Enter Wind

Here in Southeast Asia there is a sickness named “Masuk Angin”, literally translated “Enter Wind”. Many people have different understandings of it, but the basic principle is that wind enters the body and causes what we might refer to as gas or a cold. One can get Masuk Angin a variety of ways including riding a motorbike without a jacket on, sitting on a cold tile floor, or having a fan blow directly on you. The remedy for Masuk Angin is to have someone take a coin and harshly scrape your back until blood bubbles just below the surface of the skin so that the air can exit the body. They also have an herbal drink that is supposed to help rid of the air (it doesn’t taste too good, they gave it to us after a race once).

When I first heard about this I thought for sure it was an urban legend, but it rings true for people who live here. To Westerners it sounds bizzare, and most Westerners here agree that while the sickness itself is real, the manner in which we get it may not quite be wind entering the body. I have learned that when living cross culturally, questioning assumptions can be healthy but blatantly pointing out what we think is wrong about another’s culture makes no progress.

This morning after devotions with the University students I live with I mentioned that my stomach was a little uneasy. “Oh!” they cried, “Masuk Angin!” I generally avert this kind of situation by saying Westerners can’t get Masuk Angin, and despite their possible suspicion, the conversation is left at that. Today, however, my students were inquisitive. “What?” they said, “You’ve never had Masuk Angin??” I smiled. I knew I was in a trap. How could I inoffensively tell them that I didn’t believe in this illness? One of the other Westerners who live in this house chucked in the corner. He knew I was in a trap too. I gently explained that I had never had Masuk Angin. They asked my other Western friend and he too claimed he had never had Masuk Angin. Shock overwhelmed their faces. They’ve seen a lot of strange things from us Westerners before: peanutbutter and bananas, carrot juice, sugarless coffee, but this was a new one.

We cautiously explained that we believe gas comes from perhaps something we ate. We continued in saying that we sleep with fans blowing directly on our faces every single night, and that we often have no qualms about sitting on a cold tile floor. They smiled. We smiled.

In other news, tonight I was explaining that I don’t drink coffee at night because the caffeine keeps me from sleeping (they don’t have decaf here), and they said, “Masashi!” which means, “I don’t believe that!”.

Just another day living life across cultures.

The Nit-Grit: Smiles and Sweat

What’s in this edition:

site visits

This month I have had the opportunity of taking several visits to schools and other sites our organization works to support. It was great to spend some time with our national workers, both encouraging them and also learning from what they are doing. One highlight was visiting one of our schools that is just three years old. I was encouraged to see the energy and ambition of our national partners, as they fearlessly led this elementary school with creative teaching style and revolutionary learning techniques. I am excited for the future of this school as it continues to grow. I had the privilege of teaching 1st and 2nd grade while I was there. See the photo album here.

I also had the joy of bringing my grade 9 Bible class on a short term service trip (read about it in my post “Just Jump”). After focusing a lot on community development and leadership this year in class, it was a joy to see them translate what they had learned into practical application. They taught classes, prayer walked, and picked up trash among this tiny village up in the mountains. See the photo album here.

 

s-village

Please pray for S-Village. If you haven’t kept up with the developments of S-village, you can read the first update here and the second update here. There has been an incredible amount of spiritual warfare in this village. We have sent a national teacher from our school, but there is a lot of conflict between a majority religion teacher there and the village chiefs. The village chiefs want education, but coming out of their animistic beliefs, they are not sure which religion to follow. Please keep them in your prayers.

teacher training program

I am beyond excited to be a part of the building of our new teacher training program. This will be my focus over the next year as I not only live with our teachers in training but will also be involved in the creating of the program as a whole.

Quality teachers are the foundational element to effective Christian Education. Right now I work with a “Lab school”, that is a school we hope to model other schools after that provide quality, creative, Christian education to nationals. This year we have started a Teacher Training Program to equip teachers to train in these schools. This last year, we brought four students in from another area and enrolled them in a local University. The students went to class in the evenings and then attended specialized training given by us at our Lab School. We pay for these students to study for four years and live in our dorm (which I currently live in as well) and then they commit to teaching for four years in one of our schools (we have about 25 schools in different parts of the country). This past year was the pilot year, and I am excited to be a part of the program as we grow it into its second year next year. I am looking forward to receiving five new students next year from a different remote area.

We took the four students from this year on a field trip to celebrate them finishing exams. See the photo album here.

language learning

Thank you SO much for your prayers concerning my language learning. I had reduced my official language classes to 2/week in March, and as of last week I have finished classes altogether.  I anticipate language will be something that I will continue to learn throughout the entirety of my time here, but I am encouraged to move beyond the classroom and continue to learn from the nationals I live with and the people around me. Please continue to pray that my comprehension would increase, that I might better be able to understand those around me. That being said, while this journey of language learning has been difficult, I have had some recent breakthroughs that have been very encouraging.

this summer

I am very excited as I look ahead into the next several months. Next week I will be traveling with some of my ninth graders on a short trip to celebrate their graduation, as well as returning to the 3-year-old school I described above for their graduation. I am looking forward to spending that time with my students and continuing to deepen my relationship with them. We will also be receiving five new students into the dorm I live in (as described above).

We will also be hosting several short term teams from the US. In July, I will be doing some teacher training at our school on “Strategies for using the Internet for Resourceful and Creative Teaching”. My emphasis will be on TedEd and Skype in the Classroom, and I am really excited about the possibilities both of these options have for enhancing our creative teaching here in Southeast Asia.

In August I will be taking a trip to a site out in the “Jungle”. Just today I met with some phenomenal, innovative teachers from that same area who have a passion for providing education to their next generation of leaders. I look forward to visiting the school we already have there, as well as meeting with some other people who I hope to encourage in their endeavors to develop Christian education.

prayer requests

Here are the major prayer requests, visit my prayer & praise page to read more:

  • For S-Village (see above)
  • For the short term teams coming this summer, that God would prepare their hearts and ours, and that God would open doors for their maximal effectivity
  • For the 5 new students in our teacher training program, as well as the 4 returning students
  • That God would continue to guide us in developing our teacher training program
  • That God would continue to awaken dreams in the hearts of our students who are graduating this year
  • For our grade 12 graduates as they continue on to University
  • For safety and guidance as I continue site visits

Thanks so much for your prayer, support, and interest in all that God is doing here. It’s so exciting to be a part of, and I am so grateful that you are a part of it with me!