Wow! God is good. We have a four day weekend this week because of national holiday (not really sure what it is, but anyway...). I was invited, along with my friend Tina, to go to Telunes with three families from our school for the weekend. Telunes is a rustic get away, run sort of like a camp center. It is in Indonesia on a different island than I went to the last two weekends. First we took a 40 minute ferry ride to Batam. When we got to Batam, we got on a long fishing boat, and rode for another hour and a half to Telunes beach.

It is set up traditionally, with the buildings all on stilts over the ocean. There is a dining room, where there are tables set up, along with a hammock and a swing. Then, there is a board walk over the water to the rooms. They have dorms, as well as "deluxe" rooms. Tina and I shared a room, which was built right over the water. It had bunk beds, as well as a big bed, and a bathroom. Each "building" has four rooms that share a ceiling. The walls are tall enough you can't see over them, but they are open at the top, so you can hear what goes on in each room. We had some fun conversations through the walls!

All of the families we went with are missionary families. They were all living in the Philippines before moving to Singapore within the last couple of years. All together there were 9 kids, and even though they aren't related by blood, they have grown up together and are one big family. It was so great to get to spend the weekend with them. They are amazing kids! One afternoon at the beach, we found a lizard. Jonathon decided that he needed to pick it up (using my shoe of course) and share it around. The poor lizard was passed from kid to kid before he was finally released back into the grass where I'm sure he decided it was a good idea to lay low and hide out. We also had fun catching hermit crabs and making a "concentration camp" for them. Anna was the guard, and anytime a crab was about to escape, she thwarted its plan and kept it inside. We were entertained for a LONG time with this. The girls also put sticks in the camp, and the crabs climbed up the stick, and each other, hanging to the top. At one time, over 8 crabs were dangling from a twig. I took lots of pictures of this, but somehow about half of my pictures are missing, so I can't post them. :(

After our adventure with hermit crabs, we had church. It was amazing! The men pulled up logs from the shore line and made an outdoor chapel. Each of the men shared something about following Christ. It was a VERY interactive church service, which was very cool. The kids added a lot of insights, talking about the reasons it's so easy to follow other people, but the importance of following Christ. There was so much wisdom and understanding, I can't wait to see what God has planned for those guys! Anyway, there were also object lessons in the service. The kids followed "Uncle Doug" around the beach, pretending he was Jesus, doing what he did, going where he went. Before the service, the men had also drawn a line in the sand with a stick. The second time, they sent the kids out to follow the line, not a person. The third time, we all went, looking for yellow "flags" that were mounted on sticks. These flags were spread out in a way that you could only see one at a time. We all went as a group from flag to flag. When you reached one flag, you could see the next one. They had also placed flags of different colors, but the tide came in, and washed them away. The point of the object lesson was that God doesn't always show us his entire plan for our lives, but He does show us where he wants us to go with each step. The goal isn't to know where you're going, but to follow where He leads each day. The challenge is to each day ask God to show you the "yellow flag" of His will, and then to be willing to follow wherever that takes you! It was a great object lesson, and a good reminder that God's plan is always perfect. After church I spent the afternoon sleeping in a hammock on the beach. What a great way to spend a day of rest! In the evening, we played games, sang around the campfire, and just enjoyed each other's company. It is so nice being with a family! Each night they also pull up a net, that is in the water right under the deck outside the dining room. Last night when they pulled it up, there was a seahorse, squid, and shrimp. (May have been more, but that's what they saved to show us.) It was pretty cool to see them up close...some of the kids, and Tina, touched them, but I decided just to take pictures.

This morning I woke up long enough to see the sunrise over the ocean out my window, before going back to bed, and sleeping until breakfast. After breakfast I got to try out my Bahasa talking with one of the ladies that words there. I couldn't say much, but it was so fun to see her face light up when I greeted her in Bahasa, and asked her a few simple questions. After breakfast we played volleyball on the beach until it was time to head back. I wasn't really ready to face the city again, but time was up, so we headed back to Singapore.

I sat towards the front of the boat this time, and got SOAKED. The people in the very front somehow managed to stay dry! God is so good. He knew that I needed a chance to get away from all the people and noise that are Singapore. But in His goodness, He not only allowed me to get away, but allowed me to be surrounded by people who love him, people who I rode to Indonesia with as strangers, and came back with as friends.