I haven't updated this blog in awhile but when I have more pictures and such to share than can fit in a newsletter, it seems like the best way to share those. 

So at Bethesda Nursing Academy we recently went through an accreditation site visit for LAM-PTKes (Indonesia’s independent accreditation agency that evaluates and assures the quality of higher education programs in the health sciences, such as nursing, medicine, and public health.) We are accredited by two organizations, with the second one being from government's education ministry. Both of these accreditations last five years and they both need to be done this year. 

The accreditation process starts by submitting documents through an online portal. That has been in process since late last year. Once those are all submitted and reviewed then they scheduled a site visit by two assessors. We expected that to happen after the Ramadan fasting month but our lead assessor was from Bali and Hindu, so he went ahead and scheduled it sooner. Our second assessor was from Palembang and Muslim, so she was fasting during the day. 

This process is very formal in Indonesia and we spent a lot of time getting things ready. Every five years they change the process slightly, so each time you have to be ready for something slightly different. For me that meant making sure our skills lab was as ready as possible, as I am in charge of that. We don't actually use our skills lab in the way it is in the standards because we are short on space. So that meant we had to do a lot of shifting things around and getting things ready. Thankfully, I had some help from other staff and some students. 

So here is the process in pictures: 

Ready and waiting to welcome the assessors 

The formal welcome from our director, Nora. 

They then toured the campus, including the skills lab. There I and the director answered their questions about our facilities and programs. They were less than impressed with some of our old equipment and lack of space. They even at one point suggested we open a museum with some of our equipment 😁 

The following morning we had an official opening ceremony with speeches etc. 

They spent the rest of that day interviewing different groups, from the leadership and the secretary of our board, to teachers, alumni, and current students. They also interviewed people from our local government clinic and hospital that work with our students. This is the newer model of accreditation that focuses on qualitative methods. 

The follow morning they reviewed our documents with us. Each group had to go forward and show their documents and explain them. 

The assessors then met together to discuss their findings and type them up. Following that they shared their findings with us and gave us a chance to respond to them. Then we had a closing ceremony and took our final pictures together. 

But we also did manage to have some fun together in the midst of it all! 

And now we wait for results. It will take about a month for committee to review all the documents and also the results from the site visit. There are three possible outcomes:

• Unggul (Excellent Accreditation): This is the highest accreditation level, meaning the program demonstrates excellent quality in education, faculty, facilities, clinical training, and outcomes, and exceeds national standards.
• Terakreditasi (Accredited): This means the program meets the national standards for health education and is recognized as providing acceptable quality education, but it does not yet reach the highest level.
• Tidak Terakreditasi (Not Accredited): This means the program does not currently meet the required national standards for health education and must make improvements before it can receive accreditation. 

We are praying at least for accredited and would love an excellent score but also know that we don't meet some of the standards. In the final speech from our assessor who was Muslim, she acknowledged the effort we had made by not eating and drinking in front of her and said felt welcomed and respected by this despite the fact we are obviously a Christian institution. It was a good reminder that we can share our faith and care through our actions. 

A Borneo Thanksgiving

Well somehow it is now December but I still thought I would post a few pictures from my Thanksgiving celebration. Thanksgiving of course isn't celebrated here in Indonesia but I decided to take some time off that week and travel about 5 hours by road down to the city of Pontianak. There is a guest house run by Ethnos 360 there for those serving in Indonesia. It gives us a place to rest and fellowship across our different organizations. So many of us gathered to celebrated Thanksgiving together with a potluck. Anyway onto a few a pictures...

Some of the kids wrote and performed a finger puppet show on the first Thanksgiving

Actresses revealed 

Several of the kids had fun making the fruit look like a turkey

Well they weren't turkeys and maybe not chickens. Honestly we have no idea what they were but they looked nice ;) 

Loading up plates

Don't forget dessert! Yum!! 

An art project for the kids

One of the fun moments of my time out was connecting with Lina again. You might remember the picture below from November 2016 when I did a rather unexpected home birth in Salatiga for a fairly newly arrived family. The second picture below is myself, Lina, and now two year old Lias, plus a few extras who wanted their picture taken during our Thanksgiving potluck :)

All in all it was a good chance for some rest, fun, and fellowship. Now it is back to work though and the final push before Christmas. 

Appointment Ceremony for our New Directors in Pictures

On September 28th we held an appointment ceremony for our new board members and also for several new unit directors. We like to do ceremonies up big here in Indonesia, so it was quite formal but it was also very special. Just to clarify a bit we have a board (called a yayasan here) that is primarily Indonesian run. Wendell and Paul Geary also hold positions. Under this board, we have four different units -- the hospital, the nursing school, the village health program, and MedGo (an Indonesian missionary sending agency). Also under the board's oversight is a preschool and a ministry that provides care to families with special needs.

So on the 28th we welcomed new directors at the hospital, nursing school, and village health program. The director of MedGo was reappointed for another term and we also appointed an assistant director at the village health department. So here is how the morning unfolded in pictures...

We started our morning with a chapel service. Pdt (Pastor) William Herjinto shared an encouraging message from Isaiah 40:28-31.

Then a special choir sang Menjadi Terang Hu (Be My Light). This was the first time I had heard this song and it was really good. I will put the translated lyrics at the bottom of this blog post or they are also available as part of the description on the YouTube page. 

Next we began the official ceremony with the reading of the letters officially stating who are our new foundation board members and directors.

Our new directors and assistant director pledge their commitment to the ministry here at Bethesda

And of course the paperwork has to be signed. This is typically part of ceremonies here including weddings and such. 

Then we heard a special video message from founders Wendell and Marge Geary in Minnesota

And the chairman of our Board gave some special encouragement

And then our ministers and chaplains prayed a special blessing over them

And last but not least it was time for pictures

So meet our new (and one renewed) directors...

Director of the hospital - Dr. Kristiyan and his wife Dr. Karina. They have two young children. He is also currently our only ob/gyn, so is on call 24/7. 

Director of the Nursing School - Ibu (Mrs.) Rossiani and her husband. 

 Director of MedGo (serving another term) - Donda

Director of the Village Health Program - Dentist Muktar and his wife Dr. Esther

Assistant Director of the Village Health Program - Pak (Mr.) Niko and his family 

And one bonus shot, in case you couldn't tell Dentist Muktar and Dr. Esther are expecting baby #1 shortly. They were married early this year, after meeting here at Bethesda.  

Please be praying for these new directors. Pray for wisdom as they balance many challenges and needs. Pray for strength for each long day. Pray also for their families, as you can see many of them are young and/or have young children that also need their time and attention.

Lyrics to the song "Be My Light"

Your call is higher and honorable

because Jesus' resurrection is the assurance

His power is given to us to be the witness of His resurrection

Let's prioritize God's work

fulfilling His perfect plan

Our family and work are used as a light to glorify Him

Oh happy are those who are loyal

share the gospel of salvation in the world that rejects God

Let's be His light, testify for Him

and bear the cross willingly to follow my Lord

Meet our Newest Class

September is here again which means we are welcoming a new group of students at our Nursing School.

Say hello to the 2018 freshmen

There are 41 students total. 17 young men and 24 young females. So now I am working to learn 41 new names and tell them all apart. All of the young men had their heads shaved, the girls are required to wear their hair up and they are all wearing black and white; so that is not an easy task.

They completed four days of orientation to life on campus, the academic program and also general topics like healthy living.

With teachers and staff during the opening session

With student leadership during the opening session

They also practiced for the weekly flag raising ceremony with one of our local police officers

As I write this they have survived the first week of classes. They will be taking 22 credits. I will be teaching them English for three hours every Wednesday and also Fundamental Nursing Concepts (topics like nursing theories, nursing process, and critical thinking) for a couple of hours on Monday afternoons, several times this semester.

For four of them I am providing academic counseling, mentoring, and discipleship. More on that in another post to come.

Please be praying for them and all of our 138 students as they live together in the dorms and complete their classes. Pray for our teachers and staff as we work together to educate, disciple and shape these young people to be good nurses with a heart to serve those in need. Please also continue to pray for the addition of at least one more nursing teacher as we are definitely short-staffed right now.

Our freshmen class singing during our chapel service. 

The song they are singing is Mujizat Itu Nyata which can be translated Miracles are Real

Disaatku tak berdaya

(When I am helpless)

KuasaMu yang sempurna

(Your Strength is perfect)

Saat ku percaya

(When I believe)

Mujizat itu nyata

(Miracles are real)

Bukan karna kekuatan

(Not because of strength)

Namun RohMu ya Tuhan

(but your Spirit Lord)

Saat ku berdoa

(When I pray)

Mujizat itu nyata

(Miracles are real)

A trip to WorldVenture Home Office

There is nothing like the blessing of being surrounded and prayed for by those who have walked a similar journey before you. What a delight it is to be amongst those understand the joys and griefs of serving internationally. The unity and community is like a little taste of heaven. That is what it was like last week when I visited the the WorldVenture office outside Denver, CO. Along with four other couples we have served with WorldVenture for a total of 104 years! I was definitely the newbie in the group, although I did celebrate 10 years of service :)

Worldventure recently relocated and downsized their offices (if you would like more info on the why of that decision, I am happy to share with you), so this was my first visit to the new office. There has also been turnover since I last visited almost exactly 5 years ago, so it was good to get meet the new staff.

We spent several hours each day hearing from different departments including but definitely not limited to leadership, finance, health, and communications. This gave us the opportunity to hear and understand the whys of the many changes and also get our questions answered. We also had an opportunity for a couple of hours each day to debrief and reflect in our group. This was led by the member care staff at the office. We laughed and we cried and then we prayed.

So here are a few pictures from my time in CO...

The new WorldVenture office located in Inverness, CO

What a view! The back windows overlook a golf course and mountains. 

Each day at 11:30 am they office staff meet to pray for a country and those serving in that country

Sharing with the office staff about my ministry in Indonesia

Receiving a certificate for serving with WorldVenture for 10 years (this includes previous trips to Indonesia and time in the US doing training and partnership development) 

On Friday we visited each of the offices to leave a little love and appreciation for all that the office staff do. We also had the opportunity to pray with several of the staff members. 

And I left just as it began to snow and was only 12 degrees :) 

Christmas 2017 in the US

There is nothing like a white Christmas at home with the whole family! Such a special time filled with memories made. Our family is expanding with the addition of Laura's husband, Shalom and our exchange student from China, Andy, who is now at university but spent Christmas break with us.

Just a couple of pictures from Christmas...

A concert in Portland the Friday before Christmas with Kristin and her boyfriend

Games, games, and more games! We are a competitive family :) 

Snow! Our only few snowy days this year came that Christmas weekend. 

Of course I had to take a picture in the snow and send it to Indonesia for those who have never experienced snow :)