Spirit of God come and breathe in me.

Flow into this tired soul.  Awaken light into my eyes.  Fill me with your dreams and visions.  Unleash my faith.  Awaken my imagination.  Strengthen my hands.  Quicken my feet.  Set my joy free.  Set my heart on fire.  Blaze a trail of hope into every place you send me today.

A few days ago I was driving along a winding, two laned road in the direction of another city where we are planning to open a new Christian school.  I sailed along that road for about four hours, winding my way around the occasional horse drawn cart, enjoying the green rice terraces, the simple villages, the mango trees and coconut palms bursting out of the fertile earth everywhere.  And as I took in the spectacular slopes sweeping upwards toward towering Mount Bromo, I began to reminisce. Continue reading ‘Spirit of God come and breathe in me’ »

Class starts at 7:00 a.m. and the Indonesian college students begin shuffling in just a little after. They make their way to their desks inside this dirty and crowded classroom, which is already a bit hot since there is no air conditioning in the room. There is one fan, and for that their lecturer is very thankful.

The lecturer, an American, begins by giving back homework that he has already graded and corrected. He calls their names out one by one, “Abdul, Much, Dyan, Agus…,” until most of the 50 or so students all have their homework back. He apologizes to the students who have “no credit” written across their papers. He explains to them again that if they copy from each other’s paper they will get no credit. They are not allowed to work together in this way on homework assignments. Continue reading ‘Cultural Conundrum’ »