Stuff...

Things are humming along here. Not too many exciting things happening lately. For this I am thankful. Although I have to admit that the exciting things make for great blog material.
We’ve been lending out one of our soccer balls lately. It was one Christiaan received for his birthday last year and was still in great shape. Note I used the word was. We lent the ball out last Friday to a girl who lives near Ice and she returned it the next day. Then a few days later some boys wanted to borrow it so I said okay, but don’t forget to return it! They didn’t return it that night. So later in the afternoon of the next day I kept my eye out for the ball and sure enough, I saw a boy with it. I ran up to the edge of the yard by our water tank and asked him why he didn’t return it. A group of boys came and they all pointed at a different boy and said, “Well, he’s the one that borrowed it!” Passing the blame... I told them that if they didn’t return the ball, I wouldn’t lend it out, but if they returned it, I would keep lending it out. So they returned it... It looks a little different than it used to. Soccer balls here, the cheaper ones anyways, are not sown, but the pieces are glued on... so now they’ve started falling off... I think the kids are using it as a basketball. So I’m thinking I might just replace the ball if it gets really wrecked but keep lending it out. Provided they keep returning it....
Someone told me the other day that when she lived here she was told by a close Indonesian friend that they don’t care that we have a lot but they don’t like it if we are possessed by our possessions. That really struck me.
Ice’s sister has been rather hard-headed. She is the one who was beat up by her husband – who had left her for a long time. He still would like to be married with her and have a relationship. She, in the meantime, has been carrying on another relationship. She wants to kawin (move in) with this guy. The head of their area, called an RT, did not agree with that plan and told her to think about her child and the fact that she is still legally married. So she responded by making her daughter move out of the house! She wanted to be free! I think she might be back now, but I’m not sure. Anyways, she has been fined 33 million rupiah for her actions as a married woman and she is supposed to pay this money to the relatives of her husband. Not sure where she’ll get that kind of money from. I think she also drinks a lot and spends a lot of her money on that. Ice said to me that she thinks Iblis (Satan) has a hold on her sister and that’s why she is being so hard headed. It is really hard to see someone who works hard and is smart, making such poor choices in her life. Please pray for Ice’s sister as her actions are having a negative impact on the entire community never mind her 11 year old daughter.
Today I was able to visit with one of the ladies of our church. She had a baby boy a week ago and they gave him the name “Mario”. I had never visited with Bebe (pronounced Baby) in her house before; we’ve talked at church and at church functions but never in their home. (It is not common to be invited to people’s houses to visit unless you are really close) Their daughter was the one who had the birthday party recently and they held the party in the home of her husband’s uncle, Pak Naftali. Bebe’s home is one they rent from the uncle and it is rather like a townhouse back home, except single storied and really tiny. It was nice to visit with her and talk with her. For us women, there’s nothing more we like to talk about than our birthing experiences... It sure breaks down any walls and just makes you the same. What makes me sad for the women here is the lack of education regarding child-birth and what happens afterwards. There are no prenatal classes here. In fact, the trend here is to do a c-section. Doctors here are always telling women that they need a c-section. It is so sad that they can’t trust the doctors. The financial gains are greater for a c-section so.... Bebe’s doctor told her that she needed to go in for a c-section because her amniotic fluid was low. She just waited for labour to start on its own and then proceeded to deliver normally. But most woman would have believed what the doctor (remember, a half step below God) said.