So Long Ordinary

Folks, life as I know it has changed drastically.  A Hypermart just opened in our little city - that's an Indonesian version of Wal-Mart.  It is clean and bright and fully stocked with more stuff than I've ever actually seen in Indonesia.  All in one place. I am in awe. I am having a major culture shock moment. I am dreaming of limitless dairy supply. This new store is a major attraction and the place is crazy beyond crazy after it's grand opening on Wednesday.  Sean and I took the girls to brave the craziness on opening day.  We couldn't stand to wait, we were so excited!  But I went back today for the first time to really do some real grocery shopping.  I went early, so I could find a place to park.  By the time I left, it was mass chaos and I was glad I was done. But my culture shock has nothing to do with the loads of people.  I live in Southeast Asia.  I'm kinda used to that.  No, it was the pure luxury of options!  I...

Happy Thanksgiving! This is a day like any other for us in Indonesia - Sean went in to the office and we'll be doing English Club later today. (The girls and I are taking the day off from school, though.)  We'll have our big Thanksgiving meal on Saturday with a large group of friends - most of whom aren't even American!  I love that about our missionary life - friends from all over the world who will willingly join us for our own traditions as though we were family. We ARE family, actually.  I'm thankful for them, these Dutch and Swiss and Indonesian and British and American friends who help make the holidays special despite the fact that we can't be with our families back home.  It helps, ya know, having each other. Maddie was up early this morning and wanted to join Sean and I on our morning walk.  She was excited to practice riding her bike.  Sean has raised her training wheels so she's a little wobbly but she had a great time...unt...

  Let me just say, everybody is fine.  But that picture up there, in Brooklyn's sweet note to her Daddy, pretty much sums up our weekend.  Blood.  Lots of it.  Flowing out of Sean's foot.    On Sunday afternoon Sean was using a weed-eater to try and tame our wild, jungle grass in the yard.  This weed-eater, rather than having a nice, docile nylon string was basically a little metal machete propeller.  Which, incidently, is not so safe when you accidently get your foot in its way.   Ugh.  Let me just say that seeing my husband's foot bleeding profusely was mighty disconcerting.  I worked in a dialysis unit, mind you, and regularly dealt with people's blood.  But when it is somebody you love, it just can't be helped to feel a little woozy and worried at the sight.    Praise God, it wasn't a toe and Praise God it wasn't any worse.  We were able to drop the girls off with our teammates and get him to t...

As you know, we took a break from English Club for about 6 weeks.  It was a nice break, and I feel very encouraged and excited about some changes we've made.  One of the main changes blessings is HELP!  With a new teammate here who is pleased to help teach and plan the classes, I'm feeling less stressed about handling the up to 60 kids that come to English Club each week.  Plus, we've found a way to divide up into groups so we can be sure to get the most out of our time with them.  For our first day back, we had a special treat for the kids.  Tacos!  I've yet to meet an Indonesian who knows about this marvelous, heavenly food and we thought it would be fun to share it with them, since they were learning the word anyway!   It was no simple task gathering all the ingredients - Amber, my friend, did a great job of gathering and preparing the treat.  If you'd like to learn more about that day and the kids' reactions...

A view of sunrise from our backyard captured by Sean several weeks ago. It is a lovely Saturday morning - a bit overcast, so it isn't too hot.  I love that we had a full night of rain.  These smoke-free days are a true gift after experiencing our first smoke season in Palangkaraya.  A true gift. I am tired this morning.  I stayed up too late reading in our new hammock on the back porch.  I love cuddling up with a good book in an overstuffed chair next to the fire on a chilly day.  Since that isn't going to happen here, I've found my alternative - relaxing in the hammock on the porch while it rains outside!  It got a little chilly even. I had to go turn off the fan.  Despite my late night, the girls (who went to bed at their normal time) were up before 6 a.m. asking for help with the DVD player and help getting their cereal.  Then, Sean got a call to go do a medevac flight for a woman having difficulty in childbirth.  So, all hope of...

After a spell of being pretty much the only Americans in Central Kalimantan, it has been a real treat having teammates again.  MAF'ers!  Americans!  People with kids our kids' ages!  Teammates.  We've had so many.  Loved so many.  Said good-bye to so many.  But I tell ya, we are grateful for them all.  Because being out here "all alone?"  It's hard.  There's just something about having somebody else around from your own culture that makes you feel more energized, more able to deal with the difficulties and ups and downs of this missionary life.  I know that having teammates and friends on the field - let alone those that really "get" you is sadly rare. We've somehow managed to have the best teammates everywhere we've served.  Maybe God knows how much we need them?  We are blessed again with new teammates who make the load we carry feel not quite so heavy.  (Their container full of household th...