THE STRENGTHEN HIT (Part 1)

I like sharing. I think one of the persons who hears most of my sharing here is Ruth. We could share each other when she was driving car & I sat besides her or maybe we had little break time just having small food or the others. I told her that I had so many experiences I might share which God had been involved most in my life.

That night when we were on the way home from church, Ruth drove me home and we were involved in a sharing. Sharing about education. It was not detail because we just had limited time. That was why I was called to complete my sharing in this writing.

I remembered after I graduated from Senior High School, I needed to take several test to University. My priority was the favorite Government Universities. The point was because of much cheaper if we compared with private Universities and of coarse the Companies would consider us when we applied the job beside of our Cumulative Achievement Index we had.

I took three test. The first was National Test as a student from Rayon A (East Java), the second test was from Pembangunan Nasional ‘Veteran’ University in Surabaya (East Java), my city and the third test was from Government Financial Academy in Malang (East Java).

In the first test, I might choose maximum 3 faculties because I was from the exact student (Biology Class) so I chose Psychology Faculty of Pajajaran University, Bandung (West Java) because they only accepted from the exact students, then Agriculture Faculty of Brawijaya University, Malang (East Java) and Communication Faculty of Airlangga University,Surabaya. The special thing from the exact student, I might take the social test, that was why I took Communication Faculty as the last alternative in Social although I knew I was blank for social science but I tried it with reading some books that I borrowed from my close friends.

The second test was as the alternative University I chose as reserving if I was fail in the first test. I took just Agriculture Faculty. This test was different with the first test. I just might take 1 faculty. My father asked me to take Chemical technical Faculty but I was so nervous with this Faculty. Beside I didn’t like technical, I was not sure if my capability could reach the excellent Cumulative Achievement Index when I graduated from there.
My goal was I had to reach at least ‘3’ when I graduated from Bachelor.
It would make me and my father satisfied. It was not easy to reach that so that why I tried to avoid the Faculties that I had a great doubt in it.

The third test was the test who every student and parent really wanted it but it had the difficult conditions. Why did they want it?? Because if they passed, their parent didn’t need to pay for their study even the students would get the job directly from Government with the condition they had to be ready to get the duty in entire Indonesia area after graduated from there. Even the students would get the monthly money as a financial support of Government Students. It was interested but one thing wasn’t interested to me, this academy was financial academy, including customs, tax, pawn, etc. I didn’t like it but I still tried it because I had the conditions they wanted. The conditions were little hard, that was why only certain students might follow the test. The conditions were the students might not have score ‘6’ for Indonesian, Pancasila Moral Education, Math and English from the first to third grade in Senior High School. It meant the students had to reach at least ‘7’ and special for Math and English, they liked if the students could reach ‘8’ especially at the third grade. When I applied for this academy, I felt all the students were smart. It made me nervous too but who cared, It didn’t influence me because I didn’t hope I would be passed in this test, beside I didn’t like the financial, I didn’t know where they would put me for duty after I graduated from there. There were so many questions in my heart but I kept going, trying to give up my future in GOD hand.

When the time for the announcements came, I felt I had known already their results although I hadn’t seen them yet. My heart was so sensitive. I didn’t go to Malang checking my number there but my brother helped me going there by himself and came back with the news ‘fail’. I wasn’t sad at all but my father was so angry to me because I didn’t go there by myself. It looked like I didn’t have the
responsibility. I tried to explain him the reason why I didn’t go, it was because I had to come for the final briefing at the same day for the singing competition
I followed next week. He didn’t care, he was still angry because I didn’t give the priority for this test. I felt bad although I didn’t feel like that. I just felt I would not pass for this test because I didn’t do the accounting test and economy test very well, that was why I had pessimistic for this test & I preferred to come that briefing, but more than that I would like to tell him actually I didn’t like the financial academy but I didn’t have a brave to tell him. I didn’t want make him disappointed.

It was different with the result of the second test. I felt confidence that I would pass. Some test I followed were easy for me except for the history of Indonesia battle. Almost 75% I could not answer them. They had different topic that I had gotten from Senior High School. It didn’t bother me because the test for Pancasila Moral Education, English, Indonesian, Chemistry, Biology and Physic I did well even for Math I could finish it in just 1 hour for 3 hours they gave. I really did very well for Math. I bet my Math could reach score more ‘9’or almost ‘10’. It was so easy for me because I had additional studies at an institution preparing the test for University or Academy special for Exact studies and I did many try outs but of coarse it was difficult for the student who didn’t have them. I was glad I passed
that test. Thanks GOD!!! Then I wonder how my first test result was.

When the time of the first test announcement had arrived. I could check my test number via daily local newspaper. I didn’t know why I felt there wasn’t my test number on the list before I checked it, and I was right…..my test number was not there. I hadn’t felt sad yet at that time, because I remembered how difficult the test was and if we had the wrong answer for their multiple choices answer, it could decreased our scores. It changed automatically because they scanned it with the computer. The answered papers might not folded, dirty, filling out of the circle (using the pencil). This meant it should be clean and smooth.

Finally after I knew in several days, all my close friends who followed the first test were passed and the first and the third champion in my class were passed too, I was so stressed. How I was not???.... In the Biology class I was the second champion, I was the best in the genetic study, I was an active student and had been involved in many good activities in the school and they weren’t, I went to the additional study at an institution and they didn’t, I……, I……(etc). Those were my claims. I felt God was not fair although I had accepted it already but I still could not put away my stressful, even worse and worse. My friend who was the first champion in the class invited me for her small party celebrating her passing for
the test in Dental Faculty at a precious Government University in Surabaya but I didn’t want to come. My closest friend who passed in Communication Faculty at a precious Government University in Surabaya sent ‘nasi kuning/yellow rice’ as her celebration. I really didn’t want to eat it but I should eat it at least tasting it because it was a Java tradition as a symbol of accepting sharing of blessing. My father knew if I was so stressed so he suggested me having relax by visiting my aunt’s house until I felt much better. I followed his suggestion but it still didn’t work. When I came home, I still felt I was nervous to meet everybody, I didn’t want to meet my friends or my neighbor. It took couple weeks becoming almost normal again.

As the conclusion of the test result, I became a student at University of Pembangunan
Nasional ‘Veteran’ in Surabaya. Although it was located in the same city where I lived, it still took around 1.5 – 2 hours to reach there by 3 public transportations (becak, bus & microlet) with a condition, without traffic jam. As we know Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta. I lived in Northern and my University was located in Southern. I could imagine how much energy I spent on the way and more money I would spend for transportation everyday from Monday to Friday. I hadn’t finished thinking about it and hadn’t had its solution, suddenly one day I got a great news from my relative, Mutiara who lived not far from my University & I didn’t know it before. She told me that her aunt (Tante Nanda who lived in Balikpapan, Kalimantan/Borneo) wanted me to live there (her house that she & her husband bought it before her husband got pension from PT. PERTAMINA) with Mutiara and her brother and her sister (they took school in Surabaya & took care her house). It surprised me & my father. We never thought it would be like that. Living there, it meant we didn’t need to spent more money for renting the boarding house, just spending for the food and daily needs. It was such a great blessing from GOD. I started feeling my eyes had been opened with this miracle that God never left us when we were in the difficult time as long as we followed His way & let Him worked for our goodness.

Then I started to learn more why GOD placed me there. I was sure and I just let my life flew like water again. Only one thing I felt sad enough I could not service GOD with my Youth Vocal Group again. I tried not to think about it, just focusing to the study and I wanted to be success in my study. Suddenly in couple weeks, Mutiara came to me and asked me to join with a Vocal Group, VG El-Shadai which all of the members lived at the same area. She said that they needed more persons for soprano, alto & tenor. I just said ‘yes’ without a hope that they would be like my last VG. I just thought at time, God gave me other VG as a place where I could service HIM again.

Week by week, month by month and year by year, finally I knew why God had called me to live there. I could see the differences of my life experiences from several categories. They were servicing in GOD, Christianity Life and Blessings (to be continued).