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

Wow, another month has flown by. I have had to look back through my digital photo albums to remember what all happened this month!! Over the past few weeks I’ve gotten to experience:

~Chinese New Year celebrations
~A closer look at Mt Merapi (a very active volcano)
~Borobudur (Buddhist Temple & one of the 7 Wonders of the World)
~The end of Chinese New Year celebrations
~A Wayang Kulit (Shadow puppet) play
~Making my own sarong at a Batik Factory

One afternoon I came upon the monthly neighborhood ladies meeting, and came away with an invite to next month’s meeting.  I was shocked to learn that one of the neighborhood women had passed away. She was actually the first neighborhood lady to help me with one of my homework assignments. I had the opportunity to join her family and church group as they met at her home the week after her death. It is Javanese culture to have gatherings on the 7th, 40th, 100th, and 1000th days after a loved one passes away.

A group of college aged Indonesian believers get together once a week, to encourage one another in the Lord, and practice their English, and I was finally able to attend this last week. Even though they are using their English, it’s a great place for me to practice my Indonesian.

A couple afternoons were also spent sitting in on the end of the month bookkeeping process.  

                            
I have 2 tutors coming, 2 afternoons a week, to help broaden my understanding of some problem areas I’ve been having with Indonesian grammar. Would really appreciate your prayers that things would begin making sense in my mind, and that I will quickly be able to get the hang of it.

Word is that my official paperwork should soon be complete. Ideally, it would be great if the timing worked out to where I could take the necessary trip out of the country at the end of this current language Unit, and then get back in time to start the next Unit.  I know it will happen in God’s perfect timing – pray that I will be patient and content with whatever the outcome. Would also appreciate prayer for the finances this will incur.

Lord willing, I will be motorcycle shopping soon, too! Pray for wise choices & safety on the roads.

THANK YOU for your encouragement, emails, prayer, support, etc!

Looking unto Jesus,

Dana

Supper is finished, the dishes are done, Jim Brickman is playing on the stereo, and my 3rd week of official language study is almost over. It’s good to just sit here in the quiet of the evening and reflect on the past month, and be reminded that God is faithful, even when the times are tough.

I started out this New Year at the beach, with some co-workers. We were there for 4 days, and as things go over here, the first and last days of our vacation were not quite as relaxing as the middle 2 days, as we found ourselves the center of attention of all the other visitors to the beach. While there I met an Indonesian couple who own a small eating establishment by the beach. Something about this lady drew me to her, and I looked forward to getting to know her better in the future.

We arrived home on Jan. 4, and on the 5th I had my language evaluation/placement test at the Language School. Two of the Indonesian teachers put me through the paces over the course of a half hour, and then gave me their recommendation. In the 9 Units course they offer, they suggested I enter at Unit 4, with an additional hour of grammar each afternoon for this first month. Classes began on Jan. 7th! Then on the 8th I was given another evaluation, by fellow NTMers, so that they could determine where I am at based on the learning scale that NTM uses. From that I was evaluated to be at Progressing Mid, which is halfway through the scale.

Since then, life has passed by in even more of a blur than it did the first month here. My days are full. I wish I could aptly give you a picture of what it’s like to live in a foreign country. Everything takes longer. If it can go wrong, it probably will. Building relationships with neighbors is at first tedious, as they try to understand you and vice versa. The electricity goes off at the most inopportune times, and then stays off for several hours. When your water supply comes through a pump, which is electric, you learn really quickly not to unnecessarily flush the toilet, etc, if the electricity isn’t on! Getting places is based on how far away it is and if you can walk, or need to take public transportation, which then affects the timing of when you can go. But if it’s raining heavily (which is often) then you must determine if you really, truly need to go out after all. Using your American hairdryer trips the breaker (which is outside) every 2 minutes or less, because the wattage of the house is so low. There’s the mold, and the ants, the caterpillars that eat your flowering bushes down to just the branches, the rather large cockroaches that scurry across your floor in the evening, and the rats that run rampant through the neighborhood and sometimes your ceiling! There are the tears of exhaustion and frustration when you can barely think in English, much less Indonesian, but you still need to go talk to the neighbors in order to get your homework done!

However, lest you begin to think it is all bad…

God lovingly reaches down and intervenes in the lives of men by giving days when it doesn’t rain on the way to AND from school! Friends who offer to feed you lunch every day because they live near the school, and if you had to walk home, you’d barely have time to eat before needing to walk out the door again for afternoon class! Feeling more at home in the neighborhood and having neighbors who jump at the opportunity to help you with your homework, as well as looking out for you when strangers come around. Many opportunities to observe major cultural events and the countryside. Those moments when you realize you’ve actually learned some new words and grammatical structures and are using them correctly! Friends all around the world who write to encourage you, some of whom even send you packages! :-)  A hot shower in the cool mornings, instead of the cold water and dipper system of your youth. Wonderful classmates.

But then, in the midst of the good and the bad of just trying to exist, you are again suddenly, starkly reminded of why you came here in the first place. Within 2 weeks of meeting that sweet lady at the beach, she entered into a Christless eternity, after contracting Dengue fever and having other complications. A heartfelt thank-you to those of you who prayed with me during that situation. I was able to take a day off of school and went back to the beach the day after she died, to offer my sympathy to her family.

My paperwork is currently being processed, and as soon as we get the word, I and the 3 other girls will be headed out of the country and then back in again, to complete the entire process. I also already have a large portion of what I’ll need for purchasing a motorcycle. Please continue to pray with me for the rest of that as well as all the upcoming travel expenses, on top of the Language School expenses.  Pray also for stamina as I study.

As I wrap this up, the Jim Brickman CD has also finished, and the cicadas are singing loudly outside.  My eyelids are heavy and threatening to close on me!   Thanks for coming on this journey with me, for praying and writing and encouraging and supporting financially! If I had to do this on my own, I wouldn’t make it! God is good, all the time!

“In You, O LORD, I put my trust …” Psalm 71:1

Looking unto Jesus,
Dana

We are in the midst of rainy season. Which means it rains at least once a day. Sometimes it rains in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening, and sometimes even all day long. The one thing you CAN be sure of: it WILL rain. This is what I have to look forward to all the way through next March or April.

As of yet, I am unable to drive myself around town, so I am left with several options for traveling from Point A to Point B.
~There is the very reliable method of my own 2 feet. Now, this method works well when it’s not raining, and when Point B is not too far away from Point A, and I’m not carrying anything heavy. It’s also a great form of exercise. But, really, who wants to exercise ALL the time?
~Another great option for transportation is on the back of a friend’s motorcycle. One of my very first purchases, upon arriving here, was a helmet which I wear any and every time I climb on a motorcycle. My helmet is a very happy shade of green, making rainy season a little less gloomy.   However, the state of my hair, upon removal of said helmet, is not such a happy thing. I’m very glad I brought both a poncho and a rain jacket, as I have used both of them many times already.
~Many people get around by bicycle, though I have yet to use one here.
~Privately owned cars. We have a couple vehicles that we as a group share here, on a first come first serve basis. At least one family has their own vehicle, which I’ve ridden in several times.
~Vehicles for hire. This could include large, 13+ passenger “vans”, down to smaller taxis. I use the term “van” very loosely here. Think large, cumbersome, noisy, and smelly (as in exhaust). But they are a great option for large groups, like when a bunch of us women went on a shopping trip to a town 2 hours south of here last Saturday. It ends up being very economical, as we can split the cost of the trip, and we have a driver who knows the ins and outs of driving in the traffic here.
~Then there are the myriad varieties of public transportation.
*The Angkot (pronounced Awng-coat) is a passenger vehicle. You pay about 20 cents to ride it, no matter where you need to be dropped off. Stand on the side of the road and flag it down, then tell the driver to stop where you want to get off, and pay as you get out. Each angkot route is numbered, and the angkots have corresponding numbers on the front, so unless you aren’t paying attention and accidentally get on the wrong #, your angkot will eventually get you to where you need to go. Eventually being the key word. If an angkot was used in the States, about 9 passengers would fit in it, albeit slightly crowded. But we are in Indonesia, and many more than that can squeeze in. Personal space is not an important concept here. Why, just this morning, I was privileged to share my ride with about 17 other passengers! There is ALWAYS room for one more, even if that means several people have to stand up and hang on to the outside of the door. Once near your final destination, you will probably have to walk by foot to get to your home, friend’s home, or whatever stores you are going to.  This service stops around 5:00 pm, daily. 

*The Dokar (pronounced Doe-car) is a horse drawn cart. You must barter for your ride. I have paid as much as $2 (split with the other passengers) when riding with several other people, and as little as $1 when by myself. This option is sometimes hair-raising, when there are several heavy, large Westerners as passengers, and your route takes you down a hill. Did you know that a horse can actually leave hoof skid marks on a paved road? You will often feel as though the cart is going to run over the horse in situations such as this, but you must remain calm and in control of your faculties for the horse always (so far) manages to stay ahead of the cart. The dokar driver will actually drop you off at your home, and you again pay when you get out. I came home by dokar after shopping yesterday, and the driver adjusted the side rain flaps for me, so that it wouldn’t rain in on me.   This service also stops around 5:00 pm.

*The Becak (pronounced Bay-chalk) is a pedicab. Growing up in Kalimantan, this was my absolute favorite way to go! The driver sits behind you, on a bicycle seat, and you sit on a bench in front of him, that usually has a top covering it. You must also barter for the price of this ride, and upon reaching an agreement, you then pay when you get to your final destination. He will also drop you off at the door of your home, or in front of wherever it is you need to go. The top cover of the becak can be retracted, which is sometimes nice for taller Westerners. It can be fun to try to squeeze two Western sized people into one becak, too, since we tend to be larger boned than most Asians. The trick is for one person to scoot to the back of the seat, and the other person to sit forward on the edge of the seat. As of yet, I have not ridden a becak here in this town. 

*Another form of transportation is the Ojek (pronounced O-jeck). This is a motorcycle for hire. With all the other options I have, this is one I will most likely never try.

So there you have it. Now you know just a few of the options you have, for when you come to visit me. :-)  Only, by then I hope to be driving a motorcycle of my own, green helmet, poncho, and all!

Speaking of which, please pray with me as I look to the Lord for the provision of a motorcycle. Another single lady is just finishing up her language study time here and is moving on soon, and has offered to sell her motorcycle to me. She is asking (depending on the exchange rate) for $900-$1000 for it, and would need payment by next March.  Having my own form of transportation, for in the late afternoons and at night, would be a huge blessing!  Just as a matter of interest, and consideration, it takes 2 months (after the month it’s received at HQ) for my financial support to reach me here.

Thank-you for your interest in my life and for the part you play in my being here. There have already been a few days of loneliness, and some sickness. I have jumped into language learning with both feet, and it is exhausting some days, but Lord willing I will be able to effectively communicate better soon with the people in their own language. This past Monday (Dec I was able to witness one of the holidays celebrated by the main religion here. Animal sacrifice was involved and I was acutely reminded of why I am here. What an encouragement, last night, to hear a local Pastor testify to how he came out of that main religion because of Christ alone. 

1 Peter 1:18-19 ~ “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Looking unto Jesus,
Dana