The Real Deal

So, we've been in Indonesia for a grand total of 4 weeks. Or close to it, anyway. And some of the initial excitement and newness is wearing off. We've had our fair share of frustrations and mishaps already.

• A man I didn't know (I don't think!) came by the house yesterday afternoon when Sean was gone on his drive up the mountain. He seemed nice and was saying something to me but I wasn't catching one word that he said. So I stood there looking dumb and finally sputtered out something along the lines of "I'm sorry? Once again?" (in Indonesian) What followed was one of the most awkward moments I've had in Indonesia so far. He didn't repeat a thing or try to say anything more. Just stared dumbly at me while I stared dumbly at him. We're not talking about a few seconds of awkward staring, we're talking minutes of standing there looking at each other with stupid looks on our faces. Finally, he just shrugged and turned around and left! Later, when I was telling Sean about it, he wondered if it might have been the guy who was supposed to come and fix our fence. I was so sad to think I'd run away the fence guy! We need to fix that fence so badly.
  
• I am getting eaten alive by some strange bug at night. Is it bedbugs? A spider? I have huge welts on my legs and thighs and, yes, even, my derriere...or however you spell that. Anyway, I appear to be the only person with this problem. It's a bit disconcerting. Is this the Cooties?
• I just got home from the store. As I was paying, (which was a fiasco in and of itself) a complete stranger was taking Paige out of her stroller, playing with her, putting her in a riding toy thingy and fixing her hair. I didn't know what was happening until I turned around to leave. Wha?! Lady! Who'dya think you are? Do I know you? Even as I was getting ready to leave, she was still playing with Paige and I had to yank my child from her arms. Then, Paige went on to throw a fit as I tried to stuff her back in the stroller and the lady just stood there "tsk-tsking" me for doing such a terrible thing to my child.
• Same lady, same song, different ending. She tried the same thing with Madison who was not impressed. Poor girl, she seems to get the most attention because of her very blonde hair. The other night a group of young girls were relentlessly pinching and touching poor Maddie and she just walked bravely on down the street, pretending they weren't there. I saw a little pout in her mouth, though,and she looked close to tears. Finally, Sean said something that got them to stop. Oh, these cultural things are hard to take when they so directly affect my little girls.
• I told Maddie today that, unless the person making over her is a friend, she has my permission to say "no" and "don't" and if they don't listen she can throw a royal fit. Was that okay, do you think? I'm not sure - but if you'd seen how sad and brave she looks when being "attacked" you'd probably say the same thing. It's heart-wrenching!
  
• Brooklyn is not easy to get out of bed in the morning. She loves school, but mornings just aren't her thing :-)
  
• I make breakfast most mornings since I'm not such a fan of the cereal options here. The other day, I was melting butter along with some sugar and cinnamon in a pan in the oven to make a favorite recipe and that chunk of butter just wouldn't melt as fast as I thought it should. Finally, I checked it and it was cheddar cheese! I'd grabbed what I thought was butter out of a baggie but it was cheese. Yes, the cheese and the butter are the same color here -creamy white - and they happen to come in about the same shape and size. So, we had some lovely cinnamon and sugar encrusted cheddar with our Apple Puff Pancake. Actually, Paige and Maddie really did eat it (Brooklyn was still in bed or she might have too) and they really liked it.
  
• Our language is improving but it can be so frustrating at times. Like when you are trying to tell somebody to leave your kid alone or you are trying to explain to the shopkeeper that you don't owe them as much money as they think you do or when a fence guy comes to your door!
  
• Sean has one more week of Unit 1! Then he has a week off and then I'll join him in going to class every morning. I'm really looking forward to it and really not, depending on my mood.
  
• We need transportation! We walk most places we go, and I'm enjoying the exercise, but with me starting school in a couple of weeks it will get more complicated getting everybody where they need to be. We're sure we can't afford a car here, so most likely we'll be getting a motorcycle. How that will work with a family of five is still a little unclear to me ;-)

I don't mean for this to be my complaining list but I do want to paint a realistic picture of what life is like here. It's not easy and it's often extremely frustrating. But God is working in our hearts in such powerful ways through these little annoyances and struggles. I don't savor the hard days but I do treasure the gold that God spins from them.

I love that God works so beautifully through the simplest things to bring hope to me when I feel hopeless. Yesterday, it was a comment left by a friend on Facebook and I'll leave you with that quote from a song I've sung in church for as along as I can remember:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace!"

By the way, what made that little comment even more special was knowing that my friend posted that comment after praying for me that day. Do you suppose God laid it on her heart to share that just for me?!