Dear friends and family,
Greetings from Jakarta! I'm settling in nicely here. I have been welcomed by Pastor Dave Kenney and his wife Gigi. I live in a lovely apartment across the hall from them which makes this 20 something year old white female, feel very safe. As you would expect, I dealt with time zone changes by sleeping for a few days off and on during very random hours. If you know me at all though, I was ready to be put to work almost immediately upon arrival.
Because I'm new to the church staff and have a very broad job description (until I decide what my focus will be for the majority of the time here) there was not much yet for me to do the first few days. So I spent that time adjusting to life alone, learning to cook my own meals (I miss your taco salad Mom and breakfast sandwiches Aub), manage my time, and trying every once in a while to go out and experience the life lived on the edge of the street. Food trucks, mopeds, and little shack stores line the streets up to my apartment, parades go by with music and costumes, and of course my favorite place close by is the coffee shop just yards away from my front door.
I'm trying my best to observe EVERYTHING; how people dress, how people act in groups vs when they are alone, what people buy in the mall, what foods to eat and where to get them, how to talk to the house help and drivers, how to bargain with taxi drivers, so on and so forth. Friends; you may not be able to recognize me here, the amount of talking I have done in the last 13 days is the equivalent to one day in the states. I don't know if it has to do with culture shock or what but shockingly I have very little to say. It's good though, it has forced me to watch, take note, and slow down my pace of life a bit.
I have now started to do lots of little jobs at IES (International English Service), the church I work at. I have been working with the hospitality team for weekend services, doing random jobs for the orphanage ministry, and last week joined the pre-teens class. I have met some truly wonderful people. I'm amazed at the sense of community I have seen within this group that work so diligently to reach the lost in the community surrounding. I have sat in on staff meetings and listened to discussions in car rides and they are constantly discussing ways to most effectively reach individuals, families, and the church as a growing body; what worked last year, what didn't work, how can we engage the church more, how can we excite them and encourage them with stories from God's word, etc. It is a joy to sit at lunch and chat and laugh with these people. They enjoy life and they enjoy life even better, when in fellowship with others.
What is new/different/odd to me:
- Traffic seems to be such a big topic of discussion here. It is mentioned multiple times each day and is the deciding factor when making any sort of travel decision.
(Point of reference: From our house to the Church is 8 miles and on average takes 75 minutes each way)
- Boxed milk
- Having helpers! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but having someone open my car door for me, take me to the grocery store, wait at the store for me, drive me home, and unload my groceries is a very weird experience. I keep feeling bad, like I need to apologize or give them a gift because of how I'm putting them out. The helpers we have are truly so kind. Although we don't speak the same language, we smile and nod and for now that's enough :)
- Things that used to take 30 minutes for me at home, can take all day. During week one, just getting the courage to go outside and down the street a few blocks to buy some shirts took me over an hour. It can be unnerving to walk down a crowded street, while people stare and cars buzz and honk their way by. I walked down the street thinking these types of questions in my head; "Is it okay to be wearing a short sleeve shirt? What if the name of the store is in Indonesian, will I find the store? did I bring the right amount of money? Should I be holding my bag in front of me so no one can grab it or will I look silly? WHERE IS THE CROSSWALK?? Oh okay so I just have to cross the street and anywhere is okay? Should I wait for someone else to cross at the same time to watch how to do it right? How do I get these cars to stop while I cross? When someone starts yelling to me in Indonesian, should I smile? is it rude to ignore them? When someone ends up stopping the cars for me to cross, should I pay them for their service?" ....
It can be exhausting but the feeling of accomplishment when I got home was very rewarding and I finally bought some long sleeve shirts... yeah you heard me, everywhere you go they blast the AC. So much for all the T-shirts I packed!
My favorite things so far:
- I love how the staff at IES collaborates. I sit in sermon prep meetings where one pastor or the speaker for the week will present their interpretation of the scripture for the weekend service. They break down the scripture, what it meant back then, what was the context, and how we can share it to the people at IES. It is encouraging to see that each of them, spend time really studying God's word and then come together to learn from each other's perspective and ideas about the text.
- I see lots of room for growth in myself; in my confidence to speak with other adults, my attitude when things take longer and results come slower, my motivation to go out and try new things even if I do them wrong or get stared at, and even the little stuff like learning to cook and learning to give directions to taxi drivers. All are things that I can grow in and I have plenty of time to do so. It's been a nice humble reminder that no matter how prepared you think you are to move to a foreign country, when it comes down to it, all you can do is rely on Christ to walk you through the challenges that come up.
- LIfe groups. I love getting together with big groups of people, eating dinner, worshiping, hearing God's word from a new perspective, having discussion time with new friends and praying for one another. What a beautiful time to be refreshed by God's love. Even after a long day, that can be the most energizing experience.
Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your support. This is going to be a fruitful year and a rich time spent walking in the Lord's leading. I'm excited to start sharing with you the work that is being done here and how blessed I am to be involved.
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