the HUTTEMANS learning the Indonesian LANGUAGE and CULTURE The only benefit that we can see to waiting so long between updates is that we have plenty of news to share with you. This month has been a busy one for us. With Independence Day celebrations, the beginning of Ramadan (a month of fasting for the majority of Indonesians), some meetings and evaluations, another group of new families arriving for culture and language study, and much more we’ve managed to keep ourselves well occupied since we last wrote.
On August 17, we joined our Indonesian friends as they celebrated their 64th year of independence. We are found that they love to party and find this holiday a great excuse to do just that. Starting weeks before, there were neighborhood competitions (like Eel-in-a-Bottle, Water-Bag-Pinata, Kerupuk Eating Contests, and many more) that got us all involved. We hung flags from our fences and cleaned our streets together. We collected donations and planned together. And finally, we culminated the whole celebration in a late night block party complete with an awards ceremony featuring international guests—yes, us! It was a great time to bond and relax with the people who we share most of our lives with here. But as a local pastor shared later in a men’s Bible study, the freedom that we celebrated was only partial. Only a portion of us really enjoy true freedom. It was refreshing and challenging to hear his vision for bringing true and complete freedom to every part of this nation, starting with those closest to us.
Another cultural phenomenon that we are experiencing for the first time is the month of religious fasting. Shortly after our Independence Day party, the festivities took a sharp turn toward piety. The devotion and commitment required to do this year after year is really amazing. With so much focus being placed on religion and beliefs right now, we are finding some small opportunities to discuss some of these deeper issues with folks around us. And where our language allows, we have had some conversations that begin to touch on the similarities and difference between what we believe.
That issue of language ability (or slowly shrinking lack thereof) faces us every time we venture outside our home—and sometimes even when we try to stay in it! This month, it was spotlighted for Michael as he underwent a culture and language evaluation with our team of language consultants here. From an hour of conversational interview and story telling, we’ve come to the conclusion that his language proficiency has just barely become Capable. The system of quantifying language ability is rather complex, but we use a system with 4 levels (Basic, Progressing, Capable, and Proficient). You might remember a few months ago that we were both evaluated to be at a middle Progressing level. Amy is scheduled for an evaluation soon also, so we look forward to seeing how far she’s come in that time as well. Realizing the results of our slow progress over these past months is rather encouraging.
As far as health, Amy has been feeling better lately. Her extra strength morning sickness (the kind that last 24 hours) has faded recently. From our second ultrasound a few weeks ago, the baby seems to be doing well also. We have lots of decisions regarding the delivery in February, but we have a lot of good options open to us that make those choices a little easier. Some of those decisions are still dependent upon other future plans that we are currently making. So far, we still hope to be moved from here to Central Indonesia by the end of this year to continue language study and begin some other ministries there.
But until then, we’ll keep our focus on keeping sane during life and language study here. We appreciate the time you take keep up with us and pray for us, and ask you once again to keep it up.
Your friends in Indonesia (and for those with more than one entry in that category, more specifically…)
The Huttemans
