First Birthday Pressure

Hi, my name is Amber. I live in a country that celebrates with a HUGE party the first year of life. Restaurants are rented out, sound systems are set up, cakes are made, goodie bags are given, families go all. out. Presents are given to the guests.

Hi, my name is Amber. I am from a country that celebrates life with small get togethers with close friends and family. Presents are given to the birthday boy/girl. We have cake, we sing a song, and the kids play. You can find everything you need at Walmart.

So here I am. The Amber who lives next door to people who call out to Kate every afternoon to play. The Amber who wants to show them I care about them by including them in my life. But I find I'm also the Amber who doesn't know how to throw a big party for a one year old, who won't remember it but I'm sure will enjoy the photos. I'm the Amber who wants things to be easy and with little or no hassle or effort.

It's hard to believe that Baby Kate will be a year old next weekend. It all seems like it was yesterday, but then when I think of yesterday I never thought I'd get to today- not sure if that makes sense. Some days went by so quickly, other days (and some nights) dragged on for what seemed like eternity. She's a sweet girl. She is constantly laughing, exploring, and what blesses my heart to no end is the way she'll reach out to a light skinned Indonesian or a dark skinned Papuan. That makes my heart overflow with joy to the point where it wells up and starts to spill out of my eyes! She doesn't see color or differences, she sees people and she loves them. She doesn't judge them. Who knew how a hard faced person could crack a huge smile because of the love of a small girl. It's beautiful.

So we'll celebrate. We'll celebrate who God is creating Kate to be, how He has formed her and shaped her since before we knew her, and we'll celebrate with friends, family (from far away), and neighbors. Will it look like either culture expects? Probably not. Am I okay with that? Yes. I'm cutting myself some slack here. The pressure I'm feeling to be that creative mommy who can post ridiculous photos to pinterest to spark creativity in someone else- I just need to accept the reality that that illusion isn't me, and most likely never will be me.

I need to be free to love Josh, Kate, and those around me in a way that I'm capable of doing, not living beneath the burden that this world or culture expects of me.

Pictures to come later of this celebration of 1 year.

Literacy Day

In September Papua joined in celebrating International Literacy Day.

In an article entitled "Economic and social indicators in West Papua", Jim Elmslie said this about the literacy rate in Papua: "Literacy is also very poor – the worst in Indonesia. In the 15-44 years age group Papua province had an illiteracy rate of 34.83% in 2011, the latest figures available. This is against a national average of just 2.30%. The next worst province was Sulawesi Barat which had an illiteracy rate of 6.49%. The 15 plus years age group fared no better; again the worst in the nation by a huge margin which is still growing: in 2003 the illiteracy rate was 25.54 but by 2011 it had leapt up to 35.92%. This clearly indicates that the Indonesian educational system is failing the West Papuans. Without education and basic literacy individuals are doomed to entrenched poverty."

Some women that I have high respect for led the way in planning and preparing for the big day. It was an interesting way things unfolded. Their previous location was unavailable and the celebration was relocated to a local field. This field is a memorial to a Papuan who was a proponent for Papuan independence. In the afternoons this field is used for local soccer teams to practice.

After a week of rain, and much prayers, God blessed us with no rain for the day of the festival. The local military donated tents and chairs and tables were set up as well. Local ministries set up booths to promote the work they are apart of. Young children enjoyed crafts and games that taught them letters and numbers. Adults enjoyed the challenge of tangrams ( What is a Tangram? ).

Josh, Kate, and I met during a lunch hour to stroll through the celebration. We didn't stay long, due to the heat and feeding a hungry little one. We saw people with smiles on their faces. Free books were being distributed. Translated versions of portions of the New Testament were being loaded to cell phones, allowing access to the Bible wherever they are! Local women were selling their handmade goods. It was encouraging to see people having fun while learning about literacy.

Dusting Off the Keyboard

Wow it's been a while since I last posted. I'm going to confess the reason why, so I can stop carrying around the load of guilt that I'm not doing enough to communicate with you about life in Papua. In March I enrolled in an online Master's Program through the University of Texas at Arlington. The degree is in Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics. The program lasts about a year and a half. I take one class at a time. Each class lasts five weeks. So for five weeks I study during nap times and after bedtimes (both Kate's and Josh's). It's hard work, but I have an incredibly supportive husband and baby. Kate some how knows when Momma needs extra time to work on an assignment and the Lord blesses her (and me) with a longer nap time. My prayer for this course has been that any time I have to work on assignments or readings things would get done, even if it's only something small- that all my time would be productive. This program has also helped in my transition from being in the classroom to being at home. I catch myself dreaming of the day when I'll have this "free time" after I've finished the course. I've just finished a class and am 1/3 of the way through the program!

So, there, it's been said. Now when I don't post for a month we all know why, and I will give myself permission to be free of guilt! :)

In saying that I'm going to try to make it up to you by posting a few things over the following week to fill you in on what's been happening here this past month! :)