Journal - September 5, 2008

4:48 pm – Today was the only full day of the retreat. I woke up at 5:30 am like everyday here in Indonesia. The morning was hectic.

I connected to the internet and it was INCREDIBLY fast. I uploaded some pictures and video, updated this blog and tried to connect with my family on SKYPE. By the time we figured out how to do it, it was breakfast time and I had run out of my internet time.

11:11 pm – When I realized it was time to go to breakfast, I also realized that I had some corrections to make to MediaShout. In addition, Jeremy brought the Nooma video “Lump” to show and I had to figure out how to make that work. So I missed breakfast.

During Jeremy’s message, the Nooma video froze up (I had already determined that it wouldn’t play in MediaShout and had switched to Windows Media Player). So while everyone was waiting, I worked on the laptop and finally got it to play on another program (Nero). Other than that, morning worship meeting was good and Jeremy closed with a call to salvation and rededication. Several students made commitments; hopefully I will receive more details later.

I worked with a small group of 7th graders and discussed 2 Timothy chapter one. Later, for lunch, we had chicken sate – chicken on a stick (see goat on a stick post earlier in the week).

I took a few pictures by the pool, walked down to the camp ground where the students are staying at night, and worked on making more room on my computer. While my computer was copying files to a memory card, I laid down on the bed and woke up 1-1/2 hours later! I guess I was more tired than I thought . . . or maybe it was the trip down the mountain to the campground and then up again.

I still wanted to talk to Cheryl and the girls on Skype, so I went to the Merapi Room early to get on the internet. After I had signed on and was busy connecting, I was informed that our supper was moved up by 30 minutes and that meant that rehearsal should be starting . . NOW! I was able to talk to my family for about 5 minutes and see what Thursday morning “bed-head” looks like from half-way around the world.

During supper I sat at a table that was deep in conversation about war and Christian service and should Christians serve in the military. This was made even more interesting because of the diversity of the countries represented around the table; these students had family ties to Africa, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Korea, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the United States. A lot of thorny issues were suddenly even thornier. Should a good Christian serve in the military? Does it make a difference if the country they are serving is Pakistan or the United States? What if Indonesia and the United States went to war; what would the missionaries from the U.S. do?

This evening’s meeting time was interrupted by a time of thanksgiving and encouragement, as each student was given the opportunity to express, before the whole group, gratefulness and appreciation. Students have really caught on to the songs, “Hail to the King”, “God of this City” and “Mighty to Save”.

After the evening meeting, many of the students stayed in the Merapi Room and held their own impromptu worship time. After a while, everyone wandered down to the campfire where we roasted marshmallows (Yes, I walked down the mountain – even further this time – and walked back up). Jeremy is staying in Salatiga tonight so I have the room to myself. It’s after 11:30 and I have a busy day tomorrow.

More later . . .


You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 4, 2008

10:16 pm – Talking with Jeremy after worship. Today was a busy day. I started by fixing the setup of a new flat screen TV for the school. There are still a few bugs to work out. A new DVD and an old VCR plugging into the latest technology in TVs. Hopefully, we can get them set up so all they have to do is press POWER and PLAY.

At 10:30 Ron and I joined the 11th & 12th Grade Leadership Class. We had a good discussion with some future leaders in the church. Hopefully, we imparted some insight and wisdom . . .

For lunch we had KFC – Indonesian style. Food here has been really good. Nothing too strange. Toward the end of lunch I was interviewed by Annalise, a journalist for the school newspaper. After the retreat she wants to interview me again to get my reaction to the event.

After lunch, I walked back to the dorm and packed for the retreat. Then I walked back to the school and worked a little on the laptop in the lunch area getting ready for tonight.

At about 3:30 pm we loaded into SUVs and the school bus and headed up the mountain to the Salab Putih (White Cross) Retreat Center. After finding my room and setting up for this evening’s worship, we had supper – chicken and rice and noodles and something that looked like thin slices of dried bread (they had the texture of Styrofoam but tasted pretty good).

The evening meeting started at 6:50 and 130+ people piled into a room the size of a small ballroom in a hotel. We were packed! The kids sat on the floor and the adults sat on a handful of chairs that were in the room. This retreat has students from 7th grade through 12th grade.

They seemed to respond well to worship. Jeremy introduced 2 Timothy to the group and was well received. By the end of the meeting it was very hot in the room. There is no air conditioning, just open windows on one side of the room. I think morning meeting times will be much cooler.

After our evening meeting, I purchased 2 hours of internet time for 30,000 Rp (about $3). So if you are reading this before September 6 that’s how I posted this journal entry.

One of the questions in the interview I had during lunch echoed a comment I had heard a couple of times before. The students want to know how long I will be here, and seem disappointed that I will be leaving the middle of next week, even though they barely know me. Apparently, many people come to visit, but few stay, or even return.

It must be hard to invest in relationships when people are coming and going so frequently. At the praise band rehearsal Wednesday night, the students told me I should come back and bring my family with me. I think they would love the country and the people, like I do, but I’m not sure they would survive the 24+ hours in the air – ONE DIRECTION!

More later . . .

You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 3, 2008

8:50 am - traveled to Salab Putih (retreat site) to look at the sound system. It's fairly new but more like a home stereo amp than a sound mixer. Only 5 - 1/4" mic inputs and three mixer controls (1; 2 and 4;3 and 5). We will have to run guitars on their own amps; the keyboard and the microphones will run through the sound system. With live drums and a very LIVE (echoy) room, worship will have a tendancy to be too loud We'll see.

Ron and Tory were up all night - couldn't sleep. I slept great. Kim, the teacher that took me to Salab Putih says that spiritual opposition is very tangible during Ramadan. Her son, Clayton, didn't sleep well last night either. He will be my drummer for morning worship and the sound tech for evening worship.

9:37 am - Preparing to go to the Jr. High Bible Class. I'm uploading video, so you should be able to watch some "moving pictures" soon.

Casey is having a busy day. Ron is in his second day of electrical work. Some tiles have broken and other minor emergencies that require Casey's attention. Tory is still not 100% but is teaching a defense class this morning.

Casey said we had ordered cheeseburgers and fries for lunch. It's still moderately warm, but not unbearable. We've had two good rains since Sunday (the first one caused the power to go out!), so the rainy season here has begun. Six months dry and six months rainy.

1:44 pm - The 9th & 10th grade Bible Class was fun. Turned out that there were no 10th graders, so it was just a 9th grade Bible Class. Ron talked first and then me. The theme seemd to be multi-faceted.

1. Live life to the full.
2. Great Commandment - love god, love people.
3. Read the word - it's exciting.
4. Don't be afraid to walk thru doors that God opens.

Kim, the teacher, then walked thru the topics the class was discussing. What was Noah's responsibility and what was God's. Then she asked what is our responsibility, and what is God's. She added that many times we become unhappy when we try to do God's things and fail to do ours.

3:23 pm - I don't know if I've told you this before . . . In muslim cultures there is a call to prayer 5 times a day. There are loudspeakers located at the top of every mosque. In Salatiga there are several mosques - not so much denominations, but easy-access locations. The loudspeakers crank up at various times of the day including 4:00 am. During ramadan the kids are encouraged to go into the streets and set off firecrackers at 1:00 or 2:00 am so that people will wake up and eat (since it is the month of fasting, they are not supposed to eat during the day). This keeps the non-muslims up as well, but it hasn't bothered my sleep, so I am thankful!

More later . . .

You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 2, 2008

2:20 pm - Had something different for lunch - goat on a stick. It's real name is Sate. Ron discovered some strange electrical wiring - three phase electric, but only one phase going to each of three buildings and coming off of, at least, two transformers. It's a real electrical mystery.

Tory is still sick - fever and dizzyness. We were going to a video recording studio where Sharon works. I don't know if that will happen now or not.

I discovered a small tree (or a big bush)with long white flowers hanging down like bells. I'm not sure what it is called but it is very beautiful.

There is a small bird that is very common here. It's moves so fast I don't think I can get a picture of it. I think they call them swifty's. They are about the size of a bat and fly around like one too - diving and turning and swooping. At the first open-air restaurant we ate at on Saturday evening something was flying around over our heads for about 15 minutes. We hope they were swifty's!

The mosque we were at on Monday will be torn down at the end of the month. After Ramadan they are going to build a new, bigger mosque to accommodate all the people wanting to pray.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day. What we discoverd at the mosque was that Islamic prayer is more about performing certain motions and saying certain words in order to gain "good points" in God's "reward system". I you pray during Ramadan you get 700 points. If you pray any other time of the year it's only worth one point. And that's all based on if you preformed the prayer properly. If you mess up, it dosen't count at all.

What I discovered is the stark difference in Christian and Islamic prayer. Christians talk to God as their friend. Any time of the day or night. Any position, it doesn't matter. Christians talk to God because they want to.
Muslims pray because they are trying to earn points. The give to charity to earn points. They help those in need to earn points. They cannot serve God or people freely because the purpose in the service is to gain entrance into heaven.

Christians are not only set free from sin, but they are set free to serve people out of love. They are free to serve God, not out of duty, but devotion.

Freedom in Christ is a lot bigger than freedom from sin! It's freedom to love and serve and live with no strings attached. God is good . . .

5:44 pm - Still sitting at the lunch tables. It's been a good afternoon, but I'm wondering how Tory is doing. He must be pretty sick. Casey was supposed to be back around 2:00 pm, so Ron and I have waited here. We could walk back to the dorm, through the school campus but we don't want to miss Casey, Sharon, or supper! Oh well, God is still good . . .

8:26 pm - I told you God is still good! Seconds after my last post, we got a call from Casey saying he was coming over. Tory came with him and we all went to supper. The nurse thinks Tory is just dehydrated, so Tory is now following my example of how much water to drink. My eye's are tired. going to be in a few minutes.

You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Reminder - More Pictures Here!

You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 1, 2008

3:48 PM - Trying to update everyone before I rest. I have a praise band rehearsal tonight at 6:30 PM.

We went to the open air market this morning. Very interesting! (I'll post some pictures later). Raw meat (beef, chicken, fish) sitting out in the open - no refrigeration. People walking, riding scooters (sepeda motor), riding bicycle powerd carts, and driving horse (kuda) drawn carts.

At 11:00 am we went to the local mosque. This was very exciting because it is the first day of Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting). The professor of the English department of the university located at the mosque gave us a tour. His name is Hamam. He guided Ron and Casey and me, along with three of his students through the university/mosque complex. One male student will attend a university in Oregon in March. Another male student will study in Arizona in January. A Female student named Okta also accompanied our tour.

Pray for Okta; I believe that the Holy Spirit is working in her life and she would be open to a presentation of the Gospel. Pray also for Hamam; he is wanting to travel to the US for his Doctorate.

After the tour, we returned to Hamam's office and sat around a table covered with green indoor/outdoor carpet. We asked and asnwered questions about Chritianity and Islam. I believe we shattered some of their misconceptions about Christianity.

Afterwards, we went to another local resaurant and had rice and spicy chicken. They had cucumbers and lettuce too, but we have been instructed not to eat the local vegetables unless they are from Sharon and Casey's home and have been washed in bleach water.

At 1:00 PM we wnet to a gamelan instructor. He introduced us to several traditional Javaneese instruments which, when played together but 5 to 18 people, is called gamelan. They are all percussion instruments. Some are drums, some are like xylophones, and others are like upside-down brass pots with one big "bump" sticking up from the bottom". The gamelan plays while a traditional shadow puppet play is performed.

Then we discovered that this gentalman, named Gideon, uses his gamelan as a way to share the good news about Jesus with people. They modify the traditional shadow puppets and replace the "white monkey king" and the "evil king" with characters like Jesus and Peter and Paul, etc. The people in the communities they go to, welcome them because they are bringing traditional Javaneese music and musical instruments. Then Gideon and his crew use puppets to thell them about Jesus! What an exciting way to communicate the gospel!

Well I need to Go rest before rehearsal. More later . . .

Sept 1 - 10:17 pm - Rehearsed with Praise Team A at 6:30 pm. Trying to get people excited about worship is a recurring theme among worship leaders here. I think what they are really saying is, "I want people to be passionate about God." So how do you develop passion? Do you cast a vision & hope they see? Do you remind people about what God has done? Is passion a gift FROM God or a gift FOR God?