white christmas.....

I'm dreaming..of a white..Christmas.. just like the ones I used to know.....

This year, for the first time I experienced a literally "White Christmas" at Vancouver, BC. Hmm Before that, maybe I should describe my activities in Vancouver. I arrived here last Saturday noon (Dec 23rd). I'm hosted by Kak Stef who is the pastor of GII Vancouver. GII is the oldest Indonesian church in Canada, that day, the church was celebrating its 20th anniversary, in conjunction with their Christmas celebration. Wow! When I went to the church earlier to help them finalizing the preparations such as decorations etc. my memories suddenly clinged to our home church in Bandung.... hix..hix.. It reminded me of all the Christmas busy-ness in Indonesia, especially in the church. I missed them though. But.. that's ok. As I look to the youth here in GII Vancouver, I'm pleased to see how they are working to prepare this big event. They are very skillful and talented people and they're willing to give their best for God's glory.

So, that night, there was about 200 people attended the celebration. A large crowd for a typical Indonesian church in North America/Canada.

The youth choir




comedy


Now... the white Christmas??????? Yeach, on December 25th we went up to Cypress Mountain with several people from the church (the old and the young ones, about 20 of us). It's about 1 hr from Vancouver. From a distance, I can see the whitish mountaintops as the snow covered them. When we got in to Cypress, it was really White Christmas! So beautiful. The only thing was the windchill was blowing so intensed that it was really freezing!!! Brrrrrrrrrrr.

snowy trees

dragging the tube to the top

Well, I know everybody will ask: why not snowboarding????? We couldn't do it that day coz we have lots of children with us, and they are not allowed to play snowboarding, so in order to make them happy still, we play...."tubing!" Haha... it was fun, though. The tube was dragged to the top of the hill and released as we're sliding on the snow.... it was quite thrilling especially when they spin my tube! How bout that?

I enjoyed most of my time while visiting Vancouver. You know what? I almost thought that this is Hongkong, coz everywhere I go, like buses, skytrains, streets, malls, the people that I've seen the most are the Asian/Chinese people, and the suburbs are more like chinatowns. We were laughing when Kak Stef preached about one Scripture interpretation that some of the magis who came to worship baby Jesus could be ncek-ncek dari Tiongkok.... who knows...hahaha.

Another thing that I like most from Vancouver is the port/harbor. It's always great to see ocean/beach/waters, especially when it's calm.

the untouchable seagull

what a place.....

It's great to meet old friends. Heidi or Noni is one of my old friends. Last time we met was probably five years ago. I called it 'stupidity friends' becoz that's what it is. Grew up in the same church, same choir, same elementary, same junior/senior high, man.. that's pretty boring, isn't it? Well, sometimes it does boring.... haha. Ok. Today I left Vancouver after spending 5 days there. Now, back in Seattle again and tomorrow will be heading down to Portland, Oregon to meet my other friends. Tata....

my old friend heidi and sundoro

sleepless in seattle part 2

Awhhh... kaki ini kerasa pegel banget deh. Makloemm kayanya gara2 hari ini lama berdiri dan jalan di downtown seattle. So, setelah empat hari penuh menghabiskan liburan di sini, besok pagi gue bakal melanjutkan petualangan Natal 2006 ke Vancouver BC di Canada, the most diversed city in the world (huh??? bukannya NYC??). Tau deh katanya seh geto. Vancouver dari Seattle kira2 ga nyampe 3 jam perjalanan pake mobil.
Sebetulnya gua udah sempet deg2an, soale temen gue yg tadinya udah siap nganter gue ke Vancouver tuh gak bisa pergi karena I-20 dia harus direnew dan skrg menjelang libur natal udah gak mungkin laa ya urus2 begituan. Yg jadi masalah adl, kita berdua sama2 harus lapor diri krn kita kena prosedur NSEERS (national security exit entry system), itu lho, buat orang2 yg asalnya dari negara2 yg diblacklist pemerintah sini, kita harus lapor diri tiap kali keluar-masuk Amrik. Kalo gak lapor bisa2 ga bole masuk lagi, or worse ga akan dikasi visa lagi.
Setelah gua telp sana sini termasuk imigrasi, mereka bilang gue gak boleh pergi naik train. Waduh, gmn ya? Mrk cuma kasi gue pergi pake pesawat (lapor di airport) atau naik mobil (lapor di border). Errrgghhh sempet kesel juga, gmn sih...
Ok lanjut, tadi pagi for the third attempt, gue nongol di konsulat Canada. Pagi ambil nomer antri, tunggu 1.5 jam baru dipanggil, terus tunggu lagi utk bayar, terus siang2 langsung jadi dah visanya. Cihuy. Ehh, di konsulat situ, gue akhirnya dapet tawaran utk menumpang ke Canada, cihuy lagiii! Hehehe... asyikk.
Nah, soal Seattle. Gini ya, Seattle itu bener2 deh. No pain, no rain..... Maksudnya, itu lho... tiap hari hujan melulu, bukan hujan deras, tapi hujan yang kagok2 gitu... Kagum deh gue sama temen2 disini yang pada tahan dihujanin sepanjang tahun.... Matahari nongolnya pelitt banget, cuma dari jam 10 pagi sampe 1 siang... But, one thing that I like from this city, adalah kebersihannya. Gile deh pokonya bersiiiii banget (padahal ni kota selalu kehujanan dan basah), tapi gak ada tuh kecium bau2 sampah or bau2 aneh di jalan2. Pokonya bersih bersinar cuma kaga ada sunlight... hihihi... kayak iklan.. well...tau sendirilah negara kita kayak apa kalo soal kebersihan, palagi Bandhoenk... doh jadi malu deh...
Satu lagi, gue baru nyadar kalo gue kagak bawa memory card reader so gue ga bisa upload poto2 langsung ke laptop...not until I get back to Lynchburg. Hehehe maaf maaf....
Ok, I will post another update as soon as I get to Vancouver.
Kalo gak sempet, please allow me to say Merry Christmas to all of you. May Christ be born in all our hearts this year, again........

sleepless in seattle

Hari ini gue memulai rangkaian liburan Natal yang diberi judul, "Journee to the West." Horeeeee!

Berangkat dari Greensboro jam 3 siang, terlambat hampir setengah jam, sampe di Houston untuk transit, otomatis flight gue selanjutnya yg jam 5.30 gak keburu soale nyampenya aja udah telat....... Si agent kasi gua flight selanjutnya yang baru ada 4 jam kemudian, jam 9 mlm.. Hoaaa gue ogah deh nunggu segitu lama, eh ternyata ada flight lagi sebelum itu menuju Seattle. Duh, dlm ati gue sempet deg2an, hmm kalo flight yg ini dapet pun, ntar gmn dgn my bags.... kalo gue udah diplot utk yg jam 9, sebab pengalaman buruk gue terakhir di Chicago Airport itu bagasi tertunda...

Ya sdh lah, aku tetep keukeuh terbang yg jam 7 mlm. Eh ternyata dapet jg. Pas udah masuk pesawat, ternyata duduknya sama 2 orang item, yg 1 tua, yg 1 muda (no offense). Aku berusaha ramah gitu ngajak ngobrol chit chat dll... Ehhhh gw malah dicuekin, mrk berdua asyik ngobrol dgn accent yang gw gak bisa tangkep. Idihhh ko gitu yaa. Nah, setelah total 8 jam berada di atas awan, sampailah aku di Seattle jam 10 mlm waktu local (= jam 1 pagi waktu Lynchburg/Eastern).

Yang luar biasa adalah, setelah gue berjalan cepat ke tempat carousel utk ambil bagasi sambil berharap2 moga itu bagasi kali ini kagak pegat kayak dulu........ pas nyampe carousel, wah, belon jalan carouselnya..... Gue nengok kanan kiri, pas lagi tengok, ehhh gue liat tas gw di depan kantor airlinenya. Dohh manis bener..... orang laen sih pada nunggu, gue bisa ambil langsung tas gw.... Yeach .... thank u Lord!

Then my fren picked me up.

Begitu keluar airport.... brrrrrrrrrr dingin dan anginnya langsung kerasa. Bayangin aja pas berangkat temperatur udara agak anget, kira2 65'F (20an derajat C), ini kayanya sekitar 30an F deh (0' C).....nahhhh skrg ini baru winter. Begitu masuk apt tmn gw, aduh makkkkk gilee. Apt segini sempit ditinggalin ama 7 orang? Busettt. It's gonna be an interesting holiday....

Betulan deh.

*gelenk-gelenk*

hadiah natal?

Seperti yang gua udah ceritain, Thanksgiving lalu mobilku memberikan ciuman maut buat kijang nyasar. Nah, ini gambar yang gua ambil sewaktu liat mobilnya yang diparkir di bengkel towing.

Dan, insurance company memutuskan bhw mereka lebih prefer ganti rugi gua daripada mbenerin mobil ini. So, setelah sempet tawar menawar, akhirnya mereka kasi cek. Well, nilai yang mereka kasi melebihi harga mobil itu wkt dulu gua beli. Nah terus, gue sempet rada bingung juga waktu berburu mobil pengganti. Tapi Tuhan baik banget, tau-tau ada orang yang mau lepas mobilnya krn dia mau ambil mobil baru, kebetulan dia sama2 melayani di grj gw juga. Alhasil mobilnya yg masih bagus itu dilempar ke gua murah banget. Setengah harga mobil yg dulu, tapi taunnya lebih baru dan mileage-nya masi dibawah 90ribu. (ps. di Amrik mileage or kalo di Indo km mobil itu sangat pengaruh sekali, org pasti cari mobil yg mileagenya masi rendah or at least dibawah 100ribu miles.) Perkenalkan mobil gua, si putih, tadaaa..... this is Mazda 626, tahun 1999... It's a manual car, although I was trying to get an automatic, but.. God gave me this one. So I'm thankful and content with it. Setelah dicoba, ternyata irit banget bensinnya. Yg biasa gue isi bensin tiap 10 hari, skrg mungkin bisa isi bensin 2 minggu sekali. (dengan pemakaian ke sekolah dan gereja). Dari rumah ke kampus itu kalo di Bdg kira2 kayak dari UK Maranatha ke Istana Plaza. Kalo dari rumah ke gereja, hmm.... kira2 dari Tol Pasteur ke Tol Buahbatu kali ya... rada jauh... Well, Tuhan tau gue anak kost, so gua dikasi mobil yg lebih irit drpd yg dulu. Dan, Dia pake cara gue nabrak tu kijang bodoh supaya gue langsung dikasi ganti rugi, ibarat gue dapet pembeli yg langsung beli mobil gue. So selama hampir setaun ini, gua kayak dikasi pinjem 1 mobil dan uangnya dibalikin lagi, malah ada lebihnya hehehe... Btw, mobil Subaru gue yg dah babak belur itu gitu2 banyak sejarahnya lho.... udah dibawa keliling2 sampe ke Chicago segala, muter dari Washington DC, turun ke bawah, terus muter ke Barat, lalu ke Midwest.... gile bandel jg. Now I have to say goodbye to my old car and welcome to the new car. The only thing is, ... it's a little bit dirty. Soalnya tmn gue ex-pemiliknya, kerja di construction project yang tiap hari pake sepatu boot bertanah dan tanahnya itu nempel di karpet sampe tebal banget. So hopefully kalo cuacanya tetep anget2 gini (meski winter) gue bisa bersihin mobil sampe tuntas, cuci-sikat-keringin, hehehe.. seru..seru...

Gimana? Tampangnya meyakinkan? Syukur kpd Tuhan.... Dia betul2 tahu yang terbaik. Apa ini bisa dibilang hadiah Natal? Maybe. Just say... another blessing in disguise. Bukan sengsara membawa nikmat, tapi 'Kijang' membawa Mazda... hihihi. Thank you, Jesus.

OST The Christmas Shoes

Not bad for the OST, the movie is taken from an inspiring story, I used to dislike NewSong but this one sounds good. It's on CBS. Click here to watch the OST video clip.

Decembre...

Gak kerasa udah tanggal 1 Desember lagi... Wadawww.. perasaan belon lama nih di US kayak kemaren baru Natalan skrg udah mau masuk lagi... Tak terasa... wah wah wah ... *geleng-geleng*. Beberapa hari terakhir ini hari kayak berlalu cepat. Pagi ke kampus, siang kerja, sore ke pepruss eh perpus sampe malam. Begitu terus.. Kaya siklus robot. Yeaa namanya juga belajar. Eniwei, ada bbrp hal yang gua syukuri:

1. Kedua ortu yang baru anniversarry kemaren. Hix...
2. Orang-orang yang pada perhatian n concern gara2 gua kecelakaan terutama orang2 gereja. Ada yg kirim email, ada yang telepon. Pastor gua pun baik hati meminjamkan mobilnya, ga nyangka padahal dah bingung ga ada mobil mo pake apa. PTL!
3. Hari ini baru selesai transaksi dengan insurance. Mereka ganti mobil gua yg rusak dengan harga dikurangi deductible fee, masi tetep dapet lebih tinggi dari harga gua beli mobil itu. Puji Tuhan!
4. Beberapa tugas udah gua beresin, tinggal 2 lagi nih kagokk...
5. Gua baru ketemu 1 orang utk bantu jadi pianist sesekali di gereja, anak freshman LU. Kita liat aja nanti apa dia mau serius atau kaga.
6. Natal tinggal 2 minggu-an lagi. Akhirnya... Gua akan terbang ke tmn gua di Seattle, the home of Starbucks Coffee,... hehehe... Lalu dari situ bakal drive up to Vancouver, Canada. Sekarang aja disana udah 20'F brrrrr kuat gak ya nanti? We'll see.

Sekarang lagi nyari mobil lagi neh. Seperti berpetualang terasa panjang dan melelahkan, tapi bagaimana lagi? Disini gak ada becak, busway, bemo, angkot, apalagi ojek. So mau ga mau harus ada mobil yg cukup reliable. Sekarang focus nyiapin exams utk tgl 11-14 Dec. Christmas Day, I'm ready! Wes ewes ewes.. bablass angine!

I remember

mom & dad:

happy 26th anniversarry!

grateful to be one of your kids,

Z

firsts in my second thanksgiving

Beberapa hal menarik yang gua alami di Thanksgiving tahun ini.

1. Pertama kali kecelakaan mobil nubruk kijang, brekkkkkkkkkk! Setelah dikonfirmasi ternyata bukan rusa, tapi kijang. (Kijang kok dilawan???)
2. Pertama kali road trip sejauh 1600 miles, total (kira2 2300 km, kaya bolak balik Jakarta-Medan kali yaa?) dengan mobil.
3. Pertama kali pergi ke Atlanta.
4. Pertama kali hunting 'black friday' (belanja sehari setelah Thanksgiving utk ngejar bbrp barang murah dan... DAPETTTT! Cihuy!)
5. Pertama kali naek mobil polisi,
6. Pertama kali naek mobil derek
7. Pertama kali naek 'taksi gelap' (adeeuuhhh ternyataaa di Amrik yang negara hukum ini tetep aja ada yg namanya taksi gelap! *geleng-geleng*)
8. Pertama kali naek mobil rental (yg terakhir ini 'sakit ati dah').
9. Pertama kali nyetir mobil overnight dlm rangka pulang dari Atlanta ke Lynchburg.

So....laughter? Tears? Joy? Pain? Nervous? Regret? Happy? Guilt? Relieved? Tenang, disini kumplit semua ada kok. Dan atas semuanya gua cuma bisa say thanks to the Lord. He keeps me and watch over me. And He is good indeed.

ps.
btw soal mobil, keliatannya dlm bbrp waktu dekat ini gue bakal dapet mobil baru nech gara2 mobil gua rusak berat dan insurance company lebih milih untuk ganti daripada perbaiki. doain ya supaya gue dapet mobil bekas yang gak bermasalah.

flow

Setelah berjuang menyelesaikan itu term paper systematic theology/ST dan test tiap hari yang seru2, akhirnya hari ini terlewati dgn baik jg. Thanks Lord! That's it????? Ga kaleee. Masi ada tugas2 lain menanti. Cross-cultural church planting dan PDM class masih harus dibikin papernya. Belom lagi gue mesti selesain "utang" lama yaitu project terjemahan Boy Meets Girl yang sudah dipatok terbit April 2007 di Indo edisi bhs Indonesia-nya. Hehehe... my first book translation, btw. Ing eeng!!! Abis itu masih hrs siapin bahan utk 'teaching simulation' dan final comprehensive exam ST. Duh ko kaya jadi banyak gitu ye...

Thanksgiving kali ini biasa aja kecuali tempat yg gue blm pernah kunjungi adl north Atlanta hari kamis dpn.. asyik! Lynchburg hari ini sudah mulai 'menyeramkan' krn 5000 students non-Lynchburgers pada mudik... kemana2 sepiii, namanya juga kota kecil mungil. Rumah gw pun bakal sepi krn semua rata2 anak rantau.

Ada yang lagi terpikir yaitu kemungkinan semester depan gua cabut dari kantor Admissions Dept. Well agak menyedihkan sih, tapi gua tertarik utk jadi graduate assistant di School of Religion. Selain dpt tuition gratis ganti 10 hr assistantship seminggu, lumayan dapet pengalaman utk ke depan. Pasti menarikkkk. Masih tahap pertimbangan sih. Mulai Spring 2007 semester nanti gua bakal ambil M.ML program di Rockbridge Seminary - Springfield, MO (online) for my third program dan tinggal tunggu keputusan mrk diterima or kagak. So ini bakal bikin gua gak akan "gak sibuk." Liat aja deh. Sebetulnya yg gua lagi kejar adalah Southwestern Seminary krn mrk ada program Christian Education dgn church music minor. Cuma anehnya email gw kok ga dibales2 gitu nape..... Mungkin dah kebanyakan students... So hidup dijalani saja dengan sebaik2nya. Gua tau pasti Tuhan punya maksud dlm setiap alur hidup, walaupun skrg segala sesuatunya spt masi blurr. Kalo masih gak ada respon dari mereka, gua bakal balik tahun depan. (dan jadi pengangguran???? hahaha, B.Th/'babu Tuhan' kok pengangguran...). Kalo diterima di Southwestern, gw gak tau bayar sekolah dari mana, berhubung satu dan lain hal... tapi kata TY liat burung2 di udara Bapa pelihara, nahh masa seh pembantuNya gak dipelihara...???? Jadi biarkan hidup ini mengalir, yang penting gua tau gua gak berada di sungai yang salah. Gitu dulu deh.

buruaaaaan....

Can't wait until these 2 weeks are over. This week I have to finish up my Systematic Theology I term paper, which demands a lot of concentration. For me, the philosophical facet in this lesson is somehow more dominant than the theological one. Man, it's a headache. When I began my paper, I have 2-3 questions unanswered. And now after a while, I realize that there are at least 4-5 other questions and they're all remain unanswered (LoL). I'll keep the unanswered remain unanswered, shut down my curiousity, grab my laptop, write down my findings, and leave it all up to Him.

Next, I still owe a little work of my worship intensive last two months ago. Next week will be an interesting one: a mid-test for Ministry of Teaching class, Purpose Driven Ministry class, and Cross-cultural Missions class. Wew!

These past few weeks are quite sketchy, that's what my roommate said. (I assume that it means finally he's learning how to wash the dishes..) Oo and by the way, we're having a contest, it is called: "who's going to bed early" contest. A couple days ago I went to bed unusually earlier. Last night he went to bed way too much earlier, about 8PM.... (*whatt the ...*). So I let him win the contest. "OK, you got it," Next time, the contest will be "who's cleaning up the sink??" I'll make sure he won again. hehehe..

Ok, gotta get back to work now. Peace!

the tale of two brains

Jumat - Sabtu kmrn ceritanya gua ikut IMPACT 2006: Men's Conference di Thomas Road Church. Awalnya ga gitu minat ikut sih tapi akhirnya gua semangat jg dengan melihat berbagai topik2nya yang seru. Well, selama seminggu ini kesibukan lumayan meningkat dan badan udah kerasa capenya bukan maen. Nah, acara ini mulai dari sore jam 5-10 mlm. Wewww, gua awalnya ga yakin gitu. Yg lebih gila, Sabtunya itoeee... mulainya ga tanggung jam 7 pagi! Gile biasa gue bangun jam 9 aja udah bagus... ini jam 7? Dengan kondisi badan cape semingguan? Nah, akhirnya gua ikut juga. Salah satu breakout session yang cukup menarik adalah ttg Healthy Sexuality. Ternyata ini bicara mengenai perbedaan men & women, dan tentunya bukan ttg seks doank. Kita nonton pembicaranya lewat DVD. Judulnya: A Tale of Two Brains - by Mark Gungor, Laugh Your Way America! Orangnya emang kocak banget jadi topik yang super serius ini dibikin nyantai. Sepanjang dia bicara gue denger sambil bikin catatan di notes, in English.

You'll find it interesting. Some of these are generally true, some of them would have exceptions.

Men's Brains - Women's Brains

• Men's brains are comprised of 'little boxes'. These boxes don't touch each others. They will discuss only what is in that box.
• Women's brains are like 'big balls of wire', anything is connected to everything. They are driven by energy called as emotion.

• Men don't care.
• Women can remember everything. They can talk about everything.

• Speaking about boxes, men have a box with nothing in it. This is the 'nothing box.' In fact, this is their favorite box! They will go to this box whenever they are stress. This nothing box can be: fishing, watching TV, newspaper.... etc.
• When women are stressed-out watching men hooked up in their 'nothing box', they will ask men, "What are you thinking about?" Do you know their answer?

Nothing.

A researcher from University of Pennsylvania found out that men can think about nothing and still breath. (lol)

• Men tend to use less words.
• Women repeat everything they say.

There is another research done through a nursery room in a church. A boy who's doing nothing and just sit down kept his mouth opened. (aaaa....). A girl who's doing the same kept her mouth opened but it looked as if she was talking (aoaoaouaoa...).

Different meanings

Men and women perceives different meanings of some words like for instance:

• 5 minutes. When a man says 5 minutes, it's usually like: Hey, you have 5 more minutes! (they're dead serious about it) When a woman says 5 minutes, it could be any time.
• Nothin. When a man says nothin, it's nothin. When a woman says nothin, you can be sure that it means 'somethin.'
• (Sigh) in motion. When a man sighs, he is thinking, "Aaaah what a wonderful day!" When a women sighs, it could be something like, "Why you never understand....?" or something like, "You're an idiot..."
• Go ahead. If a man says that, they're usually plain. If a woman says that, they usually sighs afterward.

Women's brain usually has extra RAM's while men's brain usually comes with basic minimum requirements.

Men have what they said as selected listening.

Men are single-tasking, women are multi-tasking. That's why we can find that men has a certain profession, such as: the greatest chef.

Warning

• Do not give vital information to men when they are seriously doing something. When you do this, usually men have their 'defense mechanism' and that is "uhuh.... uhuh.....uhuh.."

Ok. Menarik juga sih sebetulnya. Pas kemaren di classroom orang2 pada ketawa2 karena kebanyakan mereka baik itu young adults or older people ngerasa yang diomongin disitu walaupun konyol tapi itu betul terjadi. So terserah penilaian yang baca. Tuhan ciptakan kita dengan keunikan berbeda, tapi tujuan tetap sama untuk memuliakan Dia. Amin.

the healing heart

Shattered heart forced to heal
as greatness unveils thine soul.
Hope whispered in the distance,
to recover thine lost love.

'Tis night brings tender passing,
healing thine soul with glorious blunder.
Caus' not one or two,
but dissipated nights of dreams.

Sadness comes to end,
happiness conquered hate.
Love sprouting -- sadness shrinking,
hope has come again.


(grhess)

backup

Fhew... gilee minggu ini gue berkali-kali denger cerita ttg hard drive laptop yang crashed. Temen-temen kampus pada cerita. Sama ada temen luar kampus juga di NC, ortunya yang cerita. And gawatnya gua baru menyadari bhw laptop gue hard drivenya belon diback up. So gue buru2 dah ngeback up n bakarrrrr semua itu file2 di laptop kesayanganku.....
Gile aja apalagi ini minggu2 stressful, kalo sampe ada apa2 bisa gawat dah.
Bgm teman2 yang berlaptop? Udah pada back up data belonnn or update back up... Or cuma gue doank kali yach....hehehe.. jadi malu. Maloeee akoeeee!!!!!!!

catch this!

The three 'lost' verses from AMAZING GRACE.


The Lord has promised good to me
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be
As long as life endures

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail
And mortal life shall cease
I shall possess, within the veil
A life of joy and peace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below
Shall be forever mine.

from: Amazed by Grace

edited by Elizabeth Kea

retreat

Gereja gua di Bdg ceritanya akan adain retreat..... huaaah at laaaasssstttt setelah 11 tahun, bayangin..... 11 tahun, man!!!!!!!!!!! Terakhir retreat kel. besar taun 95 dan baru taun ini adain lagi, tepatnya minggu depan pas libur Lebaran (well bukan tgl merahnya denk). Orang-orang pada semangat.... memang sih gak semua bisa berhubung bukan pas tgl merah. Tapi gua agak prihatin juga, di tengah-tengah kekurangan orang yang terjadi, masih ada orang2 yang bisa keukeuh gak mau bantu, okey deh utk hadir emang gak bisa. Tapi jgnkan hadir, ini persiapan pun masih ada yang gak berkutik. Acara mungkin gak sempurna, kurang ini kurang itu, gak sesuai keinginan kita..... (aha..mungkin itu sebabnya), tapi bukan berarti kita diem sementara orang2 semua pada bersibuk2. Tapi ada jg 1 tmn gw yg sehari-hari kerja di Jkt, bayangin sampe tiap minggu dia pp. bdg-jkt utk ke grj, ibadah dan pelayanan, sampe merelakan ijin cuti khusus utk bantu retreat. Dari sini gua bisa liat di grj ternyata ada berbagai macam tipe orang. Waktu gua bilang ke 1 orang, ini contoh aja, "eh si X yg org jakarta aja ijin cuti, masa situ ga ikut, malu donk?"
Berikut percakapannya:

y: karena orang bandung bekerja dengan sebaik2nya walaupun dengan tuan yang bengis.
y: jadi tak perlu merasa malu.
z: lebih taat sama tuan yang bengis drpd sama Tuan yg lemah lembut
y: karena tuan yang bengis pun ditempatkan oleh Tuan yg lemah lembut untuk menjadi atasanmu.
z: lebih
z: bukan gak taat
z: analoginya bukan ke situ menurut saya
y: mbb.
z: ?
y: manusia bebas bicara.. hehe.
z: memang
z: ok
z: anda gak ikut ya gpp
z: kerja ya mo gmn lagi
z: tapi minimal bantu bisa khan????
z: selain drpd doa tentunya
y: mungkin sore/malem nongol sih.
y: tapi ga akan merugikan.
y: kaga makan, kaga nginep.
z: ko jadi untung rugi
z: hehe
z: ya mo nginep jg gapapa kaleeee
y: ya masa kaga dapter tapi nginep dan makan. tak sopan itu namanya.
z: hehehe
z: dasar lu
z: yah daftar mah daftar sajalah, cuma 50ribu khan
z: itung2 nyumbang
y: udah nyumbang.
z: oh
z: terus, kalo sdh nyumbang tapi ga daftar, ga bole makan ya takut rugi, jahat kali panitianya
z: sapa bagian konsumsi/akomodasi
y: bukan jahat. tapi mengkacaukan persiapan.

(pembicaraan terhenti, gua stop krn ngantuk)

y: temen gereja
z: me

Alhasil, pembicaraan tidak nyambung sama sekali. Well, terserah deh, judge not... Bible says. Tapi selalu menarik melihat karakter orang yg beda2, something yang bbrp hari terakhir ini gua hrs hadapi. Btw gereja gak rame kalo gak gini ya?

kota-kota di dunia

Berikut ini nama-nama negara/kota di dunia....coba simak:

I.T.A.L.Y.
I Trust And Love You

L.I.B.Y.A.
Love Is Beautiful ; You Also

F.R.A.N.C.E.
Friendships Remain And Never Can End

C.H.I.N.A.
Come Here..... I Need Affection

B.U.R.M.A.
Between Us, Remember Me Always

N.E.P.A.L.
Never Ever Part As Lovers

C.A.N.A.D.A .
Cute And Naughty Action that developed into attraction

E.G.Y.P.T.
Everything's Great, You Pretty Thing !

M.A.N.I.L.A.
May All Nights Inspire Love Always

P.E.R.U.
Phorget (Forget) Everyone... Remember Us

T.H.A.I.L.A. N.D.
Totally Happy, Always In Love And Never Dull

J.A.K.A.R.T. A
Jambret Ada, Koruptor Ada, Rampok Tentu Ada

transitioning

TRANSISI. Rasanya kita sering sekali mendengar kata ini. Apa sih transisi itu? Kata aslinya dari Bhs Latin, transire - artinya, melewati/melalui/lewat. ...Hehehe kata yang terakhir itu menarik. Kalau chat saya paling sering ngomong "lewat." Mungkin lain kali saya akan bilang "TRANSISI!!!" Menurut Kamus Merriam-Webster, ada 3 pengertian transisi:

1. sebuah proses dari satu tahap/tempat/subyek ke tahap/tempat/subyek lainnya.
2. modulasi musikal, sebuah jembatan yang membawa perpindahan dari karya satu ke karya lainnya. -- ini pengertian dlm musik
3. sebuah perubahan tiba-tiba di dalam status energi tertentu yang biasanya disertai penambahan atau pengurangan kuantum energi.

Nah, kayanya pengertian no.1 deh ya yang paling umum. Yg lainnya anggap kasus khusus deh. Hidup ini adalah transisi. Boleh dibilang begitu. Siapa sih yang gak pernah mengalami transisi? Saya sekarang sedang mengalami transisi. (dari rasa kantuk menuju tempat tidur...hahaha) Mungkin semua orang juga demikian, sedang ber-transisi. Lalu kenapa tiba2 kamu ngomong transisi????? Mungkin orang-orang pada nanya begitu. Ya, karena tiba-tiba muncul di benak pikiran saya. Kita semua sedang mengalami transisi. Transisi bisa macam-macam. Transisi dari yang tinggal di Indonesia, negara korup-macet-bau-jorok NAN gembira ria banyak jajanan murah meriah spt baso tahu pinggir jalan, es campur, dan batagor, transisi pindah ke Amerika yang serba apik, rapi, dan tentunya gak murah meriah lagi... Hixhix... Transisi dari 1 musim, (misalnya musim duren yang slurpy yummy), ke 4 musim. Transisi dari jomblo terus mantan jomblo, terus jomblo lagi, terus mantan jomblo lagi. Kenapa kita terus menerus gak pernah berhenti ber-transisi selagi waktu berjalan? Hmm pertanyaan bagus. Sebetulnya ada transisi yang paling penting dan paling dinanti. Transisi kita yang paling terakhir. Transisi dari dunia fana menuju dunia kekal. Itu yang ditunggu-tunggu. Dunia bukan rumahku, aku hanya seorang pengembara - mungkin syair lagu itu harus ditambah dengan kata-kata, ...... yang selalu bertransisi. Entah bagaimana melodinya jadi seperti apa.

Di saat itulah, kita tidak akan ber-transisi lagi, untuk selama-lamanya. Cukup sudah. Apakah kehidupan berakhir? Tentu tidak. Justru itu awal dari segala-galanya. Huaaaaaahh. Saya sudah mengantuk. Sebentar lagi mau 'transisi' nih di Pulau Kapuk. Sambung lagi besok-besok. Kelihatannya akan jadi topik yang menarik unek-unek ini. Mungkin besok topiknya, "apa yang harus kita lakukan di dalam masa transisi."

Salam transisi - to be continued

gak ngerti

Ngomong sama si A..., gak nyambung. Ngomong sama si B.... eh, salah nangkep lagi.... Topiknya sama. Apa sini yang tulalit or mereka yg beda jurusan yach?
Ahh biar....

Yuhuuu, taaarriiiiik maaaaannnngggg!

obituary

The latest victims of E.Coli Outbreak all over USA

some captivating momento...

Heiyyaaa, this week is quite a 'week'..... Fhew! I have an intensive class where it supposed to be a 'fall break' holiday. Nevermind, Liberty is not generous in giving holiday. So btw I have a full 'plate.' Plus we have 'SuperConference' at Thomas Road Church, it's a sort of 'KKR.' A number of good speakers spoke. One of them was Dr. David Jeremiah from San Diego. He talked about 'discouragement.' A great spiritual oasis in the midst of the dried 'dessert.' Powerful message and great music program, well, what else you'd expect from such big church???















First day SC - Monday, Oct 2



Ok. Enough with SuperConference, enough with the full-parking and the campus hectics. Today, me and my roommate, Ben, have some special quests in our 'hut.' Three ladies came over and cheer us up. Haha! We're two luckiest guy here..... Well, that's not the point, actually the greatest part is my roommie cook a great delicious Mexican food, Chicken Enchilada.... yummmy!















tadaaaa..... Ben Forrest's Chicken Enchilada
(looks yummy, eh)




















he seemed so proud with his food....















Done! We're loaded.
(Ben, Julie, Samantha, Kelsey, me)


Btw, all the pictures except the bottom one were taken with my cell-phone, so I hope everybody would understand that... So, either in a big spacious church, or in a small studio apartment with just a simple dish meal, we can have good fellowship if we're right with God. Right?

hiding

Pointless……..
How it seems so
But I sit and look inside,
Seeing the unseen, hearing the unheard
Waiting for the utterance to appear and whisper

Shiftless…..
Stop at the corner
Deem for the deep yearning
Take heed for the stretch has gone astray

Speechless……
No words come up from the lips
Not even a single breath
Tranquil, my soul…

Blameless…….
The voice that comes
The sight that grows
Compels me to seek,
and to hear, and to listen
and to see…for just a glimpse
Yes, there is more to come….

L-Burg

01oct06

morning humming

This morning when I took shower, I remembered this old song and hummed it while the water splashed out. (can only hummed coz my roommie was still sleeping) But I think the words are so true for me.

Praise Looks Good on You

When you lift Your hands up high
And you sing a song of praise to Me
It brings Me great delight
Such a lovely sight
And yes it is true
Praise looks good on you
Morning night and noon
Your praise ascends to heaven
Like the smell sweet perfume
Filling every room
And yes it is true
Praise looks good on you

You bring your sacrifices
and you offer up your praise
You lift your voice with singing
but your heart seems far away
More than a sacrifice
I am looking for your life
holy and acceptable
and pleasing in my sight

So offer up your lives
holy and acceptable
a willing sacrifice
precious in my sight
But in all that you do
remember all I want is you

So lift your hands up high

and worship Him before the altar

Consecrate your life

a willing sacrifice

But in all that you do

remember all He wants is you

And yes it is true

praise looks good on you

Don Moen

h4riiNiBuKanUnTUkKu

Judul postingan ini terlalu dramatis... tapi biarin ah.
Pernah denger orang bilang, "dunia ga adil"?????? Kalo belon pernah, sekarang gua bilang.....
Suka ga suka, sadar ga sadar, perasaan itu pasti suatu saat akan kita hadapi. Contohnya gini.
Hari ini ada Exam#1 di kelas Ministry of Teaching, bahannya gak sedikit, lumayan ujubile. Isinya semua beraneka ragam teori dan prinsip2 teaching. Dari awal minggu2 ini gua dah nyiapin krn ga akan bisa dikebut. Kmrn pas lagi finishing belajar, roommate gw di rumah sore2 nunjukin soal ujian 2 thn lalu yg dia dapet dari temennya. Gua liat2 sebentar terus back to my own study. Roommate gw kmrn seharian pergi maen, dia cuma hafalin mati dari text soal punya dia itu. N guess what??????
Tadi soalnya kayanya sama persiss. Roommate gua dlm 30 menit selesain exam truz langsung keluar. Gue ga dongkol sama dia. CUma yah kesel aja. Rasanya ko orang gampang bener ya... gua yg udah susah2 nyiapin kok ga seconfident itu. Apa kayanya gua yg bego.. n roommate gua superbjenius, well I don't know.
Maklum, namanya jg kls ttg 'teaching' - dosen gw bikin tipe ujiannya yg rada2 complexed gitu deh. Semua tmn2 laen jg terbengong2 dan lamaaaa banget selesain test ini. Gua kmrn ga terpikir utk hafal mati or belajar dari text roommate gw krn gua pikir well gua udah punya pattern belajar sendiri dan rasanya 'mungkin gengsiii gitu yee'' masa sih belajar dari bahan orang. Lagian dia pergi keluar seharian n baru balik setelah gua tidur.
Nyesel? Ga juga. Cuma kesel dikit.

Kedua. Awal semester ini gua baru beli software utk bikin academic writing. Di Amrik ini orang ga bisa sembarangan nulis paper kayak jaman kuliah di Indo.... No way! Semua ada aturan bahkan sampe layout, margin, spacing, indentation, semuaaa ada aturan baku. Seminary gua pake model Turabian/Chicago. So gua beli software yg namanya StyleEase-Turabian yg harganya $40 DEMI ikut aturan krn gua disaranin tmn gua yg bisa lolos 1 Prof yg jeli banget. Nah, di kls Systematic Theology (yg gak gampang jg), gua duduk bareng sama 1 tmn yg namanya si X.
Roommate gw kasitau ke dia kalo gua punya StyleEase dan dia ngejar2 itu software ke gua.
Emang sih, orang INDO sdh terkenal dgn 'bajaaakkkk'-nya itu. Segala2 dibajak dan dibakar. hehe. Tapi ga tau deh, napa ya rasanya gua ga rela. Ga adil gua udah beli mahal2 terus dibajak sama dia.... TERUS. blm selesai nih ada lanjutannya....
Di kelas ini kita udah mulai hrs ambil Online Quiz (OQ) yg openbook. Di OQ pertama, si X ini bilang dia udah ambil dan susaaah banget, nilai dia ga nyampe setengah dari nilai penuh. So you know laa kira2 brp. So gua mikir ini pasti susah. Well, I did it and I got almost 3/4 dari total score. GUESS WHAT? Si dosen bilang ok deh, karena banyak yg gagal, yg gagal boleh ambil quiz lagi (dgn isi yg sama). Dan hari ini si X bilang, HORE gua udah ambil OQ dan dapet 100%!!!!!!
JEDIGGGGGG DIGGG DIGGG!!!! Hmm bagusshh!

Marah? Gak
Sebel? Gak juga
Kesel? Belon
Sedih? Jangan sampe
Jengkel? ga tau

No comment. This is not my day... Not at all....

**Dan selimut pun ditutup** zzzz.........

they finally put him down

A TRIBUTE TO A SILENT KID















Isaac (1996-2006)

















(sleepyheads)

He didn't make it, I've just heard this morning. The problem was too complicated. Cancer and a bursting tumor. He could not even breathe. They buried Isaac after the vet shot him down. Poor Ryan, he was sad all day (and even cried.... fortunately I didn't see that, if I was there, I would have ruined the situation). So now when I got home, nobody would stand by the door and greet me. Hix...

Goodbye, Isaac.

noted things

Okay, Minggu ini kok kerasanya panjang banget ya. Ceritanya baru balik dari sport center abis berenang terus relax di jacuzzi berendem air panas... weeee... Orang2 pada mulai nanya di email dll, so gimana nih kabarnya yang udah mulai kuliah.... hehe baru sempet jawab sekarang. Ada beberapa hal yang gua catet, hal2 yang terjadi di semester Fall 2006 ini.

Things to be thanked for:

1. Gua bisa melalui adjustment phase - tinggal di rumah asri nan nyaman dengan 4 roommates. Lebih enak, lebih gak sepi, lebih deket ke kampus, dan lebih murah!!! (itu yg paling penting, coiy!) Bener2 blessings, dah! Adapun roommates gua, Ryan P: the care owner, Ryan B: the funny gag-maker, Adam: the silent co-worker @ the office (lucu juga kita terbengong2 pas tau kita tinggal serumah, Adam & gua sama2 kerja di kantor Admissions Processing), and finally Ben: the undescribable roommate. I'll tell about it later.
2. Semua kelas bisa diikuti dengan lancar. Gua lagi keep-up dengan semua tugas2 yg makin serius dan perlu diplanning jauh2 kapan beresin-nya.
3. Bisa kerja full hours sesuai limit (18 jam seminggu). Memang sih kagak ada naik gaji seperti yang dikasi tau temen gue, tapi well, bisa kerja aja udah bagus banget. Temen2 gua yg international students pada ga dapet kerja.
4. Beberapa urusan 'big deal' di gereja gua sudah dilalui. Fhew!!! Yg ini bener2 puji Tuhan soalnya gua udah sempet kepikir hal2 yg laen. Gereja gua intinya lagi dlm masa transisi gitulah. So, it's glad to know that we can continue to move on.
5. Dpt kesempatan utk ikut kebaktian pagi di Thomas Road Church yg jam 8.30 (so gua sebelum melayani di gereja Faith Baptist jam 10). Krn lokasinya di kampus, jadi sekalian jalan. Lumayan direfresh dengan suasana kebaktian dan preachingnya. Kebetulan yg khotbah pagi Pastor Jonathan Falwell n khotbah dia buat gua lbh dalem pembahasannya, lebih mengena (alias menabok) daripada bokapnya...

Things to be prayed about

1. Walaupun masa penyesuaian gua tinggal disini berjalan lancar, gua masih harus belajar utk menyesuaikan diri tinggal bareng sekamar dengan roommate gua. Ada kalanya gua merasa keganggu kalo dia bawa temen2 seRT nonton bareng di tempat kita. Bukan berarti gua ga seneng ada tamu, gua seneng of course, it brightens the whole room, tapi kadang ngedadak-nya itu. Well, gua udah ngomong baik2 dan keliatannya belakangan ini ada kemajuan, dia gak tiba2 bawa temen2. Kadang dia nanya dulu. Tapi yah, mungkin gua masih hrs belajar banyak utk share the living with others.
2. Semester ini tugas2 gak numpuk, tapi tiap minggu selalu ada yg hrs dikerjain. So, lbh teratur ritme-nya, lebih enak tapi gua gak bole lengah.
3. Pelayanan di gereja bakal lebih serius karena kali ini gua diserahin all areas yg berhubungan sama yg namanya worship & music (praise band dan choir...woaaaa). Maklum grj kecil. Temen gua yg dulu jadi partner skrg gak balik lagi ke Lynchburg. Gua gak pinter bikin konsep, so gua masi kudu belajar pake trial n error tea... Komitmen gua adalah gua bakal lakuin sepanjang yg gua sanggup.
4. Gua enggak pernah suka yg namanya anjing, tapi maklum ada pesan sponsor barusan gua diminta doain anjing golden retriever di rumah kita yang namanya si Isaac. Dia lagi sakit....(bahhhhh... sejak kapan gua doain anjing?????) Overall untung aje anjing yg satu ini baeknya minta ampun. Penurut, pinter, dan gak pernah menggonggong. Halah, gua sempet bingung ni anjing apa domba ye?
5. Last but not least. Tentu kehidupan rohani gua. Anything can happen if I'm not in the right track. Gua lagi berusaha belajar menghadapi karakter tiap2 orang yg berbeda. Orang2 di rumah ini, friends, and even family. So please be patient with me lah, OK???

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

(Hebrews 12:1-6)

EUUUUUUUUUUUURRRGGGHHHHH....

Shoot! What a draining week...




"To You I call, O LORD my Rock...." - Psalm 28:1

Pancasila in local/tribal languages

Pancasila (Jawa)
siji: Gusti Alllah ora ono kancane
loro: Dadi wong kudu sing adil lan ojo kejem-kejem
telu: Indonesia bersatu kabeh
papat: karo tonggo-tonggo nek ono masalah diomongnobareng-bareng opo
limo: mangan ra mangan sing penting kumpul

Pancasila (Sunda)
hiji: Gusti Allah eta sorangan sareng ageng pisan
dua: ka sorangan teh sikapna kudu sami, ulahngabeda-beda keun..
tilu: Indonesia kuduna mah jadi hiji
Opat: Ra'yat Indonesia sae na pang mutuskeun sagalateh disepakatkeunheula. Kedah bageur lan bijaksana
Lima: Ceunah teh sikap sosialna kudu adil hiji sarengbatur.

Pancasila (Batak Toba)
Sada: Dang adong na pajago-jagohon di jolo ni Debata
Dua : Maradat tu sude jolma
Tolu : Punguan ni halak Indonesia
Opat : Marbadai ... marbadai, dungi mardame
Lima : Godang pe habis saotik pe sukkup

Poncosilo (jawa kromo)
kaping setunggal: Gusti ingkang Maha satunggal
Kaping kalih: Tiangingkang Adil lan beradab
kaping tiga: persetunggalan Indonesia
kapingsekawan: Kerakyatan ingkang dipimpin kaliyan hikmat lan kewicaksonoan dateng permusyawaratan kang diwakilkan.
kaping gangsal:Adil kang sosial kangge sakabehe tiang Indonesia

Pancasila (Palembang)
sute: Tuhan ne sute tu'la
due: jelme harus khapat same rate
tige: jelme Indones iane bersatu padu
empat: jeleme Indonesiane diketuci ngai hikmah dimanengedapatkan jawaban dadi gegale masalah
Leme: kesameratean hidup ne jelmekangok Indonesia...

Pancasila (Ambon)
1. Torang samua tawu cuma ada Tuang Allah yaitu Tetemanu...
2. Orang ambon samu harus tau adat
3. acang deng obet harus bisa bakubae
4.Paitua deng maitua harus bae-bae di rumah rakyat
5.samu harus bisa jaga diri karna ambon lapar makan orang....... ...

Pancasila (Manado)
1. Cuma boleh ba satu Tuhan
2. Selalu adil kong ja pake ontak
3. Torang samua satu, Bangsa Indonesia
4. Tu rakyat musti slalu bakumpul kong bicara bae-2 spy slalu adakaputusan gagah yg semua trima deng nang hati.
5. voor seluruh ra kyat Indonesia, nyanda ada tu jabaku kase beda-2perlakuan.

Pancasilo (Padang)
ciek: Bintang Basagi Limo
duo: Rantai pangikek kudo
tigo: pohon baringin gadang ta'mpek kito bacinto
ampek: kapalo banteng bataduk duo
limo: padi jo kapeh pambaluik nan luka

(kayaknye banyak yg gak nyambung deh)

Ernesto

Had an interesting conversation last night. I told my friend back home in Indonesia about the weather here. These past few days in Virginia we have rainfall. The ERNESTO hurricane from the South / Florida brought this up and we have non-stop rain for 2-3 days. My neighbor's house was flooded, thank the Lord that our house was just fine. My friend gave comment "Wow, America is always struck by all kinds of things; hurricanes, tornadoes, flood, etc." Maybe God is telling something.

I said, "Well, don't forget that Indonesia has been through all kinds of disasters also, tsunami, earthquakes, floods and other stuffs." He replied, "Yes, Indonesia has all kinds of disasters, but the government and the people never changes." We pray all kinds of prayers but they're just the same.
Suddenly something else poped-up in my mind. What is the purpose of prayer, anyway? Yes, prayer changes things, we heard those a lot. But is it to change the condition OR something else. Prayer supposed to change the person who prays, not the situation nor others. Remember Sadrach, Mesach, and Abednego. They were accused because they prayed not to the king but to their God. Then they said, "..the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us from you, but even he does not..." Even he does not, this is between life and death. Sure it took prayers for them to be able to say that. Yes, they prayed (as Jewish they prayed in the morning, day, and night). And yes it did change them instead of the whole situation that they were facing.

Oswald Chambers said,

"God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature."

We Christians used to pray that God would changes this and that, anything but ourselves (especially when we're dealing in a conflict). Ha ha ha.... I used to pray that. Now I'm thankful that God gave me a simple reminder. My prayer is that God continues to change me to be more like Him. Long way to go, fellas.

intro to fall 06

Aha.., setelah dua bulan lebih gua ninggalin kampus tercinta, Liberty, akhirnya hari Senin kmrn tgl 21 Agst bisa balik lagi dgn selamat di kota kecil alias dusun Lynchburg, Virginia, setelah mudik ke Bandung selama libur musim panas, (sempet juga ke Jkt, Pangandaran, Sby, Malang, Bali, tapi itu bukan liburan/piknik, sedih gak seeh...).

Sebelum lanjut, ada cerita pas gua baru mendarat di USA, hari itu tgl 10 Agustus di London ada kasus bomb trap yg dirakit pakai cairan/liquids. Hari itu di semua airport Amrik mendadak ada aturan baru yaitu NO LIQUIDS in the cabin bags. Saking mendadaknya sampe petugas bikin pengumuman-nya pake cara tradisional, di-print terus ditempel di tembok2 bak poster kampanye pemilu...... Wah, gue bawa Biore - Made in Indonesia itu semua LUDES dah disita petugas gara2 gue simpen di tas cabin. Lenyap sutralah, relakan, good bye.... Mineral water pun harus diabisin dulu sebelum naik pesawat connecting/domestic. Galak deh pokonya, rada2 serem.

Nah, tgl 21 Agustus kmrn gua nyampe di rumah Sandusky Drive, kira2 5 km saja dari kampus. Ada 5 orang yg tinggal disini. Ryan P (the owner of the house), Ryan B, sama si Adam Shure, mereka semua tinggal di atas, dgn kamar masing2. Sementara gue dapet tempat di studio apartment/basement yg cukup lega, dgn roommate baru, Ben Forrest, yang sama2 kuliah di seminary.

Hari Rabu kemaren kuliah pertama di semester Fall 2006 ini. ASTAGA!!!! itu yg namanya parkir semua penuh. Busyett... Fall 2006 ini ada 3,200 freshman (mhs baru) yg masuk. Gile bener, pantesan aja parkir semua penuh. Itu berarti hampir 9,000 orang yg tinggal di kompleks kampus sekarang ini, naik 2 ribu tadinya 7,000an. Itu baru mhs undergrad, belon lagi taun ini, Thomas Road Church (gereja induk Liberty) pindah ke kompleks kampus juga, mereka baru bangun sanctuary yg muat 6,000 tempat duduk. Mereka otomatis pindah dengan kantor2nya, so parkir betul2 penuh nuh nuh nuh nuh.. (ko manggil2 nabi Nuh ya hehe..). Gue sampe hrs jalan 2x lbh jauh dr biasanya. Higs.... kesel juga soalnya university/anak2 undergrads selalu bikin parkir penuh dan kami2 di seminary selalu harus ngalah.... emang seeh yg lbh tua ngalah, tapi kadang mereka gak mikir juga, targetin mhs baru segitu banyak tapi parkir-nya gak memadai. Tadi aja pas mo balik gue ngeliat itu opsir2 LUPD (Liberty University Police Dept.) rame2 bikin surat tilang buat 1 barisan mobil2 yg diparkir, yg sebetulnya ga bisa disalahin krn mereka mau masuk kuliah tapi parkir penuh semua sementara lahan segitu2nya.

Kedua, semua stock barang2 penting di Wal-Mart toserba kesayangan kita itu LUDES juga disikat sama ribuan mhs LU yg baru masuk asrama. Gue nyari extension cable buat listrik gak ada sama sekali. Sabun cuci wastafel pun tinggal 1 botol. Gile benerrrr... serem ihhh ini kaya mo perang aja, barang2 sembako pada abis...

Nah, yg satu ini bikin gue rada qeqi, yaitu BIAYA utk daftarin mobil, Januari kmrn gue bayar utk sticker spy bisa parkir di tempat GRADUATE students spt biasanya, itu dulu $75 aja dah mikir2 dulu, eh sekarang tarif parking sticker dipukul rata jadi $300, ALAMAAK.... bisa benjut dompetku. Errghhh....., gak mikir banget deh mereka (para juragan kampus), masa katanya supaya freshman2 itu gak bawa mobil, JUSTRU freshman yg paling kenceng duitnya, mrk sekolah dibayarin ortu yg kaya2, liat aja freshman mobilnya pasti bagus2, terang aja duit segitu buat mereka gak ngaruh, apalagi kalo mrk bayar sekolah dgn study loan, kita2 ini yg anak rantau yg harus itung dollar demi dollar...higss..... rasanya mau nangis deh.

Kalo udah gini, gua biasanya ingat masa2 semester 1 dulu pas blm nyetir mobil, waktu gue jalan kaki di tengah teriknya matahari, dari asrama di ujung selatan ke ke kampus di ujung utara, kira2 4-5 km sehari, krn kampus terlalu luas. Kira2 seperti jalan dari depan Ganesha ITB ke Simpang Dago. Nah, kali ini gue bersyukur krn masa2 itu sdh lewat.... Jadi hilang keselnya. Mudah bukan.... :)

Ok, cukup sekian dengan keluhan... Semester ini gue ambil 12 credit terbagi dalam 4 kelas; 1. Ministry of Teaching - ini yg lumayan susah; 2. Purpose Driven Ministry - agak ringan; 3. Cross-cultural Evangelism & Church Planting - blm keliatan susah or gampang; 4. Systematic Theology I, nahh ini yg susah n cukup berattt..... fhewwww..... Lord, have mercy... (orang2 bule di daerah sini biasa suka ngomong gitu dengan logat coboy/southern yg kental, itu kalo di Indo kira2 sama dengan "astaga naga bonar..." hehehe....

Well, I have to be ready with all of those things. Gotta do what I have to do. Ora et Labora itu betulan lho. The real life is about to begin.... I know His grace is sufficient, because His strength made perfect in my weakness. Tralalalala ......

just a thought

I indeed...., but He

"I indeed baptize you with water . . . but He . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" Matthew 3:11

Have I ever come to the point in my life where I can say, "I indeed . . . but He . . ."? Until that moment comes, I will never know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means. I indeed am at the end, and I cannot do anything more— butHe begins right there— He does the things that no one else can ever do. Am I prepared for His coming? Jesus cannot come and do His work in me as long as there is anything blocking the way, whether it is something good or bad. When He comes to me, am I prepared for Him to drag every wrong thing I have ever done into the light? That is exactly where He comes. Wherever I know I am unclean is where He will put His feet and stand, and wherever I think I am clean is where He will remove His feet and walk away.
Repentance does not cause a sense of sin— it causes a sense of inexpressible unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am absolutely helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals. Have I repented like that, or do I have a lingering thought of possibly trying to defend my actions? The reason God cannot come into my life is that I am not at the point of complete repentance.
"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." John is not speaking here of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience, but as a work performed by Jesus Christ. "He will baptize you . . . ." The only experience that those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit are ever conscious of is the experience of sensing their absolute unworthiness.
"I indeed" was this in the past, "but He" came and something miraculous happened. Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where He does everything.--

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Tuesday

August 22, 2006

new semester

In the beginning of this new semester, God is fixing something in my life. It may be not comfortable... at all, but I'm willing to obey and listen to Him. We'll just see.
I've tried to change the blog outlook but I couldn't finish it somehow. Now I'll just stick to this one. We have just move in to our house. Things will be normal somewhere next week.

eng .. ing.. eng .. (the end of the holiday)

Memang bukan moment yang terlalu exciting kalo liburan berakhir. Apalagi abis liburan di tengah kampung halaman. OK, need to gear up..... Back to the real world, and hit the road!

Creator of all things,true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darknessin which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding,a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myselfwith thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,direct the progress,
and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

St. Thomas of Aquinas

Don Moen

Tgl 28 Juli lalu gue dapet kesempatan nonton Don Moen. (baca bukan don mun, tapi don mo-wen.) Ni orang satu kayaknya awet muda, prasaan dari dulu yah gitu terus padahal dia ampir seumuran bokap gue....
Harga tiketnya gak kira2.... paling murah di ujung-sumujung itu 90ribu, rada ke tengah itu 200ribu. Yah, demi solidaritas gue nonton yg 200ribu. Dodol nya itu pas hari H, si panitia bikin ulah pake upgrade kelas dgn diskon2, so rugi dah... Terakhir nonton kalo gak salah itu taun 2002 or 2003, nonton dengan group yang sama, hanya skrg si Om yg dulu nonton bareng, sudah ada di rumah Bapa di Surga.

Berikut posting kesan salah satu penonton konser...

"Sejak nonton DonMoen minggu yl. ...
ada 2 lagu yg sampe sekarang berkumandang di hatiku...

judulnya... He Never Sleeps..

Oom DonMoen bilang gini:
"One day I realised I had prayed the same thing to God every night," katanya sebelom nyanyiin lagunya...
"He Never Sleeps." ....
"But God is never too tired to hear our prayers, even it's the same everyday. He is one that never sleeps."

Bener banget... gw ngebayangin kalo ada orang curhat dg topik itu lagi itu lagi.. kita yg dengernya seringkali males...
Hmm..padahal seringkali doa doa kita topik nya itu-itu lagi.. walopun dg rangkaian kata-kata yg beda-beda tiap hari.. tapi Tuhan ngga pernah bosen dg pergumulan kita, beban doa kita, keluhan kita..... Hebat yaa....!!!

He never sleeps He never slumbers
He never tires of hearing our prayer
When we are week He becomes stronger
dst..dst...

Lagu laennya..yg berkumandang juga... Still/Be Still My Soul
Disaat banyak bencana dimana-mana... bahkan isyu..isyu gempa, tsunami, via sms, email, etc...
Juga penglihatan beberapa hamba Tuhan...
lagu ini bikin gw damai...
Tuhan lebih dahsyat drpd apapun juga....!!!

When the ocean rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are King over the floodAnd I will be still and know You are God
dst..dst...


Thank's Jesus for cover me within your mighty hand...
-fps-

last moments

This is my final week of holiday in our home country...Indonesia. I enjoyed it a lot. Everybody keep me workin'.....b-zee..b-zee..b-zee. Last night I had an opportunity to sit down together with my family, dad-mom-bro. We talked after we watch a stupid TV-show where we laughed.

This is not always happen, that's why I feel grateful for it.

Last few days, I went to dinner with some of my best friends. Eat..eat.. n..eat... From the very first time I stepped out from the plane, people just took me to eat. This is definitely not a time to burn my calls..... but hey..... it's not a big deal.

Another thing is 'bancruptcy' - I think I'm BROKE here!!!!! Well, I have quite an idea, i.e. to go to DAGO and 'ngamen' in the streets on Saturday nite with my cousin. A couple weeks ago he sold hundreds of rose during weekend nite and gained a couple hundred thousands of Rupiah. Pretty impressive, huh? And while he was there, guess what? He met with one of the pastors we knew. He was doing 'ngamen' in Dago with his fellow and got probably 500.000 pocket money that very night! Jeez!

What an inspiring thing to do....hehehe... I think I will have to bail out my bancruptcy when I return back to USA.... work..work..work.

Speaking about work, I'm a bit confused since there's a lot of new job offers in the college. Some of them are quite challenging and could bring new possibilities of ministry for my future. While now I've already got a nice place to work in the Admissions Dept. My bos really wants me to work for him again. I thank the Lord for that. But sometime in my mind, there crosses 'the adventurous guts' VERSUS 'the unfaithful swings.' I'll still have to pray about it and really depend on God's will.

Meanwhile, I'll just stay calm and relax during these last days. Still expecting many good things to pass. I thank the Lord once again..........................

after a long day

Hmm... this is quite a long day, started from 6 a.m, all the way to 9 PM. Goodness!!!
Tired, pegel2, capek, and so on ......

Isaiah 40:1 - "comfort...comfort, My people"

my holiday (part II) : PANGANDARAN

Summer holiday-ku yg pertama ini tanpa diduga harus diusik dengan adanya ‘Tsunami Vol. II di Pangandaran dan Cilacap.” Hari Rabu siang mendadak gua diajak Bung Tinus, sang pendeta preman utk ikut pergi ke Pangandaran bersama dengan team Rebana yg mau nyerahin bantuan utk para korban. 10 tahun udah gak pernah kesana, sekalinya diajak pergi ya pas ada musibah ini.
Begitu ditanya awalnya rada ragu juga mau ikut kaga, soalnya ini gak maen2, gempa tsunami itu biasanya gak cuma sekali n emang org yg ngajak ini sdh biasa NEKAD sedangkan gue rasanya kaga.
Setelah mengiyakan n atur2 jadwal, tepat tengah mlm hari Rabu kami berangkat ke Pangandaran dari Wastukencana 40. Kami bawa 2 karung besar selimut dan sarung (which is rada aneh krn biasa orang bawa indomie beras dll, tapi justru barang bawaan ini yg lebih diperlukan warga). Gue duduk di kursi tengah didempet oleh 2 pendeta berbadan subur. Lutut kaki dlm posisi duduk tegak cuma bisa kerasa super pegel2 selama 4 jam gak bisa gerak apa2. Sadis juga…hehehe. Kami tiba di Pangandaran jam 4 subuh, begitu nyampe langsung parkir di depan Mesjid Agung Pangandaran n acara lanjut dgn minum kopi di warung Pak Bejo. Demikianlah si Pak Bejo bercerita pake bhs Jawa dengan Bung Tinus dan Bung Raymond yg bermuka Ambon dgn lancar ngobrol sama si Pak Bejo, gue cuma bengong sambil ngedengerin cerita seputar tsunami, tanpa minum kopi krn kopinya cuma ada Kopi Kapal Api yg pahit tenan (cappuccino ora ono, rekk..). Orang2 di warkop pada bengong ini kok nyong Ambon berdua ini lancar kali ngomong bhs Jawa-nya, n lagi2 gue cuma bengong2 sendiri sambil senyum2 gigi kering tak terasa spt lagu “Plis Dong Ah.”

Si Pak Bejo cerita ternyata itu air laut dari tsunami itu mencapai POS MASUK dimana mobil2 yg mau masuk ke pantai hrs bayar dulu, itu kan cukup jauh. Jadi kekuatan ombaknya jg lumayan punya. Kami masuk menyusuri lokasi mulai dari pos itu emang dah keliatan itu gundukan pasir laut nyampe ke depan pos. Gile juge!
Pemandangan tak asyik mulai diliat pas di dekat garis pantai. Hotel, restaurant, café, toko, dll yg persis di pinggiran pantai, apalagi WC Umum, sdh gak ada bentuknya. Ada bangunan sisa: WC diatas lantai 2, dengan tangga, tapi Cuma itu doank, sebelahnya gak ada bangunan lagi alias hilang diterjang arus air laut, gila juga sampe bisa begitu.
Itu di pantai barat. Di Pantai Timur lain cerita lagi, benteng2 pembatas pantai yg terbuat dari beton itu batu2nya pada berhamburan dimana2 karena pas air datang, batu2 yg beratnya luar binasa itu bisa beterbangan bak burung camar dengan arus air yg kencang banget.
Di lokasi tsunami ini ada banyak pihak berdatangan. Mereka pada buka tenda. Ada PMI, tim SAR, Bank-bank, perusahaan2, n juga partai2 gak ketinggalan. Yang paling banyak sebetulnya partai2. Hmm di lokasi musibah ini ternyata orang2 yang datang masing2 punya misi dan tujuannya sendiri2. Ada yang datang bawa bantuan murni utk menolong sesama. Ada yang datang mau kampanye, ya itu lho partai2 politik, lebih keliatan benderanya daripada bantuan-nya. Kami juga bertemu dengan “mafia tanah” yang pas ditanya “ingin tau” seperti apa sich tsunami itu. So, people came with their own motivation. Masing2 punya tujuan-nya sendiri. Sedih juga sih liatnya, apalagi orang2 yang memanfaatkan penderitaan orang lain buat keuntungannya sendiri. Apa gak ngenes gitu ya liatnya?
Ok, friends. Photo menyusul. Gondok juga kemarin pas berangkat SD Card-nya tertinggal di card reader so cuma bisa ambil photo pake built-in memory. hehehe.....

humming this song...

Tak Pernah Sendiri
© UX Band – Yordan Kurniawan

Saat kau jatuh
Dan terluka
Hidup hampa kau rasa

Jangan pernah takut dan menyerah
Karena aku pernah merasakannya

Saat kau sendiri menanti
Harapan yang tak pasti
Janganlah kau bimbang menjalani
Karena semua pernah aku lalui

Buluh yang patah terkulai
Takkan pernah dipatahkan
Sumbu yang pudar nyalanya
Takkan pernah dipadamkan

Sadarilah bahwa
Kau takkan pernah sendiri
Ada Yesus yang slalu peduli

Tuhan tak pernah tinggalkan
Dia slalu perhatikan

VIRUS

Some days my computer helps me fly like an eagle. Other times, it bogs me down like a hippopotamus. On “eagle days” I’m grateful for my computer. But there are those “hippo days” when I rue the day I bought one.
Recently I’ve had to contend with a virus that invaded my computer. What bothers me most is that viruses are created maliciously. Bright people who live with a darkness in their lives want to make other people miserable. What’s worse, I permitted the virus to enter my machine by opening what I thought was an innocent e-mail.
Sin resembles a computer virus. Satan wants to destroy Christians by infecting their minds. But the apostle Paul urged the believers at Corinth to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Just as we let a virus into our computers, we also let darkness into our lives when we open ourselves unthinkingly to the godless messages that permeate our culture. We let down our guard and hardly notice the sin that infects our minds.
But by confessing our sin, reading God’s Word, and praying, we build a firewall, or barrier, to safeguard our minds. With the help of the Spirit, we’ll keep our minds from becoming unwitting hosts for unwanted guests - HWR

Guard your thoughts as you would your wallet.

(taken from Our Daily Bread)

my holiday (part 1)

Lagi di IP (Istana Plaza) nih ceritanya. Maklum disini ada Wi-Fi gratis jadi seharian nongkrong sambil ngerjain tugas2 dan cek urusan2 sekolah utk semester depan.
Hmmm... Indonesia (Bandung) masi belum berubah. Traffic yang macet, roda-roda mobil menggelinding tak beraturan, tukang sayur, baso, bubur, dan abang becak saling rebutan tempat di pinggir jalan, ditambah angkot dgn supir2 sakti yang nyetirnya pakai 'esmosi'...., belon lagi motor2 yg serempet kiri kanan..... wewww rada pusing juga pas pertama liatnya. Tapi sekarang udah adaptasi, lumayan cepet, sdh mulai nyetir di tengah hiruk pikuknya jalanan Bandung.... hehehe. Btw, tadi OTW here sudah cobain lagi ngangkot setelah sekian lama gak pernah ngangkot, dengerin 'live' music di tiap perempatan jalan

Makanan? Jangan ditanya, orang Bandung doyan makan. Apalagi makanan Bandung!!!! Beberapa pelayanan menanti minggu ini dan minggu2 depan. So people keep me busy here. OK. Lanjut lagi nanti.

baru mendaratttt...

setelah 24 jam perjalanan yg cukup melelahkan, akhirnya aku mendarat jg di bumi pertiwi, cieekkkhhh.... seneng banget ketemu keluarga. yang paling kerasa adl tentu saja internet connection, yg biasanya seharian dibiarin online, skrg dah gak bisa la yaww, bisa2 pulsa telepon benjut gw dimarahin orang seisi rumah. jadi ya sdh, sebentar2 deh online-nya.
hmmm kmrn malem sih tidurnya lumayan nyenyak, tapi kok tau2 sekarang jadi ngantuk lagi nehh, padahal masi siang, sebel deh kalo jetlag gini. daku tidur lagi ah, ga kuatttt.

at last...

Hari yg dinanti besok 'kan tiba. Aku bakal balik ke Indo setelah hampir setahun menimba ilmu di negri Uncle Sam. What a day, what a trip. Berangkat jam 8 pagi dari Louisville Airport ke Chicago O'Hare, dari O'Hare ke Hong Kong - ini yg lama, 15-16 jam di kapal. Jeez! Sampai di Hkg cerita blm selesai, masi hrs lanjut ke SGP sekitar 3 jam, tau2 menjelang tengah mlm hr Rabu baru sampai. Istirahat bbrp jam di hotel transit, Kamis jam 10 pagi baru ke Jkt. Sampai wkt Jkt jam 10.30. Pasti bakal teler. Kira2 yg terbayang sih itu.

So aku tinggalin Amrik, i.e. Lynchburg, VA - sekolah, orang2, kerjaan, dan berkunjung kembali ke kampung halaman. Ada 2 take home project dari summer class yg hrs dibawa pulang dan diserahkan via Blackboard/e-mail. Keep me busy. So.. bye pastor (see u again @ jkt), ryan, kelly, jeremy, om sam & t.linda, will, ni2, ning2, z, pink (see u again @ jkt), justin, roy, christine.

I'm looking forward to MEET & EAT... hehehe. Ketemu keluarga dan temen2 sdh pasti. Kalo bayangin makanan Indo/Bdg, misal: yamcha Talagasari, gado2 Tengku Angkasa, bakmoy Gang Mahmud, kwetiaw Aceh, nasi campur Jln Kelenteng, ayam goreng Suniaraja, kupat tahu & Gudeg Ayu Gg Irsad, Gudeg Yogya Aloysius, chicken soup @ Tizi, tomo&atmo, martabak asin Gg Kasmin, n banyak lagi. Kalo makanan Jkt & Sby tentu bergantung sama org2 yg anter....wakakakak.. bisa2 selama libur gw gain some weight nih gara2 setaun ini harapan perbaikan gizi agak pupus krn badan susut 5-10 pounds/3-5 kg. Kisah & berita selanjutnya tentu akan diposting dari Indo. Yah, doakan perjalananku.

errrghhhh

Selasa kmrn utk pertama kali setelah sekian lama, GUE MERASA SPT ORANG BLOON. Duh maluuuu deh. Kalo inget pengen ketawain diri sendiri. Glad that it's over now. hahahahohohohuhuhuhehehe dorrr jreng!!!!

confession

Gua gak gitu mahir menulis2, tapi somehow mlm ini (or sore, ga tau rada bingung nyebutnya apa soalnya dah jam 8 mlm tapi di luar masih terang) lagi pengen nulis something yg gak tau apa. Mungkin nervous karena 9 hari lagi bakal pulang. Geez! It has been a long day, or a long week, or even a long year. Hari ini hari terakhir gw ke gereja sebelum pulang liburan. Kayanya gua bakal kangen sama electric piano Suzuki yang biasa tiap Minggu gua mainkan. Walaupun itu piano tutsnya keras dan pedalnya gak tahan lama (dua uncomfortability yg paling fatal buat yg suka main piano), tapi itu piano cukup berkesan. Minggu depan electric piano itu bakal hilang dari peredaran karena mau ditukar sama Yamaha punya (yg lebih comfortable dan bersuara merduuu). Well, kayanya justru gw mesti say goodbye sama piano itu krn gak akan ketemu2 lagi. Maybe hrs say goodbye jg sama pemandangan farming nature sepanjang 10 miles yg gw selalu lewati setiap Minggu. Eh ngomong2 soal piano, ini sambil nonton concert Under the Dessert Sky Andrea Bocelli plus DAVID FOSTER (my fave), kereeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnn. higs!

My Heart's In The Highlands

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,

The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;

Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,

The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here;

My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;

A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,

My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go.

Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow;

Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;

Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;

Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here;

My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;

A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,

My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go.

Robert Burns

celoteh si gombal (dari milis tetangga)

Lagi jalan2 di dunia maya, tau2 ketemu curahan hati Mr X dari gereja karismatik injili abbalove (bukan nama sebenarnya) wadoh grj apaan ini (yg ngerti pasti nyengir). Menarik juga, coba disimak, ini tanpa diedit sesuai aslinya.

"sepertinya semua program pembinaan gereja perlu dibuat seperti sistem pendidikan perguruan silat! nah lho...apa hubungannya? alkisah di perguruan silat (sebut aja perguruan rajawali putih) seorang murid sdg diajar tenaga dalam. maka sang guru menyuruh muridnya untuk membawa air dari sungai di desa ke puncak gunung tempat perguruan silat tersebut berada. sambil berpesan: sbelum kamu menemukan rahasia tenaga dalam maka jangan pernah datang kepadaku untuk meminta jurus selanjtnya!
nah hari demi hari sang murid bersusah payah membawa tempayan air.
...minggu demi minggu...1 bulan berlalu, dan secara takjub sang murid akhirnya menemukan rahasia sumber tenaga dalam justru ketika membawa tempayan air tsb.
apa rahasianya?
..wah terus terang saya ndak tahu, namanya juga alkisah..................."

"kebayang ngga kalo sang guru mengajar dengan teori hebat2 ttg jurus2 silatnya? tanpa praktek. bisakah sang murid jadi pesilat hebat?
aneh banget dong ah, masa belajar silat hanya dari teori ? ya kan? nah gimana dgn pembinaan gereja? aneh banget dong ah, mau belajar kasih hanya dr teori doang? aneh dong ah, mau belajar menjadi garam hanya dari kegiatan2 yang banyak di gereja?
jadi idenya, ide gombal #2 adalah spt ini:
jangan terlalu banyak program pembinaan di gereja, supaya murid2 bisa & punya cukup wakttu belajar praksis dlm kehidupan nyata. misal : komsel belajar ttg kasih, (cukup pertemuan 1bulan 1 kali) bulan berikutnya bagi setiap anggota yg belum praktek kasih, jangan datang komsel berikutnya sampai sudah praktek!! bagaimana mungkin mau belajar jurus berikutnya kalo jurus pertama belum bisa? percuma baca buku sampai habis berisi 1000 jurus sakti tanpa pernah praktek. ga akan bisa ngga..lah, pasti!
jadi siapa yang sudah pada tahu 1000 jurus? pasti para teman2 aktifis gereja sudah semua pada tahu...yakin lah sy =)
gimana kalo kita kembali ke jurus 1 aja yok! lupain 1000 jurus, yuk praktekin jurus 1 dulu ajah. kalo udah ngerti baru bisa belajar jurus 2, dst apa itu jurus 1 , 2, 3, dst....1000? anda2 pasti sudah pada tahu lah, kan hebat2 ...tapi maaf numpang nanya..sekali lagi maaf..
apakah anda sudah jadi pesilat sakti???????????????

dari tukang gombal yang lagi belajar silat .... ciat .... ciatttt ...... ciatttttttttttttt ...... gubrakkk ...aduhh pantat gue sakit"

Boleh setuju-gak setuju or kasi tanggapan, silakan dicerna baik2.


"People don't care how much you know, but they know how much you care."

again.....

Still the Cross


Sometimes it seems the world's unraveling around us
We fear it all may one day come undone
We can't forget the One who came before us
To forgive the past and bring hope for what's to come
When it all comes crashing down
The cross still stands alone
And on this our faith is built
And our courage is made strong

When the world falls apart
And you fear for your heart
There's a tower of peace
It's still the cross
So bring your sick and your poor
And your longing for more
To the place of relief
it's still the cross
There is hope for the lost
It's still the cross

Sometimes it seems that I have been forgotten
I don't know how I will make it on my own
But the One who said I will never be forsaken
He still hears my prayer and I will never be alone

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day all will see
You in all Your majesty
And the cross will stand alone
As the place where You made known
Your love for all mankind
Till then in it we'll hide

English a la Cianjure

derwood

Liputan sekilas.... Tadi pagi aku kebaktian di Derwood Bible Church, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Ceritanya ini gereja temenku orang Indo yg dah ga ketemu sejak thn 2001. Anak pastor grj ini adl 'juragan' yg empunya rumah tempat aku tinggal skrg, Ryan Pettit. Nama bapaknya Steve Pettit. Jumat sore kmrn sepulang kantor kita langsung berangkat ke Gaithersburg, kira2 20 menit dari Jakarta. Kmrn ini pas nyampe rumah Ryan gua rada2 kaget soalnya disambut meriah sama bapak-ibunya si Ryan pake pelukan hangat pdhal blm kenal. Pastor Steve & istrinya friendly ke semua orang, pantesan mrk disayang sama jemaatnya.

Tadi pagi jam 10:30 ikut kebaktian kedua di DBC. Kesan pertama, grj ini suasananya casual banget. Mungkin krn lokasinya deket kota metropolitan, jadi suasananya jg beda, gak kaya gereja 'ndeso' spt grj gua disini. Orang2 ke gereja nyantai banget tampilannya, banyak yg pake celana pendek-setelan jogging gitu lho. Pastor Steve sendiri super2 nyantai, pake kemeja kotak n celana jeans, dia sambut tiap2 jemaat yg masuk sanctuary.

Worship style:

Suasananya aja udah casual, ga heran kebaktiannya pun pakai praise team yg lebih kontemporer, walaupun mereka nyanyi bbrp lagu hymns yg diarrange dgn bbrp lagu PW. 1 drum, 1 keyboard, 1 bass, 1 guitar, n 1 flute. Suaranya pas, gak gandenk tapi jelas kedengeran.

Program run:

Keliatannya ada stage-manage or protokol yg atur jalannya acara, or at least ada scenario yg udah disusun spy acara bisa run teratur. Gak ada MC, yg ada pemimpin nyanyi dan tiap2 item acara langsung nyambung satu persatu tanpa interupsi.

Baptism:

Nahh ini menarik lo. Ceritanya di kebaktian 1 yg pagi ada baptism. Baptismnya diliput n disiaran ulang di kebaktian 2 ini. Sblm diputer videonya, mrk puter dulu video kesaksian 7 org yg dibaptis itu. Kreatif juga, jadi org2 yg gugupan kalo bicara di dpn banyak org bisa lbh nyantai bicara di dpn kamera, terus kesaksian-nya bisa di-edit sesuai time yg tersedia jd kebaktian ga akan molor. Baru setelah puter kesaksian, video baptisan yg pagi diputer. ckckckck.. team media production-nya cekatan jg.

Khotbah:

Nah, ini yg yahud. Pastor Steve bukan orang pinter or punya gelar doktor, tapi bisa kerasa khotbah dia dalam dgn pembahasan baptism - idenfied w/ Christ. Hmm, hard stuff..... Isinya dalam dan detail. Ilustrasi2 yg dipakai semuanya bukan cerita karangan tapi pengalaman dia sendiri..... beberapa ada yg miris jg dengernya, kaya kesaksian org2 di Belorussia yg jadi martir.... ah serem. Yg gw denger dari temen2 di grj ini, semua bilang pola pengajaran Pastor Steve bikin orang jd ngerti jelas ttg panggilan hidup mereka.

Memang agak sulit jg ya jadi pastor di grj metropolitan dgn berbagai macam masalah sosial, ada jemaat yg kasusnya begini dan begitu, well there's no such perfect church, tiap grj pasti ada kelemahannya, meminjam istilah mr. brad: "grj isinya pasien2."

Gue kasian dgn grj ini krn mrk bakal kehilangan pastor yg mrk cintai: Pastor Steve sdh memutuskan Juni akhir ini akan resign jadi gembala disana, dia akan pindah kota, tebak kemana? Lynchburg! tentu saja...hehehe, dia bilang panggilannya di grj ini sdh selesai, dari cuma 30 org sampe skrg 600an. Hmm... it will be a real challenge for the church.

Overall I'm blessed to be at that church this morning. I know that each church has its own uniqueness from God, so we cannot expect one to be the same as the other. All these things just make me grateful of my own church, here @ USA and there @ Indo.

It was a refreshing experience.