Trying new things!

School, birthdays, school, and more birthdays. Vacations, portfolios, djembe's, and did I mention school?? My days have begun to get away form me. I don't know how that happens...one day I feel like I'm all caught up on what needs to be done. I have a decent amount of free time to ensure my sanity and then...BAM!! No free time for you! It happens just like that...there have been some stressful situations at school lately but those are no fun to talk about so I'll skip to the more fun, more entertaining aspects of my life lately. There have been tons of birthdays in February including my own. We had a Bachelor Themed birthday party for me. Which basically means we got all dressed up, had a fancy meal and at the end of the night one lucky girl (me!) got a fake, silk rose from the only single man in Sentul...my friend Josh :)It was quite funny.

Vanilla bean cake with nutella buttercream frosting! Yes, please!

The "Bachelor" and all the available bachelorettes :) I won!

 The next weekend we had another 80's themed birthday party to go to in Jakarta at one of the other campuses. The trip there was unbelievable. A 1 hour trip took over 4 hours. It consisted of a van ride from school to a taxi station in Jakarta, a horrible taxi driver (whom I swear must have just moved to Jakarta...I knew the city better than him!), a phone call to an Indonesian friend who tried to tell the taxi driver where to go ( he still didn't know or care), getting let out of the taxi on a very busy, muddy exit, standing in the rain with all of our overnight stuff waiting to flag down another taxi, my friend Debbie throwing up in the 2nd taxi cause she got car sick, and finally arriving at the party over an hour late. It was quite a story-telling trip. The party was a blast though!! Our outfits were so cute and totally 80's...I think ;)

Leanne (right) was an 80's aerobics instructor and Britt (center) found those leggings at the mall right before we got there while we were waiting for the taxi...the only positive part of our journey ;)

Just a little photo shoot...I look a little creepy but it's still a fun pic

Also, my parents will be here to visit in just over 3 weeks! I'm so excited...we have most of the activities of the trip planned. It will be a lot of running around and shopping and seeing the sights of both Bali and Sentul. Please pray they don't get "Indo belly" too badly so we're not slowed down. I'll let you use your imagination as to what Indo belly is. Here's a hint: There is usually a lot of running to the restroom :) Get it?

And finally...I bought a djembe! I'm so excited about it, too! I had my first lesson last night with a group of people and it was so fun! The fingers on my right hand feels like they got smashed in a car door today but other than that I can't wait until the next lesson. I'll post pictures soon of my djembe and me playing it...it's so pretty.

Things I've been thinking about: Lately it seems that no matter what kind of chapel or church service I go to the repetitive song has been "All in All". We've sang it twice in the last few weeks in children's chapel, twice in Staff chapel, and at least once at church. I'm wondering if maybe I'm supposed to be listening to something. Without giving you the long story and the touchy details, things at school in regards to next year have been a little dicey. There have been rumors floating around about housing, staffing, and other issues. It's been really rocky since about Thanksgiving time. Things seem to be clearing up now but the integrity of the leadership and the unknowns of next year had everyone quite anxious and just plain upset. The unknown was scary and we felt very much out control in every aspect of our life. But just in the last few days my attitude has been different. I'm not complaining as much (it doesn't do any good) and I've been praying for my leaders instead of putting them down in my head. God truly is my All in All. Where I live, what I teach, where I teach, who I teach with, and every other area of my life is in God's control. If I honestly believe this (which is hard sometimes, but I do) then I have to trust that He will guide His people to make decisions that will glorify Him. It's a process, but I'm trying to get there. 

Dodging Cats and Chickens!

 Well, I've been back in Indo for almost a month already. It seems crazy that it has been that long since I've been home. Christmas was such a fun time and I was so blessed by people there. It was great to be back in the Midwest where I didn't have to worry about roaches scaring the daylights out of me, ants crawling all over my body, my food, the tables, and everywhere else. I didn't have to beg restaurant waiters to make my food 'tidak pedas', which means 'no spice'. And most of all I could wear jeans and a sweatshirt all the time without feeling like I was going to die of heat exhaustion. It was a splendid time! Oh, and seeing my family was ok too...just kidding!!! Seeing all my family and friends was the best part. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone until I saw them again.

  So I've been quite busy since I've been back. There has been a lot going on here at school and I've done some things I've wanted to do since I got here in July but never got around to it. The first thing was visiting an orphanage. A few friends and I hopped on our bikes and drove about 45 minutes to an orphanage where we hung out with some babies. Driving through the back roads through villages means you have near misses with cats and chickens. I almost ran over so many animals. It was insane. I actually think the chickens might be suicidal. We got lost and drenched on the way there and about an hour and a half later we finally found the place...thanks to a very nice guy who we followed to the place for only 10,000rp (about $1). You just pay people to get what you want here :)


Here are some pics of the babies and a video of one baby who really wants to crawl!!

My friend Debbie with her little ones

These were the littlest of the group. The little girl in pink is only a couple months old.

The active ones that I couldn't get a good shot of cause they wouldn't stop running! :)

Debbie and I with the twins...they were so snuggly!

Me on the way home...it was a great view!

The next weekend, my friend Josh took me and his brother to this "Secret Place" he had found when he was here over the summer. Him and another guy discovered it. So again, we hopped on our motor bikes and drove about half an hour to a village (dodging cats and chickens...as well as pot holes the size of small ponds on this trip) where we paid some guys to let us park our motor bikes in the alley near his house...(again, pay to get what you want).
Here are a couple pics from this trip...and I also have a sweet video from this trip but it wouldn't up load and there was another one too but there was one sort of inappropriate part in it I didn't think people would appreciate. So sorry.

Josh (right) having fun...his brother Daniel avoiding the water.

Cute little water fall next to the river

The last thing I want to share was completely random and happened Saturday afternoon. My friend Josh and I were hanging out and he decided to go running and this group of Christian Indonesians were having a retreat in our neighborhood and asked him to join. So he ran and got me and we danced with them...why? I'm still not sure...because they asked I guess. Click the link below to experience the greatness!

This is how we do it in Sentul


Thank for reading...sorry it was a bit long. But I told you I've been busy the last three weeks :)