What I Have Been Up To

Hello Everyone. 

Everything is going pretty well here. I begin school on the 17th and am really excited that I will be able to understand so much more of what is going on around me. You never learn to appreciate communication so much as when it is not readily available to you. Tomorrow I must register with the police in Salatiga, and also either tomorrow or Thursday I will have to go to Semarang and register with the immigration there. Those things are (I believe) the last loose ends I need to tie together before school starts. Once school does start, I can tell you that I will be very busy. I will be in the class from 8 to 12 and then I will have 4 to 5 hours of homework. Things like going to the market and buying something, and translating newspapers and songs. I will also tell you that I will be using public transportation every day. This does not really bother me, but there have been at least 4 or 5 people who have suggested that I see if I can buy a motorcycle and get around that way. As I will be here for at least one year (maybe two) I consider that a reasonable option, so I am praying about it. Will you all pray with me? 

As for the teaching I have been doing, it is going quite well. Ps Sam finally defined what he wanted me to do as "cultivating a culture of speaking English." This is no easy task, in fact, it is impossible for me to do without Gods help...fortunately I have His help; last night for the first time I had a bunch of students really wanting to talk with me, have conversations, and really want to learn. Breakthrough! I am so thankful, and I am praying that it is a continuing thing. It is a matter of the students hearts being open to learning and feeling comfortable enough to try without fear of looking stupid or messing up. It is my hope and prayer that while I am here that they will practice enough, and feel comfortable enough practicing that they become quite good. Honestly if you are willing to study, and to try then you can do just about anything you want to do...even learn new languages. My plan is to teach them through discipleship as well as the basic studying of the language. We will just have to see how it all works out once I start school. 

The other thing I have to tell you about is Saturday. This weekend, of course, was the first of September, so we began our plans of transforming the village outside of Salatiga. This week was the "lets open their hearts week." where we passed out rice, sugar, noodles, and oil for free, and sold eggs, and school supplies for really cheap. We had music playing, and a really long line. It was so much fun! At first they could not figure out where to place me, mostly because I don't really speak the language yet, but they found a place and I had fun handing out the care packages. Afterwards a bunch of us went to a youth meeting and had a bonfire and played games. What a great way to spend a Saturday! I love living life this way. Take care of people, and then go have some fun. 

Next week they will be having an "Empowering Women" conference to help the prostitutes get out of their present situation. Unfortunately the people who need the money the most don't really get it, because once you have three kids (as a prostitute) you don't get as many customers. It is a sad way to live life, and so the goal is to teach them about the love of Christ, and about entrepreneurship. We want them to be able to make more money without going through the horror of life the way they now live it. The third weekend we will have kind of a Talk Show, and Ps. Sam will be giving away his autobiography as a prize. Please pray for Ps Sam too, as this whole endeavor is costing him over $2,000. I think I mentioned that before. 

As for me personally, I am good. I love it here, as I assume you all know by now. I have fun with my friends, and the students, and when I was in Singapore I missed them. I have had a little bit of warfare though, sometimes I have difficulty thinking straight, and deal with feelings of fear that they don't really want me here. I know that this is not the truth, but it comes at me some days, so please be praying for that. Last night I had a dream that was significant enough for me to wake up at 3.30am knowing that I was in the midst of spiritual warfare, so if you could all be praying about that it would be really appreciated. I love you all so much and would love it if you would leave a comment. In fact, if anyone wants to write me a message on fb, or write me a letter I would love to hear from you all........ (ahem.. hint hint) .... I pray for you all the time and hope all is well with you. See you soon. All my love. 

Stephanie