I've never stayed in another country for as long as two weeks. The longest I have ever been in an overseas country at a single time was 10 days in the States, when i was nine. (wow. that was like... 11 years ago.) Other trips have been approximately one week long. But during this CI trip I got to be in Indonesia for fifteen days... whooo hoo... and that was really cool coz I had more time to be immersed in their culture and learn more about that beautiful country with numerous islands.
We flew into Surabaya (which is in the east of Java island, closer to Bali, for those who don't know Indonesia well.. -heh. I was one of those) on the 15th of June from Singapore. Truth to tell, I didn't know what to expect. But from my experience in Jakarta last year (crazy traffic- don't ever say Malaysian drivers are bad... you ain't seen nothin yet!, to the immense pollution) I wasn't expecting very much of Surabaya. You can imagine my surprise when we were brought to the bungalows we were staying at.
So pretty, eh!!! This was one of the prettiest roads through the bungalows. And that's Mr. Teh and Eunice, in case you're wondering :)
Surabaya is very different from Jakarta even though it is the 2nd largest city in Indonesia. There are less (much less...) people and less cars on the road... Pollution level is very much lower when compared to Jakarta... We had a great time, to say the least.
Being an Asian has lots of benefits when going around Indonesia (think safety wise), but the thing i found so... I don't know how to describe it... weird? is that people kept talking to me in Indonesian! And while I almost completely understood them (because Malay is similar to Indonesian), I couldn't reply them because they would a) give me a strange look; b) know immediately that I'm a foreigner.. a Malaysian to be exact; c) I would feel so uncomfortable. It was partially frustrating, but also funny, because Indonesians speak with a certain distinct slang and use several different words from Malaysians. I had fun learning to speak like they did, and the kids on our team kept laughing whenever I tried to translate my lessons into Indonesian. It was good that most of them understood English, and we had great translators too, but most of the fun was when I tried to speak to them in Malay-Indonesian. hahahaha... wow. I've rambled long enough about language differences.
The highlight of the Surabaya week (and possibly the entire CI trip) was the Saturday outing that we had. Usually our "off-day" consists of rest, games, sightseeing, or shopping. Surabaya was different. All we were told was that we were going up to a mountain to see some kids from the villages. Again, I didn't know what to expect, but "great" would be an understatement to describe the day.
About 8 vans drove all of us up the mountain on a 3-4 hour long trip. The road was windy, rocky and very bumpy, but the sights....! Oh the sights were amazing!!! I wanted to tell our driver that he could just stop me by the side of the road and I'd meet the rest of the team at the top. There were so many things to take pictures of... it was like a photographer's haven! Stuff that would be published in magazines like National Geographic!!! (alright, it probably isn't that exotic since it was only about 4 hours from the city, but it was quite the sight for me). I missed so many would-have-made-National-Geographic shots, because there's only so much you can take from a moving car going up the mountain on a rocky, bumpy road. So I was pretty much bummed. Till we arrived at the missionary training school for young Indonesian missionaries who are being trained for ministry and mission work in the rural parts and islands of Indonesia. The short time we spent with the Indonesian missionaries was probably as good as (or possibly better than?) walking up the mountain and taking the countless pictures I wanted to take. What impressed me the most was their deep love for Jesus and His work that He wanted them to carry out. We had a time of worship with them (in Indonesian!), and they sang with all of their hearts. There was no "religious spirit" there at all. It was just a deep love for Jesus that they had.
The reason I'm rambling so much here, is because I haven't the time to sort through all my pictures to describe how awesome that day was. After the missionary training school, the vans drove us another, say 45 minutes, up the mountain to the village where the young people from the missionary school had set up a place (I dunno what it was... a kindergarten? It was just a house) where they could gather the kids from the surrounding area to minister to them, and to share Jesus with them. We had a great time singing with them (in Indonesian also ), playing games, praying for them, etc. The village kids there prayed with such fervency and earnestness!
The house where the kids were at.
Playing duck-duck-goose
Part of the team with the village kids
As we were driving up to the village, there was alot of " fog" or "smoke" around. So much so that at some points, we could not even see beyond the trees by the road. Then I realised how high up we were- we were literally IN the clouds! When we were told by the local committee that it would be chilly up in the mountain, most of us didn't really think too much about it. But it actually got quite cold up in the village! My guess would be around... 20 degrees Celsius? Apparently it can go down to 2 degrees C on cold nights!
Wow, again, I never anticipated such a long post. I thought I would be able to include the Jakarta week in this entry as well, but I just remembered that I have more pictures from an orphanage we visited in Jakarta that I haven't sorted through yet. That was a pretty awesome trip too. But anywhoo, how do I conclude this Surabaya week? It was just absolutely great. I had no idea what to expect, but God did wonderful things. I didn't even tell you about the wonderful villas we stayed at on Saturday night as a result of a generous family! Haha.
Oh well. I think its enough for now. Too many stories to tell, so many pictures to show, too little time. Maybe it'll be up on Facebook someday. Hahaha..
Fun team picture (minus our team leader, Andrew, and super photog, Britton) taken on our last day at Surabaya.
Wrapping up the SEA Children's Institute Trip 2008 (Long post!)
My poor blog has been so neglected! I'm sorry, dear bloggie.. *pat pat* But seriously, i have so much to catch up on. Just when you think that life isn't really going on, it is!
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^Short video of the trip made by Andrew. *Click!*
I haven't really posted anything at all about the trip, but as time flies by (can you believe its already 3 weeks since we said goodbye at the Changi Airport?) life at home catches up really quickly, and its easy to forget about all that happened.
(photo from Andrew)
But how does one even begin to summarize all that took place in 5 weeks in just a few blog posts? I can't, and I'm not even going to attempt to. I'm not sure if my journaling even suffices to record the whole trip. (Btw, I journalled the most this year than all the previous CI trips I've been on.) I guess we'll always have photos (tons of them at that!) and videos to remember the trip by, but everything else will simply have to be recalled by memory. And in the words of Joy, Kat, Konner (can't remember who else said it), "You had to be there to truly understand" what went on and what we're laughing or crying about. The SEAT 2008 catch phrases (or whatever you call them)... "O my...".
(photo from Andrew)
To all that prayed for us, thank you so much! You all were very much a part of the work that God did in all the 5 cities we taught at. The quote "Prayer is not preparation for the work, prayer IS the work" was very real to me during the whole trip. I don't think I would have survived those 5 weeks without prayer. The challenge for me now is to continue that pattern of prayer back home where it seems like the work I'm doing is so much "less significant" than what we did during those 5 weeks.
Truth to tell, I haven't finish sorting through my mountain of photos that I took during the trip. But I learned from previous years that I most likely wouldn't. As it is, i took less photos this year than in the previous years! But anyhow, I pulled out some of my favourite pictures and put them up on Facebook. If you don't have Facebook, here are a few of them from each city we did...
Kuala Lumpur (26th-31st May 2008)
Penang (2nd - 7th June 2008)
Singapore (9th- 14th June 2008)
Whooo.. this is getting to be quite the looong post! I think I'm on a blogging high... I've just realised how much I have to catch up with! I'll leave the Indonesia pictures for tommorow. And then I have a whole bunch of other things ranging from dahlias (yes, the flower), to my grandma's birthday weekend up in Cameron Highlands, to strawberry frozen yogurt...
Hopefully I'll have enough time to blog! Haha. Have a great thursday everyone!
you know, i've been so busy catching up with everyone's blogs that i haven't had the time to catch up with mine.
blame it on netvibes- that sweet online feed reader which helps me keep track of almost every single blog i read in the most organized way of categories, columns and boxes. kinda like a newspaper. just with articles i want to read.
(ooh... i sound like an ad... ) but seriously, if you're an avid blog reader and have way too many blogs to keep up with, you should definitely try it.
thanks, xianjin (ps. i've been using it ever since you told me about it. i just haven't had time to blog about it...!)
thoughts running through my head. emotions reeling in my heart.
why do i compare myself so often with others? why do i keep trying to become like someone i'm not?
i like what Lydia said on her blog- " “Always be yourself because the people who mind don’t matter and that the people that matter, don’t mind.” Hang up that mask. Find peace in becoming the person you were created to be."
so, who am i created to be? what if i don't like the person i was created to be?
if i had a ball point pen, i'd write on my hand just like Joy and Kat did during the CI trip: "I am complete in Him" (ref: Col 2:10)
~ its so weird to be back home. its as though i never left. i'm finding it relatively easy to pick up where i left off. house chores, sleeping patterns. but yet its not the same. i'm not quite the same. i've come home with my faith stirred, and vision forming.
i really don't know exactly whats in store after this. but i need to press into Him for direction. i think exciting times are up ahead. but i need His guidance. His timing. His wisdom.
~ some trip photos are up! i've posted them on facebook, but if you don't have a facebook account, here are the links: Week 1 (KL) Week 2 (Penang) Week 3 (Singapore) Weeks 4 and 5 (Surabaya and Jakarta) to follow next week. enjoy and have a great weekend!
), playing games, praying for them, etc. The village kids there prayed with such fervency and earnestness! 
