. As she left, she said she’d like to continue this particular conversation this week as well.
~ Pray for clear thinking and communication on Wednesday (the 29th), as we continue to talk.

Never-ending quest …
One of the main reasons for taking this month off from the Language School has been to be able to get some much needed rest. That doesn’t seem to always work out, though, and I am still battling fatigue to a degree. Life’s stresses seem to add to it/prolong it.
~ Please pray for restful nights.

New digs …
In one week I will have officially moved from my current home into the home of one of the single girls here. It was a huge blessing to be able to immediately move into this already furnished house when I got here, but now the time has come for its owners to return from their furlough. Have I ever mentioned that I strongly dislike change?!
~ Please pray for a smooth transition to my new neighborhood, short though it may be.

Fresh blood …
I am no longer the “newbie”. (Let’s face it – was I ever? :-) ) This coming Saturday, Aug 1st, I will be making an airport run to meet 3 new families and 1 new single girl. 2 other families have already arrived and are settling in. I am the “Point Person” for one of the families, which involves doing some shopping for basic necessities to have in their home before they arrive, as well as frequently checking on them once they get here. Other ways we all help them out is to have them in for meals and take them shopping, their first week here.
~ Please pray the newbies will be able to adjust quickly to their new life and surroundings.

The Great Equalizer …
 I received news today (7/28) that one of my teachers from the Language School, Pak Theo, passed away early this morning. I’ve been to the visitation and tonight will go back for a service at his home. Tomorrow, he will be buried after his family arrives from West Papua. It is comforting to know he is with his Lord and Savior, but many of us here are still in shock, as there was no indication anything was wrong. He was only 46 yrs old. Although I hadn’t seen him this month, I’ve heard that his testimony to be a constant witness for the Lord was strong, up until his death. He was one of my favorite teachers there and he will be missed.
~ Please pray for Pak Theo’s family and friends, as we process this loss, and that others will come to know Pak Theo’s God through the testimony of his life.

* THANK YOU for your ongoing support, prayerfully and financially!  May we each be found faithful with the time God gives us here on this earth!

In His Care,

Dana 

In a foreign country, the one thing you can always count on is change.

Tomorrow is July already and we are finally into dry season now, after beginning the month of June with very heavy rains. This past month has been busy, and subsequently, my fibromyalgia has flared up some.

During Unit 8 of language study I had an earlier class schedule each day, which was hard for me physically by the end of the unit. June 5th – 10th a group of students from the Missionary Training Center in MO came through for a visit. I was their driver for most of their time here, which I enjoyed, but the schedule wore me out and also added to the fibromyalgia symptoms returning.

As a result, I have asked to be able to take a “step-out” month, in July. This means I will not be going to the language school every day, but instead will be doing my own studying at home. I am hoping this will do 2 things:
1) allow me to rest up with a less demanding schedule, and
2) give me the opportunity to specifically work on cementing certain areas in the language with tutors, instead of the constant new material given in class every day.

I’m thankful for the opportunity I had to get away to the beach this past weekend, and enjoy a different pace of life, plus fun in the sun and sand and waves along the coast of Java. A group of us went together, including my parents, and God definitely protected us on the roads with a driver who must have thought he was part of NASCAR! (Imagine racing in a long van, with passengers and luggage, weaving in and out of traffic that follows no rules, your racetrack along winding, mountainous roads and through over-crowded towns!!)

Because I am taking a month off of language school, this will affect my housing situation here, come August. The house I live in is the home of missionaries currently on furlough. They will be back the beginning of August, so I need to make a major decision soon about where to move. I don’t know yet if I will need to complete the final unit of language school, or if my studying this next month will put me at the level I need to be at in order to officially be finished. And that all affects when I will leave Java and move on to Sulawesi. A lot of unknowns right now.

Thank you for praying with and for me! Thank you for your financial support as well!

Happy 4th of July, to all of my American family and friends! 

Resting in Him,
Dana

At the beginning of the month we had a Regional Fair for the Language School students. Several folks who work on different islands here shared about the needs in the different regions of this vast nation, to help us in the decision making process of where to go once we are finished with formal language study.

  I finally received an invitation to a neighborhood ladies meeting. Found out after the fact that it wasn’t actually “my” neighborhood ladies, even though it was right around the corner from my house, but I enjoyed the experience anyway. The lady of the house put me to work helping dish up and serve the meal to the ladies.

  I came home from class one afternoon to find a funeral taking place at the house next to mine. So, I along with my co-workers (who live on the same street as me) went to pay our respects. The lady’s nephew is in our National Training Program in Sulawesi, and he’s been here for the past few months spending time in his home church, and helping as a tutor for some of the language students here. He explained to us that his cousin had just given birth to a stillborn baby, at 8 months pregnant. My friend and I decided to branch out and cross over cultural lines that day. Instead of just sitting on the porch, being served, we asked if we could join the group of women back in the kitchen, as they prepared food for the meal later that day. We were graciously received and put to work. It was a great opportunity to show these ladies that we care about their every day lives, and aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty! From that afternoon, I received an invitation to “my” neighborhood ladies meeting!! :-)

Several days after the funeral I made my way down the street to find the ladies meeting. If you ever want to feel like a celebrity, just come for a visit! When I showed up in the doorway of that house, the entire roomful of women let out a delighted “Waaaaaah”, and ushered me in.

  Unit 7 ended, and I had a week break. I continued meeting with tutors during that time, and also had a meeting with field leadership. Last Saturday (23rd) I went on a soggy motorcycle ride up the mountain, with a group of friends, and we hiked to a local waterfall in the rain, then we made our way back down the mountain in the rain. Did you know it is dry season right now? It’s been a very wet, rainy one so far! On Sunday an Indonesian friend invited me to attend her church, to celebrate Christ’s ascension. And on this past Monday I started Unit 8 of language study.

  Thank you for praying for me! You often may not realize how important you are to my being here! I can see the language study finish line in front of me (ending with Unit 9), and am already looking ahead to moving to the island of Sulawesi sometime in August or so. Please pray with me about all the details, seen and unseen. I am looking to the Lord for future partners and a future tribal work, but still need to make the most of the time I have left here.

Resting in Him, Dana

This month has brought the completion of 2 major items. I now have my one year visa, as well as my driver’s license!

  On March 6 Unit 5 ended. The Lord answered prayer and on the 11th I began a 10 day trip to pick up my visa. The trip involved 4 girls, 6 different airplanes, 2 buses, numerous taxis, 2 mission vehicles, 2 chartered vans, 3 islands, 2 countries, 2 hotels, a night at my parent’s house, and 5 nights at the mission’s Guest Home, a swim in the ocean, and a climb to a waterfall. I came home with a visa, a burned back (courtesy of snorkeling in the ocean) and a painful big toe (courtesy of falling while climbing back down from the waterfall – located near the school I worked at when I was here 14 years ago). The only thing I did not come home with was my driver’s license…Sulawesi had run out of the plastic cards, so we were unable to accomplish that while there.

  I arrived home on the night of the 20th, and the next morning (Sat, 21st) I went to school for a make-up class, since I had missed the entire first week of Unit 6. Also, since getting back, I’ve arranged for a 3rd tutor to help me out on Mondays and Fridays. Two other ladies have been coming on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and they are a big help to me. I also have a language learning activity every Thursday afternoon, as well as the get together on Thursday evenings with the Indonesian single believers.

My big “AHA!” moment with the grammar arrived about a week ago, which is kind of exciting, as I’ve been struggling with when to use the prefixes and suffixes. It still doesn’t come naturally, but I think I’m finally starting to be able to correctly use the formulas, and having tutors is helpful in cementing it all in my mind.

  Yesterday morning, bright and early, the 4 of us girls took another trip together, this one much shorter than the last. One of our Indonesian friends took us to apply for our drivers licenses, and within almost 2 hours we had them! So, today, I took my first bike ride out of town, going about a half hour away to a church up the mountain. On one of the winding curves in the road, an Indonesian man on a motorcycle just ahead of me wiped out on some loose gravel!

  I feel as though I’ve been playing catch-up with rest, lately, and just can’t quite get enough! Please pray for me as I continue on in the language, and face the daily challenges of driving in the traffic here. There are many opportunities to talk with neighbors and to attend Bible studies at church, etc. Pray that I would make the most of the time I have here, while also getting the rest I need.

THANK YOU for being in this with me!!
Pressing on…
Dana