After One Month

It has been just about a month since I walked through the gates at the airport fearful of the next two years of my life. I can honestly say that walking through those gates was probably one of the most intimidating and terrifying experiences. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Looking behind me and seeing the love of my parents and brother standing behind me at the airport evoked emotions that I was not ready for. What the hell am I doing? I honestly thought, well I could turn around right now and everything will be okay. My parents will understand and I’ll find something else. However, my heart didn’t allow it. Honestly, my mind had already run back to my family, but my heart would not allow my feet to turn back.

Thankfully I serve a God that provides. After a month here I know in my heart that this is where God wants me. It has been an incredible journey thus far in teaching and exploration. I’m excited for upcoming trips including white water rafting, hiking volcanoes and swimming under water falls. I have fallen in love with many of my students, and I know this is only the beginning. I have the privilege to play basketball and futsal (indoor soccer) with them every week, which has been a blast. I am the god of basketball even though my skills are just above suck. I have also been practicing the language quite a lot in my free time, so I hope to be fluent here next week, haha, soon hopefully. This week I finally received my awaited motorbike (vespa), which was a huge blessing. I know have the ability to go wherever I want on my own time. I have had recent trips to the local Starbucks to read and write. This has definitely been rewarding to me psychologically. It feels good to finally start feeling settled in here.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

Daily Bread

“Our Father in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Your Kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the Kingdom and the power

And the glory forever. Amen.”

Matthew 6:9-13

I have found myself continually going back to the Lord’s Prayer for strength. It begins with the proclamation of giving praise to our Father in heaven, and further concludes declaring glory to His name. The beauty of its poetical nature inspires the hearts of its readers. However, one particular line in this prayer has been persistently in the back of my head, “Lord, today give me my daily bread. That is all that I am in need of.” As I found myself repeatedly going back to this line in my prayer life I began to realize that I really did not know what I was praying for. Yes, this passage has a literal meaning of the simplicities of life, but there is so much more that I had not allowed myself to focus on. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our daily bread. He is the bread of life. As my mind began to reinterpret the verse once again I found joy in knowing I had my daily bread. I have all that I need. No matter the circumstance, Christ reigns in my heart, mind and soul. Praise be to our Father in Heaven, for He is good.

My first few days here in Indonesia have been filled with a mix of emotions. The excitement of adventure, the distance of between loved ones and learning how to teach my student continually keeps my mind rampant. The school that I am teaching at is a joy to be at. Although it is hard to communicate and be on the same page at times, I enjoy the people very much. I have not yet begun my teaching. However, I have been to all my classes and met all of the students. I have already fallen in love with many of them, but some seem to be quite the handful. The people that I work with are also a joy to get to know and work with. Some of my favorite times have been just walking around the school. The students are always so excited to see me in the hall and greet me with a big smile saying, “Hello Mr. David”. They are a lot of fun. It makes me smile just thinking of them. I am a bit intimidated to begin my first week of teaching, but the more and more I begin lesson planning the more comfortable I get. It will just take some time to get acquainted with the new position.

I have been keeping busy outside of the school as well. Almost every day so far I have been to the mall to shop, eat and hang out. The malls here are huge. One mall will contain a very wealthy section, middle class and lower class shops. It is very interesting to walk through the mall. It seems there is always something new and intriguing. I also attended a church this past Sunday and a small group that is connected with the church on Monday. They were very refreshing. The church is an English speaking church and ran much like a church you would find in the OC. It is definitely an incredible blessing to have such support while I am here.

I live in a two bedroom house in the district called Citraland. This district is known as the nicest and wealthiest district in Surabaya. It is referred to as the Singapore of Surabaya. My house is very small and humble, but there are many homes around me that are huge and beautiful. It is a fun neighborhood to be in. Everyone here travels around on small motorbikes. I have been riding on the back of my friend Crystals when we go to the mall and such, but in two weeks I will have my own to ride around. I am super excited for that.