Another week, and this week has been seeing the rains more often - the rainy seasons are in and you get the occasional waddling through muddy, murky waters that fills your slippers as you make your way around. It also means extended time for story telling after kids club since the kids hang around as they wait for the rain to clear up a little, before heading back home!

There is always something magical about story telling and a big book, which seems to gather all the kidsʼ attention at a time, who are ever so eager to know what happens when the next page comes.

We had a coloring competition for the kids too - “My Timor, My future” was the theme, to let them know of the possibilities of having tall skyscrapers, and city looking buildings, that they know exists not in their nation, that Teacher LS was explaining, they could just possibly be able to see it in their lifetimes if they believe and work hard towards developing this nation together.

So they colored to the city looking picture I drew a couple of weeks back, and it was amusing how all of them took much time and effort to do up the picture, since they rarely do, with regards to coloring on the worksheets they work on before the kids club lessons begin. Perhaps the word, “competition” made them serious about their coloring and I still havenʼt have a clue yet, as to how to pick the winners yet, since they all look so nice.

While I was working on the storyboards of Siko and Bobo one of the days, this young boy came up to me, as many of them has seen me draw and stood there and just wowed at what they saw and said how nice it looked. He browsed through the entire drawings I had and he asked if he could have a piece of paper and a pencil, and he picked the picture that he liked most, and decided to start tracing the picture out.

It took me by surprise, because no one has ever asked and done what he did, but what was more surprising, was the picture he chose to replicate! It definitely wasnʼt one that I would choose, I mean I thought I had much more interesting and better looking pictures around, but he chose the one that I thought was actually the “ugliest” and the one that I was probably the least confident about.

So he drew the picture of Siko growing fat, and found a marker later, to trace it out, to look just like the one I drew. It was encouraging to watch him draw, that at times, the best way to learn, is simply through modeling after something that is of your interest. I started drawing too, through modeling what I see from a picture/book, and tried to replicate it as best as I could!

It is always humbling to have someone replicate something that you drew, regardless if the person was just a kid, but the entire incident made me redefine again what beauty meant and that it is always different to the eyes of the beholder.The picture that I thought was ugly was pretty in his and it felt like a God moment - to realize and to look at things, through His lenses and not mine and the importance and roles of models/modeling.

I took a hand at trying out, how to cut your own hair too, ever since I heard Francs doing it, I have been toying with the idea and since it will be the only chance to try it here and should the experiment fail, Iʼm away from home, no one would know right! It turned out alright, and it was actually real fun doing it.

This is my favorite baby from church - called Judah, who is a friendly baby that lets you carry him and smiles at you every time you make him happy enough :) Naza is in the picture, because she always catches me with the kids that I keep going “so cute” and she will go, “take picture!”.

She has been attending church with us more often lately. Since most of the people here come from a Catholic background, we donʼt go on insisting that they have to attend the Protestant church but we focus on studying the bible together, that draws us together, in regards to the teachers that we disciple.

Often, the gradual transition and transformation happens, when they become convicted enough by God, they make the switch to attend the Protestant church more regularly. All these doesnʼt go on easy, because of the persecution, verbal accusations that they receive at times from their own family, friends or just the community that they live in.

Things to pray for:

- Pray for Naza as she embarks on this journey of faith, as she digs deeper into seeking more of Him. She is down with Guardia (a stomach parasite) right now and pray for healing to be upon her

- Pray for the entire team and the local teachers too, for good rest every night and good health and for us all, to be focused upon Him as we share our lives and journey together. I believe God is moving among the local teachers, each in His special ways individually, pray that they will draw closer to Him as He draws closer to them.

- 2 teams will be coming in December, one from COOS and another from Kum Yan
Methodist, pray that God will use them in a mighty and powerful manner, that the
message of “I am Special”, will be brought to the children, that the kids will know that they are His precious sons and daughters. Pray that the team themselves will experience God in a whole new ways and be touched by Him :)

- My mom and sis who are visiting - I am actually really apprehensive about my mom! Pray that God will grant them the grace that the trip will a great one, to be able to view the
work here as not as hardships, but a focus unto the beauty of what God is doing in the midst of the people and in this nation. Pray that both of them will experience God in a whole new manner and a touch from Him and to know of His love for them.

- Cocoon as they journey on as an NGO (yes thanksgiving to God for a smooth and fast process of registering), that we will be open to any new ways of doing things/ programmes (eg. Soccer league for the kids?) that is upon Godʼs heart. Pray for His wisdom and revelation to be poured forth.
Alrightys, that shall be it for now! Thank you for praying, keep it coming! Loves,
Joy Joy

This week flew by really quickly! Monday was a public holiday over at Timor (yes, they do have a lot more PHs during the month of November!), and so, LS, Dawn and I decided to head down to a cafe that is set up by 2 Brazilian missionaries, to train women who were abused, so they will still be able to have a vocation. We spent the remaining time just talking about the programs, planning for the coming December, where there will be 2 teams coming both from COOS and from Kum Yan Methodist, which to me felt weird, planning from the receiving end, the overview of the programs, which is going to be focused on purity, valuing oneself for the girls and to make right decisions for the boys.

Before the build up to the weekends which, was a staff retreat for the teachers, Siko was in the making, and making preparations for a short sharing on worship.

The retreat was focused on the topic of purity and the gender roles of men and women, which in this culture, the women often end up being less valued than the way they should be.

It was a nightʼs stay at Beachside Hotel (which was started up by an Australian couple, great, clean place and bunks at USD$20/head) if you intend to come to Dili, and it is by the seaside, with a nice cafe by the beach ;)

Perhaps it has been some time since I saw nice rooms, even this simple room feels like such a luxury, that one of the teachers said, “one day, my dream is to have a room like this”, and it made me wonder how we Singaporeans do not think much of the rooms we have!

I really love this ice breaking game that we did, which was to write our names on a piece of paper, and then have it stuck on our backs, and we go around, writing affirming words on one otherʼs back. I received words like “courageous, youʼre a good girl, good heart, God loves you and those caps word spells, “MUST SPEAK TETUN”, haha. I tend to speak English with these teachers! It is the students that I end up speaking most of my Tetun to, and my Tetun teacher.

The retreat was amazing, just by the way how God moved and worked among us, as we shared from our pasts, our date/relationship stories, to our confessions, that there was this openness to share with one another, that the bonds we had with one another, was not merely constrained to a cordial work or friends relationship, but one that geared towards a family oriented relationship - one that valued, cared and loved one another enough, to journey with one another. I felt that there was a shift in the way, how both genders viewed one another, how we could value one another and treat one another better, and hopefully, be close enough to one another, to form accountability partners, to help look out for one another.

This was the view I had, as I waited for my Bakso, sitting with my legs dangling off from a wall, singing on the guitar to the greatest Lover on earth, made me feel very blessed, happy and thankful, of just being able to do my favorite thing at the moment as the sun was setting - what a beautiful and rare sight! (how many sunsets do I get to sing to Him?!)

Sometimes, we are just too busy to realize the simplest things in life that can bring us so much joy, like a bowl of Bakso! It is the best I had, since I have been here. It has an added egg and fried tofu on it, LS gladly allowed me to have a tofu in there regardless how much it cost (USD$0.25), so I was a happy kid!

For a complete experience of eating Bakso, it has to be bought from a dude who sells it on a bike, (yes, his entire stall is attached on a motorbike, and it is piping hot).As you wait for your turn (the bowls are reused, just donʼt think about how the washing goes about), find a spot, squat and eat it- just like how it is done here, soupy food is always comfort and happy food.

Li Shan led worship on Sunday, during service and I played the guitar (bye chord sheets!), and it was just great worshipping with the voices of the congregation to a guitar, realizing that our voices indeed is the greatest instrument that God has given to us all.

I wished I had Uncle Tony around to borrow a pick from (I would always find him, heʼs came from a special pick wallet!), I completely forgot about it and since I rarely used it here, because no one uses it here and the guitar couldnʼt be plugged in or mic-ed up - sure in the midst of worshipping, the fingers felt fine until I was resting and wondering why does my right fingers hurt so much - it actually bled and I never realized it the entire time. I suppose I finally understood now, how the harpists feels and the thought of it all that it was gross and extreme?

I suppose, there is always something to give thanks for :)

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you”
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Praying without ceasing?
- Cocoon has completed the process of being registered as an NGO, godspeed and with much favor, thank you Jesus!

- We all to be well rested and in good health, as we prepare for the teams and people who are coming in two weeks time! Since God never does anything without a purpose, pray for His will to be done and for the kids (and to any divine meetup/appointment/person) to experience and know of His love and for the teams to experience Him in the ways they have not encountered Him yet. (yeap, His heavenly will on earth, as it is in heaven!)

Thank you and with much love,
Joy Joy

This week has been a little different, since we had 2 public holidays during the week, All Souls and All Saints Day and we decided to do things differently, by taking time off to clear out the 4 rooms we have at the back of the library. It was incredibly filthy and filled with cockroaches running around, which I was spared from, as I had language lessons.

We had lunch altogether and then proceeded to weed out the area with the student teachers, so we could enlarge the drains to prepare for the incoming wet and rainy season. It was quite some back breaking work to realize Iʼm not getting any younger but still nonetheless fun and to realize how hardy those weeds were!

A sink fell on Monday, apparently for no reason and thankfully, we didnʼt have any casualties even though there was a kid inside, moments to give praises and thanks to Jesus for!

Apart from that, we celebrated the birthdays of those born in the month of October, that saw one of the younger students, Bobo praying for Francs, which was quite a sight to behold :)

We played the blanket game too with the kids, which was really fun where the teachers themselves, ended up playing and screaming at each otherʼs name, which really has been building up the bonds and relationships among one another, eating, working and sharing faith together, good stuff!

With things being a little different most of the week, I thought I tried something different from a typical day of cooking, and tried to have some creativity with food too and it turned out somewhat Mediterranean, perhaps with the ingredients used, of long beans, tomatoes and fish and onions, it was gone quick too.

One thing that I have learnt over here, is often to throw away the “old” ways of doing things and to embrace the “new”, to forget about chord sheets when Iʼm worshipping and the recipes when Iʼm cooking, and to learn the art of redoing things either by the work of a vague memory and by refining it by doing it till you get it right, which has been fun in all ways, to realize how I have been limiting myself, not wanting to try new calibrations that at times, forbids me from realizing some pleasant and nice surprises, like this fishy dish:)


The weekend was spent, holding football friendlies with the youths of the Nazarene Church, because of the sheer number of kids who turned up, which was like most of the kids in town, we needed 2 sessions :) There is something about boys and soccer and it is a worldwide phenomenon! They came all decked out in their gears, jerseys and boots.

Just when I thought the “song tiao” was the coolest and funnest transport, come to Dili, and try this pick up that transported about 40+ kids off to the nearby Dili Institute of Technology! Of course the pickup here doesnʼt have as much pick up as the song tiaos, but it was crazy!

Sundayʼs match turned up wet and soggy and all it took was perhaps 30 minutes to an hours of rain to turn the pitch into some mud land! It floods here easily once the rain pours and decides not to stop and this was the result of a couple of hours of rain (the importance of drainage systems!)Yeah, where is the pitch? It is to the left of the tree where there is an entire mass of water and because of the lightning, we had to halt the game and head into shelter, which most of the time was spent feeding them water and with Tiger Biscuits (It is energy biscuits for a reason!)

In all, it is one of those “same same, but different”, another week but one of those week that seems similar, but yet so different (I wonder if that made sense), Iʼll end off with a shot with my beloved, special boy that I always end up smiling at secretly, when I am observing him, I manage to take a self- shot with him - Atito!

Keep the prayers coming :)

-Weʼre thinking or not to proceed on, to take this soccer friendlies up to another notch, where the word of God is infused into the friendlies. We are not too sure about it, so pray for wisdom how this may come about.
-Students/Teachers/Kids: Pray as you are led, Iʼm sure God is doing something in the lives of all of them.

Loves,
Joy Joy

I created this with the fridge magnets that was left unused with the selection of words that I had left - It is SLʼs, and yes! I myself am very amused by these fridge magnets that I think I would love to get them too, when I am back. SL herself is quite a wordsmith, so I thought I made an attempt on poetry, on the people I spend so much time with, and the very reason that brought me here to spend time with them - Children and what I thought of them :) (probably inspired by my own childhood, because I love to play house, fall down ever so often and have this purple/yellow solution applied on the scabs off my elbows and knees, ask the strangest questions of whys and whens and if I could company my sis every time she goes out!)

These very special beings is as to what Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God”. (Luke 18:16). I thought I should spend this update focusing on them and how special they are, and as if it wasnʼt enough, I was reading “The Shack” and one of the side quotes was italicized - “The soul is being healed by being with children”.

Children here at times take a different concept as to what I am often used to, contrary to what I thought how they should be protected, treated and loved. At times, because of the sheer number of children that the parents have, who are often too busy or overwhelmed by life in itself, tend to leave their children on their own. This will include that the children themselves will have to take note when are the days for kids club, or the teachers (ourselves) will have to go reminding the kids to go for their showers and then head to the library for kids club. Yes, this will mean that the kids shower and dress themselves with the aid of probably their older siblings at most.

Back at home, I tend to hear the many stories of how our parents goes on nagging if we have done our homework, showered, eaten, how was school, what did we do or eat the entire day, and it suddenly dawned on me that that nagging itself is love and how we tend to complain about how our parents should be giving us a break eh? Bless our parents who does such a great job :)

With so much time spent watching and being with children, it is hard to not fall deeper in love with them and how they have the beauty of going past and through your defenses, without you even realizing it and soon enough, you canʼt help but love them more than enough, regardless of how naughty they are, how they often end up smacking or beating each other, but still love them ever the same and I was strucked by this particular thought one day - “can you ever imagine how much more our Father in Heaven loves us all?”

A kid whom I deemed as “the bully” has somewhat won my heart, called Akoli and he is on the naughtier side. I havenʼt yet found anyone who has refuted my theory, that the naughtier kids are often the smarter kids around, that the teachers will have to discover the one thing they are good at if they may not be that academically inclined, iʼm sure they are gifted at some other areas!

It is magical when small moments like these happen, without you realizing, how he came up to me while we were walking to the library and how he placed his hands unto mine, and loves to ask “what is my name” in English and what is it that I am holding, whoʼs is it, that reveals the heart and the nature of kids, that we are all created, to be good and pure.

The older kids did what the younger kids did last week - making their promises of helping one another on the pledge card, love the drawings and colors :)

I have been massively drawing this week, perhaps trying to get the pictures of what Timor will be like in 2020, before the public holidays sets in next week!




I hope the drawings help the kids to gather ideas and perspectives that they will dream, or in that sense to think about what they will like to have for themselves in the future. I donʼt think I have drawn any architecture/rooms on a basis like that but I suppose, to every thing that has their first time, it was enjoyable, I have always wanted to draw my own made- belief city landscape in which I finally did!



With children, there must be games, so here is a game we came up together to get the kids to learn how to help one another, similar to the pass the chair game, but they are stepping on egg trays and to make it a little harder for these little ones, just place 2-3 kids on a tray! It was so funny and fun to watch them play.

Apart from these little joys that keeps me, I have big obvious joys that are displayed wide across the skies, as though God is telling and speaking to me in His ways and through His creation of colors, timing and light (sounds like photography?), the entire sky was purple as I walked towards home from the library, I stood staring at the skies that was one of those special moments, and gone the next moment I was home, it was dark. It was one of those moment if you missed it, or was too caught up with something, you probably wonʼt get to see it and the typical me, was secretly excited and grinning from ear to ear - happy of course!

There will be 2 public holidays in the coming week - The All Souls and All Saints Day on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we will likely have a day of rest on Tuesday and have a clean up, fellowship/bible study/worship/room dedication and a barbecue dinner on Wednesday, as we take over the 4 rooms at the back of the library, and extend our facilities and Saturday will be soccer day, where the kids will be involved in some friendlies around.

Do pray for:

- The rooms that serves as a form of extension, for cleansing and for wisdom as to what to do with the rooms and how to decorate/furnish the rooms

- No injuries or fights, as the kids go on their soccer day on Saturday and for good weather

- Students/Teachers/Kids: It is the same request week in and out, haha and it still is. Pray as you get led then, Iʼm sure God is doing something in the lives of all of them.

- Me: I have just recovered from a bout of stomachaches that leaves me in a mix of a bad/ weak stomach and the want to puke, took time off to rest but pray for full recovery (it has been 2 days) and I hope it will all be cleared up and good!

- The teamʼs health: Pray that we will all be kept in a clear and good bout of health, NO STOMACHACHES (urgh), as the team have a “different week” with the clean ups and barbecue, begins preparation/planning for December (we have 2 teams, my mom and sis and Shih Yang!) and that me and another one team mate will be making a border run in mid/end November - good and great health will be welcomed!

- Pray for good rest too during the nights, for deep, restful, undisturbed rest for us all too :) As the Lord leads, thanks for the prayers and keep them coming,
Loves, Joy Joy

:) sums up what I am feeling for the week, I discover that as I write this entry as I end the week, sitting on my bed and thinking about the week that has past me, it is somewhat comforting, upon thinking about the things to share or talk about and the many things to give thanks for.

Siko and Bobo is still in the making, I have been drawing a lot more this week and the next, because of the longer storyline and also to prepare for the coming activities in November, that will take a different twist from the usual kids club program, perhaps with more drama, art lessons (yes, Iʼve actually come up with 4 art lessons to get kids to draw, for those who are keen) and some other coloring and drawing competitions.

There will be a couple of public holidays like a Youth Day and an Independence Day (if my memory doesnʼt fail me), and we were thinking about getting kids to perhaps think about their ambitions or what they will like to be when they grow up, what Timor will be like in 2020, so Iʼve been trying to draw some pictures so the kids can visualize and perhaps kickstart their thought process. Creative thinking or coming out with ideas of their own, isnʼt quite a norm here and so hopefully, this will get the kids to start dreaming!

Funny how I was discussing this idea of ambitions with LS and was kind of asking if it is a problem here that the kids donʼt know what they will like to become, and when she said yes, I marveled at the knowledge that I had, which was one of the reasons I felt strongly led to come here and be among the children! Thinking back, the last time I came, I didnʼt have that much of the interaction with the kids, but the general sensing that I had that was strong enough to became a conviction of mine. Putting it into words is marring the beauty of it - but you get it, and I sat there and smiled, that it was a “it can only be God” moment(:

I havenʼt or have never drawn so much before on a basis like that, like it is almost daily, like it is some form of practice, it is menial, time consuming and a lot of hard work but all is good and I have nothing to complain about as I watch the kids themselves work on the things that I have drawn, keeps the joy of creating all these drawings going - I really do enjoy seeing the colors off these kids art work, yes Iʼve been leading the bigger classes too, passing out instructions, guiding them around.

It turns from this (on the left) to the one on the right! The kids worked in pairs to work on this worksheet on sharing, so each person takes a character and learn how to color together and their work got pinned up around the class, look at their joy and fascination of their own work?















This is like a pledge card about helping one another, that as I did examples, these younger kids decided what they will like to do, to help one another and design up their cards.

Sigh, I was quite in awe and marveled by these little kids, by what they managed to draw, color and write, having examples gave them handles on how to draw the faces and clothes on :) So pretty and cute right?! (Ok, I have a bias towards toddlers art, it is always so precious and hilarious!)

God has His moments of answering my cries - of wanting to see and play with very young puppies and the neighbors dog gave birth to a litter of 6 a few weeks back, and I got to play with it on one of the nights as they wandered towards SL and Dawn, thanks to them constantly talking about Blackie (our current dog) and her past days as a puppy, I got my share hee hee. The little joys of the week included a Friday team breakfast at the beach at Crystalrade, because my language teacher had to invigilate at the schools for the national exams, Iʼve got 2 weeks of break from language learning and the team thought we should eat together for breakfast, since I didnʼt have lessons.

Ok, I added this to show you how mangoes are eaten here and the many ways of using a pen knife - I am serious, this is how the Timorese eat their mangoes everywhere they are! I saw a lady using a penknife slicing mangoes at some government office too, intrigued by the little things of life that passes me by. This is Naza by the way, another one of the student teacher, amazing in her own ways!

On a personal note, Iʼll just share a testimony of things that are happening back at home that was spurned on by a dream. (Yes, I have been dreaming a lot more here, somehow and it has been an answered prayer. I havenʼt dreamt for a large part of my life since I asked for it to be closed, since when I was a child, I was getting way too much nightmares but a few months back, felt God leading me to pursue dreams again).

It was about me and my cousin being at a huge mall, saw her life flash me by, of how she went to school and then went on to work and how she was still looking for something, till she went into a store, got dressed as a teacher and I suppose, found her joy in being a teacher, as she came out rejoicing and all happy. It was really quite out of the blue since

we havenʼt been in contact for a while as we both became YOWAs but I thought I will just share the dreams with her and it became a reconnecting point.

While sharing how it has touched and moved her that God still cares and loves her and made her realize how she miss the good old times we spent together and realize my point of doing my stint over at Timor, she revealed that she has been attending church more regularly and being in church more often made her realize why we should be doing missions! It was really quite a wowing moment because I never expected the huge reaction and much less, that God was already moving in her that has gotten her to be more regular at church lately, which was something I have been praying since I was 14?

So to say - 10 years or however long the number of years it is, to see a breakthrough or see Him move, He is faithful to His calls, words and promises that He has spoken over you and it is another thrust forward for me that when He says when you believe in Him, you
and your entire household gets saved, I am seeing the glimpse of it and am still pursuing it and that He knows the desire of your heart.

Do keep praying for:

- The teamʼs health - LS has been bothered by this persistent cough, is getting better but pray for complete recovery. Dawn has just been plagued by this tummy ache lately that hurts and leaves her without much appetite. It is getting better, but again, pray for complete recovery and good and clean bill of health for all of us please!

- SL: Heads to Jakarta for a conference and she will be sharing on Timor, pray that it will be a good and refreshing time at the conference as she goes on her break after that

- Students/Teachers/Kids: It is the same request week in and out, haha and it still is. Pray as you get led then, Iʼm sure God is doing something in the lives of all of them.

- Cocoon will be renting 3 more rooms, just behind the location of where the library is, as an extension of facilities. Pray for God to reveal just how the rooms will be used (one will be used as a lounge area for the teachers to chill out) and how it will be done up or to whatever is upon His heart, to grant us revelation and wisdom.

- Me: For continued flow of creativity, grace and love in all things that I do and as to however you feel led! Haha!

Time to sleep, it is getting late, till then! (ps: a shot of me of those who wonders how I look on Skype from Timor. It is hard to get on, both parties need to have the right timing of availability, and then I will need to have electricity running on my side and a connection good enough to sustain a video call? Video calls at best only last for 7 minutes - Funny eh?)

Loves and misses, Joy Joy

Dawn: “We have to stop eating like this! Ever since you came in, we seem to be eating so
much more!” I laughed at the reply, because each time I eat and Iʼm full, I think about
being the first “missionary” who heads abroad, and comes back putting on more weight, which SL thinks it is a great idea, so people wonʼt think of Timor as such a hard place to live. My pants still fits fine and I suppose the heat of the weather that makes me sweat buckets even things out, thankfully! Perhaps it is Jesusʼs intentions to bless not just me but the many people around and to be living from abundance.

How true it is, that from the time that I came in, it happens to coincide with dinner invites from visiting teams or when Pastor Dong hits town and as of this weekend, just yesterday, there was a wedding and another neighborʼs 1-year old baptism party to attend to. Thanks to our stomach constraints, we attended only the baptism party since we decided the wedding people wouldnʼt discover our absence because of the sheer amount of people present. Weddings and baptism are some of the things that are done big and celebrated here and I have the chance of being a part of (I feel like Iʼm on some cultural exchange program?!)

Over in Timor, girls at the age of 12 are likely able to cook for a family of a size of 10-12 at any time, so this table of food was prepared by a handful of ladies and it was such a
spread, I still canʼt imagine how it was all done in the kitchen they had, but they did.

This is the baby that was baptized and the next big party he has apart from his birthdays, will be his first communion which takes place around the age of 13-14. My memory fails to remember what was the third event that Timorese usually celebrate, apart from their baptism and their first communion - Interesting eh?

See everyone all dressed up in the picture? This is the definition of dressed up here in which I think coming from Singapore, it is a normal sight but it is a rare sight over here and I spotted something that caught my eye - perhaps my love for sneakers has never left. See this kidʼs Air Max (i think), super spiffy since people here usually are dressed in passed down outfits or second hand outfits available at the stores around. Nike never looked so good.

If I thought that was going to be all for the week, we had a barbecue dinner to celebrate
Francs 24th birthday which completely felt like a SG stayover birthday chalet with tons of
sausages, crabsticks, yam and 3 large pizzas. Pizzas here are of excellent standards, I
promise you and if you ever have a chance to head down here to try :p Food, food, food
and eat and eat and eat, apart from cleaning up and getting of the groceries was the hard
work.

Frans is the guy in the centre with the sternest look in which I took another shot with another camera and made sure they all smiled. Birthday celebrations is not a big affair here, partly due to cakes and restaurants being costly that most canʼt afford to have, in which at times all they have, if they are lucky, is an hard boiled egg. So please give thanks for your yearly birthday celebrations even if it is just a meal or cake, that you never know how much you have.




Another thanksgiving item (christmas came early), will be the smooth process of registration of Cocoon as an NGO. (See the lady on the right, that is Pastor Acy, the Pastor of the church that we head to every week, she is wearing a Telunas shirt! Iʼm wearing it now as I type this update (LOL), havenʼt had a chance to ask her if she has been there yet).

As said in the previous update, of how tedious and laborious processes and administration takes place here, it is a big step forward after the signing of this very document, as you can see on the faces of Frans and Naza :)

We give thanks for Blackie too! Cute eh? She is our little cheer leader that greets us home every day whenever we return, doing her many silly and doggy antics, sleeping on chairs. She is very well loved among us here and I loved her enough to take her a shower yesterday, my second time here. It is what the team dub as the “baptism of fire” here, not much difficulty though.

Iʼm working on another set of storyboards now, on Siko, the monkey and Bobo, the caterpillar, it is a story of transformation and the story of Cocoon and another week of creating more kids club materials. Teaching of the bigger kids went well :)





The longest conversation I had of Tetun apart from my tutor, Zeze, and the class I did, was with a 5 year old that was at the baptism party, so here goes language learning/application and my next mission will be is to at least learn how to say grace before a meal. I love the little surprises that occurs as and whenever and my little sms conversation I had with Louisa is another story (yah, go ask her) haha!



Keep praying for:
- Li Shan: Her persistent cough is still hanging around, do pray for complete healing

- Dawn: Her back

- SL: Heads to Jakarta for a conference and she will be sharing on Timor, pray that it will
be a good and refreshing time at the conference as she goes on her break after that

- Students/Teachers/Kids: God is moving around in various ways that I donʼt think anyone
can define or put a box to it, and as of today, Alloe (one of the teachers) shared a
testimony of how God used him to speak to some of his friends in school who was asking
about what is a Christian and what do they believe in.

The teachers have started their university terms and as they juggle their roles of being a
teacher and student, pray that God will grant them wisdom and strength especially when
they are in school - they tend to get asked a lot of questions about their faith, if they know they are Protestants and for Him to cover over them.

- Me: For continued flow of creativity, grace and love in all things that I do, learn/cook/
draw/talk. Health has been great so far and I am not taking it for granted haha! Keep the
prayers coming in whichever ways God leads you.
Time to sleep!

Loves,
Joy Joy

The title is the favourite question of everyone on the team that usually pops up either at the dinner table or when we end a day and is returning home to have our dinner, we will actually have to remind each other which day of the week it is. Time in Dili tends to take on a different twist, whereby at times, the day or week may seem like a long one, but the moment you think about it, time seems to fly you by and you wonder how and what did you do for the entire week that just went by?

Tomorrow marks a start to another week and also marks a significant day for Cocoon! They are going to sign the papers tomorrow that will mark 2/3 of the registration process of Cocoon as an NGO. You cannot comprehend enough of the way things work over here than back at home, since you are so used to the systematic, quick and hassle-free ways of processing that I had a brief taste of Timor work style as I did my medical checkup as part of my visa application.

It often gets laborious because of the possibilities of making a few more trips over certain small details you may overlook - that includes a requirement to be dressed appropriately,file colors that you use to submit your documents, lack of some photocopies of documents that you do not have and get turned away for a million reasons! I have heard horror stories from the experienced ones and so far, the submissions has been really successful apart from a nurse who jabbed me at the same spot another doctor from another clinic took blood test from me the previous day, that led to quite a squirt appearing on her outfit and my arm, messy but I survived and was still quite alarmed that she would pick the same EXACT needle spot, where I have quite a large surface area on my arm. (the same day, we heard of Steve Jobʼs passing)

Aze and Migi made their debut appearance this week and it was well-received by the kids, as LS read lines of the story out and the kids could guess which picture corresponded with the story line!











So Aze and Migi goes on further with more coloring worksheets made for the kids and with the months of the year drawn out. Drawing/Illustrating has become quite a regular thing over here and I will be working on the Cocoon story next up, a story of a cocoon who turns into a butterfly and a monkey, (where monkeys here share a significant meaning among the team and it has a story on itʼs on) :)

Apart from developing worksheets, a Tetun student, Iʼve been tasked to handle the bigger kids in the kids club, so I get a larger platform to put my language into use and a chef on Mondays and Thursdays for dinners.(Yeap, what an all rounded experience eh?) I became a part-time mommy too, as I carried Vanessa during bible study lesson, so Alloe could better concentrate while Vanessa slept on me. (*winks at Charissa and the shirt! :D )

So during bible study with the boys (student teachers), now in their uni year, are having it hard with the influx of philosophies around, being questioned if their religion is still real or valid in that sense and SL was sharing on how we should set our focus about the wisdom on the Lord kind of message. Suddenly at that moment, I realized just how similar or least the things that we young people go through as we are being bombarded by the many information around (philosophies/science/new religion/news/information) and again, reminded me of the importance of knowing and being rooted in the word. Hard to explain it into words but one of the many light bulb moments that makes me realize again why certain things has to be done and seen in a certain manner.

The weather has been getting really hot lately (Timorʼs heat is quite something really) and I have adopted new habits of having cold showers to feel nice and taking naps from time to time during the siesta timing after lunch to keep the energy levels up and I had a lovely surprise today! - I met Uncle Kim Chye today as he brought mangoes down from Liquica and I managed to give him a big hug, so good to see him, since Iʼve came here :) (Liquica is some drive away from Dili)

Things to pray for:
- Cocoon successful application as an NGO as it goes through the signing and the overall
procedures to be smooth
- For me to be coherent and have sufficient language to handle the bigger kids and the
giving out of instructions
- For Dawnʼs back, she suffers from a slip disc and from time to time, it seems to get a little painful for her
- Keep praying for the kids/youths and student teachers! God moves in different ways
among them and for my favourite boy - Atito, he turned up for kids class last Thursday
dressed smartly with a collar shirt and berms looking really dashing, is making efforts to
sing the songs being taught (which really isnʼt there when I first saw him) and he said
something nice to a girl beside, since the kids were supposed to give affirming words to
one another, sigh - so proud of him loh.
- If God could make it to have more clouds around, so the sun wouldnʼt be too glaring :D
Thatʼs it for now - time for bed and Iʼm getting sleepy, good nights and

Loves,
Joy Joy

Ok, bad title but it is something, my brain isnʼt working much right now! This week has been a relatively different one from usual because I was invited by SL to head up to Siera (some place 40 minutes away Eastwards of Dili) and it is up on some hilly terrains, along with the church youths, they were having a retreat. I was a little apprehensive at first honestly, because what people do during retreats is that they hang out and language will be key to communication but I went in the end because of a persuasive SL and LS both felt it will be a great experience for me.

So away from the city life for a bit and the night was spent largely in the dark and candles because of the power outages. This place is a school set up by a Brazilian missionary, called Branca who has an amazing story of her work here. I think the exploratory team last year wanted to meet this particular missionary but somehow, didnʼt work out.

She has been on this land for 10 or more so years and have seen Timor through the separation with Indonesia in 1999 and then in 2006 again between
the East and West Timor. While many chose to evade in Timor, stood this lady who ministered to the locals as a refuge place, feeding them and providing them with shelter too. (ET exploratory team - remember what we talked about, that one woman who does ministry under some tree and perhaps some medical assistance to the locals and kids?!) It is really quite amazing meeting this woman! She is pretty famous over here in Timor but a relative unknown back at home but sheʼs a really nice and warm woman and when I heard her story, I canʼt help but realize how much she
really loves Timor and the people here, Godʼs love flowing in you, makes you do things out of this world!

Ok she led a prayer meeting and it was so amazing, how the youths sang their hearts out and in parts and how they all just broke out in one voice praying to God for Him to come and boy did He come! After worship, everyone was on their knees praying and pouring out their love and adoration for Him, that tangible presence of God, with one guitar and many
hungry hearts that were just yearning for Him. I stood there in awe and in marvel of what was happening and a privilege to just be a part of the experience of His faithfulness and love:)

Just when I thought that will have been pretty much it, the night was split up into a sharing night among the boys and the girls. In the dark, with a candle in the centre, the girls sat in a circle and started sharing about our struggles. I sat there listening, picking up whatever I can with key words like - Hirus, which literally means angry/anger that was frequently raised during the sharing. Then, I was invited by Pastor Acy (the pastor of the church) to pray and minister to the girls along with her, SL and another Kakak (sister) but sheʼs of aunty age lah.

It was pretty nerve wrecking trying to pray for a local here with my limited Bahasa/Tetun vocabulary but at that moment, there really wasnʼt much thinking to be done, I prayed in English in my main parts and just saying this 3 magical words - Maromak Hadomi Ita (God loves you) and Aman O Diak (Father You are Good). Aman O diak was a worship song I picked up after the weeks because of itʼs frequent
appearance in worship - that was all I had and that was all that was enough, God came and ministered to her as we stood and hugged. Praise God for being a God who never fails to surprise me and who truly knows our hearts, that crosses across any language or barriers! I do hope Iʼll be able to pray in Bahasa and Tetun in the days to come, that was something added to my to do list :)

This is how cooking is done with chopped firewood and 3 blocks of concrete as you can see on the foreground when you have no LPG gas, and this dome shaped looking thing is an oven! I havenʼt yet have a chance to try this mode of baking (behind the place where I stay now sits a bakery :D) but I know, the
pizza/bread will turn out really well speaking of which God has used this thing to speak to me in which I shall share if you do remember to ask me when I get back, it is just too much to type.

This is not a photostocked picture, as much as it looks really nice, it is my bible sitting on the floor in front of my mat, as I decided to experience what it is like reading in front of a candle and to journal a little and wonder was that how Paul felt when he was writing his many letters that eventually made up half of your new testament? Funny, but that was the exact thought that got into my head as I knelt down (it is the only way so you can see the words of the bible), quite an experience! Yeap, city kid slept on the floor too which I remembered telling God - “Please no bugs/rats running around me”, which God has answered.




On the road back down to Dili, I took this shot (yes, just for Darius and all of you la!), see how close it is to the edge downhill? :D If you arenʼt height conscious and can withstand the dusty roads (because most of the cars donʼt have their air-con working), your windows are down, you get a beautiful scenery if you drive uphills :) I love it, yeap, rugged terrains and 4x4s or pickups (hilux), and Godʼs creation underneath, splendid! (still waiting for my chance to drive around terrains like that, whereʼs my license?!)

PS: Sorry, photographs are all taken by a w810i, forgive the quality, Iʼm getting lazy, whipping out the DSLR.

This week has been mainly celebrating the childrenʼs birthday, that takes place usually at the end of the month! We did it twice this week, one during Thursday and another one today, in the afternoon because there is just that many kids :D I led the games of “catch the tail” which was fun watching them run around and so we sang happy birthday to the September babies and they get prayed for as part of the blessings :) Everyone gets to have eggs and milk too!




Do pray for:
- Successful application as Cocoon as an NGO (will pray the entire time till the application is through)
- Health check sometime soon, it will be smooth (last week was just the submission of documents!)
- Aze and Migi makes their debut tomorrow (they have been turned into worksheets too), pray for continual flow of wisdom and creativity for the creation of storyboards, ideas and games for the children
- Good health! (It has been good for a
change towards the end of the week, the best for quite a while and it feels great :) )

That will be it! Thanks for the prayer coverings, it makes a difference over here as God continues to move!

Loves, Joy Joy