So Long Ordinary

We're all doing well. Busy, busy, busy. (but not with homeschooling, which is SO nice) This week we're extra busy with company. Two different families are in town - a family with Wycliffe that visits 3 times a year and our newest MAF family visiting during their break from language school! Any increase in our Western family count is cause for great joy and celebration! ;-) Our Indonesian staff is on a retreat with other Indonesian staff from the other side of Kalimantan. Please pray for them to have a great and blessed time. We highly value these men and their families and we know they need encouragement in this ministry just like we do! Please keep praying for the English Club. It just keeps growing. There were 59 last week but half of them were new and several regulars were missing, which means we're shooting upwards of 60 if everyone comes! I am unable to do as much craft-type projects with them because it is just too much - too expensive to get all the material...

We're back from our conference feeling blessed and encouraged. We swam a lot and ate a lot of yummy goodies; went to the movies and played on the beach; shopped till we dropped and came home with cheese! We also spent lots of time with our MAF teammates who live on the other Kalimantan base. What a treat to hang out with old and new friends. I tell ya - MAF has the best people in the world. Just in case you were looking for a mission org to join. ;-) First of all, Happy Father's Day to the father of my kids - Sean, you are truly an amazing Dad and our girls really adore you. Watching you with our girls makes me happy all over again that I married you! I want to also wish my father-in-law a Happy Father's Day - you are very much loved by at least 5 people in Indonesia. We love you and miss you! A year ago, I wasn't sure if my Daddy was really going to be alright after bypass surgery. This year, I tried to call and wish him Happy Father's Day but he was out r...

Brooklyn is officially a 3rd grader! She worked really hard this week to finish her work and I am SO proud of her. She's pretty excited and we're already enjoying our break. First year of homeschool done - check! Madison is also done! I started her in Kindergarten a little late in the year because I had to wait for some materials. So, we only got about halfway through Kindergarten. I do have First Grade materials also on the way for next year. Maddie is gonna be a KinderFirst Grader! I counted 54 kids at English Club today. I could have double counted a few or even missed a few, its kind of hard to keep count with a bunch of kids milling about in a smallish room! Seriously, though, we can't add any more to this class. We're really having fun - today I taught them to do the twist and make paper airplanes. They loved it! The fun thing about teaching English is that the students can learn from anything. Okay, okay, we are studying action verbs and transportation...

We've lived in Palangka Raya for about a year now. Sorta. The past year has been anything but stable and has included two and a half months back on Java to finish language study, our first year of homeschooling, and a 6-week trip to the States. It's been a full year and I'm only now beginning to feel settled. As I've settled, though, I've grown more and more anxious for opportunities to do some sort of ministry outside the realm I usually occupy as a homemaker. I was afraid to commit to too much, though, for the simple fact that I am already very busy being a mom, cook, and homeschool teacher - all things that I see as my primary and most important ministry of all. But near the end of our first year here, I was finally ready to tackle something else on top of all my other responsibilities. Anyway, for a long time I've been praying about different ministry opportunities and nothing was really fitting. I knew I wanted to do something here at our house and pr...