Stranger in the Street

"What's wrong with you, Adyl? Come on...don't stop. We must go on." I talked to my motorcycle when I went home from work.

My motorcycle ran more and more slowly...and finally stopped. Uh...it was a silly mistake not to check the fuel before you went out by motorcycle. My motorcycle ran out of gasoline. The sun shone so brightly in the middle of the day, and I had to walk and push my motorcycle.

Suddenly, a young man on his motorcycle came closer from behind. Seeing what he was bringing on his motorcycle, I guessed he worked as a delivery man. I thought I never had a friend with that job. I didn't know who he was.

"Do you run out of gas? Where will you go? Still far from here?" he asked me.

"Umm...yes. I wanna go home. Not too far," I replied.

"Let me help you push your motorcycle," he said.

"Oh...thanks," I didn't have time to think further.

Then he pushed my motorcycle by his foot while he was riding his.

After about a kilometer, at the T-junction we turned right, and after we turned right we found a mini gas station. If I walked, I could reach it in about fifteen minutes with much sweat, while with that stranger pushing my motorcycle, we could reach it in only one minute.

"Just stop here. I can buy the gas here. You can leave me," I told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Ok, I'm going," he said.

"Thank you so much," I said.

Then he turned around and went to the other direction, and I realized that he turned right just for helping me.

Who was he? He was really stranger whom I had never known before. He was mysterious.

Nooo...he wasn't a stranger! It was God's work.
He was the angel that God sent to help me. 

Help me to reach the gas station easily? No!

God didn't send His angel to help me when I got trouble, but He sent him to remind me to help others...even strangers.

Sometimes we prefer choosing whom we want to help, but God always reminds us to help those who need help.

Something Sweet

The final tests were over. The academic year would end soon. All students were curious to see the result. But they couldn't see the result of their work through the year so soon. The teachers were processing the scores of all tests and assignments.

As usual, after the final tests, before the students received the report card, they didn't have any class. They spent the days by doing non-academic activities, such as social activities and sports competition.

In this year-end, they almost forgot something. They remembered that they still kept some class-cash. They were confused how to spend the money because they only had two days left to meet their classmates. They discussed...they had arguments about what they will do with the money.
Finally, most of them agreed to buy some food or drink, and enjoy it together in a small party with their classmates.

That day I entered the teachers' room. I saw some nice boxes on the table in the corner of the room. What's this? Boxes of donuts! For me, donut was something sweet...so it led me to think that it must be a sweet gift. Eventually, I found that the donuts were from the students of 8A.... They spent their class-cash to buy donuts for the teachers...so wow!

When others thought about spending the class-cash for themselves, they thought about devoting it to their teachers. 
When others focus on themselves, you focus on sharing what you have to others. 
Thanks a lot...you're the winners...you've won our hearts. 
It's something sweet!

A Simple Surprise

Exams always make the students tired. Tired of preparing. In the last grade of the school, my 9th grade students had some series of exhausting exams. And they did it well. After the exams, they had no more classroom activities. They would come to school only for having the graduation rehearsal and having some photo session for the year book. So when they did not have to go to school, they just stayed at home or spending their leisure time with their friends.

That day, some students went to school to do a special action for their teachers. They had planned, they prepared what they should  bring and do. They asked some friends to join. Some joined but some refused because they would go to the amusement park with their friends. Some refused because they had another activities with their family. Some refused because they were not interested and chose to stay at home.

These students came to school in the morning. They arrived at the time they usually arrived to school. They brought some washing equipment. Yes...they came to wash the cars and motorcycles of their teachers. The teachers and school staff were surprised and gave positive response. They let the students wash their cars and motorcycles. Getting good response, the students were happy...and they did their job cheerfully.

That day was a special day for the teachers and staff. They felt being loved and respected. They were thankful to have such students who cared about them. The students said to me,"There's no present we could give. Only this...just to express that we thank the teachers for teaching us."

Simple thing...and cheap...and not prestigious, when it is done with great love, can please others.
Instead of pleasing themselves, they have chosen the more difficult choice...to please others.
Thank you so much...we're proud of you....

Eat Less, Share More

The students in our school were so enthusiastic. They were celebrating The World Food Day. 

In our school, The World Food Day is celebrated to heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world and strengthen the solidarity for the people who cannot have food as we have.

On that day, the students had a competition of arranging and decorating traditional food from Indonesia. Then they would have lunch together in their own class. Every class had to prepare a kind of traditional food to be eaten together. I walked around, from one class to another, and was glad to see the students preparing the food on the table. They had changed the studying tables into dining tables and they had arranged the food nicely. 

Five students of one class were doing the final preparation. They were arranging the Balinese food completed with certain ornaments about Bali. It was very nice. A few minutes later, they finished. Then, they invited their classmates to come into the classroom. No need to take a long time, they prayed together and started eating. Meanwhile, their homeroom teacher was outside the classroom, having a talk with another teacher. The students focused on their lunch and their togetherness. They didn't care about other people around them. After some time having a talk, the homeroom teacher went away, not coming into the classroom. 

On the way he was going, some students from another class offered him to have lunch with them.

Sometimes, some work and some fail. 

Some classes reached the goal, some classes failed. 

Some classes succeeded to strengthen the solidarity for people around them, while some classes failed.

Some classes remembered people around them when they had got food to eat, while some classes focus on the food for themselves.

For you who have succeeded, congratulations! Keep giving more, taking less. I'm proud of you.

Incident

Katrin is a generous woman. She likes giving and sharing what she has to others.

About two months ago, Katrin went to the market to buy some meat and vegetables. She went there by motorcycle. She brought a small purse with some money in it. After buying what she needed, she walked to a parking lot where she parked her motorcycle. She was anxious as she couldn't find any money left in her purse and pocket. She needed only IDR 2,000 to bring the motorcycle out of the parking lot, but she had no money at all. She didn't bring the motorcycle document, either. She went in to the market, wishing to meet someone she had known so that she could owe any money. But...no one could help her. 

Then Katrin went out of the parking lot without the motorcycle. She needed to take some IDR 2,000 at home and go back to the market to "free" the motorcycle. Incidentally, she met Engkong (sorry...I don't know his real name), a becak driver in the area. Engkong works as a becak driver - and a becak driver earns little money. It had been a long time for Engkong not to drive her going anywhere. Then...you can guess...she went home by Engkong's becak. On the way, Engkong told her that his life was getting worse since there had been many online-ojeks. You can also guess what happened next. Katrin paid the fare much more than it should be. She was a blessing for Engkong.

Today, Katrin didn't go to work. She was ill. In the evening, she went to the doctor, not far from her house. Entering the clinic, someone came to her. Engkong! Engkong was ill, too. Then, Engkong was called to go into the doctor's room. Going out for the room, the administration staff told him to pay IDR 150,000 for the treatment and medicine. And Katrin paid it.

I do believe...really believe that it's God's work.
God planned those incidents - losing the money and being ill. God had worked on Engkong's life through Katrin's incidents. God had made these so Katrin could meet Engkong and helped him. Katrin's incidents are blessings for someone else.

And I do believe...that tomorrow Katrin will get well, because she has accomplish the mission.

Be thankful since God loves you. As He has done to Engkong, He never lets you tumble.
And be thankful since God makes you a saviour - like Katrin - for others.


becak = tricycle rickshaw moved by man's power, not by engine
ojek = public transportation using motorcycle

A Simple Good Morning

Not everyday, but I often take my children and their mom to school. Their mom works at their school. To save my time, I usually drop them off not in front of the school, but in front of the cluster. Then they walk. Everytime they walk past the security officers, my wife greets them - just a simple 'good morning'. They just nodded at first. Then, to reply my wife's greeting they smiled. After some greetings, they replied by nodding, smiling and saying good morning.

People learn from what they see, they hear and they feel.
When they can see, hear and feel that they are respected, they also learn how to show and give respect.
Let's DO it, not only tell it. Share your positive energy to others.

Eyes, Lips and Nose

1. Hi, I'm eye. Am I beautiful? 

 
2. Hi! I'm lip. Can you see if I'm beautiful?
 

 
3. Hi, I'm sure you know me. Yes! I'm nose! Do you think I'm the most beautiful?

If I've got to answer those three questions, my answers are all 'No!'. I can't see the beauty of each of them. The eye is too dark and not shiny. The lips are too pale. The nose is too flat. When I see their physical appearances, they're not interesting. Yet, can you see the function of each of them? When they work, they will be meaningful. When they work together, they will form a harmony. When they are put on a face appropriately, they will show the beauty of the face - not the beauty of each of them.

God created them with their own function.

God put them on a face to show the beauty of the owner of the face.

God created us....

Have we played our own role? And have we avoided being selfish to show the beauty of our Owner?

THE

Today we had an English class. We discussed about preposition. My students understood the preposition we were talking about. Yet, as I frequently do, I talked about something else. Huahahaha...I didn't focus on the main topic....

We had these sentences, "He's at school." and "He's at the school." 

"She's at hospital." and "She's at the hospital."

"He's in jail." and 'He's in the jail."

The word 'the' hasn't got a significant meaning when it stands alone. But, we know, if the word is inserted into a phrase, the word can change the meaning of the phrase, and the meaning becomes absolutely different. I found that it is amazing!

The word is like us. We've got no meaning when we stand alone without anyone else. But when we play our own role in our community, we've got the meaning! We are there for others. So, be useful for others! Shine on the world around you! You're the meaningful 'THE'!

The Best Mark Ever

There would be a test in my music class. The test would be done by groups of three. The test needed all of the members of the group to play well. If one of them played some parts of the music score incorrectly, the whole group would get bad mark.

There were some students who were good at music. Three of them joined. They had no problem in playing the music score. They did not need to learn and practise together as each of them could read and play the score well. On another corner, Firman - another student who was good at music - and two of his friends practised together. His friends could not read and play the music score fluently. They usually got 70, the minimum passing mark. He tried hard to teach his friends patiently. He tried his best and so did his friends.

The day of the test had come. The three talented students played the song. They did it perfectly. They got 100. Then Firman and his group performed after practising as well as they could. And they did it…not very well…. They got 80!

I asked Firman,”Are you satisfied?” “Yes!” he replied. He chose the more difficult choice. He chose not to gain 100 easily. He realized that he could not get 100. On the other side, his friends were really satisfied since they had never got 80 before.

Share your knowledge and be useful for others!

Lucky Beggar

Nobody wants to be poor. Nobody wants to be a beggar. Nevertheless, some people choose to be beggars because of their own situation. They have their own reasons. Sunday is the day that more beggars come to my house. It may be because the owner of the house is at home.
That Sunday my wife and I were not at home. Only my children and their nanny were at home. Before I went out, I had left a banknote of Rp. 50,000.00. I asked the nanny to spend the money to pay for the laundry. When I was away, she called me asking where I put the money. I told her where I put it but she could not find it.
The next morning the nanny told me that she could not find the money. I said ok, and asked her to look for it once again.
Then my 4 years old daughter told me proudly,

A Humble Leader

In my church, our leader is a good priest who is very strict about every church's rule. Maybe only one thing he misses. He forgets to come to the people although he usually accepts the people who come to him warmly. That day was a special Sunday for us as the mass would be led by Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo, the bishop of Jakarta. A day before He sent a message "....If there are some of your people who are sick, I have time and I can visit them...." It's a great pleasure for the people who could be visited by the bishop. He, who has higher position than my local leader, was willing to visit ordinary people who needed to be visited, who needed to be touched. The great leader who is so humble....

When he came and I met him, I reported how the mass should go. He gave this response, "Just do as what you have planned. But if there is some mistake or something that you haven't planned happens, it'll be ok, right?"

I was so happy to hear that. I wondered how he could be that humble, how he could give it all to God, the greatest planner. He believes that God's plan is always better than ours. So let us be humble before Him.

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.(Luke 15:20)

Sometimes when somebody helps me, I don't expect or even think that he can help me. It's God's work! He always sends the right angel....

My Mango Tree

When I cut some leaves of the mango tree at my house, it produces more fruit.

God created us like a mango tree. When we sacrifice, it will be painful, but we will produce more fruit.

Excellent Student

"Girl, would you be his partner in the next music test?" I asked her. "No, sir, I don't want my score get worse since he can't play the instrument well," she replied. The girl was an excellent student whose scores were always excellent. She was afraid if she had a bad score which broke her good reputation.

Sometimes a student was excellent only in academic field. I know the girl is a kind girl,

Three Kind Girls

"Please learn only this part," I said desperately to those three boys. The boys were taking a remedial test of Music. I knew that the boys would fail in the test, but if I just asked them to follow my fingers playing, I was wrong since I didn't teach them anything. I asked them to learn the part of the song outside the music room although I thought they couldn't do better there. Fortunately, there were three girls outside, waiting their turn to take the test. I told the girls to show how to play a little part of the song. The girls were willing to do what I asked, and they 'taught' the boys sincerely and patiently. Finally, the boys could pass the test. How glad I was! I thanked the girls for helping the boys pass the test. I hope I have more than those three girls in my school.