Collision

What happens when the Christian virtue of Hope (see I Corinthians 13) collides with the fruit of the Spirit ( Joy from Galatians 5)? (click the button to play the video)

A Great message for Easter!

Ultimate

About 4 years ago, I stopped buying cheap shoes. After lingering knee pain and a trip to the doctor, we came to the conclusion that expensive shoes are worth it. Since then I am quite careful about the quality of shoes that I buy.

After 6 years of playing basketball with my current basketball shoes (which were purchased at a Reebok outlet in Holland, Michigan for $39), the time had come to replace them for my weekly basketball game at SPH. With the “no cheap shoes” philosophy in mind and no outlet store with good basketball shoes in sight, I sprang the most money I have ever paid for basketball shoes ($119 for Yao Ming Reeboks—I must live in Asia ;-) ). I justified it with the assurance that the exercise I would get in the next 6-8 years will more than make up for the money spent.

Wouldn’t you know it… after using the shoes twice, basketball for staff at SPH seems to have ended. Therefore my basketball shoe purchase and exercise plan seems shot. Now you understand that I was ecstatic when some staff played ultimate Frisbee last Thursday (see pictures below). Exercise at last (without the expensive shoes).

Hope and friend at Ultimate Frisbee

Don't we all look healthy?

Building houses and nations

Every morning we see workers stream by our house on their way to the many houses being constructed in our neighborhood. Rather than showing up driving work trucks and dressed in hearty flannel, complete with tool belts, work boots and construction hats, these workers walk to work in old pants, ratty t-shirts (often with punk or heavy metal bands advertised on the front) and flip flops (no tool belts or hats). They then work for 8 hours in very labor intensive jobs (everything done by hand), climbing bamboo scaffolding similar to what you see in the picture below. The minimum wage in Indonesia is just under $100 a month. While frustrating on a certain level, still there is hope that they are building sustainable homes (for others) and lives (for themselves) with the work. $100 a month actually goes quite a ways in a place where a kilo of rice or a hearty meal from a street vendor is often less than one dollar.

Bamboo scaffolding

Elections for the national legislature takes place this Thursday. Built on tenuous foundations, elections in developing countries are always at risk for spawning protests and violence (see Thailand last fall). Compared to established democracies in Europe, North America and Japan, where rule of law, due process, individual rights and democratic traditions are engrained (although likely taken for granted), democracy here seems riddled with incompetence and security issues (Indonesia has one of the most corrupt governments in the world—although it has been improving). Some of the shenanigans related to the elections are even funny (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/22144-erotic-dancers-and-freebies-draw-polls-crowds-in-indonesia ). While frustrating on a certain level, there is hope that through the imperfect process, Indonesians are building a solid democratic future complete with a sustainable economy.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla (on right)

End note: Most people feel good about the elections this year and project that they should be peaceful as the country continues to do relatively well given the crises the rest of the world faces. It is still an item for prayer.

Other Pictures:
When we were all gone last week, Neil collected all the snails in our front yard and arranged them in our back yard. Below are some cool pictures of these big snails (Since this time he has also seen giant iguanas and beetles in our yard as well):

Answers to Word origins quiz

Salamat- Arab (similar to "Salam alekem", traditional Arab greeting)
Rupiah- Indian (very similar to Rupee, the Indian currency)
Guru- Indian
Wanita- Portuguese (similar to Juanita)
Indah- Portuguese (similar to Linda)
Kantor- Dutch
Mie- Chinese (similar to “mein” , as in “chow mein”)
Mingo- Portuguese (similar to domingo)
Raja- Indian
Meja- Portuguese (similar to mesa)

Have a great week.

sweeda

Word origins quiz

Believe it or not, Indonesia has been a crossroads of world cultures for many years. Waves of merchants and conquerors have traveled to Indonesia. During the 17th century, Indonesia was the most coveted areas in the world by European explorers mainly for the spices found here (In fact, the English, Portuguese and the Dutch all vied for this land as a colony in what has been called the “Spice Race”. The Dutch eventually won. Before European contact, Chinese, Indian and Arab traders all stopped in Indonesia as part of established trade routes. As our family is learning Bahasa (the language of Indonesia), it has been fun to see Indonesia’s history tied into the words they use.

See if you can match the words below with the correct origin. All the Bahasa words below come from either Arab, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese or Dutch words. Answers will appear next week.

Salamat- Greeting as in “salamat malam” for good evening
Rupiah- currency
Guru- teacher
Wanita- Woman
Indah- Beautiful
Kantor- office
Mie- noodles
Mingo- Sunday
Raja- King
Meja- Table

Answer to picture quiz

The racket (seen below) has wire mesh that holds a mild electrical charge. As mosquitos buzz around you, simply bat at them with the racket and with a satisfying ZAP, they are history.

Watch out mosquitos (and Roger Federer)!

Weather forecast for Lippo Village for next 2 years

Hot and Hazy
High: 92
Low: 74
60% chance of thunderstorm
Humidity 90%

sunrise: 6:02 AM

sunset: 5:58 PM

Jealous?

Actually it has many drawbacks although to a North American right now it probably sounds good!

Cultural Awareness: This week, Eric started watching American Idol on TV so that he has something to talk about with members of his class. So much for immersing ourselves in another culture!

Operas of hope

"Paper People"

One of Hope’s favorite activities is playing “paper people”. This involves us cutting plain paper into human figures of all sizes and shapes which she then colors with clothes and faces. Often she asks us to cut out props such as bikes, cars, beds, chairs, suns, moons, stars and houses which will also then be colored. She will then spend hours weaving epic operas of love, family, and friends during which these “paper people” and the props are lined up on the floor in various ways while she talks and sings her way through the story in her mind. (The key dramatic elements of tragedy and treachery have not yet found their way into her tales, but will the closer she gets to middle school :-)). When the stories are completed or when the time comes to move on, the paper people are all packed away in a box. These “paper people” are far from two dimensional in her mind as they are often compilations of her real and imaginary friends and the scenes often mimic events (school, sleepovers, parties and play times) in her own life. If we try to throw away her “paper people”, she melts down.

Hope enters the story

Janet and I sometimes spend time discussing news we hear from our friends or family. Often, they are faced with decisions about their career, raising children, or working through difficult situations. Sometimes they are celebrating good news or exciting possibilities. While we dearly struggle, wonder and celebrate situations in their lives and long and pray for answers and clarity for them, there is an element in our talking through their epic journey where we find ourselves using their situation as a way of transferring/ projecting/discussing similar issues we face in our own life. In fact, the things most pressing in our lives currently are the things we most often gravitate towards in our conversations which were started by our reflections about other people and things. This sometimes happens without our even realizing it.

Neil relaxes with the cast of the WOZ

As you can see from the pictures, Neil for the past months has been practicing for a small part as a munchkin in the SPH Senior School presentation of the Wizard of Oz. He really enjoyed this as he hung out with teachers, high school kids as well as other munchkins his age. He also got to get out of school lots to practice and perform in an extremely professional production at a very cool theater in Jakarta.

Lastly and maybe most importantly, as a member of the Lollipop Guild (in which he had to sing a trio), he was one of many dancing and singing figures in this silly epic who helped a girl named Dorothy navigate through the terror and wonder of Oz …

SPH Dorothy

and find her way back home.

No wonder Neil (and the rest of us) like this story so much.

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On a different note:

Two days ago I paid the most and the least ever for round trip plane tickets...on the same day.

Most: Round trip tickets from Jakarta...to Hong Kong....to Tokyo...to Detroit....to Grand Rapids and back (in a slightly different way). Price: you don't want to know (or I don't want to tell you!). Dates in Michigan: June 16-July 15

Least: April is spring break and Asian air carriers are in a price war! We booked round trip tickets on Air Asia to Yogjakarta (a city about 300 miles away but quite unreachable by car) for $11 a ticket on the way there, and just under $5 a ticket on the way back! (I'm hoping we are not stuffed in the luggage compartment or sitting on the wing--Air Asia has the reputation as the Southwest Airlines of Asia, so thats reassuring). Total price ( including taxes, "administration fees" and $1.50 charge for suitcases) meant the round trip tickets were a bit above $35 a piece. Still a great deal!

Spring Break, here we come.

Please email if you get a chance!