2.05.2010

Week of ... "Baru"

My first week living in an orphanage in Southeast Jakarta could be summarized as a lot of ... baru (new!!). Thirty-nine children (ages 4-17) live here.

These are a few of the faces I've grown to love very much.

In their school uniforms, ready to leave for school at 6 am.


Three times a day, we all gather to sing and pray for thirty minutes to an hour. I've learned one song in Indonesian, and have a lot more to go! It is precious to watch and listen ... it's probably my favorite times of the day.

Beautiful eyes...

Beautiful smiles...

Natalis (on the right) is my buddy! He's the one who taught me to count to one hundred in Indonesian while we were on a jog/walk, inches away from being murdered by moped traffic.

The kids are patient language teachers! Communication has been challenging and fun. They study English in school, but rarely have opportunity to practice it.

They laugh all the time how putih (white) I am. Since I'm the only American here, I'm just used to seeing their beautiful skin. But when I see the pictures, I understand why they laugh!

During free times, I've been teaching typing. It's still a novelty, and the kids are working hard at it!

They keep each other accountable in the form of yelling when the typist misses a letter during practice.

"Tidak jaga!!" They're getting better at not looking at their fingers while they type, in just a few days!

I'm so grateful to be here, and am thrilled that I have three more weeks with them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you're having a great time. Praying for you.
Love you!

Abbie said...

I found your blog through Kaylene's. I'm loving these beautiful pictures, and reading about your experiences in Indonesia!

Just reading a few posts, I can tell you have a true, living passion for the Lord. May God bless you as you serve Him :)