My New Home

It’s been a week! One week since I left America and flew across the big blue sea, although most days it feels like much longer. Our (the girl’s) house is small, but I’m growing to love it. It has white tiles and white walls. It doesn’t have modern plumbing…instead of showers we take a mandi, which is simply dumping buckets of water over you, and instead of a toilet we have a squatty potty. It’s amusing and interesting and difficult. Yesterday, we finally got dressers and started unpacking our bags, and with doing that, came the realization that this is it. This is our life for the next bit. And with that realization came some questioning of my sanity. But Daddy reassured me that I am where I am supposed to be. I am ready to be here. I’m ready to learn what my Father wants to teach me and I’m ready to step out of my comfort zone. I’m also ready for the experience of a lifetime.
Life here is beautiful. I’ve only seen the ocean twice since I’ve been here, but it is very close and such a gorgeous shade of blue, even next to this industrial island. Houses and buildings are, as a general rule, much more colorful then homes back in the states.  Traffic is, of course, crazy. We do not have our own motorcycles, so we have to get around by using carries (15 passenger vans/buses), taxis, or ojeks (motorcycle taxis). We are already able to barter for and ride on these on our own, which makes life easier. Between the girls house, the guy house, the leaders house, and another M’s house, we do a lot of back and forth travel.
We will not start language school for another week and I will be so glad when we do. Right now, we are just doing orientation and learning the island as well as a few things, like how to count and how to barter. Sembilan (nine) and sepuluh (ten) are really difficult to keep straight and remind me of when I was young and always mixed up 11 and 12 haha.
It is humbling to live in a place where you don’t speak the language. You feel like a child all over again and sometimes the frustration builds up until I want to get angry at the people who do understand me, like my team. But I continue to return to the feet of my Daddy and ask Him to refine my character through this time. I know that He has much that He wants to teach me and grow in me. Please be bringing me before the Father, that I let Him have His way.
That is all for now, I’ll try to send out updates regularly. Let me know how I’m doing with them…if there’s too many or too few. I love you all!
Peace and grace, Hannah