The Grand Finale!

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening!!

We were told at orientation (and several times throughout the year) that the end of the year will end up getting really busy as everyone will want to spend a bit of time with us before we head out. We were also advised to hold out on buying souvenirs here because we would likely receive many MANY gifts (I've mentioned before that gift giving is a very big part of the culture) and we would run out of room to bring everything home. Given my somewhat impatient nature and my "but this may be the only opportunity!" mentality, I held out on buying anything to bring home until about mid-February, and have been picking things up here and there ever since. Of course, the orientation leaders hit the nail on the head, and I have received kenang-kenangan (souvenir, or memory) after kenang-kenangan, not only for myself, but for my parents and my church as well. The generosity is positively overwhelming, and my jam-packed, well overweight suitcases are a testament to that generosity (and perhaps a wee bit to my own souvenir purchasing problem- the traditional satay grill, for example, was one of those impulse buys that just isn't going to make it back with me. I've a feeling a good ol' barbecue will be both faster and less likely to create excessive smoke, should I ever feel the urge to barbecue my own satay...). Anyways, all that to say that I have been absolutely flooded with love and kindness and generosity these last few days in particular, taking the shape of souvenirs to bring home, lunches, dinners, parties, prayers, church services, speeches, and I'm sure much more.

The beginning of the intense celebration period began on  Thursday night, when I was taken out by Ibu Linda and Pak Herry (from Gloria Patri) and their daughter Vania, for a good-bye dinner. The intention was for it to be a thank-you dinner for them from me, but Ibu Linda brought along a birthday cake and made it my birthday party in Indonesia (because I'm not here to celebrate the actual day), and then both she and their pastor's wife (the pastor from their church and his wife joined us too) handed over gifts. The table beside us wound up being people from their church, and they footed the bill for all of us, which was extremely generous especially considering that I don't even know them. (I also don't know the pastor who gave me an absolutely beautiful scarf as a birthday/going away present. I just cannot keep up with the generosity!!)

My birthday party/going away party from Bu Linda and her family and pastor.

On Friday morning, my host mom and I, along with some other ladies from church, headed up to Salatiga to pick up my host sister, and the continued on to Kopeng to pop in for a few minutes on a church retreat going on at a hotel there. Since we were driving right by Laura's campus, we picked her up, and she joined us for the morning in Kopeng. It was a nice relaxed atmosphere (mainly because the 50 or so children were in a seminar for the duration of our visit), and were it not for the loudspeakers of a nearby mosque bellowing out the Friday morning service (all of which echoed off of the surrounding mountains), it would have been a downright quiet visit. We sat outside and just enjoyed the cool air and the beautiful view (which we realized must be of National Geographic quality, but we've become so used to it now that it's hard to see it that way), and consumed the treats that Andrew sent me in a package that I found waiting for me at MCC that morning. We had lunch at a warung with an incredible view, and then headed back to Semarang, dropping Laura off on campus again.

Saturday morning and afternoon were free of all plans and activities, and I used it to devour a book that I've been dying to read. In the evening, I headed to the usual Saturday night youth service, which I discovered was titled "Last Night With Ellery." (Officially! It was on the slides and everything!) It was an awesome night, with most of the youth in attendance, and a short little sermon given by Pak Anto (the youth pastor), as well as a short message from me. They prayed over me, and then we concluded the service early because, unbeknownst to me, there were plans to go out for dinner together! We headed over to Cabe (pronouned "cha-bay"), for a wonderful dinner with a really fun group of over 20 people.

Sunday morning was my last church service, and I wore a gorgeous new batik dress that the TK had given me as a going away gift. I was prepared to say a few words and then sing a song, but I was not prepared for the mini sermon that they would give for me, nor for the beautiful gifts that they had me open in front of the church, nor for the church-wide prayer sung for me, nor for the prayers and gifts and greetings for Niagara UM Church (my church at home), nor for the prayers and gifts and greetings for my parents, nor for the tears that I couldn't stop from flowing down my cheeks. It took me until now to realize how loved I have been this year, how much energy and time the church has invested in me, how accommodating they've been, how willing to engage in a cross-cultural learning endeavour that was completely beyond anything their church has ever done before. My position changed just a few days before I got to Indonesia last August, as the church that was originally going to host me realized that they couldn't take me on. For me, the implications of this were nothing more than an email explaining that I would be in a different church than MCC originally expected, and that they couldn't tell me who my host family was until the day before I got here (which, at the time, was something I was really angry about.) Sola Gratia agreed to take me on with almost no time at all to prepare. My host family stepped up to volunteer to host me without knowing a thing about me (which is HUGE commitment), and despite their concerns about not knowing enough English to communicate with me, and fearing that I could get sick (note that their concerns were about ME, and not about them- their selflessness just blows my mind). I had a going-away lunch party yesterday, thrown by my host parents, and they invited everyone they could think of within the church (and a few outside of the church, like Pak Lilik and his family) who has helped me in some way this year. There were 67 people in attendance. This excludes people from Ichthus FM, kids from TK, kids and parents from PPA, kids from Gloria Patri, and a few other people I've gotten to know through random little connections. It was incredible to see all at once, how many people have made an effort to connect with me in some way this year- taking me to the movies, inviting me out for a meal, giving me rides, inviting me to join their group at church, and so on. My pastor spoke at the lunch, as did my host dad, and Pak Lilik. People gave me gifts, and asked for pictures with me. I in no way deserved such a send-off, but it was given anyways, given joyfully, and by my host parents, who have endured me at my worst this year with constant patience and love and a sincere desire to understand. Sunday was just an overwhelming day for me. (I give credit to Pak Lilik for all the photos you see below)
 

My Pastor (Pastor Soegiharto), his wife, and two of their three boys. Those of you from NUMC should know that these incredible people have sent a gift home with me for you, and have expressed a deep desire to build our Global Church through connecting as church communities. Looking forward to hearing your ideas on how we can make that happen after I get back :)

 

My youth group! What a fun group of people!! (The man on the far right is Pak Anto, my youth pastor

 

Celebrity shot! The ladies thought I was being treated like a celebrity, so we documented it.

My host family. The most generous and selfless people you will ever lay eyes on, I'm absolutely sure of it.

All of these people came out just for me... I was absolutely overwhelmed.

On Monday morning I got up and headed downstairs for breakfast. Usually there is a container of bread on the table, and a pot of tea beside my plate. That morning the tea was there, but there was no bread. My host mom came out of the kitchen and asked me if I would like bread or if I would like Zuppa Soup. Zuppa Soup just happens to be one of my new most favourite foods in the world (sort of like chicken pot pie in soup form, complete with the puffed pastry on top!), and so I opted for the delicious soup, which came fresh out of the oven. I enjoyed that in the company of my principal and a friend of Valen's (a friend of hers invited me to her graduation ceremony next week in Salatiga, and I feel quite honoured!). Valen and her friend headed back to Salatiga, and my host mom, principal, and I headed off to "Kampung Batik" (a small batik store in a little neighbourhood) to get some things that Nicole had asked me to pick up for her. I spent the rest of the morning cleaning/organizing/attempting to pack, and doing some laundry. Around 1:00, some people from church picked me up for yet another going away party, this time thrown by the church staff, the TK staff, and the PPA staff. There were well over 20 people, and we had lunch in a big pavillion overlooking a pond. A representative from each group of people (church, TK, PPA Sendang Guwo, and PPA Sola Gratia) each spoke for a few minutes, and then I had my chance to try to thank them for everything they've done for me this year. Lunch was ikan bakar (grilled fish, one of my favourite foods here), satay, rice, vegetables, and a few other things, including molen (bananas wrapped in a flaky pastry, another favourite of mine). My TK staff gave me a beautiful gift, and we got some pictures and played some games as well. In the evening, my host parents took me out for dinner to "New Planet", the first place we ever ate at when I newly arrived in Indonesia. I hadn't been there since that first night, and it was a funny contrast- that first night, I was so nervous and homesick that I couldn't choke down more than 2 pieces of garlic bread and a couple of fries. Last night, I had no problem consuming... well, substantially more than that.

I spent the majority of today packing and organizing, with a nice lunch date thrown in there (one of the upsides of this leaving business is all the delicious food!). Tonight we're meeting my pastor and his wife for dinner. I really enjoy their company, they're a really fun couple! Tomorrow is my last day here in Semarang, and I'll be spending it packing and cleaning and attending one last "ibadah" (church service). I'm not sure what else the day will hold.

It looks like this is my last post from Semarang- we meet in Salatiga again on Thursday, for a week of "disorientation" activities that include some meetings with MCC, a good-bye dinner, and most importantly, a chance to be together with our MCC Indo Fam one last time. It's bittersweet for me, as I'm now feeling pretty sad about leaving my life in Semarang (always goes that way, right?), and because I know that after this week is over, I will no longer be able to spend time with my dear YALT family and the MCC staff. At the same time, I know it's going to be an AWESOME week, and the prospect of getting back to my loved ones at home remains as exciting as ever, despite the pain of leaving so many wonderful people here.

I will definitely post at least once more before I leave Indonesia (we fly out of Semarang next Wednesday, July 18th, and are supposed to be back in Akron in the evening of Thursday, July 19th, where we'll be involved in re-orientation activities until Tuesday, July 24th, when my parents will be picking me up and taking me back to my beautiful homeland- TWO WEEKS from today!), and I will also post in Akron. I'm also wanting to do a reflection post or two once I get back to Canada and have had some time to adjust and look back on this year, so if you've been following my blog regularly, don't stop as soon as I return to Canada! I'll let you know when I'll post my final blog entry.

I hope you're all doing absolutely wonderfully, and I am SO looking forward to talking to a lot of you IN PERSON in just a few short weeks!! SALTers, IVEPers, and YAMENers, wishing you an awesome last week in your host countries, and safe travels as you return home!

Have a great day!
Lots of love,
Ellery