Hey all,
Sorry its been such a long time since we have updated, the internet isn't exactly the greatest over here.
Since the trip to Taraja so many wonderful things have happened! We have had the great opportunity to give our testimonies and preach at four of the local churches in Makassar and each time has been incredible. Each time we have gone to a church the people are so excited to meet us and shake our hand and we are so welcomed.
We have been spending alot of time with the students at Jaffray, playing games, singing and just having a great time. We also started our building project a few days ago. We are building a place for them to recycle and throw away trash. The hope is that recycling will catch on over here if the seminary gets the ball rolling. The first two days of building went great. We had to clear an area of trash, branches, and sheet metal. While cleaning we got to see all kinds of new wild life. Some that the girls weren't to excited about, but it was a good time anyway! We then laid down the foundation and started laying bricks. Now the weather was great the last couple of days and of course I got a little color (a red burning color), but this morning it was pouring rain outside so we we're waiting it out for now.
we're all a little beat up over here but we're incredible blessed. This place is absolutely beautiful and the people have been wonderful. We'll be heading back to the states soon and we all have mixed feelings. We're excited to be going home but at the same time we love these people and it will be a sad parting.
You can all be praying for us for a strong finish. Pray that we may finish the project and it will be a blessing to this community. Also that the people here have and will continue to be blessed just as they have blessed us. You can also be praying for us to be safe in our travels as we will be home soon!
Well, you have all been updated. Be blessed! We'll be back soon! :)
-Brandon Pettit
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tana Torajah and more
So on Monday we left for Torajah. A Christian area of Sulawesi that hold alot of rich history. We stayed at a hotel that had bible verses everywhere. It was really refreshing to be around that for a few days. The experience in Torajah wasn't anything we were expecting. Our day Tuesday was spent hiking through caves where the dead are buried. We saw tons of skulls, bones and coffins from family's burried together in these caves. We were Indiana Jones basically, huge spiders and all. It was fun though and cool to see a tradition of the area.
I guess I should have started with the bus ride there. This bus ride was supposed to take 8 hours. In reality though, it took 11. The drive was through the craziest mountain roads ever and combined with a bus and Indonesian driving, it was quite the experience!! A few of our teammates got a little motion sickness but other than that, we made it safely! At around hour 9 we lost it. Everything and anything was funny to us. We spent the last few hours laughing at different accents. Yeah, probably only funny to us, but that's okay.
So yeah, to sum up Torajah, it was an adventure!
We are now back at the seminary and the last two days have been alot of relaxing and hanging around. To be honest, that it the hardest part for me. It is great to get the rest, but sitting around makes me feel worthless almost. I trust in God's plan for us here and we've been told numerous times that our presence alone is ministry. So pray that we as a team can trust in that and use every opportunity for God's glory.
Last night, we visited a Chinese church here in Makassar. It was so great! The church was very lively and you could really see the joy in their lives. Jon and Jenn got to share their testimonies and Brandon shared a message. It is so cool to see God use our team in the Church here in Indonesia. How great is it that our stories and testimonies of what God has done in our lives transfers over to a people across the world as stories they can relate to. Only in Christ!
Things you can be praying for:
- Health: Justin has had a cold for a while now and Jenn has been feeling sick off and on. The rest of us have been hanging in there but prayer for healing would be awesome!
- Breakthrough with the students on campus: The students are super outgoing so it's pretty easy to hang out with them around campus, but since we don't know much of their language it's hard to go deeper with them like we would like to.
- Protection from the enemy: We all have our moments of second guessing ourselves and questioning why we are here. We know these things aren't from God and would love the prayer over these things. Torajah was difficult in this area as well.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and for encouraging us along the way! We appreciate it so much!!
Blessings from Indo,
-Alisha
I guess I should have started with the bus ride there. This bus ride was supposed to take 8 hours. In reality though, it took 11. The drive was through the craziest mountain roads ever and combined with a bus and Indonesian driving, it was quite the experience!! A few of our teammates got a little motion sickness but other than that, we made it safely! At around hour 9 we lost it. Everything and anything was funny to us. We spent the last few hours laughing at different accents. Yeah, probably only funny to us, but that's okay.
So yeah, to sum up Torajah, it was an adventure!
We are now back at the seminary and the last two days have been alot of relaxing and hanging around. To be honest, that it the hardest part for me. It is great to get the rest, but sitting around makes me feel worthless almost. I trust in God's plan for us here and we've been told numerous times that our presence alone is ministry. So pray that we as a team can trust in that and use every opportunity for God's glory.
Last night, we visited a Chinese church here in Makassar. It was so great! The church was very lively and you could really see the joy in their lives. Jon and Jenn got to share their testimonies and Brandon shared a message. It is so cool to see God use our team in the Church here in Indonesia. How great is it that our stories and testimonies of what God has done in our lives transfers over to a people across the world as stories they can relate to. Only in Christ!
Things you can be praying for:
- Health: Justin has had a cold for a while now and Jenn has been feeling sick off and on. The rest of us have been hanging in there but prayer for healing would be awesome!
- Breakthrough with the students on campus: The students are super outgoing so it's pretty easy to hang out with them around campus, but since we don't know much of their language it's hard to go deeper with them like we would like to.
- Protection from the enemy: We all have our moments of second guessing ourselves and questioning why we are here. We know these things aren't from God and would love the prayer over these things. Torajah was difficult in this area as well.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and for encouraging us along the way! We appreciate it so much!!
Blessings from Indo,
-Alisha
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Bieber Fever
Hey Everyone!
I am loving it here in Indonesia. It's really gorgeous because we are surrounded by green EVERYWHERE! Right now, we are in Makassar at the Jaffray Seminary. It's a wonderful campus and we're staying at the guesthouse. Just today, we went to a church service at the CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) Church. Derek and Aubrey shared their testimonies and Justin gave a sermon. They did an amazing job and everyone was touched by what was said. We even led How Great is Our God and the rest of the church goers joined in.
One of my favorite things about Indonesia are the people. They are SO hospitable and friendly. We've been so kindly welcomed and treated extremely well. They find delight in our just being with them! We've also been trying all the yummy snacks! We were at a beach yesterday and some of us got some spicy BBQ corn, Tebs (a carbonated tea that tastes a lot like Martinelli's cider), Tehbotol (Jasmine sweet tea), Tim Tams, Pocky...I could go on. Everything is just delicious and awesome.
Before coming to Makassar, we were in Bandung. At the airport when we were flying from Bandung to Makassar, we met a wonderful lady named Susan. Alisha started a conversation with her and soon enough, we all gathered around her learning Indonesian! It was extremely helpful to learn from her and we had a great time. We did a lot of laughing and Susan even asked us to be friends with her on Facebook! It was great. She really helped a lot and Jon did an amazing job learning and retaining what we learned. He's been doing great practicing the language and learning about the culture.
One last thing before I pass the computer to someone else...
Bieber Fever has hit Indonesia! We were visiting a Dutch fort the other day and a girl was blasting it from her phone. Of course some of us broke out in song and started dancing. Which earned us many giggles and smiles from the kids. Also, Alisha just told me a story today about a little girl thought Justin was Justin Beiber! She made her dad take a picture with her on his lap! So awesome.
If you couldn't tell already, I am having such a great time in Indonesia. It's such a beautiful country and culture. We have been so blessed. Tomorrow, we will be going to Tana Taraja and we'll get to see skulls. YES.
(: Nay Nay aka Renee
I am loving it here in Indonesia. It's really gorgeous because we are surrounded by green EVERYWHERE! Right now, we are in Makassar at the Jaffray Seminary. It's a wonderful campus and we're staying at the guesthouse. Just today, we went to a church service at the CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) Church. Derek and Aubrey shared their testimonies and Justin gave a sermon. They did an amazing job and everyone was touched by what was said. We even led How Great is Our God and the rest of the church goers joined in.
One of my favorite things about Indonesia are the people. They are SO hospitable and friendly. We've been so kindly welcomed and treated extremely well. They find delight in our just being with them! We've also been trying all the yummy snacks! We were at a beach yesterday and some of us got some spicy BBQ corn, Tebs (a carbonated tea that tastes a lot like Martinelli's cider), Tehbotol (Jasmine sweet tea), Tim Tams, Pocky...I could go on. Everything is just delicious and awesome.
Before coming to Makassar, we were in Bandung. At the airport when we were flying from Bandung to Makassar, we met a wonderful lady named Susan. Alisha started a conversation with her and soon enough, we all gathered around her learning Indonesian! It was extremely helpful to learn from her and we had a great time. We did a lot of laughing and Susan even asked us to be friends with her on Facebook! It was great. She really helped a lot and Jon did an amazing job learning and retaining what we learned. He's been doing great practicing the language and learning about the culture.
One last thing before I pass the computer to someone else...
Bieber Fever has hit Indonesia! We were visiting a Dutch fort the other day and a girl was blasting it from her phone. Of course some of us broke out in song and started dancing. Which earned us many giggles and smiles from the kids. Also, Alisha just told me a story today about a little girl thought Justin was Justin Beiber! She made her dad take a picture with her on his lap! So awesome.
If you couldn't tell already, I am having such a great time in Indonesia. It's such a beautiful country and culture. We have been so blessed. Tomorrow, we will be going to Tana Taraja and we'll get to see skulls. YES.
(: Nay Nay aka Renee
Monday, January 3, 2011
Airport Extravaganza!
Hey everyone!
We are still currently in Dubai, due to the fact that our plane was having "technical difficulties". In other words, it broke down. However, they are working on getting us a new one as we speak so it shouldn't be much longer till we are on our way to Jakarta.
Our first plane flight was rather long, but the food turned out to be rather delicious and we were kept occupied by movies, music, and video games. We are all running on lack of sleep, but still in good spirits-- Starbucks and 4am Burger King runs have helped us out greatly in this area.
I am not sure about how everyone else is feeling, but I am rather dumbfounded because I have no idea what to expect when we arrive in Jakarta. I have noticed myself cherishing things, such as a shower or certain type of food, because I do not know when I will be able to partake in these things again. However, God is faithful and I know he will provide for us. He has already strengthened my faith in Him, which has been a weak area in my life, and we haven't even left the airport!
We all cannot wait to arrive and are thrilled for the experiences ahead and the amazing people that we are going to meet! Be faithful in your prayers for us, we greatly appreciate them!
Love you all! :)
-Jen
We are still currently in Dubai, due to the fact that our plane was having "technical difficulties". In other words, it broke down. However, they are working on getting us a new one as we speak so it shouldn't be much longer till we are on our way to Jakarta.
Our first plane flight was rather long, but the food turned out to be rather delicious and we were kept occupied by movies, music, and video games. We are all running on lack of sleep, but still in good spirits-- Starbucks and 4am Burger King runs have helped us out greatly in this area.
I am not sure about how everyone else is feeling, but I am rather dumbfounded because I have no idea what to expect when we arrive in Jakarta. I have noticed myself cherishing things, such as a shower or certain type of food, because I do not know when I will be able to partake in these things again. However, God is faithful and I know he will provide for us. He has already strengthened my faith in Him, which has been a weak area in my life, and we haven't even left the airport!
We all cannot wait to arrive and are thrilled for the experiences ahead and the amazing people that we are going to meet! Be faithful in your prayers for us, we greatly appreciate them!
Love you all! :)
-Jen
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Hey all!!
Tomorrow we finally leave for Indonesia!!!
Our team is so excited to be a part of God's work in amongst the Indonesian people!
From January 4-24, we will be partnering with Christian and Missionary Alliance and their missionaries in their ministry on the islands of Indonesia. Specifically through relational ministry at a seminary for college students and the surrounding churches. We hope to be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Jakarta and in Makassar, Sulawesi as they live for Christ day to day.
Here is where you can be updated with stories, pictures and videos of our trip along the way! We would love to hear messages from home. Please keep us all in prayer on our journey!
Blessings!!
-Team Indo
Tomorrow we finally leave for Indonesia!!!
Our team is so excited to be a part of God's work in amongst the Indonesian people!
From January 4-24, we will be partnering with Christian and Missionary Alliance and their missionaries in their ministry on the islands of Indonesia. Specifically through relational ministry at a seminary for college students and the surrounding churches. We hope to be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Jakarta and in Makassar, Sulawesi as they live for Christ day to day.
Here is where you can be updated with stories, pictures and videos of our trip along the way! We would love to hear messages from home. Please keep us all in prayer on our journey!
Blessings!!
-Team Indo
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