From Ogre to Barbie

Dear Friend,

It's been quite a while since I last wrote. Life here has been good here I'm having fun and staying busy.
Keep praying for Japan, okay? Everyday I am checking the news and facebook feed to see the updates. It is unimaginable the amount of damage there is. I see the pictures and ask myself, "Is this really Japan?" But I know God's hand is in all of this and am excited to see how He uses this disaster to bring glory to his name.

So I have a few stories for you, hope you enjoy.

Well about a month or so ago I was at a bazzar raising money for an organization that helps street children. There were so many adorable little kids and babies there. The whole time I just wanted to hold them, make them laugh and twirl with them. I saw one adorable two year old boy with big ears try to put a backpack on; however, he had it upside down and it was all twisted up, so naturally I went over to help. I tried to hold out the backpack strap so he could put his arm through it. Instead of putting his arm in the straps, he looked at me as if I was an ogre, let go of the backpack, backed up slowly and then ran away. Ooppps! I felt so bad. At that moment I wished I wasn't a bulé! If I was Indonesian the kids wouldn't be scared of me and I would be able to play and laugh with them. It is not a fun feeling to think that kids are scared of you (or that you look like an ogre).

Well, a week later I went to a party and the birthday girl's four year old niece was there. I was sitting next to the birthday girl and her niece was standing in front of her. She did this adorable stretching motion, looking away from me, and her hand just happened to touch my arm and stay there for a while. It was so cute how curious she was to see if my skin felt the same even though it didn't look the same. Okay, so not every kid is scared of me, of course, her auntie knew me, so it was easier for her, right? So maybe I'm not an ogre.

That Sunday I was riding the bus from my church in Jakarta back to Cikarang. There was a 7-year old girl on the bus sitting in the front, while I was sitting more towards the back. She would often turn around to look at me; then we would make eye contact and smile. She started to stand up and play in the isle of the bus, nonchalantly making her way closer to where I was sitting. I watched as she sat 4 rows in front of me. Ten seconds later she would move back one row, 5 seconds later she would move back again. Now she was only two rows in front of me. Then she stood up and walked back to her seat in the front. Two minutes later she was back, trying again. Eventually she made it back to my row. Not knowing what to do, she just stood there and looked at me, so I held out my hand to say hello. She shook my hand and then went back to her seat in the front. A few minutes later she came back and sat in the row behind mine. She was fiddling with something, but I couldn't tell what it was. A little while later I noticed a candy sitting beside me. She had pushed the little candy between the seats to give me. I took the candy, held it up and asked her with my eyes and hands, "for me?" She nodded and I said, "Terima kasih" (Thank you) to which she replied "Sama sama" (You're welcome). She then moved forward a row to sit on the same row as me. After two minutes she went back to the front where her dad was.

Wow, maybe I'm not so scary after all if a child stranger is friendly enough to give me a chocolate mint candy. That made me feel better.

Just last week, I was on the same bus coming home. Unfortunately it was later in the day and the bus was packed. I sat in the backity-back because there were only about 3 seats left. On the next stop a lady holding a one and a half year old got on the bus and sat right next to me. The little baby boy stared at me with curiosity. He started to quietly sing a song, he clapped his hands and then reached his hand out and 'just happened' to touch my arm. He kept his hand there for a little, then moved it away. He did this a few more times, just to make sure my skin was still the same. SO CUTE! That settled it, I am not a scary person! What a relief!

I kind of feel like a doll because people are touching my arm to see if I am real or fake. Once, I had a teacher friend tell me, "When I was little I would play with barbies and think, people don't really have hair like this, but I was wrong, you hair is just like a barbies hair!" I don't quite agree with her, and don't really want to be equated with a barbie since in my mind a barbie is a blond headed unproportional bimbo, but it is kind of funny.

Anyways, those are my stories for you: from ogre to barbie.
Your friend till Niagra Falls,
Rebekah