Post-game party

New Year's Eve

We were invited by Ken (a teammate) to stay with his friends at their uncle's villa in the mountain(ish) town of Tretes. We just sat around, read, talked and played cards for 2 days and 2 nights. The temperature was quite a bit cooler and the view was much better than in the city; however, it was no less busy at higher altitudes. The town was packed! Bumper to bumper cars and motor bikes honked and hummed until the wee hours of the morning...so did the fireworks! Fireworks began to pepper the night sky around 7:30pm and exploded into a 270 degree spectacle of fire by...you guessed it...midnight. It was a sight to see! A truly unique experience. (Photos: See how the city just creeps up the mountain - we couldn't get away! We had a pretty sweet view of a volcano; the 5-story villa we stayed in; fireworks; firecrackers.)

Christmas

It sure didn't feel like Christmas, but we weren't about to wait around til it cooled off! We had a sweet Christmas celebration. The Guffy's invited us to spend Christmas morning at their house, so we watched their precious children open gifts. It was great. The team put in the hard work to put together a fantastic meal...NO RICE!!! We were so thankful for a big, wonderful family to celebrate with. (Top to bottom: the Ladner boys; da feast; Betty with the Guffy girls and their new slippers; the scene in the Guffy living room on Christmas morning; honorary members of the Guffy family...officially.)

Study Group

Each Thursday night we study with this group about His Word and commands for us. Josh is doing a great job leading and using at least 50% bahasa Indonesia! This group of guys is hilarious, always keeping us laughing. They rarely leave our house before 11:00 pm, love drinking coffee, and are ever-impressed with my ability to make brownies and cookies. We'd appreciate your speaking to the Father about these guys!

(There is a copy of the Word on their cellphones.... technology!)

Hanging Out with Friends...

We really enjoy our time with new friends. We've met many fun and kind people here and we pray that, having heard the Good News, they'll fall in love with the Son. [Top to bottom: at Pizza Hut (2); graduation ceremony (we were honored guests and sat one row behind the school board members and trustees!); futsal fun with believing friends; students from Josh's Level 5 English class; Betty with new friends from a university Christian Club!]

EEC Christmas Party

It was 7:09, thirty nine minutes after we'd invited people to attend the EEC Christmas party, an event we'd been planning for months now. I look at Josh and we both look at the crowd - 11 students are here. "Hmm. Well, at least we'll have plenty of food," I said, since we were planning for 50. Somehow, it happened over the next 21 minutes that 54 more people came in. I looked at my friend in amazement and he just said "That's the Indonesian way." I just laughed. We played a version of "Family Feud" with all the questions relating to Christmas. We even surveyed some of you in America for the responses. It was a huge hit. Josh was the host, with just the right amount of corny and cheesiness. He was like a celebrity, people wanting his picture after the show - haha.

We had a great time playing the game, eating Christmas cookies (my cake was frosted with red and green m&m's on top) -thanks to my mother-in-law sending them in a package! :)

Two of our teachers explained the difference between a cultural Christmas and a believer's Christmas, telling about the birth of Jesus. We ended the night with a fun photo session with our students and friends.

Botanic Gardens

Who could think of stuff like this except our awesome Creator God?