Captain's Log - Stardate 1056.78. We arrived home yesterday after a 24 hour travel time + 7 hours time difference, so this is our last blog (for the time being at least).
Our last week in Malaysia was amazing - we have seen many friends that Stan made last year. We visited the theological college he taught at, and he was asked to preach at the service on Thursday morning - rather unexpectedly. Fortunately he had taken Jonathan's advise 'always have a sermon in your back pocket' so was able to talk on Romans 12:2 which was Alex's (in Cambodia) and our 'tag line' about asking God, listening to what God tells you,and acting on it even though it may be out of your comfort zone and being changed from the inside out.
We have also this week met some amazing Christians - an English lady working on Bible translations for the village dialects (been in Malaysia 10 years), a Chinese lady preaching the gospel in the villages who told us (and showed us video) of fantastic work and healing the Lord has done there, a man who had been a different faith who is now a Christian and sharing his faith with his friends and family despite his life being in danger, and this was just in a few days.
Memories we will take away - so many but the greatest will be the people of Indonesia and Malaysia who made us so welcome and shared what little they have, their amazing faith, the opportunity to talk and make friends of some who are of a different faith (we continue to correspond via Facebook and answer their questions) and a hope that we will return.
What next?
We ask for your prayers to continue (and thank you for those we have been having -we felt the support very strongly) - we wait to see what God will tell us do next.
Sue and Stan xxx
over and out.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Monday, 19 July 2010
COMING TO THE END.........
Went to the floating market at 5am Saturday - well worth getting up for! As the sun rose at 6am we were surrounded by dozens and dozens of little boats, all laden with fruit and vegetables (many of which we have never seen before), rattan baskets and many other things made in the villages. You barter and buy from your boat and can even order rice in banana leaves (the plates) and glasses of tea from the 'restaurant' boat. Within half an hour they are all sold up and gone.
We then went on to 'monkey island'. Biddy had warned us against going ashore as the monkeys take anything they can get hold of. Most of the students were going ashore, as were Roger and the two American girls. As we neared the jetty a mob of monkeys jumped on the boat and ransacked it in 5 minutes, taking bananas and anything else they wanted. The ones who decided to get off fared worse though - the total losses were one pair of sandals, three mobile phones, a cash card and a load of cash, a belt and a scarf!
Sunday evening Biddy was invited to preach at the evening service - a bit like our Fuel service, so we had a sermon with English subtitles - the first one we have really understood! Our students sung a song in English we had taught them - The Lord's My Shepherd (I will trust in him alone) - and taught the congregation - it was an inspirational evening!
Wednesday we have the tests and then on Friday we have the leaving ceremony where the students will be presented with their pass certificates (we pray), will put on a display of Indonesian music and dance and we are also expected to put on an entertainment from our country. I won't tell you what Stan and I have decided to do - will save that as a treat for when we get home!
On Saturday it's off to the airport to travel to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpar and then to Kota Kinabalu where we THINK we have been booked into a hotel! Then it's 5 days of rest we hope.
THINGS THAT HAVE SURPRISED US ABOUT INDONESIA
Rice with every meal is actually ok (ish)
Showering in a barrel is actually rather nice.
You CAN get used to a squatty potty (USA term, but you get the idea.)
Indonesians can't say 'th'. We had fun with learning "then Jesus told them that...."
m..........s (can't use the word but Gladys Aylward was one - Google her!)are fun - at least the ones we have met here - they live their faith every day, not just Sundays.
We have enjoyed teaching together.
How many people there are of our faith here - and growing.
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
Our young people - for the tests and for their futures as ministers
For Biddy - still waiting for her exit and re-entry visa. She now has all her tickets for her journey to Singapore (leaving with us on the 24th) and back but so far cannot leave the country.
For the rest of us - what next in our journey? The two American girls intend to complete their teacher training (American as a 2nd language) and return to work in Asia, Roger is returning to his job in Southampton, wants to return to Asia but also feels God drawing him back to South Africa. And as for us - we are still waiting for God to let us know, but we certainly both feel drawn to Asia although we are looking forward to returning to our family in Churchdown (both Will and all of you).
Love and prayers and blessings to all
Sue and Stan xxx
We then went on to 'monkey island'. Biddy had warned us against going ashore as the monkeys take anything they can get hold of. Most of the students were going ashore, as were Roger and the two American girls. As we neared the jetty a mob of monkeys jumped on the boat and ransacked it in 5 minutes, taking bananas and anything else they wanted. The ones who decided to get off fared worse though - the total losses were one pair of sandals, three mobile phones, a cash card and a load of cash, a belt and a scarf!
Sunday evening Biddy was invited to preach at the evening service - a bit like our Fuel service, so we had a sermon with English subtitles - the first one we have really understood! Our students sung a song in English we had taught them - The Lord's My Shepherd (I will trust in him alone) - and taught the congregation - it was an inspirational evening!
Wednesday we have the tests and then on Friday we have the leaving ceremony where the students will be presented with their pass certificates (we pray), will put on a display of Indonesian music and dance and we are also expected to put on an entertainment from our country. I won't tell you what Stan and I have decided to do - will save that as a treat for when we get home!
On Saturday it's off to the airport to travel to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpar and then to Kota Kinabalu where we THINK we have been booked into a hotel! Then it's 5 days of rest we hope.
THINGS THAT HAVE SURPRISED US ABOUT INDONESIA
Rice with every meal is actually ok (ish)
Showering in a barrel is actually rather nice.
You CAN get used to a squatty potty (USA term, but you get the idea.)
Indonesians can't say 'th'. We had fun with learning "then Jesus told them that...."
m..........s (can't use the word but Gladys Aylward was one - Google her!)are fun - at least the ones we have met here - they live their faith every day, not just Sundays.
We have enjoyed teaching together.
How many people there are of our faith here - and growing.
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
Our young people - for the tests and for their futures as ministers
For Biddy - still waiting for her exit and re-entry visa. She now has all her tickets for her journey to Singapore (leaving with us on the 24th) and back but so far cannot leave the country.
For the rest of us - what next in our journey? The two American girls intend to complete their teacher training (American as a 2nd language) and return to work in Asia, Roger is returning to his job in Southampton, wants to return to Asia but also feels God drawing him back to South Africa. And as for us - we are still waiting for God to let us know, but we certainly both feel drawn to Asia although we are looking forward to returning to our family in Churchdown (both Will and all of you).
Love and prayers and blessings to all
Sue and Stan xxx
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
SHE'LL BE COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN.....
Hi all
First chance to update blog as no power since we came back from Loksado on Sunday evening.
Loksado was a 4 hour drive up into the mountains. Spectacular scenery (and roads!) threaded through with rivers which are the main transport routes. The air was pure (pretty polluted in Banjarmasin) and it was much cooler as very high up, which we all enjoyed very much. We stayed at the home of someones cousins friend (or something like that).The house was a long wooden one, with boarded-off areas with curtains which were the bedrooms. The family (5 of them) all moved out to sleep in the living room and insisted we had the bedroom. Stan and I had the master suite (a padded quilt on the floor). The windows were just holes, so we needed our mosquito nets. Hadn't used them at Biddy's house as she has net over the windows which is very effective). Despite the fact that we were sleeping on the floor we all slept like logs, due to a combination of the cool, fresh air and the fact that the power in the village is only on until 8pm, so not much else to do when it's dark but sleep!
Loksado seems as if it hasn't changed for many years. The main crops are rubber (from rubber trees - we were shown by one of the village elders how to cut the tree and catch the rubber), nutmeg (the family work together sitting on the porch - Dad hits the shell with a hammer, Mum removes it and the children lay them out on a cloth to dry in the sun, and cinammon - again the family work together to strip the bark, cut it into strips and lay it out to dry. As it dries it curls up into the cinammon sticks we buy - except these are about 3 feet long. We bought a batch of about 30 sticks for the equivalent of about 48p - and he said that was a very high price and was delighted. If it makes the journey home we can show you. One thing is changing, however, according to the elders. At present most families have a small patch of land on which they grow their rice, vegetables, a few rubber trees and some fruit trees (jack fruit, papaya, oranges, which are actually green here, mango) so, coupled with the chicken they keep and the wild pigs they trap in the jungle they are pretty self-sufficient, buying what little they need from the money they get from selling the rubber. Some big businesses have been approaching some families and offering them high prices (certainly more money than they can imagine) to sell them their fields so they can be cleared and palm trees planted - a lot of money to be made in palm oil production. Some of them have agreed, and of course are wealthy for a year, and then realize they now have to start buying their rice, vegetables and fruit.
Loksado is interesting in another way. A few years ago a couple of families of our faith felt God telling them to build a place of worship in the village, which they did with what little money they have and everyone helping. It is a few hundred yards from the other place of worship in the village. At the time the other faith represented 95% of the people in the village, but now it is 70% our faith and 30% of the other. Also, everyone in the village is now one of these faiths with a small group of people still practising animism living outside the village.
They regularly have 150 people attending their place of worship, we went on Sunday and it was amazing to see.
They have home group Bible study in people's homes twice a week (they take it in turns), and we were invited on Friday evening. Everyone sits around the walls (Indonesians don't have furniture,other than a few cupboards, everything is done on the floor). We had amazing worship, a talk (translated) by one of Biddy's ex-students who is now doing her 2 year curacy in the village and then we were fed (all 78 of us- the only people in the village who didn't come were those working in some way). We had roast wild boar (killed fresh that morning), chicken (ditto), and stacks and stacks of vegetable dishes, rice and fruit. All done on one little fire which looked like a disposable BBQ but had wood instead of charcoal - incredible!
The hospitality of the whole village was amazing - we were fed like kings three times a day (meat, vegetables and rice is breakfast as well as the other two meals). They are also very industrious -they need to get their bamboo down river, so they arrange raft rides for anyone who wants to ride the rapids on the river - a 3 hour trip. (Many people of the other faith go to Loksado for a day out because of the clean mountain air). They charge 20,000 rupiah each person (about 2 pounds) and make the rafts from about 6 large bamboo trunks tied together with a few more stacked on the top for a seat. Sure enough at the end of the ride there is the drivers wife and daughter splitting bamboo and putting it in bundles ready to go away to the furniture shop - and no transport costs for them! By the way I declined the ride on the rapids - I get scared on the log flume at Alton Towers!
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The people of Loksado that they are able to continue the way of life they have chosen and the faith they have chosen, and that they will continue to encourage others to want to be like them.
For Biddy - still waiting for an exit and re-entry visa to go to Singapore on the 24th July for her hospital check up - there are difficulties at the moment.
For us and our students - this is our final week of teaching - next week all tests and exams. We are spending a lot of time with our students helping them with their English for their presentations on Mark's Gospel (telling the story) and a written presentation they are preparing on places Paul visited (our group are working on Phillipi and Iconium. We are learning so much!
With our love and blessings
Sue and Stan
First chance to update blog as no power since we came back from Loksado on Sunday evening.
Loksado was a 4 hour drive up into the mountains. Spectacular scenery (and roads!) threaded through with rivers which are the main transport routes. The air was pure (pretty polluted in Banjarmasin) and it was much cooler as very high up, which we all enjoyed very much. We stayed at the home of someones cousins friend (or something like that).The house was a long wooden one, with boarded-off areas with curtains which were the bedrooms. The family (5 of them) all moved out to sleep in the living room and insisted we had the bedroom. Stan and I had the master suite (a padded quilt on the floor). The windows were just holes, so we needed our mosquito nets. Hadn't used them at Biddy's house as she has net over the windows which is very effective). Despite the fact that we were sleeping on the floor we all slept like logs, due to a combination of the cool, fresh air and the fact that the power in the village is only on until 8pm, so not much else to do when it's dark but sleep!
Loksado seems as if it hasn't changed for many years. The main crops are rubber (from rubber trees - we were shown by one of the village elders how to cut the tree and catch the rubber), nutmeg (the family work together sitting on the porch - Dad hits the shell with a hammer, Mum removes it and the children lay them out on a cloth to dry in the sun, and cinammon - again the family work together to strip the bark, cut it into strips and lay it out to dry. As it dries it curls up into the cinammon sticks we buy - except these are about 3 feet long. We bought a batch of about 30 sticks for the equivalent of about 48p - and he said that was a very high price and was delighted. If it makes the journey home we can show you. One thing is changing, however, according to the elders. At present most families have a small patch of land on which they grow their rice, vegetables, a few rubber trees and some fruit trees (jack fruit, papaya, oranges, which are actually green here, mango) so, coupled with the chicken they keep and the wild pigs they trap in the jungle they are pretty self-sufficient, buying what little they need from the money they get from selling the rubber. Some big businesses have been approaching some families and offering them high prices (certainly more money than they can imagine) to sell them their fields so they can be cleared and palm trees planted - a lot of money to be made in palm oil production. Some of them have agreed, and of course are wealthy for a year, and then realize they now have to start buying their rice, vegetables and fruit.
Loksado is interesting in another way. A few years ago a couple of families of our faith felt God telling them to build a place of worship in the village, which they did with what little money they have and everyone helping. It is a few hundred yards from the other place of worship in the village. At the time the other faith represented 95% of the people in the village, but now it is 70% our faith and 30% of the other. Also, everyone in the village is now one of these faiths with a small group of people still practising animism living outside the village.
They regularly have 150 people attending their place of worship, we went on Sunday and it was amazing to see.
They have home group Bible study in people's homes twice a week (they take it in turns), and we were invited on Friday evening. Everyone sits around the walls (Indonesians don't have furniture,other than a few cupboards, everything is done on the floor). We had amazing worship, a talk (translated) by one of Biddy's ex-students who is now doing her 2 year curacy in the village and then we were fed (all 78 of us- the only people in the village who didn't come were those working in some way). We had roast wild boar (killed fresh that morning), chicken (ditto), and stacks and stacks of vegetable dishes, rice and fruit. All done on one little fire which looked like a disposable BBQ but had wood instead of charcoal - incredible!
The hospitality of the whole village was amazing - we were fed like kings three times a day (meat, vegetables and rice is breakfast as well as the other two meals). They are also very industrious -they need to get their bamboo down river, so they arrange raft rides for anyone who wants to ride the rapids on the river - a 3 hour trip. (Many people of the other faith go to Loksado for a day out because of the clean mountain air). They charge 20,000 rupiah each person (about 2 pounds) and make the rafts from about 6 large bamboo trunks tied together with a few more stacked on the top for a seat. Sure enough at the end of the ride there is the drivers wife and daughter splitting bamboo and putting it in bundles ready to go away to the furniture shop - and no transport costs for them! By the way I declined the ride on the rapids - I get scared on the log flume at Alton Towers!
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The people of Loksado that they are able to continue the way of life they have chosen and the faith they have chosen, and that they will continue to encourage others to want to be like them.
For Biddy - still waiting for an exit and re-entry visa to go to Singapore on the 24th July for her hospital check up - there are difficulties at the moment.
For us and our students - this is our final week of teaching - next week all tests and exams. We are spending a lot of time with our students helping them with their English for their presentations on Mark's Gospel (telling the story) and a written presentation they are preparing on places Paul visited (our group are working on Phillipi and Iconium. We are learning so much!
With our love and blessings
Sue and Stan
Thursday, 8 July 2010
IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IN INDONESIA - NO 59
ALWAYS CHECK YOUR SHOES FOR LIZARDS!
We always remove our shoes when entering houses, classrooms etc, so there is always a large pile outside.
When putting my shoes on as I left I slid a toe inside one of them, felt something soft and removed my toe(quickly!). A lizard jumped out (unhurt I am pleased to report) and ran away. Not sure who was most scared!
Very quick blog as power intermittent at the moment.
THIS WEEKEND
Tomorrow we are going straight from college to the village of Loksado, four hour journey to the foothills of the mountains. On the way we are stopping at some hot springs for a dip (which sounds wonderful), and when we get there we are being taken on bamboo rafts down river through the rapids (not sure this will be quite so wonderful!). We are staying 2 nights with some of the congregation of a small community of our faith. There is no electricity there so will be no blogging for a while.
PLEASE PRAY FOR
Our safety on the journey
This community in Loksado and the opportunity for us to share with them
Safety on the bamboo rafts.
A relaxing restful time - we are all getting very tired. It has been a tense week as we are preparing ourselves and our students for the end of course exams in 2 weeks.
For Mary (one of the American girls) who is unwell today with headache and fever. They both chose not to take malaria tablets, even though they were advised to do so, as they don't take chemicals of any kind so we pray it is not anything more serious. (Even Biddy takes malaria tablets and she is almost Indonesian!).
Love to everyone and welcome to Jon, Jancie and Ruby.
Sue and Stan xx
We always remove our shoes when entering houses, classrooms etc, so there is always a large pile outside.
When putting my shoes on as I left I slid a toe inside one of them, felt something soft and removed my toe(quickly!). A lizard jumped out (unhurt I am pleased to report) and ran away. Not sure who was most scared!
Very quick blog as power intermittent at the moment.
THIS WEEKEND
Tomorrow we are going straight from college to the village of Loksado, four hour journey to the foothills of the mountains. On the way we are stopping at some hot springs for a dip (which sounds wonderful), and when we get there we are being taken on bamboo rafts down river through the rapids (not sure this will be quite so wonderful!). We are staying 2 nights with some of the congregation of a small community of our faith. There is no electricity there so will be no blogging for a while.
PLEASE PRAY FOR
Our safety on the journey
This community in Loksado and the opportunity for us to share with them
Safety on the bamboo rafts.
A relaxing restful time - we are all getting very tired. It has been a tense week as we are preparing ourselves and our students for the end of course exams in 2 weeks.
For Mary (one of the American girls) who is unwell today with headache and fever. They both chose not to take malaria tablets, even though they were advised to do so, as they don't take chemicals of any kind so we pray it is not anything more serious. (Even Biddy takes malaria tablets and she is almost Indonesian!).
Love to everyone and welcome to Jon, Jancie and Ruby.
Sue and Stan xx
Monday, 5 July 2010
LIFE THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS
or - THINGS THAT MAKE YOU THINK AGAIN
Had chicken satay with some of the students at lunchtime from a street vendor outside college. Stan looking for a bin for his stick - "Stan throw it on the floor, you're not in England now!"
When leaving the house Saturday in the sunshine Ibu Martha most anxious that we take an umbrella. Not for rain - "To keep your skin white, otherwise you will become like us and that would be terrible for you"
"Why can't we clear space up river for the new power station, it's only jungle and orang-utans. You have power stations in the West, why can't we?"
Realizing that the answer "Yes" to the question "Will you have some tomorrow" means either Yes, Maybe or Never. An Indonesian will not say No - you lose face!
In Indonesian it is not 'bad manners' to chat to each other in church. Everyone does it, even the clergy, and even during the sermon!
My favourite - we had a lunch with the college staff team and in conversation with one of the lecturers whilst talking about football with our limited English/Indonesian (international language!)he was undecided whether to support Holland or Germany because, as he put it, "You all look alike!"
Finally - went on the river trip Sunday and saw how the people live who live in the hovels overlooking the river. The river is filthy as they throw their rubbish in it and their outside toilets are in little sheds over the river, so empty into it. We saw people, often whole families, covered in soap washing themselves, their clothes and their pots and pans in the river, and also cleaning their teeth. What was amazing was that in every house we passed the whole family came out and waved and shrieked at us, and often the children leapt into the water to swim to the boat. The further up river we went the more news spread and more and more children, and their parents, came out to wave, line up on the rickety bridges that cross the water, and dive in to come and touch us. The boatman said it was likely that the people up river had not seen a white person before. I got an idea of how the Queen must feel!
What was so amazing was how happy and smiling all these people are despite the squalor (as we saw it) they were living in. It was very humbling.
Please pray for these people that they can keep healthy (the infant mortality rate amongst them is very high because of the disease in the water), and that something can be done to improve conditions for them. Please pray that the people who can make a difference will start to take some action to at least make sure they have a clean water supply (all the water they drink comes from the river.)
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxxxx
Had chicken satay with some of the students at lunchtime from a street vendor outside college. Stan looking for a bin for his stick - "Stan throw it on the floor, you're not in England now!"
When leaving the house Saturday in the sunshine Ibu Martha most anxious that we take an umbrella. Not for rain - "To keep your skin white, otherwise you will become like us and that would be terrible for you"
"Why can't we clear space up river for the new power station, it's only jungle and orang-utans. You have power stations in the West, why can't we?"
Realizing that the answer "Yes" to the question "Will you have some tomorrow" means either Yes, Maybe or Never. An Indonesian will not say No - you lose face!
In Indonesian it is not 'bad manners' to chat to each other in church. Everyone does it, even the clergy, and even during the sermon!
My favourite - we had a lunch with the college staff team and in conversation with one of the lecturers whilst talking about football with our limited English/Indonesian (international language!)he was undecided whether to support Holland or Germany because, as he put it, "You all look alike!"
Finally - went on the river trip Sunday and saw how the people live who live in the hovels overlooking the river. The river is filthy as they throw their rubbish in it and their outside toilets are in little sheds over the river, so empty into it. We saw people, often whole families, covered in soap washing themselves, their clothes and their pots and pans in the river, and also cleaning their teeth. What was amazing was that in every house we passed the whole family came out and waved and shrieked at us, and often the children leapt into the water to swim to the boat. The further up river we went the more news spread and more and more children, and their parents, came out to wave, line up on the rickety bridges that cross the water, and dive in to come and touch us. The boatman said it was likely that the people up river had not seen a white person before. I got an idea of how the Queen must feel!
What was so amazing was how happy and smiling all these people are despite the squalor (as we saw it) they were living in. It was very humbling.
Please pray for these people that they can keep healthy (the infant mortality rate amongst them is very high because of the disease in the water), and that something can be done to improve conditions for them. Please pray that the people who can make a difference will start to take some action to at least make sure they have a clean water supply (all the water they drink comes from the river.)
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxxxx
Friday, 2 July 2010
OUR GOD IS A GREAT BIG GOD
Very quick blog today as both very tired. We had mid-semester tests all day today (doesn't seem possible we are exactly half way through the course). We were as nervous as our students and were willing them to do well. Each of our 'cluster groups' had to tell us the 'story so far' of Marks Gospel in their own words, in English. We have been coaching them for the last couple of weeks. Some of them acted it out, some used picture cards and spoke the 'headlines'. They were all amazing!
Then they had a written test, based on work we have been doing in class.
We have just finished marking both pieces of work and they have all achieved a pass mark - some only just! Our challenge now is to encourage them to keep it up for the next 3 weeks. God is so Good. We finished the day by singing and praying (which we do every day) so today it was 'Our God is a Great Big God' and even Stan did the signs!
We had a visit today from another group of young robed girls of another faith, wanting to practice their English. They had heard about the English speakers being around and brought a letter from their teacher asking if they could speak to us. I spoke to them this time, a charming group of teenagers whose English was actually pretty good. They are all training as English teachers. I had to be very careful what I talked about (that had previously been discussed with the principal of our college) but the result was they asked if they could keep in touch by e-mail of Facebook in the future. I have just had a message from one of them asking me all sorts of questions about England.
Our God is so amazing - he just keeps pointing people in our direction!
On Sunday afternoon we are off on a river trip up country to visit a Dayak family - jungle and very basic amenities! Please pray that we keep safe and well.
Love and blessings from both of us xx
Then they had a written test, based on work we have been doing in class.
We have just finished marking both pieces of work and they have all achieved a pass mark - some only just! Our challenge now is to encourage them to keep it up for the next 3 weeks. God is so Good. We finished the day by singing and praying (which we do every day) so today it was 'Our God is a Great Big God' and even Stan did the signs!
We had a visit today from another group of young robed girls of another faith, wanting to practice their English. They had heard about the English speakers being around and brought a letter from their teacher asking if they could speak to us. I spoke to them this time, a charming group of teenagers whose English was actually pretty good. They are all training as English teachers. I had to be very careful what I talked about (that had previously been discussed with the principal of our college) but the result was they asked if they could keep in touch by e-mail of Facebook in the future. I have just had a message from one of them asking me all sorts of questions about England.
Our God is so amazing - he just keeps pointing people in our direction!
On Sunday afternoon we are off on a river trip up country to visit a Dayak family - jungle and very basic amenities! Please pray that we keep safe and well.
Love and blessings from both of us xx
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.........
Because........
1. On motorbikes you can do all of the following - we have seen it - we are watching for more!
Carry 10 boxes full of chickens
Carry a 20 foot pole in one hand and drive with the other
Carry a baby in one arm, a toddler in the other, Mum and 2 small children in front of her and drive with one finger
Tow a large wooden wheelbarrow full of furniture (pillion passenger just puts his arms behind him and holds the handles and you tow it along)
Carry a barrel (in one arm), drive with the other hand
Text (using both hands)
Light a cigarette
Make a phone call
2.Bananas - the choice is amazing. There are apparently 25 varieties. So far we have tried -
Usual Tesco size and taste (boring!)
Half that size and almost straight - crunchy like an apple when ripe
Size of middle finger - very soft and sweet
size of smallest finger - bright yellow flesh tasting faintly of caramel
size of middle finger and SQUARE - yes really - completely straight four sided skins and so is the fruit inside - would never pass EEC regulations!
We continue to try more, there is a banana stall in the market.
3. The market. I know the Asian people are tiny (the only place I have ever been where I am not the shortest person for miles), but the spaces between the stalls is inches - hardly room for one person to get through, and passing someone is very cozy!
Also, a vegetable stall will be on your left and on your right will be a stall covered with boxes of chickens - or as we saw recently a hand holding a chickens neck down whilst another hand with a cleaver in was poised to come down. I had to dash out of the way quickly (I said it was so I didn't get blood splashed on my clothes!
Every day we see something that amazes us even more. God has again put someone knew in our path. A lot of the houses near Biddy's are unoccupied or half built. Last night we had a knock on the door and a man (Roi) and his wife (Yuli) came to introduce themselves and brought with them a chocolate cake. (No Indonesian will visit anyone without taking a gift). They have moved in next door, a very sweet young couple who have only been married a couple of years. He has been moved to Banjarmasin with his job. They are both from Jakarta and were very apprehensive to be moving to the house as it is built over a swamp. (It's true - all of Banjarmasin is built on swamp land and over rivers. With a little imagination it could be called Little Venice). They are keen to improve their English and have asked if they can visit again - we said we would be delighted. Yuli is keen to visit England and wanted to ask us lots of questions - she asked if people in England had seen people of her faith, and would she be allowed to wear her jilbub. We told her about the communities in Gloucester and she was delighted!
Please pray that we will be given the right words to say to them.
Please also pray for Roger - he is a South African living in Southampton who attends Biddy's place of worship there. He is coming out on Saturday to join us for the final 3 weeks of the course. Pray that he will very soon feel at home (he is to share Biddy's house with us) and that the students will accept him. (We were surprised that they are feeling very apprehensive about someone of a darker/different colour to themselves when they accepted us so readily).
With love and blessings to everyone
Sue and Stan xxxx
1. On motorbikes you can do all of the following - we have seen it - we are watching for more!
Carry 10 boxes full of chickens
Carry a 20 foot pole in one hand and drive with the other
Carry a baby in one arm, a toddler in the other, Mum and 2 small children in front of her and drive with one finger
Tow a large wooden wheelbarrow full of furniture (pillion passenger just puts his arms behind him and holds the handles and you tow it along)
Carry a barrel (in one arm), drive with the other hand
Text (using both hands)
Light a cigarette
Make a phone call
2.Bananas - the choice is amazing. There are apparently 25 varieties. So far we have tried -
Usual Tesco size and taste (boring!)
Half that size and almost straight - crunchy like an apple when ripe
Size of middle finger - very soft and sweet
size of smallest finger - bright yellow flesh tasting faintly of caramel
size of middle finger and SQUARE - yes really - completely straight four sided skins and so is the fruit inside - would never pass EEC regulations!
We continue to try more, there is a banana stall in the market.
3. The market. I know the Asian people are tiny (the only place I have ever been where I am not the shortest person for miles), but the spaces between the stalls is inches - hardly room for one person to get through, and passing someone is very cozy!
Also, a vegetable stall will be on your left and on your right will be a stall covered with boxes of chickens - or as we saw recently a hand holding a chickens neck down whilst another hand with a cleaver in was poised to come down. I had to dash out of the way quickly (I said it was so I didn't get blood splashed on my clothes!
Every day we see something that amazes us even more. God has again put someone knew in our path. A lot of the houses near Biddy's are unoccupied or half built. Last night we had a knock on the door and a man (Roi) and his wife (Yuli) came to introduce themselves and brought with them a chocolate cake. (No Indonesian will visit anyone without taking a gift). They have moved in next door, a very sweet young couple who have only been married a couple of years. He has been moved to Banjarmasin with his job. They are both from Jakarta and were very apprehensive to be moving to the house as it is built over a swamp. (It's true - all of Banjarmasin is built on swamp land and over rivers. With a little imagination it could be called Little Venice). They are keen to improve their English and have asked if they can visit again - we said we would be delighted. Yuli is keen to visit England and wanted to ask us lots of questions - she asked if people in England had seen people of her faith, and would she be allowed to wear her jilbub. We told her about the communities in Gloucester and she was delighted!
Please pray that we will be given the right words to say to them.
Please also pray for Roger - he is a South African living in Southampton who attends Biddy's place of worship there. He is coming out on Saturday to join us for the final 3 weeks of the course. Pray that he will very soon feel at home (he is to share Biddy's house with us) and that the students will accept him. (We were surprised that they are feeling very apprehensive about someone of a darker/different colour to themselves when they accepted us so readily).
With love and blessings to everyone
Sue and Stan xxxx
Friday, 25 June 2010
THE BUTCHER, THE BAKER, THE HEADHUNTER!
Have been out of circulation for a couple of days - have been in bed with a raging temperature and cold sweats - Biddy says it was probably a mild dose of malaria which you can apparently still get even when you are taking the tablets. Anyway feeling better now and temperature almost back to normal.
Stan has been taking my class as well as his own and done a sterling job. We take most classes between us (with 12 students) and only one or two on our own when we want small group discussions (with 6), but have decided we definitely prefer working together. On Monday we were talking about how jobs are changing from the jobs their grandparents had. So we were discussing whether those jobs would still be needed in the future,with the increase in technology. When we asked them what their grandfathers had done we had the usual answers, mainly fishermen and farmers, until we came to Tia, whose Grandfather was Dayak. She didn't know the word for what he did, so just drew a finger across her throat! After some discussion it transpired that her Grandfather was a headhunter! We were assured that the Dayak decided to stop headhunting white people in 1908 - we said we were very relieved!
The variety of food available on the street at dusk is really amazing. There are no stalls there during the day and then at dusk the vendors turn up with their wares either on handcarts or all on the back of a bicycle - one carried tables and chairs as well as his gas stove, pots and pans and food to cook - and we worry about finding space in our car for New Wine stuff!
The area outside the college is the sweetcorn stalls - they are along both sides of the street - little barbecues covered in sweetcorn.Near to Biddy's house we have the nasi goreng (fried rice) man, noodles man and (our favourite) the terang bulam (moonlight) man - he cooks thick pancakes that are at least 3 inches thick (he brings the batter ready made in a bucket!)and fills them with a choice of about 10 things, sweet or savoury. We have chocolate and nuts - delicious!
Some of the vendors drive past the front door and stop if you go out. They all have their own 'call sign'. They are either on bicycles or motorbikes and again carry everything with them. In the evening is the noodle man (he has a horn)who will cook you noodles of all colours. There is the vegetable man in the morning (about 6am!) who rings a bell. His cycle is loaded with boxes carrying every vegetable you can think of. It is amazing there is room for him to pedal!
One of the biggest differences here (apart from the heat, the language and the food) is how noisy it is at night, much noisier than in the daytime. As it gets dusk the grasshoppers start and then the lizards join in. I didn't even know that lizards made a noise but I am assured that they do - it sounds like babies crying and it continues all night - takes a bit of getting used to!
Stan decided to make it easier to watch the football and went to the electrical shop in town and did some haggling. He bought a 14 inch TV for 40 pounds and an aerial for 1 pound - and the picture is superb! Walking back from Ruth's (our German friend) was an hour's trek, as at 1am there are no ankohts, and we have to be up at 6! Ruth and her German friends are coming here to watch England v Germany on Sunday and Stan has promised me he will be on best behaviour!
Tomorrow we were due to travel 4 hours to Central Kalimantan - an ex-student of Biddy's has asked her to be Godmother at her daughter's baptism - and we (and the American girls) had been invited to go and stay the night. Biddy has suggested that it may be wise if I don't go as I'm still running a temperature as it's 4 very hard hours drive and the village they are going to has very basic amenities, so I have agreed to stay here and Stan is staying with me. We are disappointed not to be going but in a way it will be nice to have some time on our own as we really have had none since we got here. Also it is not deemed polite for us to walk close together and certainly not to hold hands (this is where Will starts making finger-down-throat motions).
Finally - and should have put this first really - God has done an amazing thing for us this week. On Monday a group of students from a school nearby who are of another faith (the girls were robed)turned up at college with a letter from their English teacher. She had heard that there were some 'native speakers' at the college and asked if we could spend some time in conversation with her students. We were told we must be sensitive in what we talked about, and we agreed, so one group turned up on Monday and another on Tuesday. They understandably wanted to speak to women. On Wednesday another group turned up, with a couple of boys with them, and asked if they could talk to the man, so Stan spent half an hour or so with them after which they asked him to go with them to eat. He thought they meant down the road, but they put him on the back of a motorcycle and took him out of town! (I was at home in my sick bed so thankfully knew nothing about this and wasn't worried!). He said the place they took him to was very poor, beside a river where people were washing their clothes, their children and collecting water but they gave him the most delicious meal of soup and chicken and then brought him back. They also asked if they could keep in touch with him on Facebook! Isn't God wonderful.We don't have to worry how to get in touch with people so very different from us, he does it for us. We have certainly made some interesting acquaintances just going shopping - people want to touch us and have their photo taken with us and are so delighted when we try out our Indonesian.
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The college as they are still short of students for the September intake and are interviewing again this week - pray that prospective pastors will come forward.
The girl who lives opposite - Fitri - and her 18 month old son Farrel. She is a second wife and her husband lives with his first wife. She only sees him briefly about once a week and she thinks he may have lied to her about wanting to be with her, she is worried that he won't provide for Farrel. She is so very young and our hearts ache for her.
Biddy as she drives the girls to Palangka Raya tomorrow. She has borrowed a car from the college which she says is much safer than going by taxi. She is such an amazing lady, we do admire her so much. She is so active we have to run to keep up. She mentioned in passing the other day that when we go to the airport she is also flying out as she has to have a check up in Singapore following her breast cancer operation last year. Please pray for her.
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxxx
Stan has been taking my class as well as his own and done a sterling job. We take most classes between us (with 12 students) and only one or two on our own when we want small group discussions (with 6), but have decided we definitely prefer working together. On Monday we were talking about how jobs are changing from the jobs their grandparents had. So we were discussing whether those jobs would still be needed in the future,with the increase in technology. When we asked them what their grandfathers had done we had the usual answers, mainly fishermen and farmers, until we came to Tia, whose Grandfather was Dayak. She didn't know the word for what he did, so just drew a finger across her throat! After some discussion it transpired that her Grandfather was a headhunter! We were assured that the Dayak decided to stop headhunting white people in 1908 - we said we were very relieved!
The variety of food available on the street at dusk is really amazing. There are no stalls there during the day and then at dusk the vendors turn up with their wares either on handcarts or all on the back of a bicycle - one carried tables and chairs as well as his gas stove, pots and pans and food to cook - and we worry about finding space in our car for New Wine stuff!
The area outside the college is the sweetcorn stalls - they are along both sides of the street - little barbecues covered in sweetcorn.Near to Biddy's house we have the nasi goreng (fried rice) man, noodles man and (our favourite) the terang bulam (moonlight) man - he cooks thick pancakes that are at least 3 inches thick (he brings the batter ready made in a bucket!)and fills them with a choice of about 10 things, sweet or savoury. We have chocolate and nuts - delicious!
Some of the vendors drive past the front door and stop if you go out. They all have their own 'call sign'. They are either on bicycles or motorbikes and again carry everything with them. In the evening is the noodle man (he has a horn)who will cook you noodles of all colours. There is the vegetable man in the morning (about 6am!) who rings a bell. His cycle is loaded with boxes carrying every vegetable you can think of. It is amazing there is room for him to pedal!
One of the biggest differences here (apart from the heat, the language and the food) is how noisy it is at night, much noisier than in the daytime. As it gets dusk the grasshoppers start and then the lizards join in. I didn't even know that lizards made a noise but I am assured that they do - it sounds like babies crying and it continues all night - takes a bit of getting used to!
Stan decided to make it easier to watch the football and went to the electrical shop in town and did some haggling. He bought a 14 inch TV for 40 pounds and an aerial for 1 pound - and the picture is superb! Walking back from Ruth's (our German friend) was an hour's trek, as at 1am there are no ankohts, and we have to be up at 6! Ruth and her German friends are coming here to watch England v Germany on Sunday and Stan has promised me he will be on best behaviour!
Tomorrow we were due to travel 4 hours to Central Kalimantan - an ex-student of Biddy's has asked her to be Godmother at her daughter's baptism - and we (and the American girls) had been invited to go and stay the night. Biddy has suggested that it may be wise if I don't go as I'm still running a temperature as it's 4 very hard hours drive and the village they are going to has very basic amenities, so I have agreed to stay here and Stan is staying with me. We are disappointed not to be going but in a way it will be nice to have some time on our own as we really have had none since we got here. Also it is not deemed polite for us to walk close together and certainly not to hold hands (this is where Will starts making finger-down-throat motions).
Finally - and should have put this first really - God has done an amazing thing for us this week. On Monday a group of students from a school nearby who are of another faith (the girls were robed)turned up at college with a letter from their English teacher. She had heard that there were some 'native speakers' at the college and asked if we could spend some time in conversation with her students. We were told we must be sensitive in what we talked about, and we agreed, so one group turned up on Monday and another on Tuesday. They understandably wanted to speak to women. On Wednesday another group turned up, with a couple of boys with them, and asked if they could talk to the man, so Stan spent half an hour or so with them after which they asked him to go with them to eat. He thought they meant down the road, but they put him on the back of a motorcycle and took him out of town! (I was at home in my sick bed so thankfully knew nothing about this and wasn't worried!). He said the place they took him to was very poor, beside a river where people were washing their clothes, their children and collecting water but they gave him the most delicious meal of soup and chicken and then brought him back. They also asked if they could keep in touch with him on Facebook! Isn't God wonderful.We don't have to worry how to get in touch with people so very different from us, he does it for us. We have certainly made some interesting acquaintances just going shopping - people want to touch us and have their photo taken with us and are so delighted when we try out our Indonesian.
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The college as they are still short of students for the September intake and are interviewing again this week - pray that prospective pastors will come forward.
The girl who lives opposite - Fitri - and her 18 month old son Farrel. She is a second wife and her husband lives with his first wife. She only sees him briefly about once a week and she thinks he may have lied to her about wanting to be with her, she is worried that he won't provide for Farrel. She is so very young and our hearts ache for her.
Biddy as she drives the girls to Palangka Raya tomorrow. She has borrowed a car from the college which she says is much safer than going by taxi. She is such an amazing lady, we do admire her so much. She is so active we have to run to keep up. She mentioned in passing the other day that when we go to the airport she is also flying out as she has to have a check up in Singapore following her breast cancer operation last year. Please pray for her.
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxxx
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
WISE INDONESIAN ADVICE
Two pieces of wise advice we were given today -
1. If you are fortunate enough to have an oven always check inside before you switch it on - lizards crawl in and make a home there and your oven will become very smelly when they cook!
2. How to tell how long anyone has been in Indonesia -if a fly falls in your drink and you have only been here a month you will pour the drink away. If you have been here a year you will remove the fly and then drink. If you have been here for more than 2 years you will drink it, fly as well, and be grateful for the protein - then you belong!
We have been talking today with the students about the wonderful fruits we are having for breakfast - all freshly picked the day before - papaya, mango and pineapple. To them of course it is normal breakfast fare and a bit boring. Watching the pineapple being prepared is a treat in itself - a spiral is cut round it in such a way that you are left with just the fruit and none of the bits - it really is amazing.
Our students were wonderful at presenting Thought For the Day today, we were so proud of them. We are feeling more positive and think that we may be of use in some small way. We are starting to remember names and form relationships - and getting to know who the jokers are!
We are taking turns to choose the worship music and have realised how very different our choices are to that of the Moody girls - so we are getting quite a variety and teaching each other! (Happy Day still needing a little work, but we are getting there!)
Very brief today as power going on and off a lot today.
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The students who are still mourning the loss of Cecille who died in the car accident - in particular Toda who was a close friend. Toda (a student from last year's English course) has been great in translating for us when we can't manage with our few words and sign language. She is being very brave and is always smiling, but says she is really hurting inside.
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxx
1. If you are fortunate enough to have an oven always check inside before you switch it on - lizards crawl in and make a home there and your oven will become very smelly when they cook!
2. How to tell how long anyone has been in Indonesia -if a fly falls in your drink and you have only been here a month you will pour the drink away. If you have been here a year you will remove the fly and then drink. If you have been here for more than 2 years you will drink it, fly as well, and be grateful for the protein - then you belong!
We have been talking today with the students about the wonderful fruits we are having for breakfast - all freshly picked the day before - papaya, mango and pineapple. To them of course it is normal breakfast fare and a bit boring. Watching the pineapple being prepared is a treat in itself - a spiral is cut round it in such a way that you are left with just the fruit and none of the bits - it really is amazing.
Our students were wonderful at presenting Thought For the Day today, we were so proud of them. We are feeling more positive and think that we may be of use in some small way. We are starting to remember names and form relationships - and getting to know who the jokers are!
We are taking turns to choose the worship music and have realised how very different our choices are to that of the Moody girls - so we are getting quite a variety and teaching each other! (Happy Day still needing a little work, but we are getting there!)
Very brief today as power going on and off a lot today.
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The students who are still mourning the loss of Cecille who died in the car accident - in particular Toda who was a close friend. Toda (a student from last year's English course) has been great in translating for us when we can't manage with our few words and sign language. She is being very brave and is always smiling, but says she is really hurting inside.
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxx
Sunday, 20 June 2010
TGI FRIDAY (WRITTEN ON SUNDAY!)
Selemat siang (Good afternoon) and Selemat hari minggu (Happy Sunday)
Watched the Germany v Serbia match. Countries represented in the room - Germany, England, Cameroon, Switzerland, Korea, Serbia and Indonesia so the next stages should be interesting!
Went to the Mall on Saturday and managed to get there and back on our own with our limited Indonesian. As you walk along the road people wave from their cars and motorbikes and the few that know a word or two of English shout "Hello Mister" for men AND women! I asked my group of students why Mister and they said it was because some people are stupid and they (my students)know that of course I am Ibu Sue, which means Madam, which means I am a proper lady!
People think we are a novelty not only because of our colour but also because we have a different faith, but as a robed lady we shared an ankoht with the other day said (Biddy translated), better a different faith than none at all. She couldn't understand how anyone could live without a faith - she said "What would happen to them when they die?" So - lots of areas for discussion.
We bought our students some highlighters (12 for the equivalent of 4 pounds)as we felt they would be useful to identify key words, but they can't afford to buy them as they have such a small amount of money to live on. Their parents (and often their older siblings) struggle to put the money together to send them here for 3 years and if they fail even one exam there is no money for them to come back, so there are now second chsnces. We got a real sense of how poor some people are when we walked back from the Mall. As we went over a bridge we could see down the river where there are little wooden shacks housing whole families. One lady was washing clothes in the river and hanging them on a line. The river is filthy and so therefore were the clothes.It makes us appreciate just how fortunate we are.
Went to Biddy's place of worship today - Ebenezer Evangelis. It was a service of Harvest Festival - yes really - in June! It was thanksgiving for the harvest of dry rice which is grown on the hillsides, and not in the wet paddy fields. They need dry weather for clearing the forest (otherwise danger from landslides) and then wet weather for planting the rice, so timing is important. There was also an adult baptism and communion, so rather a long service (with the usual three collections!) which lasted for 2 hours! (On hard pews!). Still, didn't have to tidy up and lock up, so not all bad!
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
Our students - they have to lead Thought for the Day this week and are really worried about it.
Us - that we can give them some ideas and support them.
Tri Septi - one of the girls in my group - she asked me to pray for her father's health as he was very old. When I asked her she said he was 60. When I told her that was not old she said it was in Indonesia. Please pray for her in particular and the families of all the students who are working so hard to give their children a future.
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxx
Watched the Germany v Serbia match. Countries represented in the room - Germany, England, Cameroon, Switzerland, Korea, Serbia and Indonesia so the next stages should be interesting!
Went to the Mall on Saturday and managed to get there and back on our own with our limited Indonesian. As you walk along the road people wave from their cars and motorbikes and the few that know a word or two of English shout "Hello Mister" for men AND women! I asked my group of students why Mister and they said it was because some people are stupid and they (my students)know that of course I am Ibu Sue, which means Madam, which means I am a proper lady!
People think we are a novelty not only because of our colour but also because we have a different faith, but as a robed lady we shared an ankoht with the other day said (Biddy translated), better a different faith than none at all. She couldn't understand how anyone could live without a faith - she said "What would happen to them when they die?" So - lots of areas for discussion.
We bought our students some highlighters (12 for the equivalent of 4 pounds)as we felt they would be useful to identify key words, but they can't afford to buy them as they have such a small amount of money to live on. Their parents (and often their older siblings) struggle to put the money together to send them here for 3 years and if they fail even one exam there is no money for them to come back, so there are now second chsnces. We got a real sense of how poor some people are when we walked back from the Mall. As we went over a bridge we could see down the river where there are little wooden shacks housing whole families. One lady was washing clothes in the river and hanging them on a line. The river is filthy and so therefore were the clothes.It makes us appreciate just how fortunate we are.
Went to Biddy's place of worship today - Ebenezer Evangelis. It was a service of Harvest Festival - yes really - in June! It was thanksgiving for the harvest of dry rice which is grown on the hillsides, and not in the wet paddy fields. They need dry weather for clearing the forest (otherwise danger from landslides) and then wet weather for planting the rice, so timing is important. There was also an adult baptism and communion, so rather a long service (with the usual three collections!) which lasted for 2 hours! (On hard pews!). Still, didn't have to tidy up and lock up, so not all bad!
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
Our students - they have to lead Thought for the Day this week and are really worried about it.
Us - that we can give them some ideas and support them.
Tri Septi - one of the girls in my group - she asked me to pray for her father's health as he was very old. When I asked her she said he was 60. When I told her that was not old she said it was in Indonesia. Please pray for her in particular and the families of all the students who are working so hard to give their children a future.
Love and blessings
Sue and Stan xxx
Thursday, 17 June 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAN!
Stan's birthday today. The students all made him cards in our 'Have fun' session today. Lots of dictionary use - the result being our favourite - Stan you are great, you are cool and congealed! (We think he meant congenial!). They then sang Happy Birthday and a traditional Indonesian song and all wanted to shake hands with him. When he thanked them for the cards and told them he would take them home and show them to Will all the girls screamed! (It's true Will, we have it on video!).
As a treat he got taken to the ice cream parlour (air conditioned - what joy) for an advocado, vanilla ice cream and coffee sundae and then we went to have coffee in a Swiss Hotel - it had Flush toilets AND a tap with hot water! Whilst there we all had a proper wash.
Stan's thought for the day was well received - we were studying Mark 1 16-20 today so he talked about ordinary people like fishermen being chosen, which was very apt as many of them have fathers who are fishermen. We also taught them 'I will make you fishers of men', or, as it is now known ' I will make you flossers of men' (slight pronunciation problem!).
Had our first meeting with durian fruit today - it is known as the stinking fruit and now we know why. It is rugby ball sized with big prickles and smells like rotting flesh. Didn't have to eat any today as on a market stall, but if we are offered it we will have to as rude to refuse.
Tomorrow they haqve their first 'graded' test. Each week they have to learn and recite to us (in English) the 'story so far' we have studied that week. To help them remember words and sequences of events we drew pictures on the board. This week we have studied Mark 1 1-20 so he if you can guess who this is a reminder of - a hairy camel with a leather belt around it's middle eating a locust and drinking from a bowl with an H on it surrounded by bees. Answers on a postcard please.
Finally - if you have read about the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia - it was in the East. We have the tail end in that it has been very rainy and windy today, but we are assured that Kalimantan would not be affected by a tsunami unless it was a big one! (I have said I would not have minded if they had left the last six words off that statement!).
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The student tests tomorrow - that we have taught them enough to pass.
For a restful weekend - we are exhausted.
That Stan gets to see his first match tomorrow evening - we are going to the house of the German lady to watch Germany play. She has asked Stan to look at a piece she has written for Harvard to correct any grammar as she has written it in English. We were impressed by her command of the English until we were told that as well as English she has a Masters in Theology, a PHd in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and has also written a book on the subject of this paper (in Indonesian), so Stan is honoured she has asked a Yorkshireman to correct her English grammar! (The paper, by the way, is on 'Old Testament application of divorce in Indonesian society today'. Very interesting - well what I could understand of it!
Lots of love
Sue and Stan xxx
As a treat he got taken to the ice cream parlour (air conditioned - what joy) for an advocado, vanilla ice cream and coffee sundae and then we went to have coffee in a Swiss Hotel - it had Flush toilets AND a tap with hot water! Whilst there we all had a proper wash.
Stan's thought for the day was well received - we were studying Mark 1 16-20 today so he talked about ordinary people like fishermen being chosen, which was very apt as many of them have fathers who are fishermen. We also taught them 'I will make you fishers of men', or, as it is now known ' I will make you flossers of men' (slight pronunciation problem!).
Had our first meeting with durian fruit today - it is known as the stinking fruit and now we know why. It is rugby ball sized with big prickles and smells like rotting flesh. Didn't have to eat any today as on a market stall, but if we are offered it we will have to as rude to refuse.
Tomorrow they haqve their first 'graded' test. Each week they have to learn and recite to us (in English) the 'story so far' we have studied that week. To help them remember words and sequences of events we drew pictures on the board. This week we have studied Mark 1 1-20 so he if you can guess who this is a reminder of - a hairy camel with a leather belt around it's middle eating a locust and drinking from a bowl with an H on it surrounded by bees. Answers on a postcard please.
Finally - if you have read about the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia - it was in the East. We have the tail end in that it has been very rainy and windy today, but we are assured that Kalimantan would not be affected by a tsunami unless it was a big one! (I have said I would not have minded if they had left the last six words off that statement!).
PLEASE PRAY FOR -
The student tests tomorrow - that we have taught them enough to pass.
For a restful weekend - we are exhausted.
That Stan gets to see his first match tomorrow evening - we are going to the house of the German lady to watch Germany play. She has asked Stan to look at a piece she has written for Harvard to correct any grammar as she has written it in English. We were impressed by her command of the English until we were told that as well as English she has a Masters in Theology, a PHd in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and has also written a book on the subject of this paper (in Indonesian), so Stan is honoured she has asked a Yorkshireman to correct her English grammar! (The paper, by the way, is on 'Old Testament application of divorce in Indonesian society today'. Very interesting - well what I could understand of it!
Lots of love
Sue and Stan xxx
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
BACK TO SCHOOL!
WEDNESDAY 16TH
I know we said these blogs would be short - but there is so much we want to share with you, so sorry! Go and make some tea and settle in for a long read!
This is certainly not a holiday-we are up at 5.45am to walk the two miles through the mud to get to the 'taxi ankoht' and work until 1,(with a couple of 15 minute breaks)then lunch and working through the next day's lesson plan. Home by about 5 and by then so tired we don't want to do much, and anyway it gets dark at 6 which is odd, happens in about 10 minutes from light to dark.
Having said that - we love the place (Banjarmasin is the noisiest place I have ever been), the people are charming, we love the food (mostly - apparently according to one of the translations I got from a student I ate chicken beaks yesterday. I had thought (and still hope) it was chicken livers), we love the weather (as I write this it is raining so hard we are having to shout to be heard indoors - but it only rains in the evening, so sensible!). We also love the quaint unexpected things that happen - for example every night at 1am (one tap), 2am (two taps), 3am (three taps) and so on until dawn a nightwatchman comes and taps on the pole near the house to let us know that all is well and there are no burglars around! At dawn he is taken over by the call to prayer from the mosque over the road, so we get great time checks all night! We love the way the ankoht will take you wherever you want, regardless of the other people on board - they are all happy to have a long drive as no-one is in too much of a hurry. We love the motorbikes with a family on - Mum and Dad wear helmets and the two, sometimes three, little ones jammed in between or on the front handlebars don't!
Now finished our second day with our students and have realised very quickly they prefer interactive to sitting and listening, so lots of role playing. Also interesting that their humour is like that of someone much younger (to us). They loved playing silly games, so silly games they got!
Only when they start to tell you what they will be doing and where they will be going when they leave here do they suddenly seem very grown up and you get a very real sense of God at work in them when they talk about the possible risks to them and their family.
We were so blessed today - there are two classrooms at the college with air conditioning which rarely works. Today it was so we drew lots to see who would get them - and Stan and I did! God loves poor hot white people!
High point of the day for Sue (1) - we had to tell the students about our family so showed them a pre-prepared slide show of photos including some of Will growing up (including the one in the paddling pool - sorry Will!). When we got to the one on his 18th birthday looking very smart in his suit the girls all gasped and SCREAMED! They said he looked like a pop star (I guess because all the boys in class have short black hair he is a bit of a novelty). So Will, if you ever want to visit Asia I think you will be welcomed!
High point for Sue (2) - I seem to have been voted in as worship leader, mainly because I know a few songs. Have discovered they love singing and we have a 'Let's Sing' spot every day. Tomorrow have been asked to teach a new song so of course it has to be Happy Day - so, Gaz, by tomorrow Happy Day will no doubt be taking Indonesia by storm! (Actually, as the only 'modern' song in their book is 'Our God is a Great Big God'- which as Celia knows is one of Stan's favourites, it's a distinct possibility.
High point for Stan - We have met an 'Ecumenical Co-Worker' (great title we thought!)called Ruth, a German lady, who is mad about football. She has invited Stan to watch the Germany match with her (on Friday) as long as he supports Germany! He is so desperate to see some football he has agreed - should be interesting! Unfortunately means a 45 minute walk there and back as no ankohts at night, so that will be interesting - walking anywhere here is a challenge - no pavements but lots of zebra crossings which mean absolutely nothing - you just learn to thread yourself across the road (as Biddy says - pray and run - it always works!). People on cars (rare) and motorbikes (hundreds) just go round you and smile sweetly, no-one seems to get road rage here, everything is done with a smile!
PRAY PLEASE FOR -
Stan tomorrow - he is leading 'Thought For the Day' which is a mini-sermon. It's also his birthday and the students apparently have a surprise for him - will let you know what it was!
The students - that they continue to be so enthusiastic
The mentors - us two, Biddy, Jenna and Mary - that we continue to come up with new ideas to keep them enthusiastic. One of the boys said today that learning had never been such fun - can't get better than that!
Blessings to St Andrews - we miss you. Going to try and listen to the Sunday service on the web if the power stays on long enough.
Love Sue and Stan xxx
I know we said these blogs would be short - but there is so much we want to share with you, so sorry! Go and make some tea and settle in for a long read!
This is certainly not a holiday-we are up at 5.45am to walk the two miles through the mud to get to the 'taxi ankoht' and work until 1,(with a couple of 15 minute breaks)then lunch and working through the next day's lesson plan. Home by about 5 and by then so tired we don't want to do much, and anyway it gets dark at 6 which is odd, happens in about 10 minutes from light to dark.
Having said that - we love the place (Banjarmasin is the noisiest place I have ever been), the people are charming, we love the food (mostly - apparently according to one of the translations I got from a student I ate chicken beaks yesterday. I had thought (and still hope) it was chicken livers), we love the weather (as I write this it is raining so hard we are having to shout to be heard indoors - but it only rains in the evening, so sensible!). We also love the quaint unexpected things that happen - for example every night at 1am (one tap), 2am (two taps), 3am (three taps) and so on until dawn a nightwatchman comes and taps on the pole near the house to let us know that all is well and there are no burglars around! At dawn he is taken over by the call to prayer from the mosque over the road, so we get great time checks all night! We love the way the ankoht will take you wherever you want, regardless of the other people on board - they are all happy to have a long drive as no-one is in too much of a hurry. We love the motorbikes with a family on - Mum and Dad wear helmets and the two, sometimes three, little ones jammed in between or on the front handlebars don't!
Now finished our second day with our students and have realised very quickly they prefer interactive to sitting and listening, so lots of role playing. Also interesting that their humour is like that of someone much younger (to us). They loved playing silly games, so silly games they got!
Only when they start to tell you what they will be doing and where they will be going when they leave here do they suddenly seem very grown up and you get a very real sense of God at work in them when they talk about the possible risks to them and their family.
We were so blessed today - there are two classrooms at the college with air conditioning which rarely works. Today it was so we drew lots to see who would get them - and Stan and I did! God loves poor hot white people!
High point of the day for Sue (1) - we had to tell the students about our family so showed them a pre-prepared slide show of photos including some of Will growing up (including the one in the paddling pool - sorry Will!). When we got to the one on his 18th birthday looking very smart in his suit the girls all gasped and SCREAMED! They said he looked like a pop star (I guess because all the boys in class have short black hair he is a bit of a novelty). So Will, if you ever want to visit Asia I think you will be welcomed!
High point for Sue (2) - I seem to have been voted in as worship leader, mainly because I know a few songs. Have discovered they love singing and we have a 'Let's Sing' spot every day. Tomorrow have been asked to teach a new song so of course it has to be Happy Day - so, Gaz, by tomorrow Happy Day will no doubt be taking Indonesia by storm! (Actually, as the only 'modern' song in their book is 'Our God is a Great Big God'- which as Celia knows is one of Stan's favourites, it's a distinct possibility.
High point for Stan - We have met an 'Ecumenical Co-Worker' (great title we thought!)called Ruth, a German lady, who is mad about football. She has invited Stan to watch the Germany match with her (on Friday) as long as he supports Germany! He is so desperate to see some football he has agreed - should be interesting! Unfortunately means a 45 minute walk there and back as no ankohts at night, so that will be interesting - walking anywhere here is a challenge - no pavements but lots of zebra crossings which mean absolutely nothing - you just learn to thread yourself across the road (as Biddy says - pray and run - it always works!). People on cars (rare) and motorbikes (hundreds) just go round you and smile sweetly, no-one seems to get road rage here, everything is done with a smile!
PRAY PLEASE FOR -
Stan tomorrow - he is leading 'Thought For the Day' which is a mini-sermon. It's also his birthday and the students apparently have a surprise for him - will let you know what it was!
The students - that they continue to be so enthusiastic
The mentors - us two, Biddy, Jenna and Mary - that we continue to come up with new ideas to keep them enthusiastic. One of the boys said today that learning had never been such fun - can't get better than that!
Blessings to St Andrews - we miss you. Going to try and listen to the Sunday service on the web if the power stays on long enough.
Love Sue and Stan xxx
Monday, 14 June 2010
MORE POWER CUTS!
Hi all
Power off for 5 hours last night but so far tonight ok. We feel like we are at New Wine - cooking on two rings, collecting water, washing up in a small bowl of water (but the great thing is you do it on the verandah over the river so all the waste water just gets poured through the wooden slats), paddling through the mud to get anywhere - last night ankle deep so just took shoes off and paddled through. Every time it rains here the road floods as the river overflows. HOWEVER - it is very hot (30 degrees at midnight last night) and we do sort of have a flush loo. The shower is amazing - a big plastic barrel full of water and a plastic container to throw water over yourself - so not like New Wine really!
Went to a place of worship opposite the college where the students go - went to the 5 'o'clock as that is the one with the music group. Drums, keyboard and two singers - singing hymns with rhythm! The church was only built last year - seats 1000, usually full. They have the most enormouse picture of the Last Supper at the front - took up the whole wall - and the most enormous cross - both of which light up. Spectacular! We were surprised to see that it had (brand new) pews. The sermon was on 2 Corinthians 8 1-15 and was about giving (so we were told as couldn't understand most of it). We loved the fact it was in between two of the three collections of the evening, and it was 40 minutes long which seems even longer when you can't understand what's being said!
Got taken to town in the morning -in a 'taxi ankaht' which is really a small pick up truck with seats either side (we were told only tourists take 'tourist taxis'. It costs 3,000 rupiah (about 30p) for wherever you want to go. We were such a novelty that a fully robed lady asked if she could take our picture! She lined her children up in front of us, a crowd gathered as they prepared the shot and lots of other people joined in so they could be in the photo! I know how it must feel to be a Hollywood film star now!
We start our first day of teaching tomorrow at 7.15am (so leave here at 6.30) and did our last bit of preparation today. The two American girls are trainee ESL teachers anyway, so for them it is easy (although as they told us, our group will get 'proper English' and theirs will get the USA version!).
PLEASE PRAY FOR
The students who are taking this course - we understand that most of them will be going into their villages as pastors when they complete college (2 years curacy first). We were surprised that at least helf of them are girls. Some are already experiencing difficulties from families and friends there. Also the group is very sad at the moment as a minibus carrying three of them back from a village placement burst a tyre and left the road. One of them was killed, another has severe facial injuries and will be in hospital for a long time and the third was apparently unhurt and returned to her family only to start fitting and has now been sent to hospital for investigation. They are a very close group (the girls all live together in a type of dorm at the top of the college and the boys in similar down the road) so this has hit them very hard.
Love Stan and Sue
Power off for 5 hours last night but so far tonight ok. We feel like we are at New Wine - cooking on two rings, collecting water, washing up in a small bowl of water (but the great thing is you do it on the verandah over the river so all the waste water just gets poured through the wooden slats), paddling through the mud to get anywhere - last night ankle deep so just took shoes off and paddled through. Every time it rains here the road floods as the river overflows. HOWEVER - it is very hot (30 degrees at midnight last night) and we do sort of have a flush loo. The shower is amazing - a big plastic barrel full of water and a plastic container to throw water over yourself - so not like New Wine really!
Went to a place of worship opposite the college where the students go - went to the 5 'o'clock as that is the one with the music group. Drums, keyboard and two singers - singing hymns with rhythm! The church was only built last year - seats 1000, usually full. They have the most enormouse picture of the Last Supper at the front - took up the whole wall - and the most enormous cross - both of which light up. Spectacular! We were surprised to see that it had (brand new) pews. The sermon was on 2 Corinthians 8 1-15 and was about giving (so we were told as couldn't understand most of it). We loved the fact it was in between two of the three collections of the evening, and it was 40 minutes long which seems even longer when you can't understand what's being said!
Got taken to town in the morning -in a 'taxi ankaht' which is really a small pick up truck with seats either side (we were told only tourists take 'tourist taxis'. It costs 3,000 rupiah (about 30p) for wherever you want to go. We were such a novelty that a fully robed lady asked if she could take our picture! She lined her children up in front of us, a crowd gathered as they prepared the shot and lots of other people joined in so they could be in the photo! I know how it must feel to be a Hollywood film star now!
We start our first day of teaching tomorrow at 7.15am (so leave here at 6.30) and did our last bit of preparation today. The two American girls are trainee ESL teachers anyway, so for them it is easy (although as they told us, our group will get 'proper English' and theirs will get the USA version!).
PLEASE PRAY FOR
The students who are taking this course - we understand that most of them will be going into their villages as pastors when they complete college (2 years curacy first). We were surprised that at least helf of them are girls. Some are already experiencing difficulties from families and friends there. Also the group is very sad at the moment as a minibus carrying three of them back from a village placement burst a tyre and left the road. One of them was killed, another has severe facial injuries and will be in hospital for a long time and the third was apparently unhurt and returned to her family only to start fitting and has now been sent to hospital for investigation. They are a very close group (the girls all live together in a type of dorm at the top of the college and the boys in similar down the road) so this has hit them very hard.
Love Stan and Sue
Saturday, 12 June 2010
NOTES FROM A LARGE ISLAND
Hi all
Selamat (Blessings) from Banjarmasin. Sorry if this one is particularly long, such a lot to say, will make sure future ones are shorter.
Arrived here rested after 18 hours flying (to Dubai and then to Jakarta) and overnight at the superb Sheraton in Jakarta.(We waved Alex as we went over Cambodia!). Flight on Friday morning to Banjarmasin only took 1.5 hours so arrived here at Biddy's house at 4.30pm.
First impressions of Indonesia - the people and the country are charming, the drivers(particularly the ones on motorbikes, of which there are many) are mad. Crossing the road today was challenging - Biddy told us to pray and run, she says it works every time! It is amazing to see whole families riding on one motorbike!
Biddy is lovely - she has been in Indonesia for 15 years so is translating for us, but encouraging us to try a few words as well. Her house is built on stilts over a river and has a monitor lizard who lives on the porch!The fruit seller who sets up on the main road arrives by river past our porch in his boat. We met him last night when we walked up to the main road to buy supper, cooked by a street vendor on the side of the road in his wok. We had nasi goreng ayam (chicken and fried rice) which was delicious and cost the equivanlent of 60p each!
Last night - power cut for 3 hours so no fans - very hot - apparently the first power cut in 4 months.
Today we visited the college to look around and had lunch cooked by Ibu Martha, who also did our washing! (Rosemary and Derek - she sends you greetings). We did some lesson planning with the two Moody Bible College girls who are helping with the course - Jenna and Mary from Minnesota and Tennessee - both 21 and very aweet.
We walked around the market today (Biddy wanted a pineapple for supper), an amazing place - never seen so many different sorts of fish, and live chickens being swung around by their legs to show us how fresh they were! We are very much a novelty here, as apart from Biddy and the two American girls we are the only white people, so when we walk along the street together people wave (particularly the children)and turn around and stare! (Very dangerous when driving a motorcycle).
Off to church tomorrow so more news soon.
Please pray for the students and the start of the course on Tuesday, we are very much out of our comfort zone! Oh and by the way, I am leading the singing (To God be the Glory and Jesus is the Name We Honour on Tuesday) and Stan the prayers which end each school day, plus we both have to take turns in doing the 'thought for the day' in the morning.
PS Stan has World Cup withdrawal symptoms as not seen any yet! (time difference and no tv anyway) Come on England!
Love Sue and Stan
Selamat (Blessings) from Banjarmasin. Sorry if this one is particularly long, such a lot to say, will make sure future ones are shorter.
Arrived here rested after 18 hours flying (to Dubai and then to Jakarta) and overnight at the superb Sheraton in Jakarta.(We waved Alex as we went over Cambodia!). Flight on Friday morning to Banjarmasin only took 1.5 hours so arrived here at Biddy's house at 4.30pm.
First impressions of Indonesia - the people and the country are charming, the drivers(particularly the ones on motorbikes, of which there are many) are mad. Crossing the road today was challenging - Biddy told us to pray and run, she says it works every time! It is amazing to see whole families riding on one motorbike!
Biddy is lovely - she has been in Indonesia for 15 years so is translating for us, but encouraging us to try a few words as well. Her house is built on stilts over a river and has a monitor lizard who lives on the porch!The fruit seller who sets up on the main road arrives by river past our porch in his boat. We met him last night when we walked up to the main road to buy supper, cooked by a street vendor on the side of the road in his wok. We had nasi goreng ayam (chicken and fried rice) which was delicious and cost the equivanlent of 60p each!
Last night - power cut for 3 hours so no fans - very hot - apparently the first power cut in 4 months.
Today we visited the college to look around and had lunch cooked by Ibu Martha, who also did our washing! (Rosemary and Derek - she sends you greetings). We did some lesson planning with the two Moody Bible College girls who are helping with the course - Jenna and Mary from Minnesota and Tennessee - both 21 and very aweet.
We walked around the market today (Biddy wanted a pineapple for supper), an amazing place - never seen so many different sorts of fish, and live chickens being swung around by their legs to show us how fresh they were! We are very much a novelty here, as apart from Biddy and the two American girls we are the only white people, so when we walk along the street together people wave (particularly the children)and turn around and stare! (Very dangerous when driving a motorcycle).
Off to church tomorrow so more news soon.
Please pray for the students and the start of the course on Tuesday, we are very much out of our comfort zone! Oh and by the way, I am leading the singing (To God be the Glory and Jesus is the Name We Honour on Tuesday) and Stan the prayers which end each school day, plus we both have to take turns in doing the 'thought for the day' in the morning.
PS Stan has World Cup withdrawal symptoms as not seen any yet! (time difference and no tv anyway) Come on England!
Love Sue and Stan
Monday, 7 June 2010
PACKING
Almost finished the packing, 3 pages of instructions done for Will, another 3 pages for Gareth, cleaned the house (on the basis it may not get another one for a few weeks!) and now taking some time to sit and think.
Thank you to everyone who has given us cards, encouragement and prayer. We are so blessed to know you all. We are leaving here early Wednesday morning so probably no more contact until we reach Banjarmasin. (We arrive Friday 11th at around 16.30, then travel to the college, settle in, sleep and then find some electricity!).
Thank you to everyone who has given us cards, encouragement and prayer. We are so blessed to know you all. We are leaving here early Wednesday morning so probably no more contact until we reach Banjarmasin. (We arrive Friday 11th at around 16.30, then travel to the college, settle in, sleep and then find some electricity!).
Monday, 31 May 2010
THE VISAS HAVE ARRIVED!
We had been unable to contact the embassy either by phone or e-mail to check if the visas were ready to be collected, so we decided to travel to London on Tuesday by faith, in the hope that we could get them.
As we left the car and headed for the train Sue's mobile rang - it was the Indonesian Embassy telling us that the visas were ready - could we go and collect them!
We had a good journey,even though the train was crowded and people were standing we found two seats.
I got given an unwanted tube ticket at Paddington, in about 5 queues of 20 people each a lady threaded her way through the crowds to give it to me!
We got to the embassy at 2.30 just as they opened, and our passports were on top of the pile - we could see them! Within 5 minutes we had our visas and then spent a wonderful, restful, afternoon in London.
God directed us every step of the way, and had gone ahead of us on Tuesday - praise the Lord.
We are starting the packing!
As we left the car and headed for the train Sue's mobile rang - it was the Indonesian Embassy telling us that the visas were ready - could we go and collect them!
We had a good journey,even though the train was crowded and people were standing we found two seats.
I got given an unwanted tube ticket at Paddington, in about 5 queues of 20 people each a lady threaded her way through the crowds to give it to me!
We got to the embassy at 2.30 just as they opened, and our passports were on top of the pile - we could see them! Within 5 minutes we had our visas and then spent a wonderful, restful, afternoon in London.
God directed us every step of the way, and had gone ahead of us on Tuesday - praise the Lord.
We are starting the packing!
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Thursday, 6 May 2010
GETTING THERE
We will be leaving Heathrow on the afternoon of the 9th June, travelling via Dubai and Jakarta (overnight in Jakarta) and should arrive in Banjarmasin on the afternoon of the 11th June. Please pray that all the arrangements go smoothly, the connections are on time, the volcanic ash is blowing in the opposite direction and someone meets us at the other end!
Please also pray that the letters we are waiting for from the school arrive in time for us to arrange the visas.
Please also pray that the letters we are waiting for from the school arrive in time for us to arrange the visas.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
JOURNEYS WITH THE ROTHWELLS
On June 9th Stan and Sue will be travelling to Banjarmasin, Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia.
Our reasons for going? To prepare and deliver an Intensive English course for 17 to 25 year old students, to get to know the area, the people and their culture, their view of the world and to learn more about ourselves and what God may have in store for us.
Please remember us and the people of Kalimantan in your prayers.
We will update the blog as often as we are able.
Our reasons for going? To prepare and deliver an Intensive English course for 17 to 25 year old students, to get to know the area, the people and their culture, their view of the world and to learn more about ourselves and what God may have in store for us.
Please remember us and the people of Kalimantan in your prayers.
We will update the blog as often as we are able.
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