So Long Ordinary

Reading over this post, I realized it sounds awful whine-y and complain-y.  But I'm leaving it because, not only is it simple honesty, I want others to understand that as adventurous and wonderful as the life of a missionary really is, it also comes with plenty of hard days.  It would be dishonest and unfair to only portray the good stuff.  In the end, you'll see I'm better now and feeling far less like a petulant two year old.  But it's a process... You know when you have so much to say that you can't say anything at all? Yeah. We arrived back into Indonesia about 8 or 9 days ago and it has been pretty much chaos ever since. We were welcomed back so well by our team here and we feel so blessed by the friendships and people here as we pick back up where we left off.  We spent several days getting our house in order and it feels just like home again.  There have been long, hard days, fun parties, lots of laughter, and fun moments of joy as we get back into o...

First of all, a huge thank you for all the kind comments on my last post.  I love hearing from you - through comments on this blog, Facebook, emails, phone calls, real life conversations, and the grapevine ! It was a little hard to put such an honest post out there, but you've all encouraged me so much with your words.  Thank you. It feels like ages ago, but it was only a few weeks ago that we took the girls and the dog down to the MAF dock to play in the river.  The river was pretty high, which creates the perfect little shallow pool to play in. We took a lunch and made a picnic of it. Check out that huge log that floated down the river!  It was the perfect place to play. We should totally do this more often.  (Except maybe not take the dog?  This is where she got the water in her ears that started the ear infection that we're still battling!) While the girls played, I sat on the bench and watched the monkeys play - and by monkeys I don't mean kids.  ...

Not a roller coaster.  Just Brooklyn and one of our Indonesian MAF staff taking a quick boat ride at sunset. If there's one thing I've learned, its that life is full of ups and downs, bitters and sweets, incongruities and inconsistencies.  Now multiply that by 1,000 and you have missionary life in a nutshell.  I'm learning to be okay with all the mixed emotions constantly ebbing and flowing in my heart - the longing for other places, the love for where I am, the gut-wrenching loss of time with family, the thrill of new friends becoming like family, the dream of leading a life following hard after Jesus, the tears that come as I count the cost. Right now, I'm a wreck.  Full of emotions that I expected and other emotions that have taken me off guard. I want to go.  Yesterday.  And I also want to... stay ? I absolutely love that we are going "home" to Colorado.  There just aren't words that express the kind of excitement I feel about our upcoming furlough...

Let me catch my breath here.  I'm kinda (very) grossed out. The vet just left and.... s hudder . If you've followed this blog for long, you may have picked up on an unavoidable fact of life in the tropics.  At least for our family, pets have been a decidedly disappointing venture pretty much all 'round. Kittens.  We found some kittens at the dock just after we moved to Palangkaraya.  They were so cute!  (And look how cute and little Paige and Madison were!)  But they ran away pretty quickly. Chickens?  Um, do you mean oversized disgusting vulture birds? They were cute little chicks but we gave them to our helper when they got big and pooped all over our pump house next to our porch where we eat dinner.  Our helper loves them.  She named the mean rooster "Rocky."  We are happy her family can enjoy the eggs. Rabbits?  We  tried the cute little baby bunnies from the pet store.  They all died within days.  Not a fun ordea...

A little Kitchen Science with yeast, flour, water, sugar, and oil!  We're 1/3 of the way through school already. All in all, it has been a good year so far.   It feels good to be plugging along, though I must admit to occasional rough days.  Welcome to homeschooling - the world with the highest highs and the lowest lows.  ;-)  Luckily, the good days far outweigh the tough ones and my girls and I are still smiling...and talking to each other.  I love that we get to do this, challenges and all. A friend of a friend interviewed me last night about homeschooling for his Master's thesis paper.  The concept of homeschooling is very new in Indonesia.  I really am passionate about homeschooling and it was fun to talk about it with someone who has never even met a homeschooler before!  If his topic is approved by his professor, we'll have the opportunity to share more about our school choice and our faith with him and his family, which is a ...

A wild "bajaj" ride from my most recent trip to Jakarta through hidden back alleys and crowded, dirty streets...on our way to Starbucks and the mall.   I keep waiting for things to slow down, get less chaotic and hectic, reach some kind of equilibrium. More than 3 years into living in Indonesia and I'm finally learning that just won't happen. Not in this missionary life. We have some less-busy seasons.  But life here consists of far more crazy-busy seasons.  It's okay.  Because it is a good life and we love it. There goes my "Living-Overseas-Is-A-More-Simple-Life" box. Part of this crazy life means learning how to live in a ton of different worlds at once.  We're Americans - through and through - America is, and always will be, our home country.  I cannot wait to go there in a few months and to be able to really relax for the first time in years .   But Indonesia has worked its way into my heart.  It is also our home.  If I think about leavin...

Oh, we've had a great few weeks since my last post!  I mean truly   great weeks with all sorts of little blessings that have shot our end-of-term weary arms full of the energy we need to reach our furlough in just FIVE more months. I think I'll start with the most obvious..... I mean, really.  Who ever would have thought? I know I never imagined meeting Harrison Ford in Central Borneo. I'm just blown away by this life we live.  It's amazing.  Sean and I often talk about how crazy our work in Indonesia has been - dealing with the rich and powerful as well as the most down-trodden and needy.  It really throws us sometimes. Three years in, we're still learning how to navigate two such different worlds - neither of which is our comfort zone. Mr. Ford really impressed us, though.  Not because he's a huge movie star (though I was most certainly starstruck), but his attitude was so humble and kind. He's a normal guy.  I was touched at how he took the ti...

Paige had a blast on the water (without Mom there to ruin the fun) and I'd say the older kids had even more fun, if that were possible.  Again, I'm just glad I wasn't there.  They all came back alive, sopping wet, and giddy with excitement.  Can't really argue with that now, can I? Life jackets, Becca.  Life jackets. Maddie and Brooklyn take a turn. Then the boys jump on board! It's getting more fun! Uh-oh! And... they're off! Let's play spot the kids in the ginormous Borneo river! Life jackets. And really great Daddies watching out for the kids while also helping them have the time of their lives and make memories they'll never forget.  

A while back, we spent a fun evening on the river with our teammates.  While my friend and I sat back in the air-conditioned MAF office at the dock, the guys took the kids out for some tubing.  Paige was not about to be left behind, even if she is the little four-year-old and Mommy's little Wuvvy-Duvvy-Baby-Poo.  Here are some shots her Daddy got of her playing on the river.  A nice calm start on the inner tube, looking relaxed and happy.  Whoa!  Hitting a bump!  Weeeeeeeeeeeee! Two things: 1.  It was a good thing I was not there because sending my baby out on an inner tube behind a speeding boat seems like exactly the opposite of good mothering. 2. When I see these pictures, my heart jumps into my throat and I can't breath.  She's four.  She's my baby.  She's having way too much fun for her health and safety. This post brought to you by Nervous Nellie. P.S. Lifejackets.  I just keep telling myself "lifejackets."  

The other day, when Sean was cutting our grass, he came across this little guy.  Our animal-loving, tomboy-ish, fearless Blondie was really excited about it!  This was a cute little fella with a long, long tail and tiny little body.  Being an MK (missionary kid) is the perfect gig for Madison - she can hold, pet, raise, adopt, and smother all sorts of interesting creatures!

A few weeks ago, when the moon was full and reportedly very close to the earth, we headed out to the MAF dock to try to see the rising moon.  It's hard to find a good place to watch the moon rise when there are tons of big trees all around and the land is flat as a pancake for miles and miles.  Sean's grand idea was that we would climb up on top of the hangar roof.  At first, I thought this would be fun...until I saw what that meant.   Somehow, scurrying up a wobbly ladder and up onto a steep metal roof with a 100 foot drop into a muddy river is not my idea of fun.  Not really. Fun fact: my feet sweat when I'm nervous.   I was nervous. And I was also wearing flip-flops.  Sweating feet and flip-flops are a bad mix on a steep metal roof.  Ugh.  I don't even know how I shimmied up to the peak of the roof, but I'm pretty sure it was done with a few tears and some harsh words for my husband who was so helpful by telling me to "just stand up and wa...

We're gearing up for what will be a very, very busy month in July.  Lots of guests, lots of big projects, lots of fun, too, I'm sure!    I'm so sad to hear about the fires happening in my home area of Southern Colorado. Some of my very favorite places to play in the mountains are in or near the fire zone.  So, selfishly, I'm praying for rain!  We are continuing on with homeschool.  It is going very well.  I love Sonlight - I'm sold.  I know the girls are enjoying it too.  Sure makes it easier to work through the summer, when you don't so much mind cracking open your books! Sean's sister's wedding is next week.  Sigh.  We're all just really sad we can't be there.  I never imagined we'd have to miss this special day when it came, but we're hoping to "be there" through Skype.  Missing these important days - graduations, weddings (even just birthdays) - gets harder and harder.  Big sigh. We'll also miss my uncle's wedding...

Well, hello June!  Can you believe it?  This year is nearly half over already.  Wow. We've had a really nice weekend...well, sort of.  The girls and I have had colds and to add to my misery, I got some food poisoning on Friday night.  Ugh.  I am ruined for Indonesian food for a while - and I will NEVER AGAIN be eating at the particular restaurant that I know made me sick.  I suppose it was our fault for trying someplace new!  Anyway, I was pretty worthless on Saturday but I'm okay now.   The highlight of our weekend was that we were able to take the girls to a movie on Sunday afternoon - something we rarely get to enjoy as a family since good kid-friendly shows seldom make their way here. What a treat to eat nachos and hot dogs while we watched "Epic."  Cute show. Also, today Sean and I got a wild-haired idea to move our living room to a different room where we could be in air-conditioning and also less spread out as we go about our days...

It's hard to believe we've almost lived in Indonesia for three years.  In some ways, it has become a pretty ordinary life.  Things that once shocked me now barely register a blip on my radar.  I was trying to think of some examples for you but found I had to think a good long time to come up with anything!  That is how normal life here has become - I can't even recognize the things that, for this Colorado Mountain Girl, weren't normal 3 years ago.  You know -  things like taking your shoes off before going into people's houses to have important documents notarized.  Or unloading an airplane engine from the back of a dump truck using nothing but manpower and 2x4's.  Or seeing all manner of objects transported on scooters - refrigerators, chickens, 5-6 people, rebar, lumber, food carts, bicycles, fans, jerry cans full of gasoline, propane tanks, monstrous bags full of rice cakes.  On any given day, I see about 20 different things that I never k...

On one side of us, there is a huge, expansive house with chandeliers and multiple servants and a swimming pool. On the other side of our comfortable home lives my helper and her family in a small, musty wood house with holes in the floors and boards rotting away. I've been listening to my helper a lot, lately.  I consider her a friend and her value to me is far more than simple friendship or househelp.  She's my mentor, my cultural buffer, my sounding board, my teacher, my advocate in murky relational waters.  She's an example to me in her Christian walk, in her tenacity to do what is right despite huge opposition.  She has such a different life - one I can't really imagine, no matter how often she describes it to me.  How is it that somebody living just on the other side of my fence can have such a drastically different life?  It is just one more strange dichotomy that defines my life here.  In the past month or so, her family has ...

Well, just like that, 2012 is over and 2013 has begun.  I can't believe it! I'm finally feeling human again.  No, I wasn't the one that was sick, but life in our house was pretty much on hold for all of us for a good two weeks or more.  Today, though, Sean is all better!  He is back to work and seems to have more energy than I expected him to.  This illness really knocked him on his back.  Can't tell you how great it is to have him back to himself again.  I'd really be okay with never having to take him to the ER again - I did it twice in about a one-month span! (Once for stitches on his foot and then again to try to figure out what he was sick with.)  Thank you again for your prayers!  We had to miss our planned vacation to another Indonesian city and we did not join in with the usual visiting that happens on Christmas Day here due to Sean's illness. Our Christmas this year was not at all like we'd planned it to be, but we rested. A lo...

Welp, we're on day five of Sean feeling miserable. If you are a Facebook friend, you've probably seen the status updates.  Sean has come down with something - we're not sure if it is dengue or typhoid.  I've never seen him so sick and it has made for a real bummer of a week.  As hard as this week has been, I'm not complaining.  Things could be so much worse - we all know that, right?  Others are suffering so much more.  Both in the U.S. and overseas, there is great suffering, illness, sorrow, and strife.  I refuse to let this get me down.  These are the things that come with living in a fallen world.  This is why we need the Christ in Christmas so very, very much!  I am putting on a brave face, doggedly remembering that Christ really is with us, that we have so much to be thankful for, that even when the days are dark, the Light has come and He has already won .  A little update on Sean this morning...he's still very sick...

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...

  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...