Day #4--Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a big day. For several hours before church we heard the loud bell ringing to call all the people. We walked to church at 8:20 a.m. for the service, which started at 9. The place was already packed! I had not been to a place where the people were so early! We worshiped in liturgical style for over an hour in the Indonesian language. We sang "Joy to the World", in the same language "Hai Dunia Gembiralah, dan sambut Rajamu!"

After church everyone flowed out of the service to mingle in the streets. It is culturally appropriate to shake hands and greet everyone. Can you spot Nate in the crowd? We learned the morning greeting, "Pagi!" and the greeting for Christmas, "Selamat Hari Natal".

We really got a taste of local culture when we were invited to a wedding feast. I tried to mingle with the Indonesian ladies using a few words I had learned, but mostly I just got them to laugh at me trying to speak. I noticed the houses we visited all had nice tile floors and many decorations on the walls. Here in the Philippines a lot of floors and walls are just cement and there are not as many decorations. Perhaps that is for a number of reasons, one being that there is gold and spices available for trade in Indonesia. Indonesia is where the spice islands are located, and we even picked some clove leaves and cinnamon leaves right off the trees.

The unusual specialty foods that were served to us while we were in Indonesia were DOG, RAT, and BAT. Also the food was VERY spicy and I almost exploded! Here is a picture of the dog before they cooked it for lunch.

Here is that same dog being barbequed for the feast. Oh, I tell you I was not brave enough to try eating any of these three items.

After a few tears were shed over the fact that it was my first Christmas in my life away from my family, I was finally able to praise God that we can celebrate Christ anywhere in the world. We had a very special celebration that night as a "family" in Christ. We had rice and chicken for dinner with ice cream and fudge for dessert. Then we sang carols just like my family does. We also included the Becker family tradition of reading the Christmas story and adding the pieces of the nativity as they are read. We exchanged gifts and ended with "Silent Night" in the dark and with prayer. With my eyes closed I could not notice a difference from being with my family and being on the other side of the world. Truly God blessed us with His wonderful presence and peace.

Day #3--Biking in the Rain

We woke up early again to try to beat the rain. Nate and I borrowed our friends' bikes and pedaled up the volcano again. Of course I had to walk part-way and it began to get hot, but we made it to one of the villages.

I will tell you more about the village in an e-mail, so we will be brief in this summary. The main thing that happened after our time in the village was that the heavy rains began to pour! We rode several kilometers down a windy road (at least it was paved) and tried to find our way back home. I felt like a whole lake dumped on our heads! We were so thankful to get home and get dry, and especially for lunch and naps!

Day #2--Hiking the Volcano

We woke up early on Day #2 to climb the near-by active volcano. It was my first time in a crater with actual sulfur steaming and bubbling!

We took the local transportation to the base of the mountain. Then we rented 4 motorcycles and sped up to the trail. We passed by beautiful farmland with lush vegetables--onions, carrots, cabbage, corn, and more!

My favorite was when we saw the old-fashioned oxen actually carrying a load down the hill. I saw them charging forward and posed for a photo, but we almost got ran over! These guys were determined to do their job.

We finally got up to the crater and then climbed in about 2/3 the way down. Lloyd taught us how to measure the depth by counting the seconds when you throw a rock to the bottom. He also taught us how to measure the width of the crater by using the sound waves and the echo and the time it takes for your echo to return. He was full of lessons! We had the most fun singing a chord and listening to it echo across to us.

We hiked back around the crater after spending some time getting as close to the steam as possible. What a funny smell the sulfur had. We got home and ate lunch with great thankfulness. We praised God that we made it out of the volcano before the daily rain storm hit. We also praised God for the naps and the quiet time reading we had that afternoon.

Day #1--First Impressions

We made it to Indonesia for Christmas! As we flew over the island, we noticed that it was more hilly and had lots of volcanos. The airport was really nice and even had stained glass! We got our visas upon arrival and were met by Nancy at the airport.

We immediately bought our first Indonesian food--yellow rice with fish wrapped in a corn leaf--Spicy! Since I get car-sick I was going to hop in the front seat, but the driver was in my seat! I was surprised the wheel was on the "other" side of the car, and I think the driver was surprised to see me on his side.

We drove an hour up the windy roads passing vehicles and motorcycles on the curve. I was glad when we finally made it to the cool mountain town where our friends live. They had a room for us all ready and gave us a tour and naps.

Unlike the Philippines, in Indonesia the people we met really did not speak a lot of English, so we quickly learned many words. "Trimagasi" means "Thank You", the most important first words in any country I have learned.

After dinner we ate a new fruit (I forgot the name!). It had a skin like a snake and we learned that a snake actually lives among this fruit and blends in. That is God's way of keeping the rats from eating the fruit!


That night we walked under the beautiful bright stars to meet our first Indonesians at their home. They had several "Kulingtang" instruments that were a hand-made xylophone. It was so fun to experience so much culture in one day!

Concert Photos and Update

Today was the last day of school. Grades are in, classes are over and our break has begun. Now at last I can post a few pictures from our concert and from my class field trip. This first one is of me directing my high school vocal ensemble. They are finally learning to blend together and are gaining confidence in performance. Nate was our wonderful accompanist.

In the middle of our ensemble pieces we enjoyed hearing the middle school choir perform three pieces. Nate directed and I accompanied on piano. There were also some special student musicians that Nate trained-percussionists, recorders, and three trumpets (Nate would like to mention that one trumpet was silent since his valve was backwards!). They performed great and I was proud of Nate!

After the show we were so relieved! We greeted everyone and gave glory to God. All our prayers were answered, including the special candle-light feature that wasn't working before. We praise God for all He did and know that He was the one to receive the glory. Nate and I went out on a lovely date after the performance and laughed and talked about all the students and funny things that happened. Oh, it was so fun and relaxing at last!

Monday morning I took my class on a field trip to an outdoor ampitheater. I know this place on the mountain that overlooks the city and the ocean below. It is gorgeous! I have always wanted to get some students to perform there, so we did! It was a great way to end the year and I think I needed the field trip more than anyone!

We praise God for giving us all the strength and health we had to finish the semester strong. We thank you for praying for our marriage and ministry. We have been really united in our teaching and ministry and in our marriage. We praise God for each other and for blessing us so abundantly.

Now we are preparing to fly tomorrow! You already know where we plan to go--so pray for us for our health and safety. We aren't sure what we will be able to mention on this blog, but we do wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Nate and Jessica

Exam Day AND Concert Day

Today was a big day (and still is!). We had chapel this morning, then a dress rehearsal with the middle school. After that I gave my New Testament final exam for 90 minutes. I walked around the room answering questions and making sure the needs of the students were met. I got nervous just watching them working so intensely, but I prayed that God's word would be sinking into their hearts as they used it to take the exam. I will be grading them all day tomorrow!

I remember when I was in 9th grade my math teacher, Mrs. Lund, gave us each a jolly rancher on our desk and told us to eat it when we get stuck on the test. Ever since then I have used that reward system for myself on tests. Now I am passing it on to my students. I gave them each three hershey kisses, and I told them when they get done a section or get stuck they can eat one and suddenly they have a burst of energy. They were encouraged! I liked watching Chris unwrap one right in the middle of the exam; he sat back and ate it in three separate nibbles just to make it last!

Tonight Nate and I will be co-directing the high school and middle-school choirs. We are so excited and nervous! I'm sure you are mostly all sleeping at the moment on the other side of the world, so I won't ask you to pray because it will be over once you read this! We'll post pictures once we can. We pray that it will glorify God!

Carnival Day

Just last week was carnival day at school. This is a fun day when each class creates a booth of games or activities. Our 7th grade students created the idea of a "Pumpkin Dump." This is because the theme was "Fairy Land", so we voted and "Cinderella" won.

After planning and working hard as a class, the day for the dump finally came. The class voted on 8 people that they wanted to dump their hommemade slime onto. Guess who one of the lucky winners was?! Yup, I was the one who gave them the recipe for this nasty goo. They all lined up to throw bean bags at the target in the hole, and if they hit the target then my student, Paul, would dump slime on my head.

It was nasty, I tell you. After about five minutes I actually started feeling like I was being persecuted. I mean, I was shivering, dirty, slimy, and I couldn't open my eyes. Don't worry, it wasn't all that bad. Paul's mom was the one who took these pictures. Then she emailed me and said, "I'm so sorry what happened to you...here's some pictures!"

It was all for love. This was a really rewarding project for me, because for the first time I led the students exactly how I wanted to. I related to them in a cooperative way, I enabled them to let their ideas come true, I coordinated things so they would take ownership, and I watched them all work together in unity. The most rewarding thing was after all the preparations, on the day of the carnival it was the STUDENTS who organized and set up, it was the STUDENTS who kept track of the schedule and worked together, it was the STUDENTS who were spending more time at their booth (because they felt the ownership) and said "I think ours is the best!". And who do you think was the one to clean it all up? Unbelievable---again the STUDENTS! As a teacher this was a very rewarding project. Does dumping goo on the teacher's head have anything to do with the Bible? YES! I know they learned more about working together and serving in this carnival activity than in any other lesson we have had this year. Praise the Lord for the Pumpkin Dump!

Thanksgiving in December

Since we had a normal schedule on American Thanksgiving (school, classes, busy day), we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on December 1. That day is a national holiday in the Philippines called "Bonificio Day." We had no school, so it was a great day to make turkey and pie. Nate and I woke up early TOGETHER and BOTH made the turkey! We were going to buy a live one from the market, but we ended up breaking down to buy an imported one from America. Yummy!

We invited over one Canadian couple with their two kids, their sister (also Canadian), my Irish friend, Victoria, and a recently married American couple. What an international mix! We are all good friends, so we enjoyed a great time.

Because I wanted to keep up with our American traditions, I made pumpkin pie (from the canned pumpkin), apple pie (from canned apple pie mix), and the family-famous chocolate pie (using the only white marshmallows I could find and whipping cream imported from China!). Everyone was excited to enjoy such delightful treats.
We enjoyed the turkey (and all the leftovers). We enjoyed games and fellowship. Most of all we praised God for all his great blessings to us. Thank you, Lord!

Another Band Concert

Monday night was the second band concert. Nate trained the students well in raising their instruments and following him. Students arrived early to tune up. Boy did the band room seem jittery as students nervously warmed up their instruments.

First the beginning band performed. They sounded great! I wish I could show you the follow-up clip so you could compare the first note with this concert. What a difference. I was so proud of the students and of their conductor.

It was fun to hear several special ensembles play. One flute quartet was just lovely; another saxaphone trio and a trombone quartet added to the evening.

When it was all over they took a bow! Congratulations, students! We are proud of you. Praise the Lord for His provision for two bands and everything that comes with it. Now we get ready for the elementary Christmas program coming up soon!

Biblical Feast

We may not have had a thanksgiving feast, but this weekend we had a Biblical feast. A visiting professor from New Brunswick, Canada came to our seminary to give a one credit lecture on John 1-12. As a Bible teacher, constantly pouring out my knowledge, it was WONDERFUL to have this wise learned man pour out his knowledge to us.

I love theology and this man really gave it to us. I was praying for a month that God would give me thirst and hunger for His word. Now I have it and I want to keep feasting! We sat there soaking it in for 16 hours straight. I finally got to ask him my questions that I couldn't answer from my students. I was able to affirm that I am not teaching heresy, and I was filled to the brim with excitement to go to class and share with my students!

Today I got to class and I said, "Are you ready for this! I am going to give you a bite from every course I feasted on." They loved it and tracked with me in all my excitement. I most of all feel filled with love for Jesus and I feel like I have come to know Him more through this study of John than I have ever known Him, especially in his role in the Trinity.

Tonight is the Band concert; Nate is directing. Pray that we will be healthy and strong in this concert season and praise God for His grace in renewing us through His Word!

Brother Yun In the Philippines

After months of prayer what seemed impossible actually happened! "The Heavenly Man" Brother Yun of the church of China came and spoke to all our students at chapel this morning! He spoke in Chinese and was translated by a Northern European man.
I don't know why I was so nervous to see him, but it was fun that Nate and I were a part of coordinating his visit. Nate was even the one to introduce him. To have heard him speak Chinese and to see his body fully healed after being in prison four times, being persecuted and beaten, going without food and water for more than forty days, and having his face beat in and legs broken...wow, I was just amazed at the miracles God has done in his life.
He preached the gospel message and taught all the kids how to say "Jesus loves you" in Chinese. He told us his name is pronounced "Uh-n" with no Y sound. He told us he is named after Hebrews 12 and the cloud of witnesses of faith. He told us how his dad was healed and his whole family believed in Jesus. He told how Jesus appeared to him in his prison cell and told him to go out of the prison. He encouraged us to be faithful to God and to serve Him with our lives.

He tells the whole story in his book, "The Heavenly Man." You should read it! Nate and I read it while we were engaged and we never imagined we would meet him. We thought, "If he is ever near where we ever are we want to hear him speak!" Who knew that we could actually invite him to our school. Praise the Lord for his answers to prayer and for his encouragement through Brother Yun!

Thanksgiving

We have much to be thankful for today. We are thankful for our God first of all and for his salvation through Jesus. We are thankful for each other and the joy of being husband and wife. We are thankful for our families that they love us and support us. We are thankful for our friends and the love they also give.

We praise God for each one of you and thank Him that we have the hope that one day we will all meet again and share fellowship around a table. We hope you in America that are celebrating the holiday will have a wonderful day and that you will remember to thank our Great God for His many blessings. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever" (Psalm 136.1). Thank You, Lord!

Spirit Week #2

This week was spirit week at the high school. There was so much excitement after students' P.E. class that I could hardly start my Bible class. I decided to go with the flow and just get a photo of the craziness!

Each day there was a different theme, like "hair and face day" or "pirate day" or "mis-match day". I didn't participate since I work at both schools and also because it is hard to be taken seriously when I look like a pirate or have on a blonde wig.

The craziest thing was that the students raised money for local ministires by having various activities. The main attraction was that if they could raise 1000 Pesos in Miss Walsh's jar, she would have to eat balut! It was almost as crazy as the time last year when they raised money to make me eat a live fish!

You must know that BALUT is the infamous food of the Philippines. Everyone who is a newcomer gets asked, "Have you tried balut?" A guy rides a bike around the neighborhood and honks a horn selling the delicacy (enjoyed by the locals). Balut is...are you ready for this....a partially developed cooked duck egg. Inside you can see the bird forming and it is gross!

My good friend Miss Walsh gave the students their money's worth when she screamed and jumped and made all kinds of faces. I was just glad it wasn't me they were trying to feed balut to! Don't worry, in a few weeks is the carnival and my 7th graders are voting to get me dumped with goop. Stay tuned for more adventures in the Philippines....

A Day At Sea

I want to show you pictures from our day at sea last Saturday. Captain Larry took us on his yacht, which he and his wife sailed to the Philippines all the way from Washington state! He has quite the stories to tell and is joyful to be serving the Lord with his boat.
One of the reasons we went to sea was to get some water safety training. Since we live right on the bay and go to sea regularly it would be great to have this training. Being teachers gives us the chance to lead students and save lives! Here Nate gets training on how to work the boat.
We learned about the various lifejackets available, and how if you don't have one you can blow up baloons and put them in a garbage bag. We learned how to drag someone through the water and how to jump ship if we ever need to "abandon ship." You must keep your eyes to the shoreline and keep your legs straight holding your nose with one hand and lifejacket with the other hand.

It was fun to climb the mast and look out over the ocean. We also got to smell spices like Nutmeg and cinnamon, which the captain and his wife got from the spice islands! That is where the spices originated! I have a photo but it is not loading, so I better go. But thanks for journeying with us on a day at sea!

Recent Happenings

Hello from the Philippines!

We have some pictures to show you of this past week, but until we get those loaded we just wanted to tell you in brief what the recent happenings have been in the Becker lives.

#1--The High School went on Outdoor Education while Nate and I took a one week modular on Special Education.

#2--The high school returned and I realized how much I missed them! (More updates in an email on what God did later)

#3--November 1--No School--All Saint's Day. This is a Philippine holiday where the whole family camps out at the grave of the deceased relatives. It is like 4th of July, only at the cemetery!

#4--Day at Sea---We met up with some servants of the Lord who happen to own a yacht! It is a sailboat for the Lord. They are assisting our colleagues throughout the Pacific Asian Islands through the use of this boat. They took us to sea on it Saturday and taught us water safety and survival. We will show pictures later!

#5--We are preparing for the concerts coming up in three, four and five weeks. Be praying that we will stay healthy and strong and filled with the joy of the Lord!

That is a brief summary of some key happenings, but now it is time for our language lesson. Until next time!!

P.S. We sent out our Autumn newsletter in the U.S. mail so be looking for that--it is in a plain envelope so don't throw it away.