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| At Pita and Okik's wedding at the end of December |
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| Car in the flood outside of school |
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| Ry holding a sea turtle in Bali |
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| Brothers at play |
Bernhardt Update-
February 2014
I realize with this note that I have not sent out an update
for over a month now. I had great
intentions to send an update once a month, but I dropped the ball! I guess life happened. J
Here is the news for each person in our family, since our
last update:
Casey- Casey survived a week with the kids when I
was in the States. Everyone was alive
and in one piece when I returned. Over
the last few weeks, Casey has been officially given the job of “manager” over
the staff at our school. The areas
which he focuses on are security, maintenance and grounds, and the cleaning
crews. Please pray for wisdom for him as
he tries to make changes and train and encourage the workers while keeping a
positive spirit. On two occasions we
have dealt with very heavy rains, which flooded the roads near the school and
made it impossible to get to/from the building.
We also have dealt with a volcanic eruption over 130 miles away which
caused ash to fall in our city. He has
had to consider how the staff should respond to those issues to help protect
the students. Although he has faced
challenges in this work, he has continually noted how much he enjoys being here
and how he feels like he is doing what God has called him to do.
Sharon- I was able
to make a quick trip to the States. I
was really grateful for the opportunity to make the trip and to spend that time
with my Mom and Dad. Jet lag really made
me rather useless as a help to my Mom, which I felt bad about, but I was really
grateful to spend some time with my Dad.
I also got to see my grandfather twice and some friends who used to be
in Indonesia. It was not an easy trip
for all of us, but I am very thankful that I was able to do it. I am staying busy, but then I wonder if
there was ever a time in my life that I haven’t been? J I am still teaching 2 classes to 7th
graders (Geography and History) and two English classes to the teachers. I also am reading to 11 elementary classes
once a week. Those are my
responsibilities on campus. I also help
prepare Ryan and Niko’s school work every day, so that they can make sure they
get through their “homeschool” assignments.
I have worked (and am still working) on some writing assignments and
have 20 online students for Earth Space Science. We won’t have a helper, so I am also cook and
cleaner. I do feel that often my life
involves “juggling”, but I am thankful for the opportunities I have been
given. I am involved in a ladies Bible
study and what started with just two people has now grown to 7! That has been amazing. I also have really enjoyed learning more
about God and His word as I’ve practiced verse mapping. God has really been encouraging me in my walk
with Him and I feel very blessed. I am
thankful for the lessons He has been teaching me and I long to learn even more.
Ryan- Ryan stepped out of the norm recently with
the reluctant urging J
of his parents and took a school trip to Bali.
It was a great experience for him.
He came home with so many stories about the places he visited and the
things he saw. He also got to spend more
concentrated time with his classmates and teachers, which really helps. Since he only pops in for class occasionally,
he really needed an experience like this to help build relationships. Next month he will hopefully get to start
playing some basketball at school and piano lessons. We are hoping that will work out for them.
Niko- Niko has
probably had the most challenging time with making friends. He has met some kids who he thinks are “nice”
but he too has struggled to find when to talk with them, get to know them and
spend time with them. I think that the
cultural differences and the situation that we are in all contribute to making
this more difficult. We would ask for
your prayers for him. We hope that he
will be able to start basketball and piano as well this coming month.
Chase- Chase is
doing well. He complains about school
every day, but when we pick him up, he talks happily about his friends. He really enjoys playing with other
kids. In fact, it is starting to be a
little more challenging to take him to class with me each day (after his school
is over). He would rather distract and
play with my students that do something else.
This is a little more stressful this semester, and I am hoping I can
consider creative things that he can do that will not disturb my students. Unfortunately I don’t teach any of my classes
when he is in class, which may be something I try to request in the future J. He has adjusted well to life here and can
(and does) befriend anyone. It is a
great gift!
We have come across so many needs here. The boys and I were able to head to an
orphanage between Semarang and Salatiga and we spent a morning there
painting. I have known the head of the
orphanage for awhile, and he helped me arrange service projects for students in
the past. It was good to visit
them. They definitely have many
needs. It tugged on my kid’s heart strings
to see kids who have been abandoned and don’t have families to care for
them. It was a good experience for them
to get out of “themselves” and focus on others. I was really proud of how hard
and how cheerfully they worked for and played with the kids. I was able to lead my current students on a
trip too, to a home for street kids.
Hopefully we can occasionally provide some support to them too. There are so many in need and I hope and pray
that we will look for ways God wants to use us to help others.
This semester for our school will go until mid-June. Indonesian school breaks are very
short!! Casey will have one week of
vacation and the boys and I will have a month off for school holiday. It will go quickly! Casey and I will celebrate 20 years of
marriage this summer, so we are hunting for where to go (and what to do with
the kids J)
for some of his week off. A friend of
mine from my junior high years at boarding school may also make the trek this
way during our school break, which I am excited about. It may be bad to say when it is only February,
but we are already looking forward to a change of pace and the rest and
relaxation.
Thank you for your prayers and for your encouraging
support. It means so very much to
us. We know that we could not be here,
doing what we are doing, without you by our sides. We would love to hear from you if you have
the opportunity.
Blessings,
the Bernhardts
Very important mail or contributions should be sent to: PO Box 2479, Anderson, IN, 46018
Please do not
send financial gifts through the mail to our address in Indonesia. We have received some mail and packages, but
it takes a long time. Please always put
customs value at $0 (because it is not for resale) and use lots of packing tape
if you want to send a package J. We can get letters here and sure would not
mind. The mailing address is: Jl. Puri
Anjasmoro L15/2, Semarang, 50142, Jateng, Indonesia
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