Today begins my week of lasts… Today is my last Friday in the village and each day will be my last of that day. It’s strange to think that in just a handful of days I will be back in the States again, it still seems as though I just got here. I find it very hard to believe I have been gone almost three months, and am now preparing to head home.
This past week has been full of many new adventures for me. On the third Saturday of every month there is a birthday party to celebrate all the kids who have birthdays in that month. Well last Saturday the teachers were in charge of the birthday party for the month of March and they convinced me to join in. This required me to get up in front of over 300 people and basically make a fool of myself. I spoke English and one of the other teachers “translated” for me, which really meant he took everything I said and changed it to make the kids laugh. After the kids got a good laugh at me the tables turned and Iwan, the other teacher, started to speak English and I translated it into Indonesian, which of course I was changing what he was saying. It definitely put me out of my comfort zone, but at the same time I really had a lot of fun with it and the kids really enjoyed it. Then on Monday at Easter day at school I again was in front of the kids, though only about 100 this time to sing a song with the teachers. Again, this is something that was definitely out of my comfort zone, however I’m glad I did it and really enjoyed it. Being here and being one of the teachers at the school has really forced me out of my comfort zone, in more ways than just getting in front of large groups of people to perform. Although it has definitely been challenging I’m glad I have done it. Normally if I have to choose safety or stepping out I choose safety, but living here has really challenged me to step out more. It’s amazing to see what happens when you do!
On Saturday I also gained three new roommates. Two girls came in from Holland and one from Wales. They have been a lot of fun to hang out with and get to know. One of the girls from Holland will be taking over teaching English, which is great! Even better though there is officially someone taking over all my special education classes!! One of the girls from Australia who will be here for nine months to a year is going to take my groups. She is not trained as a teacher, however I am spending time with her teaching her how to do things and showing her what I have been doing with the kids. It’s a huge answer to prayer knowing the kids will continue to receive help after I leave.
Although I gained new roommates on Saturday I also had to say good-bye to one on Tuesday. Merel, who I’ve had as a roommate since moving to the guesthouse, headed back home to Holland. It was sad to see her go, and has been strange not having her around, but I’m very glad I had the chance to meet her and become friends.
Now that the kids are on holidays my days look much different than before. In the mornings I help with a holiday program down at the school. The plan was to continue to pull some of my students who are the furthest behind, but so far that hasn’t happened due to just helping to keep everything running smoothly. It’s been fun to play with the kids and do different games, but it is definitely different than sitting with them and teaching them. In the afternoons for the most part I have been resting. The cold I got last week has gotten much worse so by lunchtime I’m normally pretty exhausted. I have spent some time with the new teachers showing them things and helping them to be prepared for when they start teaching after the Easter holiday. Other than that my afternoons have been pretty low key. I am hoping to start feeling well soon so I can spend my last week feeling as though I’ve done something productive, I just have to be careful to make sure I don’t over do it.
Please pray I would feel better very soon and really be able to pour myself into my last week here. Also please pray for my traveling. This time next week I will be on the bus on my way back to Kuching and after that will begin the long journey home.
This will probably be my last post until after I’m back in the States, unless I get more pictures up before then, so I look forward to catching up once I’m home!
Blessings!!
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