Living in Indonesia!

“What a beautiful thought. The Lord did not tell Noah to ‘go’ into the ark. He told him to ‘come’, signifying that the Lord was already inside the ark, waiting to welcome Noah. In Joshua 1:9 we also read: ‘The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go’. So come, let us go on, enjoying the peace of His presence as we walk the path of faith.” ~A. Fiebig

Living In Indonesia!
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Two Months Already! Man, time sure does fly by! It’s hard to believe that we have been over here for a little over two months now. Our first two weeks in country were pretty tough with ALL the traveling we had to do and visa work. And as if all that wasn’t enough, we all got pretty sick for a while. Once we settled into our new house and got some good R&R, things began to smooth out a bit! But it’s been very encouraging for us when we hear of you praying for us. We also love all the updates we have received from back home. Thank you all. This ministry would be so much harder without your support!

We started language study about six weeks ago. It has been so nice to be able to carry on a very small conversation with our neighbors and different people we meet. Things like, “Hi what’s your name?” “My Name is….” “Where are you going?” “I’m going into town to go shopping.” Or: “ Do you have any kids?” “ Yes, I have two. Their names are Chloe and Gwen and their ages are three & two.” It’s so nice to be able to answer when someone is talking to you! It helps make a little sense of all the chatter going on around us. Chloe and Gwen are both picking up the language. They both get very excited when they learn a new word and then repeat it throughout the whole day so none of us will forget it!

One of the ways we learn language is by taking culture excursions out into the town or around our neighborhood (upper left picture). On one of these excursions we noticed how everyone is expected to take their shoes off when entering someone’s house. We were already kind of used to this because when we lived in Canada they also did this. But the thing that really got us was when we stopped by our local “Warung” store, everyone took their shoes off before they went in! We just can’t picture this at the local gas station in the states… the whole front lined with all these shoes. It made us laugh a bit to think about all the possible upset American costumers having to take their shoes off! :)

We will be here on the Island of Java in the town of Salatiga for the next year and a half learning the culture and language of Indonesia. It’s so amazing to us just to sit back and look at how beautiful the scenery is here (upper middle picture)! We also praise the Lord for the beautiful house He has provided for us while we’re here (upper right picture). We live outside of town, so it is quieter here than most places. That’s something we are very thankful for. We were also placed in a house that has a little back yard that the girls love to play in. The neighbors are close and they all have kids that are right around Chloe and Gwen’s age, another very big praise! This will really help the girls pick up the language and enjoy their time here.

We praise the Lord that our travel to Indonesia went pretty well & our health has also been fairly good. Thank you all for your constant encouragement and please continue to pray for us in that our finances are about half of New Tribes Missions recommended support level and as we’re still adjusting to a new culture, new food & a new language! These adjustments can be hard and we definitely have our good and bad days… There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. This is our time to bunker down and study hard!

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Going Tribal for Jesus! –Ben & Ruth Kane – Matthew 28:18-20