Dad goes traveling

Dad and the missions pastor of our church in Texas traveled to INDONESIA to see how our church can help in what is going on there.

Here is the K's new home!

The local hand carving and furniture factory.

A busy street.

The K family goes to the modern mall!

One of the local mosques.

On a trip up the river.

Kris and a colleague strole in a village.

Papa tells the Grands a story. (See their new beds?)

And then (all too quickly) Dad and Joe pack up and head to INDIA.

Here they meet with Srinivas and his family in Dad's hotel room.

Busy India street.

They visit the villages. Here Dad is preaching, Srinivas is interpreting, and Joe is observing.

They visit the large village school that Srinivas has built and started. Our church is helping in the ministry. All the teachers are believers and this is such a wonderful opportunity to share the Good News with people who would not hear it otherwise.

All students commute from several villages. But the pastors' children all board here. Here Dad teaches those children to do string tricks. Srinivas watches.

It was a fast trip. But a good trip. A lot was done in a short time. We are thankful to be a part of a stateside church that is active in missions, both at home and abroad.

 













Bible Studies

At his time in my life (that is: retirement) I can pick and choose what I will do more than at any other time in my life. I have more time now, to join in group Bible studies, offered by my church and other churches around town. Or I may do my own thing. But one thing I know, I must be in some sort of Bible study

I find that I need a structured way to study the Bible. I want something more than just reading my Sunday School quarterly. Sometimes, I like to track down a specific topic that I have been mulling around in my mind and so end up doing a sort of independent study. But, if this is my only way of studying the Bible, I've learned I stay within a much narrower channel and fail to broaden my thinking or challenge my ideas. I seem to just stay within my own comfortable realm. This stunts my growth, I've decided. 


Therefore, I've been enjoying studying from this website:
http://www.jesuswalk.com/
So far I have studied The Names of God, The Psalms, and am now finishing up John's Epistles. Once signed up, the lessons (usually 9-12 pages) are sent via e-mail weekly. It's all free and the sign-up is simple. I print these out and collect them into notebooks. There is a variety of Bible studies offered, character studies, book studies, topical studies. Each lesson comes with footnotes, art, questions to be answered, and often spiritual songs and hymns that connect with the subject of study, etc. I like this method because I can go at my own pace. I don't have to finish within the week. As a result, my studies go far deeper, I have a better understanding, and am able to discover the Greek or Hebrew words and meanings used in the original texts. And I'm collecting a great resource for teaching or further study.

ESL Closing Party

We met in the fellowship hall of Primera Iglesia, the host location for our ESL program.

These are the table decorations.

Various scenes around the room during our meal and program.

All our teachers

Teachers and the students with their certificates.

We had a good, successful semester!

We'll begin again in September.



ESL

(What is that?)

      For many years, I and my family were the foreigners, trying to learn the native language and customs in a very strange land. Our family of 5 were the only non-Indonesians in a wide area. We dealt with people pointing and laughing (later to learn this did not mean the same as it does in America); teenage girls cooing over our three blond and blue eyed children and pinching them on the cheeks, over and over; people standing at our open windows and doors, watching our every move. We were the best show in town.
     We tried our best to have an American home in the midst of this very strange Indonesian culture, trying to balance both cultures and enjoy the best of both. But first, "Where can I buy eggs?" "How do you know which slab of meat hanging on the hooks in the market are the best?" "Where do they sell brooms?" "And how do you say are these things?"
     Soon, we found the local people to be very patient and helpful to us, sharing all kinds of information with us, and being forgiving and gracious as we struggled to use the language as they did. In those early years, unless we made a trip to another town, the only people we had to speak English with were each other. Hence, we were forced to learn the language quickly.
     I determined in the years that passed, as we moved from that country to another and then later to yet another country, struggling each time with a new language and a new culture, that if ever we ended up back in America, I would love to work with foreigners who had come to live in America. NOW I could relate. NOW I understood a little about how they felt, perhaps. And besides all that, I just love being with internationals!
     As we settled into retirement and our new church home, finding places where we could plug in and serve, the Lord opened up a wonderful opportunity for me. I was asked to begin and English as a Second Language (ESL) ministry. Because I had never headed up such a program, or even worked in one, I was on a steep learning curve. I read, visited other programs, got trainings, asked questions everywhere. I made mistakes, I'm sure, but we learned as we went along. For each semester of classes, the Lord provided wonderful teachers from among our church membership. Our program is evolving and we are developing and improving as we go along. It is a wonderful ministry. Maybe you would like to find such a program near where you live. In your church or a sister church? Internationals are some of the most fun people around!
     This blog was to show you pictures of our semester's closing party. Our first such event. But I found I needed to share a few things with you first. Check our our next blog for pictures of the party, our teachers, and our students.

Remembering...

    
     Retirement seems to be a time to remember "back when...." 
     Someone sent this funny story, but I well remember this myself! Don't you?

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'

'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.' 'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?' 'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained! 'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

Let's keep those memories alive. Our grandkids need to hear these! And we need to not forget.

Now What?

      Is it retired (as in tired all over again), retreaded (as in getting ready to go again), or as some have suggested, retarded! We may fit all of those, but we're going to go for "RETREADED". Yes, we're not one yet. There is more out there. As for Kingdom Work, we never retire.
     Why is it that we have the picture of old people sitting in rockers on a porch when we think of retirement? Or am I the only one who thinks that these days? We spent 36 years overseas with busy and exciting lives, raising our family in a small Indonesian town. And then moving and living in several other Asian countries. When retirement time came, it was a big change in lifestyle. But we were ready for it, feeling it was time.
     So why did I have such trouble adjusting? (Johnny didn't seem to have this problem). I'm thinking I was way too self-centered and self-focused to allow myself a smooth transition. We've been retired 3 years now, and I'm learning a few things for next time....as if I'll be retiring again sometime in this lifetime. So for my own benefit if not for anyone else's, I'm going to start listing some lessons I've been learning at this stage of life.
     1. When one first moves into one's new location, one may feel lonesome, not know anyone and feel useless, as opposed to their busy life of responsibilities before retirement. But remember this: you are not the only one who is new and needing to make new friends. Many people our ages (besides you) are moving to new areas and making new friends and finding their way. Lighten up. Explore. Enjoy your new surroundings. Get involved and you will soon have friends and a busy life.
     More thoughts later.....