Yogyakarta | Indonesia

This semester has not provided as many opportunities for travel so, to keep our sanity, Adrienne, Lindsey and I traveled to Jogja for the weekend. If you find yourself in Jogja, this handy travel agency can drop a motorbike wherever you are and I would definitely recommend them!

It's always strange returning as a tourist to one of the areas that I used to visit every other weekend. I love being in Central Java because unlike in Jakarta, Javanese culture is very prevalent. People are very much rooted in their traditions and the food is also incredible. This is ronde, a ginger based drink/ soup with various squishy garnishes. Ronde is one of the things I miss most about living in Central Java.

I finally got to see a wayang (Javanese shadow puppet) show, complete with gamelan to set the mood. It is impressive that one guy is responsible for all of the narration (a full show can be several hours) and mastering all of the puppets. We also got to see a man intricately chiseling the wayang by hand.

The water palace was another thing on the list of places I never made it to and it is worth a visit if you are in the area. A bit off the beaten path, it offered rare open space to simply walk around. Though the murky green bathing had seen better days, it was still beautiful and well preserved/ restored.

LifeGroup | Game Night

We collectively decided that in the best interest of group bonding, our last gathering of the month would be a game night and fellowship! This month's game night featured a game of fishbowl and an intense guy vs. girl session of reverse charades and also invented new phrases such as "twerk ball".

 

Muara Baru | Jakarta | Indonesia

Here are some of the faces that we saw on our recent outreach to Muara Baru in North Jakarta. We joined with a local kindergarten to host a free medical clinic and community games. Due to the intense rain, the neighborhood flooded a bit on our way in (if you've been to Jakarta you know that this is indeed possible) which forced everyone into close quarters under a tent but did not seem to hamper anyone's fun!

It's Official! Next Year I'm Moving to.....

As of yesterday, starting in July, I will be teaching kindergarten at Pan American Christian Academy in Sao Paulo, Brasil! Though I will always cherish my time in Indonesia, I am excited to see what the Lord will do through this next chapter in my life!

School | Book Week

This year's Book Week (last year is here) ran slightly different now that I'm down in kindergarten. People came to us instead of us going to them! Events for the week included read with dads, buddy reading, character day, a fashion show, move to read and a guest storyteller. Our buddy reading featured several students from my class last year and it was so sweet to see them take care of my little kinders!