Assignment

People ask us all the time exactly where in Indonesia we'll be serving. And our response is always the same - "we don't know!" We do know we're going to the island of Java first, to a town called Salatiga for language study. But after that, we weren't sure. MAF has three programs on three different islands in Indonesia - Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua. Because our actual arrival on any island is still a long way off, it's taken some time to really nail down where we'll be headed after language school.

It's been a process of growth for me, the waiting to know where we're headed. We researched all the possibilities of where we might go and we have friends on every island that we'd be thrilled to serve with. I'm a "got-to-know-now-so-I-can-plan" sort of person so these past several months have been a long lesson in patience for me. I can honestly say, that although I was anxious to know where we were going, I did come to a place where not knowing was okay. Each day was a chance to say "I trust you, Lord, to put us in the place we need to be." I was also truly able to say that I would be pleased with any assignment. If you don't know me really well, you probably don't realize what a huge deal that is - for once, I didn't need to be in complete control! :-) It seemed like I'd have spells where the waiting was almost more than I could bear, but God, in His Sovereign Grace, calmed me back down and helped me practice some patience.

Well, the waiting is over! This morning we got an email from the Indonesia Regional Director. Our assignment in Indonesia is....drum-roll please...KALIMANTAN!
That probably doesn't mean much to you if you aren't already serving there or at least with MAF, but you can bet I'll be educating you on this province of Indonesia that is situated on the island of Borneo!

Whew! I'm in a bit of a state of shock. I never, ever, ever, ever would have imagined that we'd be headed to Kalimantan. Never. Imagined. It. Once. In fact, even when we were assigned to Indonesia, I was pretty certain we wouldn't actually go to Kalimantan of all places! So much for thinking I know what God is up to. This is just crazy. God is so amazing....

Here are a couple of photos from MAF's photo archives that give you an idea of what Kalimantan looks like. Jungle. Heat. Humidity. A little terrain. Lots of water. Orangutans. And many very isolated people that God loves....