The Glass Jar

This should warm you up nicely, all of you in the cold, snowy States.  Bask in our sunshine and feel our warmth.  Notice how big the waves were and how many different shades of blue you can see in our big, gorgeous ocean.

Also, as you look at these, think about this:  So often in life we question God, wondering what He is doing, and why He isn't answering our prayers according to our wishes.  Well, I was thinking about that, and this is what I have come up with.  Imagine I scooped up a bit of the ocean water and put it in a glass jar and brought it to an Indonesian who had never seen the ocean before.  I could tell them that it is the ocean, and they could maybe get a small picture of what it really is, but until I take them to actually see it, there is NO way they can truly grasp the vastness of it, or understand how the tides come in and out, or feel the waves as they crash against your feet.  Well, God sees it all.  All I see is the glass jar.  Yet, I still think that I know better.  Sheesh!  I need to trust that great Creator to do what is in my best interest, in His time, according to His will.  Splashing around in the ocean is so much better than holding the jar!

Love,

Rachel

Snakes and Sin

So most of you probably read my email about the snake in our sink.  Well, it is amazing how many times I think about that stinkin' thing.  Now that I am aware of the possibility of a snake coming into our house through the sink, I find myself checking all of the sinks throughout the day.  Before the snake in the sink incident I felt no need to go around checking sinks, but now I do.  Why?  Because I am aware of it.  It has been brought to my attention.  I was thinking about how our attitude toward sin should be like that.  When someone brings a sin to our attention, it should be on our mind in a grateful way- "Wow.  I didn't know.  I wasn't aware.  Thanks for pointing that out."

Now, the analogy doesn't exactly hold true because I can't really do much to prevent another snake from sliding into our sink, but I can do something about my sin.  When Garth comes to me and tells me that I was really impatient in the way I talked to a kid, I can be grateful that he is pointing it out and do something about it.  It can be on my mind throughout the day so that I remember to pray about it, and catch myself before I do it again.  I need people to make me aware of the things I don't see so I can keep my sin in check.  And I NEED to keep the snakes OUT OF MY SINK!!!!!  Haha.

As you can tell I am feeling better.  Yahoo.  That is always good news.  It takes me a bit longer to bounce back than it does the kids, but I am getting there.

We have a few less kids here for dinner tonight.   Our Boys A team and Girls A team had an away game at King Town and won't be back until later.  That means we are down 6 kids.

We just had some great thunder roll through here.  Hope it brings with it a nice storm to cool things off.  We have had such heat.  I love looking at all of the pictures of you guys on Facebook playing in the snow, building snowmen, and making snow angels.  If we were to go outside here to make a dust angel we would melt or fry like an egg.  Haha.

Time to make dinner.  Be thankful today that the only thing you have in your sink is dirty dishes.

Love,

Rachel

No More Dishes?

So, there was a snake in our kitchen sink this morning.  Crawled out from the vent hole.  I am so glad it was Garth who found him and not me.  He smacked it with our dish scrubber and then carried it outside with a towel.  Seeing how much I dislike snakes I think this incident should make me exempt from having to do dishes for what...like a year?  Or two?

Well, Wyatt and all the high schoolers are back from their  two nights at Kali Biru. (Blue River).   It sure sounds like they had a fantastic time.  They helped build a new bridge, a high platform for jumping off, put up a swing, and did various other improvements along with swimming over the waterfall (glad I wasn't there to see that), clay fights, cooking food over an open fire, sleeping under the stars, lots of good bonding and time in the Word.  What a great way to spend a weekend.  

Wyatt is over his malaria as is Cale also.  I however, got sick with it on Friday and am still recovering. It is quite lousy being sick when there is a Hostel to run.

There is a High school event coming up Feb. 24th-March 7th.  The whole high school and teachers, a doctor and some other chaperones will be flying to a village for 2 weeks to help out with building projects, teach AIDS/HIV awareness, run some kids clubs, set up a medical clinic, etc.  It is called Outdoor Education and is one of the highlights of the high school year.  This will be Wyatt's first opportunity to go.  The kids are all quite excited.

They have to pack all that they will need for two weeks and they only have an allotment of 11 kg- that is around 24 pounds.   That includes their bedding and mosquito net.  They also have to fly in the food they will need for the 2 weeks.  It is quite the undertaking.  I am including the supply list they need so you can see what I am talking about.

Talk to you soon-

Rachel

 2014 Soba Barang List 

 Your baggage allowance is 11 kg. 

GENERAL 

Lunch for Monday 

Bedding –It will be cold at night. Bring a sleeping bag or several warm blankets. Do not skimp on this! Ask anyone who has tried to sleep in the cold! 

Mosquito net – manditory 

Bible / Pens 

Journal (to be provided) 

Towel 

Body soap 

Shampoo 

Toiletries (toothbrush, paste, deodorant, etc.) 

2 rolls of toilet paper 

Flashlight, extra batteries/bulb 

Cup 

Plate that can double as bowl for cereal or soup 

Silverware 

Large water bottle (at least 1.5 liter) 

Suntan lotion 

Bug repellant 

Nokin (net bag) or other small bag or backpack for day trips and carrying gloves, water bottle, etc. to work site. 

Laundry soap – a bar works better than powder – and brush and clothespins if you like. You will be doing your own laundry. 

Band-Aids and antibiotic cream – we will have a first aid kit, but bring these basics so that you have enough and so that they are with you when you need them. 

Regular medicine (if this applies to you) – asthma, cramp medicine, antibiotics, ibuprofin, inhaler, etc. (For antibiotics please have a note with instructions – dosage amounts and times) 

Work gloves – We will be digging holes so these are really necessary. 

Small gifts to leave with families (suggestions: laundry soap, salt, oil, etc.) 

CLOTHES 

Work shorts and work shirts. During the day the temperatures are in the 80’s. However, make sure your attire is modest. Girls, we cannot emphasize this enough. Sooo – for girls, big baggy shirts, no sleeveless tops, and shorts that go below the knees. You might want to bring clothes that you do not want after OE and plan to give these to the villagers before you leave. We will be doing digging projects, cement projects, and muddy work projects. 

Casual clothes that are decent for going to church and doing kids clubs-- long pants for guys, skirts for girls. 

Hiking clothes – lightweight long pants can be good protection from scrapes. 

Shoes that are good for hiking and working in mud. Please note: shoes are mandatory. 

Bathing suits – Girls, we may be bathing in rivers in the small villages. Bathing suits under clothes may work well. 

Socks – need for hiking, keeping warm 

Underwear 

Poncho or rain coat 

OPTIONAL: (but smart) 

Small mattress. (Please keep the word small in mind. Sleeping space will be limited to approximately two feet by 6 feet (2’ x 6’). (OK, if you are 6’2” tall, we will give you several extra inches. ) 

Spending money for local souvenirs, offering, etc. 

Hat for sun protection 

2 LARGE plastic bags (at least) – one for keeping your bedding dry in transit and one for inside of your backpack, etc. to keep things dry. Extra bags are also nice for storing wet clothing. 

1 Zip lock to put silverware, etc. in so it doesn’t get lost, plus extra Zip locks – to keep things dry and clean!!! 

Small pillow 

Camera 

Extra toilet paper or tissues if you have a cold 

DO NOT BRING 

Cell phones 

MP3 players 

Computers or electronic equipment 

Electronics will be confiscated. 

Waldo

So, we woke up Sunday morning and happened to notice that at 8:30 a.m. it was already 110 degrees.  Haha.  Isn't that funny?  It is so hot, especially compared to the extreme cold most of you have been having.  Guess what we decided to do?  Have a picnic-outside.  Yes, we are crazy.  But, it was really relaxing.  And it wasn't tooooooo hot in the shade.

We are getting healthier here.  I think I mentioned that we had all kids back in school on Friday.  Yeah!  But I think I celebrated too soon.  Cale has been home all this week with fevers.  We just found out last night that he has malaria.  We have a few other dorm kids with stomach issues.  One stayed home on Tuesday.  Hopefully they will be well soon, because all of the  high schoolers have overnight activities this weekend.  The boys are all going to Kali Biru (Blue River) for two nights of camping out and cooking meals over a fire and jumping off of cliffs into the roaring rapids.  (I wonder how Wyatt will do with his broken bones...).  And the girls are going to the guest house in Jayapura and to the beach.  It is SEW which stands for Spiritual Emphasis Weekend.  It is a fantastic time of bonding and refocusing on God.  They are really looking forward to it.  It will be nice for us to have the middle schoolers to ourselves.  We are planning some fun things to do with them.

We had two Indonesians come to our door the other day with a cuscus (tree kangaroo) for sale.  He was asking 5 juta which is around $500.00.  We played with it for awhile, but did not buy it.  Quite an expensive pet!

There has been a lot going on with the Hostel these last few weeks and I have my days of discouragement.  Yesterday I was talking to God about it, and I heard Him say, "I am in this."  And I got a picture in my mind of the Where's Waldo books.  On some pages I can find Waldo quite quickly.  But on other pages, I scan and scan and search the page over and over looking for Waldo.  Finally when I see him, I am like, "My goodness!  He was right there."  That is how it is sometimes with God.  Sometimes it is easy to see what God is doing-it is obvious He is right in the midst of what is going on.  But other times we are searching, wondering what He is doing.  We are scanning the situation looking for evidence of Him.  Then, we see it.  We find Him and realize He was right there all along.  He is in this.  I know it.  I feel it.  My faith tells me to trust, even on the days when I haven't found Him yet.  I have an amazing God that has promised He will never leave me alone.  I can count on that-over and over again.

Here are some pictures: