so there's this thing that some people do on their blogs. it's called 7 quick takes. and it's basically seven vervak snapshots of their week. like an overview without lingering too long on one thing. or it can be a place to share little things that were semi-important/memorable/funny, but weren't otherwise significant enough to earn an entire post. and i've thought about doing it before just to jump on the bandwagon. but i talk about pretty much everything during the week. eventful happenings, random school quotes, good times, bad times, etc. i don't really leave anything for a seven quick takes post.
but i had this thought... what if i used this idea but added my own twist to it? and i like where the idea went. so my new goal is that every weekend, i will be writing a "seven quick takes" post on my week, but it will be seven testimonies about my week. usually in church or at bible study or solafide fellowship, we have a time to share testimonies. and it is like pulling teeth to get people to share. sometimes i can think of something small that God has done, but it often seems too insignificant to share with the group. and more often than not, i struggle to think of anything to share at all! but i know that God IS working good in my life. i sense His presence on a near constant basis, and i see His beauty all around me. and i'm realizing that i need to be more proactive about consciously acknowledging the good that God is doing in my life and sharing that with others. maybe it can somehow encourage someone else. but on a more basic level, i just want to be more intentional about looking back on my week and SEEING what God has done for me.
so without further ado, my first ever seven quick takes.
1. i had an opportunity to share with some friends here about getting to share my testimony in sumatra. and i never really thought about how getting to share my testimony THERE would become a testimony HERE. it's been really neat to see how He has used that.
2. pretty much every time i drive anywhere, i am reminded of God's protection over me. i have had more than a few close shaves with crazy bus drivers lately.
3. i've talked before about charles and marie's youngest baby, kaleb, right? well, they can't legally adopt him, but last week, they were put in contact with a family who can. the husband and wife came to salatiga on thursday of this week to get him and they flew back with him this morning. it was emotional all around this weekend as we said goodbye (or avoided having to say goodbye), but he is in an awesome home with two Godly parents who already love him. i'll miss my laughing baby tons, but charles and marie feel very strongly that this is God's will for little kaleb's life, and that makes it a whole lot easier.
4. i spent about 4 hours yesterday at a local coffeeshop hanging out with some seniors from our school. and we had some really good talks. all of them come from missionary homes, and all of them are at an age where they are seriously questioning the beliefs of their parents and wrestling with how to make their parents' faith their own. it made me realize that just 5 years ago, i had a lot of these same questions. and it also made me realize that now, 5 years later, i have a lot of the answers. not that i know all there is go know about God, obviously, but He has revealed a lot about Himself to me over the last 5 years. and every hard question those seniors asked me, i could answer with "THIS is who God is and THIS is what He has shown me in my life." and i honestly think that a lot of that has come about in just the last year and a half of living here... because before i came here, i really don't think i could have answered a lot of those questions. also, i don't get to have conversations like that very often around here. i did at college, but it's been a couple years. it was just a real blessing to be able to have a deep conversation with fellow believers, even if they are all 18 :) those talks also got me excited about the NEXT 5 years of my life. if i've learned this much about God in the last few years, how much MORE will i get to know him in the next few?!
5. i found a home for my two kittens. but then my neighbors protested and said i couldn't give them away because they had bonded with them. so i guess their home is here. and now cat has had more babies. about 19 from the looks of her a week ago. i still haven't seen the babies. she is hiding them. but i already have homes for some of them. trying to find homes for cats here is like trying to find homes for cats in indiana. you can't PAY people enough to take them. they usually end up getting dumped in the rice fields to eat snakes and rats. so knowing that at least some of them have a home is a blessing. also, i got the number of a vet here in town who fixes cats (not too common), AND she does house calls to get the animal! so now i don't have to worry about how to carry three frightened cats on a motorbike through town. now i just need to figure out how to schedule an appointment over the phone to get 3 cats fixed - in indonesian.
6. i got a box from home in the mail. that is ALWAYS a blessing. :)
7. last night i was invited to a 10th grade surprise party for one of the girls in the class. i protested at first, saying it would be weird to have a teacher there, but the kids insisted that i'm not just a teacher, i'm a part of their class and hyeji (the bithday girl) would want me there. so me and a dozen 10th graders snuck into her house at 11 o'clock last night, huddled outside her closed bedroom door, then BURST into a lovely rendition of "happy birthday". then we went outside and wandered the streets of salatiga until about 1 in the morning. my students always make me feel so loved and appreciated... they are the best thing about my job, hands down. and knowing that i am able to have that relationship with them makes me feel like i am making a difference here. and i thank God for them all the time!
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