"I do not speak Indonesian"
Haha!! Yes one of the first sentences I learned!! Everything is going great so far. I am in my town now and I am sharing a duplex with a couple from America. My partner Brette shares a room with me. No AC, no flushing toilet and no shower...and to think we haven't even made it to the villages yet...haha!!! Tomorrow starts our first journey into a village, it's only for 4 days, then we will go again next week for 4 more days. I'm very excited to learn about the culture and hopefully pick up the language.
The people here lead a very different life that us in America. They have small temples and shrines every where. They make offerings to these at least once a day and we see them everywhere as we walk through the streets, on cars, even on the computer desk. These people live in fear of their "gods" and the demons that go with it. "But their idols are silver and gold, made by hands of men.They have mouths but can't speak, eyes but they cannot see, they have ears but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell, they have hands but cannot feel, feet but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them." - psalm 115: 4-8
They say they believe in one god and that all others are just a version of the main one. But they have over 3 million... "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder." - James 2:19
It is heart breaking to know that a people live in fear instead of hope, but don't know any different..."My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. Be horrified at this, heavens be shocked and utterly appalled." -Jeremiah 2:11-12
Please lift us up and our spiritual safety in this environment that the enemy won't be able to break through our beliefs or turn us against one another as we enter into the villages and learn more about this culture.
Yesterday on our drive to our town we saw monkeys on the side of the road...sooo cool!! haha, yes we got excited!! The pace of life here is much slower than that in America, but apparently it starts very early, at least in the villages. I guess you have to beat the heat. Please lift us up that we will not melt away!! The food so far hasn't been too bad. But we've had Americans catering to our American needs or at least looking out for us and keeping us from anything we might not like. These next few days will probably determine how much weight I will lose here!! haha!! I miss everyone dearly and i hope to keep you updated. If you comment please be weary of the fact that I am learning the culture and not to say anything offensive to the culture or way of life here...you never know who might see this!!!
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Yes. that, "Tidak apa apa", "Sing ken ken" (which is Balinese for tidak apa apa), and "Mandi dulu" (which means that I've showered already today so stop acting like I smell so bad--basically), became some of my favorite phrases in Indo. =D You'll find some for yourself very quickly, too. Haha, this is so refreshing to read Madisson! I know EXACTLY what you mean when you write about these people living in fear every day of their lives because they don't know the freedom of the One & Only. Pr for you. Stay strong with that servant heart!
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