Merry Christmas!

The Queen’s Message

Every year, the Queen of England makes a public Christmas speech to the countries of the Commonwealth. I thought I’d take after dear Elizabeth and do the same; however, mine goes out to other countries in the world and it’s not nearly as insightful. Plus, there’s no British accent.

This year marks a special Christmas, as I am in a context that is completely different than one I’ve ever been in at this time of year. I am in Indonesia without my immediate family, there’s no snow, I’m wearing “summer” clothes, the songs I sing are mostly in Indonesian and I haven’t eaten one candy cane yet! As assumed, I am missing my family a lot (when I give in to thinking about them). For the first time, we’re spread out in four different time zones around the world and are relying on Skype to see each other’s faces. It’s strange not to have them here with me and I know the others feel the same.

However, this is a positive message because I believe that Christmas is a time of hope. The meaning of Christmas, peace for all and hope is the same wherever we are in the world. As I’ve been reflecting on this, I’ve realized what makes Christmas, Christmas. I naturally associate it with those things listed above, a real Canadian/Austrian Christmas. I do enjoy listening to Michael Buble’s renditions of classic carols and picturing downtown Kamloops with falling snow and Christmas lights. But that’s not what it’s really about. How amazing is it that the almighty God came down to Earth, subjecting himself to humanity and brokenness? The Jewish people at that time were expecting a Saviour to save them from the injustice and oppression that the foreigners constantly exhibited. Jesus came to give people life, but first as a baby born in obscurity to most of the world. I can’t imagine the shock, surprise and eventual joy that people experienced in the Saviour’s coming!

But what a message of hope. And that’s what we’re waiting for now! The Lord came then to bring the Kingdom of God, the Helper (Holy Spirit) and the promise of his return. We need this message of hope just as much as the people did two thousand years ago. It seems that every year there’s more and more brokenness, injustice and oppression in this world. Christmas is a time I usually reflect on those as well. It’s happening everywhere and my heart is burdened by what humans do to each other and the earth. Let us wait in anticipation for the coming of our Lord! And while we wait, let’s be active in seeking the Lord’s will in our lives, that we can better serve him and our brothers and sisters.

I praise the Lord for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in Indonesia, as I have experienced his goodness, his grace and his love through others here. I am blessed by my host community and the MCC family. I love being part of the global family of God that can come together in every context and share what unites us all: Jesus Christ. May you experience his hope and peace this Christmas and look ahead to the New Year with eager anticipation of what God will do in and through you.

I wish you all, my faithful supporters, a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year. You are a wonderful gift to me and I am so thankful to have you working beside me as we all partake in God’s mission together.

Peace,

Elisabeth

Hal terbaik dalam hidup dibakar: roti bakar, ikan bakar, ayam bakar, pisang bakar, etc.

First, translation of the title: The best things in life are grilled: grilled bread (a delicious night-time snack of chocolate/jam-filled sandwiches), grilled fish, grilled chicken, grilled bananas (placing a banana on top of coals to heat it to perfection), etc. Mmm!
Second, check out the latest pictures on my web album!
https://picasaweb.google.com/101166710549137784356/LisiInIndonesia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIrU983np_eOqgE&feat=directlink

Another month has gone by and now I'm a third of the way through my SALT experience. Crazy! These past weeks have been full of the usual things: activities at UKDW and my church, enlightening and fun conversations and daily lessons in culture. I am clearly a student of Intercultural Studies; in my mind, the reason behind most actions is related to one's culture, their experiences and their worldview. Crazy! I really, really like what I study.

Some highlights from the last month:

• Hiking Mt. Ungaran, a 2050 metre mountain close to the village of Srumbung Gunung, where one of my fellow YALTers is positioned. I went with my youth group from GKMI, so I got to know some of these folks a little better. I also got to see this YALTer and her home, which was a wonderful surprise! The views from the ascent and summit were awesome, at night and during the day. I finally got to see a sunrise from a mountain summit. Check this off my list of things to do! What a great experience.

• Having a packed weekend in which I stayed the night at the home of my coworker's fantastic family, went on a short trip to a village nearby to do some surveying for the PPBA- the fun part being that I was with three guys that always make me laugh, and I went to the university choir's Christmas performance. I got to sit in the 2nd row, as a "special guest".
• Being a moderator for a session in an international symposium at UKDW, the theme being local service learning. If I didn't ask all the questions that I did, I wouldn't have known what to do! I was so nervous. But I sat all lady-like, spoke clearly and people seemed to appreciate my efforts. 
• Going on a small cultural bicycle tour of some temples and village areas surrounding Jogja. My YALT friend from Salatiga was visiting for the weekend and we had a great time. Free entry, freedom to clamber around 9th century structures (with care, of course) and free food? Yes please! And all before 1:00 pm. 

• An afternoon visit from another YALTer and his visiting fiancee! We're all ICS interns at CBC (she's in Thailand) so it was so nice to catch up and have a conversation in informal English. There's nothing like the feeling of being a tour guide in a country that's not my own! 
• English Camp finally happened last weekend, an overnight event to end the semester's English Club. The PPBA also held a teacher workshop and the Christmas party. It was a full schedule and quite enjoyable. The students played a lot of games and had to do 5 push ups if I caught them speaking excessive English. Three highlights from this highlight: teaching the students "Sardines", the awesome version of hide-and-seek I love; having a conversation about Indonesian vs. Western culture with the students; and teaching a session on Cross-Cultural Understanding, using the fun game "BAFA BAFA" to finalize my points. 

• Understanding more Indonesian spoken around me. I still have my days where I can't understand a word... But I am able to take more application from discussions and bible studies, which really helps the spirit! 
• Receiving mail from home! I've hung up my Christmas cards and pictures, my room is more festive now. 
• Eating dragon fruit for the first time. A red one at that. SO good! I'm a bit paranoid with tropical fruits, thanks to my mango allergy, and half expect the awful symptoms to come. It's a real blessing when they don't! 

A few "low-lights" from the past while:

• Getting sick with a bad cold - twice. I'm still recovering now! 
• Missing Canada, family and friends. 
• The injustice, violence and lack of care that is happening in our world. 

I have learned many things lately. Every day is an opportunity to experience God and serve him in a new way; it's also a new opportunity to learn about the culture around me and the culture that makes me who I am. Like I said before, I love this kind of learning, although it's not always easy. Some days the Indonesian worldview and ways are hard to handle and I really miss being surrounded by things I'm used to. I had the chance to listen to an American professor that was visiting our university last week. In her talk on cross-cultural trips she said, "When I enter a different culture, my first thought isn't always 'Diversity: I love it!' Usually it's 'Why are they doing it this way??'". I can relate to this. As long as we continue to learn, we can serve with our brothers and sisters better :)

A verse that has helped me lately, as I sometimes struggle to find purpose or find myself just "going through the motions" of life, even abroad: "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

Thank you all for your continued support and love. Let us all, in our various contexts, continue striving to serve one another and bring glory to our God!

Peace, 

Lisi

Pictures

The latest pictures! Enjoy
Online Photo Album

Lisi

Happiness is: relationships built on trust and open communication (plus a little bit of Milka chocolate)

One month into my time in Jogja. Three months into my SALT journey. What a journey it has been so far! The last 3 weeks since I've written have been a rich learning experience and I am enjoying myself immensely. Every day has also been filled with the struggle of  language practice, cultural blunders and extending grace - to myself and others. I am currently reading two books that have done their job of making me reflect on life. Cross Cultural Connections (as homework) and Prayer (by Philip Yancey). Some things I have learned:

Building trust.
I've had the opportunity to build many relationships in all of my communities, the three of them being my home, my church and the university. At home, I am learning how the family works and my place in it. Slowly I am becoming a daughter, much less the guest. Naturally I still do things differently and I'm sure this is not always the most appropriate or trust-strengthening. But hey, we're all learning together! The same goes for my church family. I'm actually starting to remember names and have real conversations. Progress!
At the university, I am learning how to interact with staff and students alike. I really really like the staff at the PPBA office and am getting to know them better every day. Building relationships also meant sitting at my coworker's son's dance competition for 3+ hours straight. It was great! I wish I could salsa, tango, rumba, waltz, jive and quickstep like that! With students, I've learned to be completely open and willing to give any information, because people are just plain curious! I've had a record number of "Friend Requests" on Facebook for a short period of time. To build trust, transparency is necessary!

I'm going incognito. Bet you can't find me! With my friends at the beach 

I definitely think that one of the most important things I do this year is build relationships and, as part of the global church, learn with my brothers and sisters to strive for discipleship and a pure heart - one that desires nothing more than the kingdom of God.
Now trusting God, that's the most important one. There are definitely times that I feel low and incredibly tired and I need to know that God is still there. Instead of complaining that he's not there or wallowing in my apparent spiritual dryness, how good it is to just trust that he never leaves and open my heart to him. A beautiful picture, from a letter written to Yancey:
"So many times when I pray I feel like I'm either shaking my fists in God's face (defiance) or pounding them on his chest (grief). Would that I could just place them on his knees, and have him hold my hands in his."

Something else that I discovered from Yancey's book: In Deuteronomy 34, Moses is only allowed to "see" the Promised Land from a distance; because of his lack of trust, he is not allowed to enter. But in Matthew 17, who shows up at the Transfiguration of Jesus on (traditionally) Mt. Hermon? Moses! Cool ya?

Cultural Differences.
This is obvious but I'll write it down anyways. I am constantly being pushed to accept new methods and new perspectives in this new context, even after three months. I'm still learning about the concept of time, relationship, religion, tradition and values. For example, I thought I was a pretty unselfish person until last weekend when I only grabbed one banana for the road, on the way to the famous Buddhist temple Borobudur. I should've been more sneaky; everyone immediately asked, where are the rest? Clearly, I lack skills in sharing! I know this because my family was still laughing at me three days later. Have I laughed at myself yet over this? Not quite. I'm only just starting to see the humour in it. That brings me to the next point.

Laughing.
Learning to laugh at oneself is ridiculously important! If the humour, the joy, or the simple difference in culture is not noted and I walk around with a perpetual frown, what a sad experience I'm going to have here. I admit, as above, that some situations are harder to giggle at than others. Last week at bible study, I was asked to share my opinion on the Chronicles. Some Indonesian people have a habit of talking about a person without ever looking at them - resulting in my embarrassment when I zone out of the Indonesian conversation and suddenly everyone is looking at me, waiting! I was very frustrated that this man singled me out, quite indirectly, and I was completely unprepared. I realized later that they just wanted to seize the opportunity to have a Western perspective on the topic. Unfortunately, I was too flustered and at that moment I forgot everything I knew about Chronicles. I confess my annoyed attitude toward this wonderful group of people and especially that particular man; he was the first to call me "artist" which I have translated to celebrity. I am quite honoured.

The girls of Stella Duce school. What energy and excitement over the English/Canada lesson!

Anyway, now that I've written some of my lessons down, here are some other highlights from the past 3 weeks:

• Receiving my bicycle! I've been riding to work now for 2 weeks and it is a joy. Although it's a long ride. In heavy traffic and humidity that has 20 degrees on Salatiga. Yeah, exercise! 
• A Thanksgiving/English Club party at Kukup Beach. A beautiful location for fantastic fellowship with my family from the English department. Felt so blessed!
• A trip to Salatiga/Semarang for MCC business. Arriving at my host family's house there was such a treat. How I miss those two boys! Every time I get a surprise call from them, their sweet voices almost make me cry. "Kak Lisi, when are you coming back??" Aw. 
• Potatoes. I've had more meals containing my favourite tuber and they just taste so good! As the title suggests, I love chicken sate and our German neighbour brought a gift, my national food. Milka! Mm!
• The Cinema 21 theatre. Those seats are more plush than anything I've ever had at home (even the grand Colossus in Langley, yes). I almost fell asleep! Too bad it was James Bond "Skyfall" and the constant shooting woke me up.
• I still get excited when I get to ride on the back of a motorcycle. My brother thinks I'm scared. I say Pshaw to that. 
• My good friends from CBC getting engaged! :) So excited! Unfortunately I'm in Indonesia for the wedding.
• Experiencing Indonesian traditions like wedding receptions, birthdays and dances. 
• Teaching an English class at a Catholic girls' school. I told them Justin Bieber was my neighbour. They REALLY liked that.
• Having conversations with my host family. I like it when they're all present. My father says ridiculously long words and some that I don't really need to know; my mother speaks at the best pace for me to understand; my brother is often the translator. We've talked about culture, caffeine, globalization, relationships, the Bible and the Javanese, Indonesian, English and German languages.
• Singing. I joined the church choir and performed for the first time on Sunday. The song was in English and Indonesian, so we all got to both shine and stumble a little bit! The congregation was surprised that I was up there but seemed to appreciate the bizarre soprano voice resounding from the front row. 
• Going to Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Built in the 8th century, it's a huge 3 story structure covered in reliefs and Buddha statues. Loved it! Too bad it was raining every time we reached the top...
• Having a conversation with a random motorcyclist while waiting for the traffic light to turn red. Kudos to him for his courage to speak to the ridiculously sweaty white girl on a bike. It made my day! 
• Joined the medical department today for a fourth-year class in serving foreign patients. The simulation went well, this is great for the students! I'm also getting to know the lecturers, of which one is helping me find a Probiotic for my persistent friend, IBS. It's not too bad here, but at least I can stay healthy :)

Thank you for reading this far and hopefully enjoying what you read! Three months down, eight more to go. Pray that the Lord grants me perseverance and joy in all that I do. Boy, do we know a great God that we can serve wherever we are :) 

Blessings!
Lisi

The Man Purse

Real title: Culture I Have Encountered

Who wants to learn about culture?
(in a massive souvenir shop, playing with wayang shadow puppets) 

To get an idea of what I encounter every day, I'd like to share some things I've learned and seen here. Of course, this is exclusive to my experience in Indonesia so while some things are general, please don't paint a picture in your mind that all Indonesia is always like this! 

Let's start with the most important, food: 

• Indonesians like spicy food. More importantly, they like sambal, a chili sauce of varying degrees of spiciness. This is added to everything, all the time. 
• Javanese food is known for being sweet, sweeter than other islands. 
• A common drink is es jeruk, a cold drink of squeezed mandarin oranges and sugar. Jeruk panas is the hot version of this. Never though hot orange juice would be good; it's DELICIOUS. Also, everyone drinks tea (mostly green and some black), either iced or hot. It's served with heaps of sugar unless ordered specifically without.
• The rice cooker is the most used appliance, running all day. Food is made and set out for anyone to take during the day; often, families with different schedules don't eat together. 
• The dishes I've eaten revolve around rice (3 times a day, on a good day), noodles, chicken, fish and vegetables. 
• Nasi goreng, mie goreng, capcay, bakmi, bakso, ayam goreng, tahu, soto, gado-gado, ronde, 
• empek-empek, ikan bakar, ayam bakar, nasi sayur asing, nasi mie goreng, sate ayam, lontong, dll. Meals I've eaten. 
• Jus jambu, blended guava juice, is amazing.
• I enjoy a good lele (catfish) every once in a while.
• I have yet to try dog meat. 

The Family Home:

• People live in their home until they are married, unless they go away for university. I know a man that stayed until he was 28 and another that is 32 now. Unheard of in Canada. Parents support their kids until they are married as well, if they can afford it. 
• Family is very important and an incredibly strong bond.
• In a survey of household consumption, the second highest expense after food was cigarettes.
• School is free until high school, SMA, so many students drop out if their families can't afford it. 
• No matter how nice your house is, you will always find ants, geckos and mice (thanks Pak Dan for this information). Houses have many open holes so anything can find its way in.

Life Outside the Home:

• There are people everywhere: on the streets are tons of warungs, little "restaurants" that can serve one dish up to a whole menu. There's no real equivalent from home that I can think of. These are often on the sidewalk, which can be tarped off from the street. Many people sit on mats to eat;
• many warungs, shops and businesses have parking attendants. There are no parking metres but there are attendants, who must be paid;
• a popular hobby seems to be sitting on the side of the road with friends. At night, I'll see groups of men with their motorbikes parked and they're just sitting there. Often squatting, which continues to impress me every day; 
• the most common form of  transport is the motorcycle. Others are cars, bicycles, becak (a rickshaw-like vehicle pushed by a man), andong (a horse carriage), buses and jalan kaki (on foot).
• People can start riding motorcycles when they are in their early teens. It's still unnerving to see 13-year old kids driving around. 
• The word I've probably heard the most is terus. This means continue, straight, keep going, next, etc. Every day I hear this word. It seems that because there are so many people and things are built really close together, a team is needed to maneuver in and out of parking spots. That's why the parking attendants are needed. But everyone does it! My 7-year old host brother in Salatiga helped his father out one day by terus terus terus-ing him out of our street. I thought it was the cutest thing and it still makes me smile every day when random bystanders will lend a terus here and there. 
• The exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and Indonesian rupiah is 1 CAD=9604 IDR. However, the cost of practically everything in Indonesia is much cheaper so it is very hard to explain. For example, if I pay Rp, 20.000 for decent portion of fried rice for lunch, that's a little bit much. But that's only around $2.00 in Canada... See? I've learned to look at prices from an Indonesian perspective. It helps a lot. 
• Indonesia is the top user of Facebook in the world. 
• The man purse. Totally common here. 
• Smoking is a cultural habit, it is everywhere here. Everyone that smokes in public is male and it seems that almost all youth (young adults) smoke. It reminds me of Austria.
• Many young men dress very well. 

Culture:

• Indonesians try to use the passive form of sentences as to not put anyone on the spot. The more the object can be the main focus of the sentence, the better. 
• Indirect communication is very important. 
• Questions that are common upon introduction: Where are you from? How old are you? Are you married? What's your religion? Mau kemana? ("where are you going?" Answered with ke sana, "over there"). 
• Titles are very important, depending on how old a person is in comparison to you. Some examples: bapak, ibu, kakak, adik, mas, mbak (Mr., Mrs., older sister/brother, younger sister/brother, brother, sister). 
• The left hand is not used to receive or give objects, as it is used for other things. If used, say something like "maaf, tangan kiri" (sorry, left hand). 
• Shorts and tank tops are only worn around the home and by tourists in public. 
• In public or formal settings, ladies shouldn't cross their legs when sitting on the floor. Sitting with legs to the side can hurt after a while, ow... Also, while sitting, girls shouldn't cross their legs if an older person is present.
• Every Indonesian citizen has a KTP, ID card issued by the government. It includes all important information, including religion (there are 6 recognized religions), job and a fingerprint. 
• There are national holidays from all religions. Therefore, Indonesia has many many holidays. 
• Javanese culture is incredibly rich and strong here in Jogja. It deserves its own post, if I get around to that. 

This is all for now. I hope it was interesting; it's not an exhaustive list so if there are any questions about anything else, please do ask :) Love talking about culture! 

Thank you Mami for the idea.

Lisi

Yogyakarta, here I am!

 29 Oktober, 2012

I’m finally writing from Yogyakarta, the centre of Javanese culture and hospitality! But before I dive into that story, some pictures from my last week in Salatiga.

Merapi, seen from Merbabu's summit. Dangerously beautiful, I now live  close to this guy. 

We visited an organic farm. Check out the size of that bundle of parsley!

Visited a boat shop. These are mostly used for fishing.

Taking a boat ride on a lake right outside of Salatiga.

I was so blessed by my time here; the people, the town and that beautiful mountain Merbabu greeting me every morning were reasons that I would’ve loved to stay. But comfort sometimes needs to be disrupted for change. And this is a change I was ready for! I was looking forward to Yogyakarta for months so it was time to get there and see it. Sad to say goodbye to fellow YALTers but trust that they're doing well in their new communities!

On October 14th, I was picked up by my new host parents. My father is a professor of architecture at one of the many universities in Jogja; my mother stays at home, selling cosmetics and organic supplements. They are wonderful! The first few days were a challenge as we were getting used to each other and the language barrier between us. My host father speaks a bit of English and my mother speaks less. I have two host brothers, ages 22 and 24. The younger son is still a student of architecture in town and the older one works in Bali. He was visiting this past weekend for a holiday and I was lucky to hang out with him for a few days. This family lives in a large house on the northern outskirts of Jogja, 20 minutes away from the city centre and my school. I have the upstairs to myself, including a bathroom and “living room” with a TV. 

The next day I started at the Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (UKDW). Walked into the PPBA (foreign language centre) and the ladies greeted me with shrieks of joy! I am this year's Native Speaker.The staff was so welcoming right away and I appreciate them all. The first two weeks were pretty slow, as classes were on a break, so I spent a lot of time in my own office! I am part of helping plan events for the English Club, a weekly meeting for students to practice English. We got right into planning a games hour (on the 19th) and the Halloween Party on Nov. 2nd. Today I started my first day of classroom assisting. I will be joining teachers for required English classes and sharing stories, helping with the lesson, answering questions, etc. However, this morning I received an SMS that the teacher of my first class was sick, so I was going to manage half of the class by myself! So after another staff member opened the class, I was alone. Was not too confident in my ability to communicate concepts of our super easy English language but I think it went well. They left the classroom happy and with my Facebook name and blog address. The other class went well and I look forward to the rest of my classes this semester. I was also on the campus radio today, promoting the English Club, our Halloween party and sharing about Halloween. I was so nervous, this was a new experience! 

Aside from assisting the PPBA I am joining the local GKMI, Mennonite Church, where my host family attends. From my first meeting, I was so excited to be a part of this small church. Although I can't understand the services and bible studies, I felt immediately welcomed here too. It's a giant family and I am not a guest but a sister in Christ. I love the global church! This past weekend was the family retreat, where about 90 people attended - almost the whole church. There were people from all ages and I had such a good time! Met some of the youth girls, I am excited to get to know them better. The retreat was in a beautiful area called the Dieng Plateau. By the city of Wonosobo was the Tambi Tea Plantation where we stayed. I woke up early one day and walked through the plantation and it was breathtaking! It's right on the foot of Mt. Sundoro. It was such a treat to spend time in the mountains again - the scenery (my favourite), the fresh air, the feeling of being cold, snuggling into a real blanket, being provided with a hot shower... It was great! We also got a tour of the plantation, wow! This was such a treat. 

ASIDE from the university and church, I've been busy with other things too! My family has been great at introducing me to new things and taking me places. Visited so far: an ancient Hindu/Buddhist temple site, built in the 9th century; a village devastated by the 2010 Merapi eruption, now thriving in tourism; a Javanese art and culture museum; the main shopping centre of Malioboro and the evening hang out place for youth, for a nice cup of kopi Joss (coffee served with a hot coal). I've enjoyed it all and this city is slowly becoming familiar to me.

I have been so blessed these past two weeks by my family, the university and the church. It almost feels like it's too good to be true! Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, though, I will thank the Lord! This SALT position seems to be such a good fit and I look forward to the next 9 months here in Jogja. 

I ask for prayer for motivation, perseverance and strength! I keep realizing that I have a lot of work to do for my internship and when opportunities come to go someplace, I always take them. Which is great, but I need to learn to say no. Time for discipline! I also find myself tired often, especially when I was sick last week with a super sore throat and a bout of heat rash. I'm all better now - it's finally rainy season so the awkward in-between season period is over, praise the Lord! 

I have started an online photo album, so I can finally post many pictures at one time! Link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/101166710549137784356/LisiInIndonesia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIrU983np_eOqgE&feat=directlink

Keep following! Thanks for your prayers and thoughts :) I am incredibly blessed to be here and am thankful for everyone that's making my time here possible! For everyone in Canada, I hope you're enjoying the Fall season! It's one of my favourite things and I miss it here. I love walking through the Fall colours, breathing brisk air and starting a new semester (yes, I miss school). Enjoy :)

Love from a global servant learner, 

Lisi 

Address

Hello everyone,
Here is my mailing address! Some of you were asking for it, perhaps to send some mail or to look it up on Google Maps :) Both ideas make me very happy.

Lisi Schrottner
GKMI Yogyakarta
Jl. Jati - Pingit Kidul
No. 9-11
Yogyakarta 55231
Indonesia

This is the church's address, which is faster since I live in a housing complex that's apparently not nice towards mail...If you would like my house address, please email me privately.
I'll update this blog soon, I promise!
Blessings,
Lisi

Merbabu 2



Mt. Merapi, an active volcano that erupts every 4-6 years. Last major eruption was in 2010, smoking a little bit all the time. Nevertheless, I'm going to climb this one too!




The puncak (summit) crew! Representing Canada, China, Zambia and America



From the summit



Merbabu 1

Dawn over the valley, around 5:15

The closest we got to seeing sunrise.  On the right is Merbabu's lower summit and the mountain in the middle is Andong

The last steep climb!

Getting closer to the top

The summit! :) Java's highest mountain, Semeru, in the  distance

Pictures from Class Outings

An enting-enting factory in Salatiga

The waterfall, Sekat Langit

The batik factory. The men are stamping hot wax patterns (close-up) onto fabric

Receiving wonderful hospitality during a village visit

For my fellow hikers and lovers of God's creation!

2 Oktober, 2012

Semangat!
I am sitting here with a fantastic sense of peace and joy and I owe that to the goodness of my God!

As week 5 of language class came to an end with a full class, we headed to G. Merbabu for an overnight hike. The seven very intrepid YALTers with varying levels of excitement and two guides approached base camp of the 3145 m. mountain at 6:00pm and ascended the steep and dusty trail. It reminded me of Kamloops, to be honest. Through the trees we could see the village lights between the cities of Magelang and Salatiga and looking up, the sky was a canopy of stars and moonlight. The waxing moon reached its full point at midnight, so flashlights were not always necessary! Unfortunately we dropped one member of our team who was sick at the start, so he had to remain in the car... But the rest of us made it to the 2nd stop/ camping spot. It was pretty cold at this point and we hurriedly set up tents and built a fire. After a quick dinner and a quick solitary lie-down in the grass under the full moon :) we went to bed. I think I slept less than an hour in the 3 hour time span we had to rest. It was so cold! Even for Canadian standards, yes. Oh well. We departed again at the chilly hour of 3:30am to reach the summit by sunrise. I was very excited; some may call it being overtired but I had energy and was stoked to do this! We climbed and clambered up the rocky trail as the moon set and the sky lightened up. Peaks started coming up through the clouds and we could see the villages once again. At the pace we were going, we unfortunately didn't make it to the summit for sunrise (can't cross that off my list of things to do but I don't mind trying again!). But the mountains turned golden as we continued and the view only got better. We reached several posts ("this isn't the top yet??" "5 minutes more") and it was getting quite warm. A group of Papuan students studying at UKSW in Salatiga passed us and practically ran up to the summit. Half our group stopped at the 700m remaining mark as we stared up a really steep cliff. I scrambled up and finally made it to the puncak (summit) at 7:15. Wow. I celebrated with the Papuan guys and turned around and there was G. Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Have you ever stared eye-level at a volcano, speechless and jumping for joy inside? That was me that morning! It was unusually clear so you could see every ridge, rice paddy, and the sand slides and ravines left from the 2010 eruption. Amazing! The 3 other members of the group followed shortly and we ate peanuts, hydrated and took many pictures for a short while. It was an amazing experience and man, there is no other feeling like being on top of a mountain! Love it :) I praise the Lord for such joyful experiences and I am excited to have more! As my opening sentence states, my peace and joy was renewed and I really needed this.
We descended slowly and reached camp a few hours later. After a quick breakfast/lunch we headed back to the bottom. I finally started losing steam here and my ingrown toenails made for very uncomfortable shoes. But we all reached the bottom and boom. Mountain "befriended" (or conquered, whichever you prefer)! I crashed that night and spent the next day moving and keeping myself busy. I have to say, I feel great :)

The next day brought more excitement right away, in ways that I wouldn't have readily asked for but it happened. On the way to school I witnessed my first minor traffic accident; unfortunately, it was another YALTer ahead of me. A motorcyclist collided with her from behind and he crashed, the bike coming down on him and his wife. With shouts and crying coming from both sides of the accident, the mess was untangled and it was time for the two of us to use our Indonesian to find a solution and see what the damage was. This is difficult while trying to decide who to see to: comfort your crying friend or see if the other couple are truly alright? This was a little stressful and our language escaped us for the time being! But with the help of a wonderfully helpful passerby we made it to a walk-in clinic about 2 minutes away and our language teachers and MCC contact came to the rescue shortly after. The man required some stitches and the woman was just scratched and bruised. My teammate was quite shaken up but she's ok! I praise the Lord that nothing serious happened and that police were not involved. We learned to be super careful in traffic and that it was just a matter of time before something happened to one of the nine YALTers. Also, that people truly care and that we will not go uncared for during our stay in Indonesia!

Needless to say, I am a little more tired now after all this!
But "The Joy of the LORD is my strength" and  every night I can, with assurance, say that "I will lie down and sleep in peace for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety".

Nighttime ramblings

27 September, 2012

We are nearing the end of the 6^th week in Indonesia; wow, time goes by fast! The past 2 weeks have been similar to the previous ones but every day brings its own challenges, blessings and joys to be shared!

Language study is going well, although it is often overwhelming. The words keep coming and, without practice, they are easily lost. But we have had an awesome time with our language teacher(s) exploring Indonesian culture in Salatiga and the surrounding area. They have been fantastic tour guides! On the 12^th we visited a factory that produces enting-enting, a sugary peanut snack that is famous here. The workers were quite happy to host us for 20 minutes, as we tried pounding the peanuts and wrapping the finished products. Next we went to a batik store where we watched them produce this famous fabric. Batik is done by stamping hot wax onto fabric in varying patterns and then dying the fabric. The wax is boiled off and a white or lighter design is left. Batik is often just printed now, as the dying process takes quite a while and the price is more expensive. But it was so cool to watch them stamp the fabric here and see how it’s actually done!

On the 20^th we went to a village nearby and were treated with the greatest hospitality by a Muslim family. We ate snacks and lunch at 10:00 and enjoyed some Indonesian/Javanese conversation in which the YALTers contributed much nodding and smiling. We left for a short time to visit a waterfall close by. There is a tragic story here involving SALTers several years ago, but fortunately we were quite safe. The area resembled BC quite a bit, excluding the palm trees, bamboo and other such plants and we enjoyed taking photos. We returned to the house to eat our second lunch and take along some snacks for the road. We were ridiculously blessed by this family!

Yesterday we learned to play gamelan, traditional Javanese percussion. There were about 8 different kinds of metal and wood instruments and we learned to read the notation and played 3 different songs. Eventually we accompanied our host to the wayang, traditional Javanese shadow puppets. This is really interesting and I can’t wait to see more! The detailed, flat puppets are held up against a white background so the audience can see both puppet and shadow. One person always performs and there are hundreds of different stories, often involving gods, goddesses and struggles between good and evil. The stories can last up to 12 hours! Luckily ours was only 10 minutes :) That afternoon, we finally got to play badminton. The language teachers arranged for us to play and it was a great time! I love this sport. Indonesia has some of the best players in the world (don’t think about the London 2012 games, bear with me) so unfortunately Team Canada came up a little short this day! But man, it was fun. The court was at the top of a very long hill so I almost passed out coming up – I had reached my exercise quota by this point – but it was worth it! I do need to be careful to not exhaust myself though. Biking around town everyday does take its toll!

So aside from language class, there are many other things that we do here. I still love meeting with the MCC staff members every week. An MCC Global Service Learning (GSL) team was here for one week and it was great to see some staff that we met in Akron. We had the opportunity to take them to lunch one day; this was the first time we got to be “experts” and lead the way. It was a great challenge! Last weekend, another YALTer and I went along to Magelang to meet my host father’s family. They had a ceremony to pray for and remember their mother, who passed away a few months ago. The 6 older sisters of my host father are wonderful women who love to laugh and share what they have. Once again, I had platters of food placed in front of me and was constantly encouraged to makan lagi: eat more!! It was wonderful! I can only imagine what a great woman this was to raise these children that love to serve. We also went around the city a bit, walking around an amusement park (which was closed but awesome nonetheless) and a giant mall. We came back for the prayer and dinner. It was a Muslim ceremony and it was fascinating to sit in and observe what was happening. The fact that there were less than 10 Christians sitting in the two rooms with more than 25 Muslims was completely ok and there were no barriers in fellowship. They were praying aloud (men only) and I was praying in my head for this woman that we are all linked to and want to remember. Both to the one true God who hears all prayer. It’s a connection that goes beyond religious barriers and it intrigues me. I hope to discover more as I stay here longer and as interfaith dialogue increases.

That being said, cultural adaptation is continuing to move forward. It’s still difficult, as I weave my way through the rules and ways of life and the traffic jams in the streets. I am sometimes overwhelmed with how much there is to learn, especially the language, and how little energy I have to do it! I am often tired which makes interactions more difficult, as I have less patience. But, I am here to learn and that is giving me great joy. It helps a lot in my daily activities to be reminded of my purpose here and why I am in Indonesia of all places. This is a small slice of my part of God’s missional plan for the world. I am always striving to live missionally and make my lifestyle one of peace and love in serving and learning. This takes place wherever I am. This year just happens to be taking place in Indonesia :)

10. September, 2012

The past week and a half have been bagus sekali (“very good” – it sounds better in Indonesian)!

The first of September was my little brother’s 4^th birthday so we drove to Semarang to visit with family for the weekend. We celebrated with an excellent fish dinner, a short boat ride on the ocean – welcome to the Java Sea! – and cruising around the city and a massive shopping mall. This is a wonderful family I get to live with, I will be sad to leave them in a month.

After a short week of language classes, two days to be exact, the MCC team gathered at a hotel on the edge of the mountains right outside Salatiga. It was a beautiful location and our stay was excellent! The three and a half days of Team Meeting were filled with many things. Most important for me was getting to know everyone on the MCC team. The team is approx. 25-30 people and I enjoyed the company of all of them. We had “lectures” and discussions, watched documentaries, rested by the pool, ate together and worshipped together. On Friday afternoon, a small group of bold foreigners took on Andong Mountain (Gunung Andong), close to the hotel. It was so great!! It was a short but steep hike, the first trio making it up in 35 minutes. I am thankful to have made it up in this group so I could spend the most time at the top! The view was awesome, overlooking villages, rice fields, tobacco fields and other mountains. Across the valley was Gunung Merbabu, the big guy in the area. I can’t wait to climb that one in the upcoming weeks before we leave Salatiga! Stay tuned for pictures even more fantastic than these! :) The Team Meeting ended and we all returned to our respective positions in Java and one other island. It was a restful and encouraging time that we had; furthermore, it was followed by a wonderful dinner hosted by a fellow SALTer’s host mother. It was her birthday and she invited all nine of us YALTers for dinner. It’s times like this that I wish I could express my thanks with more than Terima kasih, sekali, sekali! I am surrounded by servant hearts and could not be more blessed.

1. Our third week of language study has started and I’m ready to take on the lessons! I just hope I can retain everything and use it to communicate effectively soon. Please pray that I take the opportunity to practice with native speakers on a daily basis. This may take me out of my comfort zone but it needs to be done :)

2. Please keep in your thoughts the rest of the Columbia Bible College interns that have departed/are departing for their internships. I’m so glad to be part of this group as well! Right now, I can say that there are students in Canada, New Zealand, Germany/Austria, Thailand, Honduras and two in Indonesia! These are awesome people that share a common passion for people and making God’s love known to all.

3. Please pray for my family in Canada as our home is going through a time of transition. Our house is in the process of being sold and everything must be sorted and packed. Christi is leaving for Austria in the next few weeks for a semester abroad, back in March 2013, and in December Sophi will be going to Austria as well. Our stuff will be in Kamloops, either in our mom’s apartment or a giant storage container. It’s strange to think that this is going on while I’m here and that next year I’ll go home to…a home all over the place! One without my Huckle, at that. My little poodle-terrier was with me for 16 years and passed away two days before I came to SALT. I’m still grieving his death…I miss my old man! I do admit that when they talk about eating anjin (dog) there is a pang of sadness... Speaking about strange food, two days ago I ate a fish head including an eyeball!

Anyway, I trust that God is always in control and he is keeping me present in my time here in Indonesia, praise him for that!

Sampai minggu depan (until next week),

Lisi  

Pictures from Sept. 5 to 8

So folks, I had a whole blog post written up but forgot to save it to a USB stick so I could post it at the MCC office here! Forgive my mistake... Instead, here are pictures from a Team Meeting and hiking we had last week.  

Tea break at Team Meeting, at the hotel Salib Putih ("White Cross")

The hotel grounds. Beautiful and on the side of the mountains around Salatiga.

Infinity pool! 

The view from Andong! 

View of the valley with Merbabu in the  background. You're next!! 

Hiking the ridge to the top

Half of the hiking group. Awesome people!

My friend from Uganda. Sophi, this pose is for you! <3

Some highlights from the past 2 weeks!

31. Agustus 2012

The closing of another day in Salatiga!
Two weeks in Indonesia and what can I tell you? I’d love to say that we are pretty much locals now, but that would be lying. “Foreigners” still suit the YALT team better. However, I will say this for us: we are living in typical Indonesian homes; kami bisa mengerti dan bicara sedikit bahasa Indonesia (we can understand and speak a little bit of Indonesian); nasi goreng (delicious fried rice) is our new favourite food and handling city traffic on bicycles? No problem!
One week ago I moved into the home of an MCC staff member. Bapak (father/Mr.) and Ibu (mother/Mrs.) live in a lovely, 2-bedroom home on the outskirts of Salatiga with their two boys, aged 3 and 7. They have so much energy! I have inadequate experience with children (believe it or not) and even more with brothers but they seem to like me! Lovingly called Kak Lisi (Kakak being older sibling) from the start, they treat me as their own. Ibu is great and I enjoy learning and listening as I try to speak more Indonesian with her. I am very happy to be living here for 6 weeks!

 My bedroom

My home!

Me and one of my little brothers, hanging out with my camera

I had a wonderful birthday! 25. Agustus, the first full day with my family, was spent mostly outside of the city. Driving out of Salatiga was the best gift, as I got to see rural Indonesia for the first time. I was in a state of awe and silent excitement as we passed rice fields, palm tree forests, brick homes of all sizes and colours and village markets teeming with fruits I haven’t even heard of! Because our destination was too full of other holiday tourists, we had lunch and then walked around a Catholic church garden. The air was clear up there on the mountainside and Merbabu stood tall across the valley. I will be hiking that mountain in the upcoming weeks, I can’t wait! I received roses from my family, a wonderful card from the other YALTers and staff and many messages from home and abroad. Thank you all! :)
On Monday we started language training at a small school downtown. Indonesian is not a very difficult language; I am especially thankful that my pronunciation is aided by being able to speak German. They are so similar that way! There is a lot to memorize and that is the hard part. Our vocabulary is still so small. During breaks we walk around the area and try different warungs (food stalls). I think I’m at the point now where, if I get lost, I can find my way in a relatively short period of time. As a class, we took an angkota (minibus) and today we walked around town, using our language skills to buy things. Not many people speak English on a regular basis but thankfully most understand hand gestures!

 The language school (sorry it's sideways...)

More words? And oh, there are no verb tenses?

A typical Indonesian day is different than I am used to but I am enjoying it a lot! Families wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 to get their children to school at 7:00. The mandi pagi (morning wash) is taken now, via bucket and dipper. Our language class starts at 8:00. An hour lunch break is around noon and many people eat out as food is very cheap everywhere. Most things are actually quite cheap from a North American perspective but we’ve been learning to look at it in the Indonesian context. School ends at 1:00 and work ends between 4:00 and 5:00, which means time for mandi sore! The evening wash is quite refreshing and gets one ready for the short evening, as it starts getting dark around 6:00. Dinner is eaten afterwards and then it’s time to relax (or, in my case, run around in circles chasing little boys, toy cars and flying stuffed animals). Bedtime is between 8:00 and 10:00. By this time, I’ve sweated as much as I could (average temperature is 25 degrees with 70-90 % humidity during the day), my brain is full of a new language and I am ready for bed!
Our main mode of transportation around town is the trustworthy bicycle! On Monday we were set to go with helmets and waiver forms headed by “In case of death…” (Just kidding. These were filled out before leaving home). I ride with two other SALTers that live close by and the ride to the language school takes about 25 minutes, the MCC office being a halfway point. It’s mostly uphill on the way there and I can happily say that I’ve made most hills! I’m just super slow on them and my legs turn to jelly for the next 30 minutes… The best part of our journeys through town is the traffic. The left-handed driving is almost normal now but drivers are all over the road! Honking doesn’t mean “Hey, friend!” like it does in Canada. Rather, it’s “I’m passing you”, “I’m bigger than you” or “Get out of my way!” It’s a little nerve-wracking to manoeuver around motorbikes and cars and arrive at school without getting hit, but it’s a challenge! And I’ve enjoyed it :) By the end of 6 weeks, we will be so fit and have thighs that almost make it to speed-skater standards. I wish.

My motor helmet, for when I ride on the back with someone. This is so much fun too!

This is what the next 5 weeks will look like! I trust that God will take care of us all. We have been relatively healthy (save for a few cases), safe on the roads and are all enjoying our homes. We are increasingly independent as we find our way around Salatiga, in preparation for 10 months of living alone in cities around Java and Papua. I still love coming together with the MCC staff and learning more about their lives and work in Indonesia. It makes me think of my purpose for being here and what brought me here. While this year is about SALT and my CBC internship, it’s really about God and his mission. I am a small part in his plan that has been taking place for thousands of years, but wow what a privilege! To use the gifts and skills that he has given me for his glory and his name is awesome. Shalom, shalom… The world is thirsting for shalom and justice and grace and right relationship and I hope that, if anything, I can be an ambassador of this beautiful picture, wherever I am.
Thank you for reading the ramblings of a [cautiously] intrepid Canadian in Salatiga, a striving servant of the LORD. Thank you also for your prayers and thoughts! Selamat sore!
Lisi

Hello!

Halo!
This mini blog post is to notify everyone that I will write a real post very soon! I am doing well here, 12 days into my time in Indonesia. I am healthy, living with a wonderful family - experiencing brothers for the first time! - and am learning an awesome language! God is so good.
Sampai nanti,
Lisi

Beginnings in Indonesia

 Waiting in Jakarta for 12 hours

 The final arrival, we made it!

Our first day in Salatiga, gorgeous weather and good fellowship

Downtown Salatiga, on a slow day

  SALT and IVEP 2012-2013

 The group of wonderful Cambodians! Serving in the US this year

My friend Rachel, may your minsitry and adventures in Laos be blessed!

Travel and Arrival in Indonesia!

Hello everyone, selamat sore!
This is my first post from Indonesia, although I have been here since Saturday evening. What a great place I am in!
The journey was very interesting and incredibly long! We left Akron, PA at 5:30am on Thursday the 16th and departed from Philadelphia at 10:00am. Flew across to LA and then finally across the Pacific! I have to say, Singapore Airlines really knows how to treat its customers! We were comfortable, well-fed and got to refuel in Tokyo! What a pleasant surprise to sit in that airport for an hour. We flew onward to Singapore - a great airport that exudes prosperity - and met the first YAMENer there. The Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network of MCC sends volunteers across the global South. The YAMENers on the Indonesia come from India, Zambia, Uganda and China. We met the rest at the Jakarta airport. Landing here was a relief, in that we were more than halfway done our travel and finally in the country where we would be spending the next 11 months. The sights, sounds and smell were very reminiscent of India 3 years ago, but yet they were so different! And Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) was almost completely foreign to me. Thank God for the language lessons coming in a few days!
On Saturday the 18th (Friday didn't really exist as we were jumping time zones), we were in Jakarta for 12 hours and then flew to Semarang, a smaller city in the north of Java. Picking out the two white faces in the small airport, we found the MCC representatives and departed for our home for the next six weeks, Salatiga. Salatiga is a reasonably-sized city close by, and the drive was slightly delayed by revellers in the streets. This weekend was the Indonesian national holiday and also Idul Fitri, the end of the Muslim tradition of Ramadan. We've been watching fireworks every evening for the past four nights! I look forward to Indonesian holidays; apparently there are many of them throughout the year, as the government recognizes Muslim and Christian calendars.
So, here we are in Salatiga! I am staying with the Exchange Coordinators, an awesome couple with a one month-old son. On the first day, our team of nine YALTers (SALT and YAMEN together - acronyms are very common in this organization) walked around Salatiga. The city was still moving at a lazy holiday pace so traffic wasn't bad. But no matter what the circumstance, there are always cars and people moving around! Opposite of how North Americans move on streets, I might add. I still look left when I should be looking right...
We also met some of the MCC staff here in Salatiga, as this is where the head office is. They are truly a family here and I am so excited to be part of it for a year!
For the past few days, we've been having sessions on policies, hanging around, getting to know each other, eating new and interesting meals (so far I have had nasi goreng, gado gado, ayam soto and mi ayam; look them up!) and catching up on sleep. For the past 2 days, we had our "survival Bahasa" crash course. A wonderful teacher brought us through basic Indonesian, so now we understand greetings, numbers, questions, family, likes/dislikes and other conversational topics. We finished today and boy, is there a lot to know! I feel slightly comfortable with it and hope that I retain everything. T. was a wonderful teacher, terima kasih!
In the next few days, our team is moving on to the homes of our language study host families for the following few weeks. I am looking forward to spending some time with an Indonesian family and practicing my Indonesian! I am excited to delve into the culture here and build relationships with these hospitable and wonderful people. I also learned about my host family for my assignment starting in October! More details to come when I get there.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! It's only the first week in Indonesia but I am already quite comfortable here. Naturally I will get homesick at one point, and culture shock will come and go. But God is good and I am here to serve :) May he keep bringing my team into fruitful opportunities and keep us in health and safety. Also, my stomach still hasn't been too unhappy! As many of you know, I have some dietary restrictions and therefore was quite worried when coming here. But it's doing better than I expected, so far!
If anyone wants to send me mail while I am here in Salatiga, the address is:
MCC Indonesia Office
#3 Jl. Merbabu
Salatiga, Jawa Tengah
507324 Indonesia
And it doesn't take too long! If it's a package, please label it with "Personal Effects" or have the value listed as $0.

Blessings,
Lisi
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14.