Outbond Trip

More of my students!

Me and Miss Maria waiting to go on the zip line! :)

Trying out the zip line they called the "Flying fox". The kids loved this one, even some of the 2 year olds!

Me with one of my students - I love his hat! :)

Hello again everyone! Hope you enjoy these pictures! Yesterday we had a trip with the playgroup and kindergarten called "Outbond". It means a trip to a place where the kids can play outdoor games. I had such a fun time (although it was very tiring). I loved watching the kids play the games and enjoy the zip line. Afterwards, all the teachers went to McDonald's. haha. But Hannah and I were the only ones who didn't order rice! :)

Last night Hannah and Maria came over to hang out and spend the night. We had a fun time together, cooking and watching "The Gods Must Be Crazy". :) This morning Maria showed us how to make fried tempe (made out of soy beans). It's pretty good, although very salty!

Well, that's all for now! By the way, thank you to all of you who have sent me letters here. I have not been able to send letters back yet, because the mail system is unreliable here. But please know that I appreciate all of your prayers and support. God bless you!

Praise God for a new sink!

This may seem like a funny title, but it's true. Our apartment is one that used to be nice, but is falling apart due to age and poor construction. One of the issues we had was the wood around our kitchen sink was rotting and sinking. At one point, the whole sink fell down, but we told the hotel staff and they temporarily fixed it.
Today we came home from school and they put a whole new section and cabinet around the sink. It may sound silly to you, but it made me so happy because the whole kitchen looks better now. :)
Anyways... on Thursday and Friday we had our open house at school. Thursday was a pet show and activities indoors for the students. (I was at the English/Phonics) table. Friday we had an assembly and then a talent show.
On Saturday at church we had a Sunday school meeting. We were able to decide on some rules for our class and then we had a good time of prayer together.
On Sunday I taught Sunday school by myself for the first time. The kids are really good and for the most part interested in the lesson, so that's good. I enjoy being involved in that way. After church I walked around the mall for a while and bought a Christmas cd, which I have already listened to! (I know, it's only October, but since the weather never gets colder, I figure my Christmas spirit needs some extra help.)
Well, that's about all for know! Enjoy the pictures below! :)


Me and one of my students at the open house

After the open house, some of the teachers "painted" our arms for us. :)

October...

This looks like a cake, but actually it is foam covered with frosting. The parents of the students rent one for many of the birthdays just for picture taking! So Hannah and I decided to take our picture with it too. :)

Above picture: some of my five year old students. They are so cute! I love how the girl in front is giving the peace sign already. :)

Oops! It's been a while since I wrote! Sorry about that... I kept telling myself, I'll do it on the weekend, and then the weekends came and were busy so I didn't update it then either. Anyways, today I am at home sick, so I have time now to update. (I rested all day, so i am feeling a little better now.)

Let's see... What has been happening? School has been busy. After the holiday, we had to finish assessing for progress reports. It was kind of tough with 100 students, but praise the Lord it's over! I feel bad for the other teachers who have even more students.

On the weekends, I've been pretty busy... On Saturday mornings I have Bible study. The leader of the study lives near me, so she picks me up and takes me back every week, which is so nice! Otherwise, I probably wouldn't go every week (It's expensive to take a taxi by yourself).

On Saturday afternoons, I've been going to an English center in another town to help teach English to kids. It's a lot of fun, and it helps me practice bahasa indonesia too (the kids in my group don't know very much English to communicate yet).

My friend Angie has been encouraging me to be intentional about language learning. She suggested that I carry around a notebook and write down new words whenever I hear/see them. It's really helped a lot! In the afternoons while I check my students' work, I have been able to practice and ask questions of the other Indonesian teachers. They love to help!

This past weekend my friend Dyah (one of the teachers) came over to spend the night. She wants to practice English, and I want to practice Indonesian, so we can both help each other.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully it won't be such a long time until the next update! :)