AcehIsNotASneeze

Real Faith

As I sit here in the Tokyo airport awaiting my final flight back to Dallas, it's very difficult to find words for the last 2 weeks.  However, since this is a blog and words are the centerpiece, I'd better find some.. and while I'm thinking about it, next time you see JD ask him about the banana leaf ....

If you'll notice, I stuck around in Indonesia a bit longer than the other "bule's".  A combination of a shortage of funds to change my ticket & the rampant curiosity of what cool story Bill O'Brien would tell next - (I'm telling you, the guy's been there and done that!)- kept me in country a bit longer.  These extra couple days produced some exhausting & exhilarating moments.

If you would have told me that in the span of the last 72 hours I would have ridden two airplanes I could barely fit in (aka tiny matchbox toy airplanes), landed and took off from a gravel runway, slept underneath mosquito nets, took a bath by throwing cold water over me (and liked it... :) ), watched the most beautiful sunset in the history of sunsets, perused a rubber tree nursery, ridden a hydrofoil, stood on the clearest edge of Ocean I'd ever seen, and tossed caution to the wind by singing praise songs with a crew of Indonesians in a Safari-like hut while the Imam hollers out the call to prayer (can you guess who was louder?) - well, I'd have said your crazy, but that's exactly what happened.

After the team left on Sunday, Bill and I prepared for a couple days in the "Indonesian Outback" -actually a small village about an hour flight from Banda Aceh - where a team of individuals has been for the past 2 years doing everything from agriculture projects to simple networking in a constant goal of community development in a place devastated by the Tsunami.  I'm amazed at the sacrifice - yet the ever present joy that flows from this place.  This team is working with the local leader on continual expansion of a community center and the programs for children and adults offered therein; they are working with local farmers to start a nursery for rubber trees, papayas, mango's, & cocoa; they are providing support for the community in leadership and business development, and above all - they love these people with a love that could only come from above.  One evening we sat on the front porch of the hut we were staying in, had dinner; and followed that up by a wonderful time of impromptu praise songs with the 10 workers.  The time down the coast was incredible, and yet another reminder of how HE moves!

So it's difficult to encapsulate my time in Aceh.  I will say that I'm amazed how blind we are here in the US.  I really do believe that we WANT to live by faith, but until you see this place... see it in action... see the ministers here and what they have to do to simply live, work, worship & minister.... only then do you see real faith; and only then do you realize how far we still have to go as a culture to attain it.  Sure, God is with us, but we don't REALLY have to rely on him in a society that is free, open & easy. 

I'm so glad I'm an American; we are so very blessed and I wouldn't trade that for anything, but let's start making that more than a cliche..... let's start living like it. 

Adam

Adios, Banda Aceh

Well, here we are at the Banda Aceh airport, waiting to take off after an emotion-packed and often exhausting week. This same building that seemed so foreign and strange just a week ago now seems somehow pretty normal to us.

We wrapped up our visit with a few more moving experiences. On Saturday, we had a chance to spend some time showing the volunteers here how much we appreciate them. These are people who spend endless and usually thankless hours working to help their fellow Indonesians recover from the catastrophes and civil war that have wracked the area for decades. We felt fortunate just having a chance to spend time with them and tell them how important their work is.

Earlier in the day, our team helped put on a couple interesting soccer exhibitions. First came the real soccer, with a club  team that was involved in the clinic taking on the street kids whom we've come so close to. In a shocking upset, the street boys rolled to a 5-0 victory. The boys wanted Rusty to play a half with them, and he responded by making Preston Trail history and becoming the first person from there to score a goal in Indonesia.

The next exhibition had all the makings of a major setback for all of American soccer. All us foreigners on the bule team were scheduled for a short match against coaches in the clinic. The key difference between our teams -- other than the fact we were short a few people -- was that they all knew how to play soccer. (We filled our roster out with a bunch of basketball types.) And yet somehow, despite Rusty, J.D., Tysha and Adam being the only ones who really knew how to kick the ball, Team Bule pulled off a 2-0 upset. More importantly, the rest of us who kicked at nothing in particular or sort of stood around weren't embarrassed TOO much.

We capped the night by drinking entirely too much Indonesian coffee. Unable to sleep, John, Adam, Rusty and Chris retired to the back veranda for some caffeine-induced hilarity. The hilarity itself came to a hilarious end when some suddenly aggressive bats decided they would attack our position. One splatted into a nearby window, then others began strafing us. We bolted into the house, then giggled uncontrollably when John started flailing his hands as if a bat were in his hair. (Never mind he has no hair.) Then Chris shouted, "Lock the door," apparently fearing that blood-sucking Indonesian bats also had the power to smash down a door.    

Sunday was the opening ceremony for the full soccer tournament, and all of us attended except for Tysha, who was spending quality time with various medications and in various bathrooms. (She's much better as we prepare for the flight, and all in all we've been lucky when it comes to illness and other tropical junk.)  A city soccer official attended the tournament and was apparently quite impressed with things; the mayor was, too, but he was delayed at the airport and missed it. He did track us down and show up where we were eating lunch, just to meet us. It was pretty neat.

So now, just one short week after figuring out how Indonesian toilets work, it's  back to the U.S.A. As rewarding and fun as it's been, we're ready to come home.

See you soon (relatively).

John and Treci

What A Day!

Simply put, there are no words that can describe this experience or this day but I will do my best to share some of my thoughts from today’s activities. It is Thursday evening in Aceh and as usual we are all exhausted both physically and emotionally yet we are anxious to start another day tomorrow.   I have been primarily working with the coaches and kids basketball clinic which has been a great joy and pleasure. I have met so many wonderfully genuine people.  I will tell you more about "bola basket" (Basketball) a little later.

Today was an overwhelming day!!!   Today we spent the day at the beach with our adopted soccer team.  We piled 30 kids and 10 adults into the back of a truck and a van and we were off to the beach.  These are very special kids, many of whom are orphans.  One special friend rode in the front seat with me and sat on my lap.  We had a fun ride and did a lot of laughing. I found out that he is very ticklish.  At one point he told some of the others in the van that I was his father. What a powerful moment.  When we arrived at the beach we taught the kids how to play catch with a football.  They picked up on it very quickly.  We must have thrown well over a hundred passes today. After working up a good sweat, which isn’t hard to do here, the water looked very inviting to most of us but not everyone. You see there is still some reluctance among some of the kids to enter the water because of the tsunami.  There is an expression here that means “becoming friends with the ocean again”. Well, it wasn’t too long before most or all of the kids were in the water and we began playing in the waves and throwing the kids into the waves. We were all having a blast and we repeatedly heard them say “one more time” and so we tossed until we could toss no more.

Sadly it was time to leave so we could be back in time for the big basketball game. Team Bule (The cultural term for white people) vs. Aceh Coaches. I will never forget the smile on their faces enjoying some simple pleasures and the attention and companionship of an adult.

We made it back just in time for the big game. Today was the opening ceremony for the basketball tournament that included the coaches and players that we have been working with all week. We had the honor to play in an exhibition game. This was a full 40-minute regulation game and we had a blast. There were well over one hundred Acehnese fans cheering team Bule on, but I must tell you that we came up short and lost the game.  Although we lost the game we experienced victory in so many ways. We congratulated the other team and exchanged hugs with the other men that we have become friends with over the week.

It is late and I am very tired yet I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings as it seems that somehow each day gets better than the last.

Frank

Giving Thanks.

Yesterday. Man what a day.  I cannot begin to describe the emotions that were felt from not only our teams but the teams that we are helping.  At the morning soccer session, I was able to help Rusty not only set up the field but to also lead the soccer team in dynamic warm-up. It was wonderful to see the boys eager to start, and even some of the coaches came up to me and said that they wanted to have me do more with the team that is coming today. Toward the end of the morning session, I was helping Rusty explain a drill to one coach, pointing out how everyone needed to shift together on defense.  The coach then started asking me about strategy.  I was amazed that he even asked me and started drawing what his team does in the dirt. Most of the time a man wouldn't ask a woman for this type of advice in a Muslim society. To have some of them ask me for advice, I was floored -- as was  Rusty.

Now to the big part of the day.  In the evening, Rusty and I went to help some of the street kids and to watch their practice.  It was so organized and the coach (who has been at the clinic all week) started to teach the kids some of what we did from the morning. They were great and ate it up. They were so eager to be out there doing everything.  After the practice, Rusty talked to the team about how important it was to take care of their bodies and to be accountable to the team and to themselves by making wise decisions. Rusty and I had stopped by and picked up the uniforms and bags that we had brought over for these teams and were ready to hand them over to the sponsor of the team/soccer club as a way to encourage the boys and to show that they are indeed a part of the sports community. They were floored. The sponsor will keep these uniforms at the main house and hand them out each week before games. For their hard work, I was able to give them shoe bags to put all of their stuff in for practice. They couldn't believe that they were getting these.  Some of them were carrying their stuff in plastic bags. Each said thank you after receiving the bags, but there were a few who came up to me afterward and shook my hand and said, "Thank you, sister."  They called me sister.  They asked my name.  I was so touched. It was everything to keep from letting the tears roll down my face.  I could only thank them for letting me be there. Before we left, the coach invited us to pray with the team in silence. Afterward the kids couldn't stop thanking us.  For us, it was "no, thank you for letting us be there".

So now it was time to stop by the sponsor's house to drop of all of the uniforms, as well as athletic training supplies we brought over.  For some of these kids it is hard to keep a cut or scrape clean because they are always outside playing.  But now they have supplies that I use every day when working with athletes, so hopefully they can keep these injuries from getting infected. The sponsors were so grateful for the equipment and supplies. For me, I am thankful for each day that I get to help others not only continue to compete in athletics but to also see the smile on their faces when they see that people do care about what happens in their lives.

Tysha

Comfort Re-zoning through soccer

What a day it has been! The clinics for basketball and soccer are under way and while the week is so fresh we are already seeing the benefits that are springing forth. We arrived at the soccer stadium to find 15 eager coaches ready to learn. The coaches from Aceh ranged from association coaches to high school coaches and all points in between. We had a great translator named Adolf who did a fantastic job relaying my powerpoint and philosophies and helped the coaches understand my thoughts and feelings. Our friend's team of local street kids showed up to allow us to train them, and the coaches congregated around the field to watch how we set up the session. The kids were so nice and polite and worked very hard to please the coaches. We finished with a question and answer session so the coaches could clean up any loose ends, and they asked for certain things to be taught this week. It was great to see we had their attention and that they were so eager to learn. When we finished, one of the local high school coaches asked us to visit his team in the afternoon so he could introduce his players to us. His team will be used as a "laboratory" to demonstrate the skills that were presented to the coaches. He is very honored to be involved!

Following the morning session, we joined the young street kids in a wonderful experience as I and three other team members divided up and played a full field game. The game was played on a field (and I use the term loosely) located next to an area decimated by the tsunami. The field has been released to the street team on the condition that they maintain and clean it. To say it was a Nike or Adidas commercial is not far from the truth. We felt like we were involved in a World Cup commercial and it was so overwhelming watching the game be played by true lovers of the sport. The kids loved playing in colored bibs and using the new balls. They didn't want to get the balls dirty...quite a task since there is not one blade of grass on the field! I assure you we were the ones who took home more than the kids. As we left, we were begged to come back and it was so great to see them smile and wave as we left vowing to return. They are also so excited that we are renting a van to take them all to the field Thursday for their training session. Beach soccer! How cool is that!?!? Stay tuned from the world of soccer!

Rusty

Hoop it up

Today was incredible.  It began with a "Coach the Coaches'" clinic in the morning hours.  There were 15 coaches from all over the province of Aceh.  In fact there was one coach who drove on a scooter 6 hours to hear our presentation.  We were also honored to have the National Director of Basketball for the province of Aceh in attendance.  I feel like the coaches got a great deal out of the clinic.  It is amazing how low their fundamental knowledge of the game is.  Basic drills that most young boys and girls who play basketball in the U.S. learn at the age of six, these coaches have never learned.  They were so receptive and respectful.  We had a great time sharing with the coaches.

The afternoon consisted of coaching the teams of the Panglima Polim Basketball Club in Banda Aceh.  We were expecting 15 kids and no spectators.  The reality was that 50 kids and about 50 to 60 spectators attended the first clinic time from 4:30 to 6:00.  We tried to stick to the fundamentals, and the kids were just as receptive as the coaches.  The coaches of the Panglima team served as our translators and were extremely helpful.  I was very surprised at how advanced some of the players were.  There were two or three players that would be very competitive players at some of the elite high schools in the states. 

Finally comes the highlight of the day.  Our evening session was on probably the worst court I have ever played.  There were holes, cracks in the concrete, trash everywhere, and the court was half-lit at best.  WHO CARES?!!!!!!  It was AWESOME!!!  We went through a couple of shooting drills and a secondary break, and then we just played.  We broke off into 4 teams and had a little mini-tournament.  We were the "beuleh" or "white guys" and became instant celebrities.  We struggled early as a team, and then we started to dominate (not really, but we did win quite a few).  We began to accumulate a crowd that began to chant "beuleh" from the top of their lungs.  I truly believe that we would have played until the wee hours of the morning, but us old guys had to call it quits after about 10 games.  The "beulehs" won the battles today, but I am betting that the kids will have something in store for us tomorrow.  They may not have to have much, because of the amount of soreness we are going to possess tomorrow.  I wish I could describe in words how much this experience impacted me by just seeing the smiling faces of the kids.  The communication with words is minimal, but it doesn't have to be great.  These kids know we love them and are here for them, and the language of love can speak better grammar than any translator on earth.

Chris

Aceh at last!

After a few glitches, a handful of airplanes, and one International Date Line, the group landed on the equator in Banda Aceh at 2:00 PM today, Sunday, June 22. We were greeted very warmly by some of the local hosts, taken to the guest house, spent the evening with an International Community English-speaking congregation this evening, and are wrapping up the day by planning the week with local men and women of peace.

Beginning Monday morning our basketball coaches will begin assisting our partners in Banda with the coaches and players they mentor. One partner is an indigenous athlete from Jakarta who grew up in a Buddhist home. He ran away from home as a teenager, lived on the streets for a few years, became a follower through the influence of a basketball coach, and has been working with teenagers since through athletics and leadership training. When asked what his greatest passion was, he responded that he and his wife are here to give their lives to help others find an follow as well.

Our soccer coaches will begin training coaches and working with kids tomorrow with another set of friends. One friend grew up in Indonesia and in the USA. When she came to Banda Aceh after the tsunami on a short-term compassion trip, she felt impressed to return and reside here and serve among the street kids. The other friend had moved from Medan to Banda Aceh to do the same thing, which allowed them to meet and eventually marry one year ago. They have gained favor and trust with some of the street kids and have become full-time caretakers of 15 boys thus far.

A Mosque sits across the street from our guest house, and we've been told that we will be awakened by their call to prayer each morning at 5:30 AM. Our group will get an early start each day, which will afford us many opportunities to serve Banda Aceh with compassion and love!

I have asked our team members to each take a day and post a blog, reflecting on what they've experienced through their impressions. You will enjoy hearing from one each day beginning tomorrow.

Selamat malam dari Indonesia (Good night from Indonesia)!

JD

Almost There

After missing our flight from Medan to Banda Aceh, the group spent Saturday night in a Medan hotel. Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia with a population of 4 million people. It was welcomed rest, and we depart this morning for Banda. We will arrive mid-morning today (Sunday), and will be in full swing by the time friends and family read this post.

We had the privilege of spending Saturday evening with a friend. He is a friend of Bill O'Brien's and of the country of Indonesia. He is one of many instrumental "men of peace" who are making this trip possible for us. He and his family serve throughout Indonesia, and are currently working with indigenous Christ-followers.

We'll post from Banda Aceh as soon as we are able. Thank you for following along with us, and for joining us in prayer that we will be useful tools in God's merciful and compassionate hands!

JD

Indonesia bound

After arriving in Singapore and spending a few (wee) hours in the night at Changi Airport, we are about to board to Indonesia. We will fly to Medan, then to Banda Aceh. If you want to know where our group will be, find the northernmost island of Indonesia called Sumatra. Banda Aceh is on the northern tip. Here is a wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_Aceh.

We'll give updates once we're on the ground in Banda Aceh.

En route to Banda Aceh

Most of the group departed from DFW early today en route to Banda Aceh. We will all meet in Singapore tomorrow and fly the last leg into Indonesia together. This group consists of Bill O'Brien, Tysha Altirhi, Treci Oglesby, Rusty Oglesby, Jon Maupin, Frank Linner, John McFarland, Adam Kimball, Chris Cox, and JD Tomlin.  We are grateful for your prayers, and will enjoy sharing the journey with you.

Another blog that you may find informative is at http://acehtrip.blogspot.com/, journaled by Chris Cox.

We look forward to sharing life and hope with the street kids of Banda over the next couple of weeks. As Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, "The soul is healed by being with children." May the Lord use them to change us as well!