High School Retreat

A couple weekends ago I joined some of our youth group staff and 60 of our high school students on the annual high school retreat. We rented a couple of large villas in the mountain town above Bandung. All the girls piled into one villa and all the guys were in the other. We enjoyed a great weekend full of fun and laughter as well as solid teaching and time for quiet reflection. The theme was "Taste and See that the Lord is Good" and focused on spiritual disciplines. We set aside time throughout the weekend to let the students practice some of the different disciplines and absorb what they had been learning.

I wanted to share with you just a few reasons why the retreat was so great. Enjoy!

1. A great location:

The larger of the two villas where the guys slept and we had our meetings.
The villas were huge and really nice!

A beautiful sunset one night we were there

2. Cozy sleeping quarters:

All the girls slept in this large open room on the third floor of their villa

The guys piled in and got comfy

On the last night a bunch of the guys decided to sleep outside

3. Fun games:

Human sewing- the string had to go through everyones
clothes and then they had to run to the finish line during a relay race

Playing mafia until late one night

4. A wonderful speaker:

Our speaker for the weekend with his cute daughter,
who joined us along with his wife and son

Our meeting room filled with students during one of the sessions

5. Amazing students:

Some of the girls trying to stay warm :)

A few of the guys hanging out during dinner

Being crazy :)

The seniors

It's a small, small world... and some birthday fun

I have had many moments since I've been here of realizing it's a small, small world. I had one a couple months ago when I met an old friend here in Bandung.

Andrea and I went to Sunday school together at Lake Ave Church until about 5th grade. I remember being in the same small group with her in 5th grade at church. I don't think I had seen her since then. Last spring I saw someone at the international church here that looked really familiar. I couldn't really place why she looked familiar or where I might know her from, so I just brushed it off. It wasn't until about November of this year that it all clicked. My long lost friend, Andrea, from sunday school so long ago is here living in Bandung. What are the chances! Both of us, for different reasons, under difference circumstances, find ourselves living in the same city on the other side of the globe from where we first met. Crazy... let me say it again- it's a small, small world.

Andrea and I chat at my birthday dinner

Over a month ago now, we went out to dinner to celebrate my 24th birthday. I had heard about a new restaurant that served Mediterranean food so we decided to check it out. We sat on the floor around a low table in a brightly painted room. We enjoyed trying Indonesians version of some Mediterranean favorites like hummus, tabbouleh, baba ganosh, and pita bread.

It was fun to be surrounded by friends and laughter for my birthday celebration. I feel excited about the year to come and all that it holds. Here are a few photos of our dinner:

Us gathered around the table

Me excited to try the food

A new tradition has become giving the birthday girl some random surprises...

like this candy called Nano-Nano (a special flavor of sweet, sour, and spicy)...
I think they were making fun of my new Nano ipod

Group shot

Then on to a different spot for dessert.
We went to a restaurant up the mountain a ways where you could see the view of the city lights.

Taman Safari Trip

My days have been filled lately with the routine and busyness of school. Teaching takes up a lot of my time and energy. But when we get a day off and have a long weekend it is so fun to step out of the routine and get out of town for a few days. A couple weekends ago that's what we did.

We had Monday off for Chinese New Year so my roommates and I and a new family that has just joined our staff went to a friends cabin a couple hours away. We enjoyed some cooler weather, relaxing mornings, and time at a local animal park called Taman Safari. Taman Safari is like a drive through zoo where a lot of the animals come right up to your car if you feed them. We bought some carrots on our way in and were amazing at how brave the animals were to come right up and stick their heads in the car. I took tons of pictures which can be viewed on my latest Picasa Web Album. Click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/clauson.emily/TamanSafari








It feels like all I've been posting on here lately is pictures of the last trip we took. I need to sit down and write something... but just haven't had time. Hopefully soon! I promise!