Long time!

I know, I know, I have not been a faithful blogger while in Indonesia.  It has been easier and faster to post on my facebook page.  But I know some of yo do not have facebook accounts, so without further ado I will post a refection about the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" after a discussion with 6 young priests who live in a country where there are no Jews.    I'm writing it now.  Will post  few a interesting photos to tide you over until then :-)  Blessings to you and yours.  #IloveIndonesia

 The Sea of Flores as seen from the Sea World Club Hotel in Maumere, Flores, Indonesia.

 The Sea of Flores as seen from Wairhubing Beach.

Sharing dinner with seminarians in Unit  Augustinus (dorm) after a session of English conversations.

 My faithful canine companions, mother and son Bule (left) ad Bowo (right) in my room.

 Notice how many females are in this photo of an Arisan meeting at Wairhubing Beach!

Me with beautiful and-woven tenun ikat pieces.

 Me wearing a sweatshirt for the first time at the seminary.  That morning was cool and damp and the slight breeze made a sweatshirt necessary :-) So nice not to be HOT!

My private bathroom in my room.  On the left is a big container I keep filled with water from the mountain which I use for bathing.  It recently got contaminated with larvae trying to become mosquitoes, so it had to be emptied, cleaned and refilled.  Thank God for an abundant water supply during this rainy season

Re-entry: A Big Beach Party and Cultural Festival

Hello all!  My mind has been very busy since returning to Indonesia.  The Wi-Fi is better than last semester, but still sketchy.  

Here is a post I wrote on 9/17.  More to come!  Blessings to you and yours!

 

9-17-14

I arrived at the seminary in Indonesia on 9/7, so I have been here now 10 days.  I am getting settled back in and am happy for the slower pace of life here, though my mind is still working at American speed.  So I am working to slow down my brain.

My first full day here was a holiday for the SVD (Divine Word) Community – the 139^th anniversary of the founding of their religious order.  It was celebrated in a big way at a beach party attended by all the seminarians, priests, employees and their families.  Needless to say, I had a blast, taking turns dancing traditional local folk dances (in groups), visiting with people, posing for photos, and of course swimming in the beautiful sea.   I met a fellow Texan from San Antonio, an anthropologist teaching in Australia who has been doing research in the nearby village of Sikka for 37 years!

Last Friday a few of us visited a local hospital run by SSpS Sisters (also founded by the same man who founded the SVD priests).  At that hospital is a simple dental clinic which we will visit when my friends Rennie & Kathy (a Dentist) visit here in early October.  Then we went to a local festival of arts and culture where I was thrilled by performances of local music and dance complete with local costumes.    It was wonderful!

My life for the past 2 months was so hectic (selling the house and everything I own!) that is has been nice to have some time here to rest and relax.  This week we have been discussing what the seminary and SVD community would like from me, and I expect that next week a more structured schedule will be in place for me.  In the meantime, I am looking forward to a visit this weekend from my Texas friend Maria and her sister, Anas.  They are coming from Jakarta to an island to the East named Timor. We will meet in the town of Kupang where we will get to meet and visit with my former pastor Fr. Paul’s father, sister and brother.  Kupang is but a 30-minute flight from my base in Maumere.

Photo1:  Maumere Arts & Culture Festival

Photo2: Beach party to celebrate the 139th anniversary of the founding of the Divine Word Missionary (SVD) order, shown here chatting in Engish with Australians Fr.Bill Burt, SVD (center) and famous anthropologist Douglas Lewis from San Antonio, TX (right)!

Photo3: Dental clinic at the SSpS Sisters' hospital in nearby Kewapante.

Back Home Again in Ledalero

Smiles on my face as I arrived…landing at the airport, riding on the newly-paved road to the seminary, seeing the spire of the seminary from the road, seeing Hubert (Berto) with his hand phone waiting for my arrival, and then walking into the dining room.  Many smiles and personal greetings/handshakes/embraces-European style…including from the Rektor.  Agust, Pice, Bernard Boli… so many friends.  All the usual players were here.  Except for the boys…The boys were nowhere to be seen and I noted their absence with a mix of sadness and blessing, for most of them have now gone forth to their missionary destinies.  Now there is a new crew in place – 18 young men to be ordained in 2 weeks.  2 weeks!  18 new young Catholic priests coming from the Indonesian church.  

And there was beer at lunch!  How fun.  Then Fr. Bill and I sat for a chat to catch up and share stories.  He asked straightaway what happened with me since I left.  He stated Hubert had told him of my selling my house.  I hope I explained it well as I don’t want to cause any concern for anyone here about my future as I am now dependent on God more than ever for my future.

And then there was the mosquito netting!  I delighted to take my siesta safe in the womb of my bed in the mosquito netting and to commune again with my Lord.  At dinner I saw more friends – Eman, Ito, Bernard Hayon and Juan (Mary Gomez!).  I feel and am so blessed to be back here in my beloved Ledalero.  We’ll see what God has in store for our futures.  But in the meantime, it is today and I am here and I am again happy.  Thank you Jesus, terima kasih Tuhan Yesus.

P.S.  It is COOL here…meaning the temperature.  There is even a chill in the air and everyone is wearing light jackets!  :-)  Thank you Jesus!!

I am going back!

It is with great joy that I announce that I am returning to Indonesia early next month!

Since returning from my trip in April, I have processed about God's powerful healing and intervention in my life while I was there.  I am changed.  Following much prayer and consultation with my spiritual director, pastor, close friends and family, I have discerned that I am to return.  As an official guest of the Bishops' Conference in the Diocese of Maumere on Flores Island, I will again be spending the Fall semester volunteering at the SVD/Divine Word Missionary seminary on Flores Island, experiencing the universal Catholic Church from a Southeastern Asian perspective, visiting local parishes in nearby villages, and practicing English conversation with the community there.  I couldn't be more excited!


While there, I will continue discerning God's will and call for my future and and excited to learn His will for the next phase.  I am surrendered to Him as never before in my Life.

"Here I am, Lord.  Send me!"  --Isaiah 6:8

If you're interested, have a listen to this great song that speaks to some of my hopes for this trip:  Let them See You by JJ Weeks Band

May God continue to bless you and your families and friends.

In His Love,

Joan

Tony Melendez

As I followed the news of the recent canonizations in Rome of now-Saints John Paul II and John XXIII, I saw Tony Melendez perform and reflect on the time he sang for St. John Paul II. See: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Man-With-No-Arms-Plays-Guitar-With-Feet-at-Catholic-Service-256794331.html

And that reminded me of a seminarian in the English Course taught by Fr. Augustine Senda, SVD.   And so, just now, I was facebook messaging with Tony about it and he asked me to send the story to him.  And I sent this to him:

I recently returned from a 2-month trip to Indonesia. As a volunteer, my job was to help seminarians and newly-ordained priests and others practice their conversational English -- with a native English speaker -- before being sent worldwide as missionaries. Their order is the Divine Word Missionaries. 

Indonesians LOVE to sing, and do so from birth. Many of them are very musical -- sing, play guitar, keyboard, midi, and sing in 4-part harmony easily. So we shared a lot of songs in English as another way of practicing. One day, one of the seminarians --Argus -- asked me to sing one of your songs with him. It was one I didn't know. So he sang it -- impromtpu. I just wanted  to thank you for that moment, and for blessing that seminarian. Under God's grace and the movement of the Holy Spirit, your music has made it around the world, even to a remote part of a developing country in southeast Asia. Blessings to you and your beautiful family and ministry. Praise God from who all blessings flow.

Joannie the Island Girl/Queen of Sheba
www.songsoflife.co
www.inourmidst.net

Mosquito Netting

"Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known." 1 Cor 13:12

I've been thinking about mosquito netting.  Every afternoon and evening in  Indonesia I entered the safety of a mosquito nettinged-bed for rest and protection from mosquitos and other UFOs and creatures of nature in my room.

The mosquito-netting formed a barrier that provided effective protection when I chose to use it (which was 98% of the time) -- much like God's love and mercy.  The netting was flowing and free-form; permeable, not rigid -- also like God.   When I exercised my free will to get inside the netting, there I was safe from bugs and mosquitos -- like living in God's will protects us.  And from there, I could see, albeit indistinctly, all that I needed to see.

For me, the mosquito netting became a kind of a chapel; a sanctuary, if you will, even a kind of tabernacle where I encountered the presence of Jesus, sought his protection and care, where he came to meet me very afternoon, where I sought communion with him and would pray my (mostly) daily rosary in the quiet of siesta time.

The mosquito netting was there when I needed it, like God.  It was even there when I, in my free will, decided not to enter into it...again, like God.   There I learned I could seek and receive comfort from the harsh temperatures and sun, safe from the plentiful mosquitoes seeking my body's blood and putting me ever at risk for malaria.

As humans, we can pick and choose...to enter into the love and protection of God's will, or not.  

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15

God,  please forgive me for the times I have chosen to stay outside of your protection.  Thank you for giving me free will.  Please help me to choose you, over and over again.  And thank you for protecting me from harm while I was in Indonesia.

Eat, Pray, Love: Karen & Joannie do Bali

Two American sisters meet in South Asia!

When I was planning my trip to Indonesia, and before I had decided to go, my sister posted on Facebook that she was going to Singapore for a business conference.  I noted that she would be in Singapore at the same time I was in Indonesia, quite near to Jakarta.  That info factored into my decision to go to Indonesia as I could see the hand of God bringing us together on the other side of the world.  We agreed to meet in Bali, almost halfway between Singapore and easy Flores island.

With the help of my new friends in Indonesia, I made a reservation to stay one day alone in Bali near the airport.  During this time I went shopping with the locals at a Galleria Mall and went on my first-ever motorbike ride!

Then I met Karen's international flight, and we headed off to our reservations in the town of Ubud, Bali at the Sri Bungalows.  The It was about a 60-90 minute drive through neighborhoods of Hindu monuments, colors and culture.

In Ubud we enjoyed the beauty of the bungalows surrounding a beautiful rice field and each others' company.  Having only 2 days in Bali, we relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere and only as much sightseeing as we wanted.  It was quite relaxed and each decision about our activities was made at the spur of each moment.

It was quite hot outdoors for we northerners.  For meals, which were all open-air, we would arrive hot and sticky, and within 5 minutes would cool down thanks to the shade and ceiling fans.   Unlike at the seminary, both hotels in Bali were air-conditioned -- a nice treat for me :-).  On the last day, we treated ourselves by hiring a driver to take us around to a few sites.  At the Hindu palace, we jumped out of the air-conditioned car, took a picture, and then back into the cool if the car!  We did the same at the Monkey Forest and at the famous Kuta beach.  At Kuts were surrounded by very aggressive vendors offering to sell us many things for "cheap, Missus". 

More stories to tell, but suffice it to say we had a great time, good visit, and are already planning our return once we win the lottery!