I'm here...but moving forward

So, I must apologize because I have decided that I officially stink at keeping up with my blog. It's true, I have not updated in a very long time and now I don't know what to share because so much has happened. This semester has been awesome, tiring, exhilarating, amazing, and stressful all at the same time. I have learned so much about Indonesia and the culture here and I have even learned a little of the language (emphasize the word little.)

So since it's been months since I've updated, let me just give you some highlights of my semester so far:

• Went to Penang, Malaysia for a week in September to visit a friend from college. So much yummy food and beautiful scenery. 

Jodi and I in Penang with our Iced Milo. Mmmm!

• Took a short weekend trip to Singapore to visit some friends in October. 
• Went to Bali in November. Which was great!! Bali is beautiful :) We rented Motor bikes and drove all around the island we were on. Such a fun trip...although driving the wrong way down a one way street during heavy traffic in Bali wasn't my favorite thing to do there ;)

We found Push-Pops at the store!

 

 

First day in Bali! It was sooooo hot there!

• I also took a trip to a drive through zoo in Puncak, Indonesia called Taman Safari. All sorts of animals (zebras, elephants, camels, llamas, deer, monkeys, hippos, etc) walk up to the car windows and you feed them carrots. Although the monkeys really hated the carrots. They would rather have candy or chips. I also got to hold a baby lion...a little freaky I have to admit. 

Zebra!

 

This was right before the guy in charge of the elephant told the elephant to give me a massage. And when I say massage, I mean a feeling something like getting hit in the back with a baseball bat. It hurt!

• And finally...Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving overseas is a funny thing and we actually had to work that day at school. But anyway, Americans get super excited about it over here and the nationals just sort of look at you confused about why it's such a big deal. They don't understand the food that we eat for it, the reason behind it. On Thursday morning I said to my class "Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!" And I got 16 blank, deer in the head light looks from my Indonesian kids and 1 'Happy Thanksgiving Miss Brenna' from my student who is from North Carolina. It was quite funny! We shared a nice little American moment. It was really fun for him and me to explain Thanksgiving to the rest of the class...although the "Indian" part was a little hard to clarify. Native American? American Indian? A person from India? Ahhh!!

And that just about brings you to now. I'm sure I have missed a bunch of really funny or cool stories between all those events and I will try to keep you more informed in the future.

Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about my place in this place. It is so easy for me to think that since I am in a foreign land, doing something I was trained to do and taught to do well, that I have reached His will for my life and I should just stay here and relish in it. So why do I sometimes become discontent or anxious to move on to something new? Because I think He is trying to teach me (again) that following His will for my life isn't moving to a new place, doing something different, being someplace no one has ever been before or even doing the job I went to college for; it's about living each day for Him and following where He leads me according to each day, not just a vague amount of time in the future. The times that I become discontent or anxious are the times when I know I am not being challenged or I have allowed myself to become stagnant not only in my day to day activities but also my day to day walk with Him. It's a continuous inner battle, with me at least, to know whether I am living day to day and not constantly looking forward to the future. I am not promised tomorrow or even the rest of today which means I need to be constantly working towards growing stronger. Anyway, just something I have been thinking about lately and wanted to share and maybe I'm just crazy, who knows. But there you go.

And for those of you who are interested...18 sleeps until I head home!!! I'll be back December 17th!