Indonesia - Part 2: Apryanto (Part 1)

On Friday morning, March 22nd, we headed into the slums of Jakarta (with a bag full of gifts) to meet Apryanto...our Compassion International sponsor child.

We had no idea what to expect, but we were thoroughly impressed with the organization of the program.  We met with the Compassion staff and the church staff before meeting our little guy.

 It was pretty surreal when Apryanto walked into the room.  We've been praying for this child for months, sending him cards, and watching him grow up...
and then it was like he became alive.

Compassion had outstanding record-keeping of everything that had to do with Apryanto and our sponsorship.  They had copies of every letter we had sent, there was accounting for every extra financial gift that we had sent, and they have documentation of the progress that Apryanto has made since he started the program through our support.

It was neat looking through pictures with him.

Apryanto was incredibly nervous for the first part of the day.

We went to his "house" to meet his mother and sister.  Our picture was framed on the wall and attached to his graduation picture from his first year in the program.

This was their backyard.

This was their bathroom...a whole in the ground (towards the center of the photo).
We have no idea how they bathe.

These are a few of the letters that we sent, and they were hanging on the wall next to the family bed.  The translator said that he looks at them every night before going to bed.

This is where the entire family sleeps...all four of them...no AC.

This picture gives a perspective of their one-room shanty.  I am facing the bed, and the kitchen (a few pots and pans) is right behind me.  That's it!

If you look carefully at those bags, you can see HUNDREDS of tiny little toys.  Apryanto's mom spends an entire day labeling those little toys...which probably get shipped over to the states.  She gets paid $0.35 (YES...just 35 cents) for a day of back-breaking work.  That is something we will NEVER FORGET!

Apryanto's mother and sister spent the rest of the day with us.  His father drives a truck six days of the week, so he is rarely home.

We brought lots of gifts from home, 

and you could tell that they were overwhelmed.

Apryanto was really excited about a new pair of shoes...something other than sandals.

This was just outside their home...on our way to the mall 

(which will be highlighted in the next post).