Scrubbing...A Little Too Hard

My bathroom is tile. Not just the floor, the walls too. In theory, I would love this, but the tile is well...gross? Therefore, after acquiring some much needed supplies I set to work scrubbing.



Things were going well until I was scrubbing the tile near the toilet. Before I go on, I must tell you toilets are considered a "western" amenity in Indonesia. Indonesians use what is sometimes referred to as a "squatty."Rather than using toilet paper, they use water and their left hand to clean themselves. Due to this, the left hand is considered dirty and never used to pass anything to someone else. Many bathrooms have a sprayer next to the toilet to assist in the cleaning process. Having not read extensively on the Indonesia toilets prior to coming, I walked into my apartment bathroom and wondered what in the world a kitchen sprayer was doing in the bathroom! Haha :)

So there I was putting some good elbow grease into my tile wall when I happen to hit the top of the sprayer pipe.

Water.

Water!

Water!!

The pipe busted right off the wall! Water was jetting out of the wall, out of the bathroom, and hitting the hallway wall. Quickly, I grabbed the broken part and tried to jam it against the wall to stop the stream. Thankfully, I was with a friend who ran to call for help. So here I was in a foreign country, jammed against the wall attempting to keep a jet stream of water from flooding my apartment!! After the intial shock, I found the situation somewhat entertaining at least until I thought some more. My apartment is quite a ways up in a high rise building. If it flooded, not only would I lose my stuff, but perhaps damage several other apartments and businesses in the building.  I started praying.

Where I spent at least 20 minutes of my life... like my yellow toilet seat? A replacement = $53 *sigh*

It didn't take long for the water to cover the floor. Thankfully, the bathroom floor sits about one inch lower than the rest of my apartment floor. When my friend got back from making the phone call she started scooping buckets of water into the shower. With me jamming against the wall and her scooping buckets of water, it seemed as if we could keep the water contained to the bathroom. However, I wasn't sure how long we would have to continue. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but probably only 20 minutes, the water got shut off.

The water trickling after it was finally shut off.

There were so many things to thank God for in this situation: my apartment not being damaged except for the pipe that busted off the wall, a repair man coming a few hours later so I could have running water again, and a friend who scooped bucket after bucket of water. SO many things. No matter how often I have to scrub the tile I am now thankful it goes from floor to ceiling. No matter how many times I trip over that one inch lip stepping out of the bathroom I am now thankful its there. No matter how many times I recall this story I will always laugh! God is good :)

Cleaning accident turned swimming!

All fixed with a new sprayer.

Singapore

It's hard to believe that I am half way across the world. My journey to Indonesia included a stop in Singapore to get my visa. Singapore is a very westernized place. English is one of the four official languages and used for all business and government functions therefore making it easy to get around. During my stay in Singapore I went with a couple other teachers down to the Marina Bay area. There we saw a great view of the city and world's tallest ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer. We also walked around the Marina Bay Sands which was a hotel, museum, casino, restaurant, and shoppes all in one. I've never been to a mall that carried Coach, Gucci, Prada, and Loui Vuitton before. According to wikipedia, "Singapore has the world's highest percentage of millionaires, with one out of every six households having at least one million US dollars in disposable wealth." The architect work in Singapore was quite amazing!

Singapore Flyer

Marina Bay Sands

City Scape

Amazing buildings! 

Inside of the mall, love the architecture!

Indonesia

       

Photos courtesy of my dad

Don't worry I took a bigger suitcase

Just a little bit excited!

I'm moving to Indonesia . . . tomorrow. I have signed a two year agreement to teach math at a private Christian secondary school. Never, ever, would I have guessed this would be me. At sixteen, I was the girl who didn't want to drive and who's family joked about her having phone phobia. I was the girl who wished Neverland was real and always ordered chicken strips despite the restaurant. I hated change, loved home, and called my parents every night my first year of college.

Its been awhile since I was sixteen, but even 9 months ago I would have never seen myself picking up and moving to the other side of the world. Living overseas was not in my life plans, however, it is God's plan that prevails.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

This last fall I began asking the Lord what specific purpose He might have for this season of my life. Working as an adjunct at Corban University, I walked past a bulletin board filled with teaching opportunities, some of which were overseas. One night I stopped and just decided to pick up some flyers. Next thing I know, my best friend emails me from Indonesia saying her school has an opening. The same week another friend invited me to a Mission Connexion event. I found myself thinking this couldn't all be coincidence. The thought of living overseas had alway brought forth fear. How could I leave my family? How could I leave the comfortable and step into an unknown? Yet, I just couldn't shake the thought that possibly God was answering my prayers regarding a specific purpose.

Looking back, I see so clearly how God has prepared me for this adventure. He took a heart functioning in fear and filled it with peace. At times I have said, "Lord, my life is yours, I don't want to hold anything back." Yet, I've always wondered if I really could follow through with that prayer. Indonesia is an opportunity to give action to my words.

My job in Indonesia is not support based. I do not feel that somehow teaching in Indonesia is a "greater calling" than teaching here in the United States. Rather, I feel it is an adventure that the Lord is allowing me to take. An adventure on which I hope to grow professionally, personally, and spiritually. Whether in Indonesia or in the United States my purpose is the same. To live a life devoted to worshiping, serving, and getting to know God that I might bring Him the glory He deserves.

This is not how I imagined me life, but it is SO good. I am excited to see what the Lord has to teach me in Indonesia. While I am tempted to be anxious about many things I keep remembering the verse I read the night I decided to go:

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10

No matter how far I go from home, God will be with me. He deserves all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. My life is not my own.