Sophie solved a riddle today. Anyone that knows Cale knows that he doesn't go anywhere without a ball in his hand. Today, Sophie figured out why . She was helping me feed Cale and she said, "Cale, I know why you like balls so much! It is because your eyes are balls!" Ha.
We spent part of today trying to get the guest house ready for my Aunt Carol, Uncle Russ and my cousin Randy that were going to come tomorrow morning. We stocked up their fridge and I made 2 kinds of muffins and a BIG batch of chocolate chip cookies (We will treat you the same way if you want to come...) and then today when I was out walking I got the news from a man named Clarence that Russ and Carol are stuck in Jakarta and couldn't get a flight so they will not be here until Wednesday morning. Bummer! But they are getting closer-I can't wait!!!!!!
Cale is talking much more now. He can say many of his body parts, and repeats most of the words we say to him. He knows all of the dorm kids names and remembers who is who. He loves walking with me in the afternoons and sits quite contentedly in the stroller while I push him up and down the hills. It is a perfect setting for him since there are so many airplanes that go over us while we walk. He will point and yell, "Passowat!" (Airplane).
Emma is getting quite tall and lean-she keeps looking more and more grown-up. She is growing her bangs out and that makes her look older.
She is doing very well in Math and Spelling, in fact her teacher has started giving Emma extra spelling words every week to keep her challenged.
Wyatt is doing very well in school especially in art and Indonesian.
He has really started to fill out, and get muscles where he used to just have skinny arms. I am not ready for him to be so grown-up!
Sophie's curly hair is finally started to grow and now she loves to have it in braids and ponytails. Her teacher told me that she is a
hoot in class-(we of course already knew that.) She loves to perform
for anyone that will watch, and is definitely not shy.
Garth has decided, against the vote, not to cut his hair-for now. It is quite long, puffy and curly AND VERY HOT! But he doesn't seem to mind it. He has been enjoying the racquetball courts and is thankful that there is someone here that he can play.
I have been walking a couple of days a week with some friends. It is fun to have adult conversation and excersise at the same time. The days seem to be getting hotter lately, but I have realized I can't use that as an excuse to be lazy.
But now, I need to go be lazy for awhile and get some sleep.
Love to all-Rachel
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
October 28, 2007 - Peace at the Beach
Saturday-I am up far earlier than planned so I thought I would make good use of the time. Emma has a friend sleeping over and they decided to get up with the sun (5:30)-they are laying in bed whispering, which is nice and quiet, but my body didn’t seem to be able to fall back to sleep. Especially now because the power is off. Today will be such fun-we are going back to the beach with some friends. The kids are so excited and can’t wait.
I need to get you caught up by putting all the things I wanted to tell you that are in my head on paper. Yesterday on our bike ride we noticed many Indonesians dressed up with Bibles in their hands. We found out later that today was a holiday-50 years for the church-so many Christians don’t work and spend the day in church. We saw one taxi bus so full of people going to church that one guy that couldn’t fit inside was holding on to the outside, standing on the running board and holding on to the roof rack, just so he could get to church. Here, you can drive like that right past a policeman without getting stopped. We also saw kids having a water fight by filling up old syringes with water and squirting them at each other. Later, Garth and Emma went out for a bike ride and happened upon an Indonesian soccer game with at least 2,000 people. They could barely get the bike through because there were so many people standing in the street. Emma had to stand on the bike to see the game. They both thought it was pretty cool.
We had two birthday parties in the dorm this week. Becca turned 18 and Kelsea turned 14. It is always fun to celebrate life-especially when cake is involved J! Oh, and Happy Birthday, Jean E.-you’re 18 too, right? HA!
I was talking to a missionary lady here who works in the library and I was telling her where we were from and where we used to live in WI and she said she wondered if I knew her brother. Turns out that I knew her brother and his wife when we lived in Waukesha, WI and went to Elmbrook-in fact, I used to babysit for their little boy Steven. It is always so much fun to find connections like that.
We went to the beach with our friends the Olver’s and their 3 kids, the Williamson’s with 2 of their boys and a man named Tim. The day was crystal clear, bright and sunny. The water amazingly comfortable and warm, so refreshing. Right by the ocean is a fresh water pond that Garth loves. He is not too fond of the sand in your pants feeling so he enjoys being able to wash off. The kids love it because there is a tree you can climb and jump off of. Wyatt was diving off of it. Tim found a piece of bamboo –that must have been about 30 feet long. The kids and Tim made up many games to play with that. Trying to stand on it the longest, and floating on it…great fun. Cale actually took a nice long nap there under his palm tree, and of course, we all climbed and played on the palm tree that leans over the water and took turns swinging on it. Time goes a lot faster at the beach, so before we knew it, it was time to go.
Today, Sunday, we are celebrating Thanksgiving with all of the other missionaries that are here with MAF, so there will be 68 of us. Four of the dorm kids will be with us since their parents work with MAF also. It will be interesting celebrating it in October. We each had to make a centerpiece that would show what we are thankful for. Of course mine is all about my family. I need to go get ready for that.
Love to all,Rachel
I need to get you caught up by putting all the things I wanted to tell you that are in my head on paper. Yesterday on our bike ride we noticed many Indonesians dressed up with Bibles in their hands. We found out later that today was a holiday-50 years for the church-so many Christians don’t work and spend the day in church. We saw one taxi bus so full of people going to church that one guy that couldn’t fit inside was holding on to the outside, standing on the running board and holding on to the roof rack, just so he could get to church. Here, you can drive like that right past a policeman without getting stopped. We also saw kids having a water fight by filling up old syringes with water and squirting them at each other. Later, Garth and Emma went out for a bike ride and happened upon an Indonesian soccer game with at least 2,000 people. They could barely get the bike through because there were so many people standing in the street. Emma had to stand on the bike to see the game. They both thought it was pretty cool.
We had two birthday parties in the dorm this week. Becca turned 18 and Kelsea turned 14. It is always fun to celebrate life-especially when cake is involved J! Oh, and Happy Birthday, Jean E.-you’re 18 too, right? HA!
I was talking to a missionary lady here who works in the library and I was telling her where we were from and where we used to live in WI and she said she wondered if I knew her brother. Turns out that I knew her brother and his wife when we lived in Waukesha, WI and went to Elmbrook-in fact, I used to babysit for their little boy Steven. It is always so much fun to find connections like that.
We went to the beach with our friends the Olver’s and their 3 kids, the Williamson’s with 2 of their boys and a man named Tim. The day was crystal clear, bright and sunny. The water amazingly comfortable and warm, so refreshing. Right by the ocean is a fresh water pond that Garth loves. He is not too fond of the sand in your pants feeling so he enjoys being able to wash off. The kids love it because there is a tree you can climb and jump off of. Wyatt was diving off of it. Tim found a piece of bamboo –that must have been about 30 feet long. The kids and Tim made up many games to play with that. Trying to stand on it the longest, and floating on it…great fun. Cale actually took a nice long nap there under his palm tree, and of course, we all climbed and played on the palm tree that leans over the water and took turns swinging on it. Time goes a lot faster at the beach, so before we knew it, it was time to go.
Today, Sunday, we are celebrating Thanksgiving with all of the other missionaries that are here with MAF, so there will be 68 of us. Four of the dorm kids will be with us since their parents work with MAF also. It will be interesting celebrating it in October. We each had to make a centerpiece that would show what we are thankful for. Of course mine is all about my family. I need to go get ready for that.
Love to all,Rachel
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
October 24, 2007 - Routine
Life here is falling into a predictable routine. There are things I deliberately do everyday in the kitchen to keep in contact with the pembantu's and help me with my Indonesian. I enjoy working with them and am learning new words everyday. Cale continues to be the highlight of their day-they LOVE him. Garth and I need to figure out what to do with Cale during our Indonesian class. He always starts off on the couch with us repeating words but he is soon off and running and we take turns retrieving him. We have tried snacks and toys...but he just wants to run and explore-he always finds water somewhere and ends up wet. Our teacher has 5 young kids of his own so he is wonderful about it. Tonight when I gave Cale his juice he said "Tremina kasi." On his own he said "Thank you" to me in Indonesian.
Progress.
I had some precious time with Wyatt today. He decided to walk with me, which meant I got a detailed report of how he is doing here while we did laps. He is making some great friends and his teacher says she really enjoys having him in class-that he is a very helpful leader.
Sunday night socceer is one of the highlights of the week for him. He is happy but decided that he needed to write to his Grammo and worked on that tonight.
Thankfully Garth was able to post pictures on our blog spot. YEAH!!!!
Pray for San Diego-the terrible fires and all the people evacuated.
Pray for Don's shoulder (Garth's Dad)-he is recovering from surgery, and for patience for us with adjustments we still have.Thanks.
Love,
Rachel
Progress.
I had some precious time with Wyatt today. He decided to walk with me, which meant I got a detailed report of how he is doing here while we did laps. He is making some great friends and his teacher says she really enjoys having him in class-that he is a very helpful leader.
Sunday night socceer is one of the highlights of the week for him. He is happy but decided that he needed to write to his Grammo and worked on that tonight.
Thankfully Garth was able to post pictures on our blog spot. YEAH!!!!
Pray for San Diego-the terrible fires and all the people evacuated.
Pray for Don's shoulder (Garth's Dad)-he is recovering from surgery, and for patience for us with adjustments we still have.Thanks.
Love,
Rachel
Pretty Emma enjoying our boat ride on Lake Sentani.
Life on Lake Sentani.
Cale and Rachel watching the heli take off.
Garth and Cale helped Jason load supplies on a helicopter for missionaries interior.
Taking a quick motorcycle ride around the Lake.
Cale with his new undies on!
Cale LOVES the lawnmower.
Idul Fitri celebration.
Jodi and Rachel enjoying good, Indonesian food.
Cale loves shopping...sometimes. Tuesday, October 23, 2007
October 23, 2007 - Burning Leaves
Garth decided to take his bike in for its regular check up so while we were waiting I went into the Christian bookstore nearby. Everything is in Indonesian but I recognize some of the books and love to look at the Indonesian Bibles. There was a lady in there that was talking to us and pointing to Cale. Garth and I were trying to pick out words that we recognized. She said pantai (which Garth remembered was the beach)…lihat (look, see) laki, laki (boy) tidur (sleep) box (she was referring to the playpen). So we understood that she had seen us at the beach and remembered Cale sleeping in the playpen. They don’t have anything like playpens for the kids here so there were Indonesians looking at it at the beach trying to figure it out. She was all excited that we were there in her store and we understood what she said.
Speaking of stores, the other day when I took the girls shopping I was looking at the T-shirts here. They are hilarious. The companies will put random English words on a shirt that make absolutely no sense, but they might be the only English words that they know. I bought a Coca-Cola shirt for the girls with a jug of milk on it and the words “Taste fresh milk.” On our way home from the store Emma saw a girl walking on the side of the road and she said, “Mom, everything that girl has on was in that store we were just in. I saw that shirt and skirt and pants.” She has always been so observant when it comes to fashion.
Coming back from the store this morning on the motorcycle, I accidentally dropped a coin right by our security gate. We kept on going however because it would have meant turning around, going over a big bump, through the gate and down the hill to get it. Then about 4 hours later, when we went back out, the security guard came running and handed me the coin I had dropped. The coin was about the equivalent of 5 U.S. cents.
There is a lady that owns or just works at a store we go to called Aneka Mas. She must have some idea in her head that Americans eat a lot of sandwiches because when I check out she is always telling me they have mayonnaise, or ham, mustard or whatever else she thinks we might put on bread. The other day she sent some workers to go get me two more jars of Mayo because she thought I needed more. She sent them to look for mustard too but they couldn’t find any. She was yelling at them when they came back empty handed. I think it is funny-I didn’t ask for these things-she thinks I need them though. “ Americans eat sandwiches.”
We haven’t been able to even get to the blog sight to post the emails or pictures. We are determined little Indonesians though so we will keep trying. Roy, let me know if you get this email. It keeps coming back to me as an invalid address, but I checked it in my contact book and it is the correct address so…Let me know.
I have heard that there are wisps of fall in the air. Today on the motorcycle we went through smoke from someone’s burn pile-which is not unusual-someone is always burning something, but it is usually trash so it smells bad. Today, it was grass and other brush so it reminded me of home. I closed my eyes and imagined that I was in my parents yard raking leaves and burning them-the smell was the same. Tears just started pouring out of my eyes from such a happy thought. For about 30 seconds I was back in Wisconsin. That was a God sent blessing-and I am thankful for it. It is such a treasure to have little pieces of home. Thank you God.
Well, I need to go put Wyatt to bed. He is laying here listening to a song about sowing good seeds and should already be asleep.
Love to all,Rachel
Speaking of stores, the other day when I took the girls shopping I was looking at the T-shirts here. They are hilarious. The companies will put random English words on a shirt that make absolutely no sense, but they might be the only English words that they know. I bought a Coca-Cola shirt for the girls with a jug of milk on it and the words “Taste fresh milk.” On our way home from the store Emma saw a girl walking on the side of the road and she said, “Mom, everything that girl has on was in that store we were just in. I saw that shirt and skirt and pants.” She has always been so observant when it comes to fashion.
Coming back from the store this morning on the motorcycle, I accidentally dropped a coin right by our security gate. We kept on going however because it would have meant turning around, going over a big bump, through the gate and down the hill to get it. Then about 4 hours later, when we went back out, the security guard came running and handed me the coin I had dropped. The coin was about the equivalent of 5 U.S. cents.
There is a lady that owns or just works at a store we go to called Aneka Mas. She must have some idea in her head that Americans eat a lot of sandwiches because when I check out she is always telling me they have mayonnaise, or ham, mustard or whatever else she thinks we might put on bread. The other day she sent some workers to go get me two more jars of Mayo because she thought I needed more. She sent them to look for mustard too but they couldn’t find any. She was yelling at them when they came back empty handed. I think it is funny-I didn’t ask for these things-she thinks I need them though. “ Americans eat sandwiches.”
We haven’t been able to even get to the blog sight to post the emails or pictures. We are determined little Indonesians though so we will keep trying. Roy, let me know if you get this email. It keeps coming back to me as an invalid address, but I checked it in my contact book and it is the correct address so…Let me know.
I have heard that there are wisps of fall in the air. Today on the motorcycle we went through smoke from someone’s burn pile-which is not unusual-someone is always burning something, but it is usually trash so it smells bad. Today, it was grass and other brush so it reminded me of home. I closed my eyes and imagined that I was in my parents yard raking leaves and burning them-the smell was the same. Tears just started pouring out of my eyes from such a happy thought. For about 30 seconds I was back in Wisconsin. That was a God sent blessing-and I am thankful for it. It is such a treasure to have little pieces of home. Thank you God.
Well, I need to go put Wyatt to bed. He is laying here listening to a song about sowing good seeds and should already be asleep.
Love to all,Rachel
October 22, 2007 - Bitter Water
At 6:44 am this morning I was laying in bed sound asleep, dreaming of being back on the beach, laying in the sun, relaxing…At 6:45 I wake up to this (from Wyatt as he burst into my room), “Mom, quick-there’s a big bug!!!!”
That is definitely not my favorite thing to hear my kids yell, but it does get me out of bed quick. I would show you what the gross centipede looked like but I destroyed it. Interesting that they always call me to come get the bugs…
Sophie said to me today on our bike ride, “Daddy and God are the biggest people in the whole world.” I am so glad she adores her Daddy so-even if he is not the bug killer! Garth took us on a great ride around a different part of Lake Sentani. We saw an eagle that someone has as a pet, and some quaint little villages with fishing huts over the water and then we stopped at an old suspension bridge. I was a little freaked as we made our way over it since there were many boards missing in places and it was swaying a bit as we walked. I said to Garth, “This bridge is definitely not up to code.” But that phrase goes for just about everything here in Indonesia. Then Cale decides to jump over the boards which of course makes it sway a lot more. He of course thought that made it more fun.
In prayer time tonight, Sophie said, “Lord, I thank you for my family here and my real family back in the country with Timber-help them not to miss me too much.” Interesting that she does not consider us her real family.
I have been thinking lately about the things here that are hard for me, the things that I don’t like and could get a bad attitude about. And a story from the Bible about Moses when he lead the people to water because they were thirsty and the water was bitter came to mind. God told Moses to cut a tree and put it in the water and it would be sweet –and it worked. A book I am reading talked about this and said write down all of your frustrations-those are like your bitter water. Well, Jesus died on a tree, the tree that can make my bitter water sweet. He is the only one that can do that. So today I walked around and told myself not to complain-honestly I said in my head over and over, “Don’t complain.” And I saw more beauty as we rode around-beauty that I usually overlook. The people, the flowers, the city of Sentani…In Psalms 103 David writes, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself…” Sometimes I naturally feel like praising, and other times I have to tell myself to do it. But I always feel better and get a different perspective on things if I am willing to praise God for what I want to complain about.
Speaking of perspective, I asked Wyatt what was different about the people here compared to the people in Wisconsin. He said, “The people are the same.” I guess he sees them different than me.
My Aunt and Uncle and cousin are officially in Indonesia. They emailed us that they landed safely. In about a week we will get to see them. I am so excited. Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That will be a happy day.
I miss you all-wish you came here with them-what a fun reunion that would be. There is so much I would show you…
Love,
Rachel
That is definitely not my favorite thing to hear my kids yell, but it does get me out of bed quick. I would show you what the gross centipede looked like but I destroyed it. Interesting that they always call me to come get the bugs…
Sophie said to me today on our bike ride, “Daddy and God are the biggest people in the whole world.” I am so glad she adores her Daddy so-even if he is not the bug killer! Garth took us on a great ride around a different part of Lake Sentani. We saw an eagle that someone has as a pet, and some quaint little villages with fishing huts over the water and then we stopped at an old suspension bridge. I was a little freaked as we made our way over it since there were many boards missing in places and it was swaying a bit as we walked. I said to Garth, “This bridge is definitely not up to code.” But that phrase goes for just about everything here in Indonesia. Then Cale decides to jump over the boards which of course makes it sway a lot more. He of course thought that made it more fun.
In prayer time tonight, Sophie said, “Lord, I thank you for my family here and my real family back in the country with Timber-help them not to miss me too much.” Interesting that she does not consider us her real family.
I have been thinking lately about the things here that are hard for me, the things that I don’t like and could get a bad attitude about. And a story from the Bible about Moses when he lead the people to water because they were thirsty and the water was bitter came to mind. God told Moses to cut a tree and put it in the water and it would be sweet –and it worked. A book I am reading talked about this and said write down all of your frustrations-those are like your bitter water. Well, Jesus died on a tree, the tree that can make my bitter water sweet. He is the only one that can do that. So today I walked around and told myself not to complain-honestly I said in my head over and over, “Don’t complain.” And I saw more beauty as we rode around-beauty that I usually overlook. The people, the flowers, the city of Sentani…In Psalms 103 David writes, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself…” Sometimes I naturally feel like praising, and other times I have to tell myself to do it. But I always feel better and get a different perspective on things if I am willing to praise God for what I want to complain about.
Speaking of perspective, I asked Wyatt what was different about the people here compared to the people in Wisconsin. He said, “The people are the same.” I guess he sees them different than me.
My Aunt and Uncle and cousin are officially in Indonesia. They emailed us that they landed safely. In about a week we will get to see them. I am so excited. Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That will be a happy day.
I miss you all-wish you came here with them-what a fun reunion that would be. There is so much I would show you…
Love,
Rachel
October 21, 2007 - Drip, Drip
Cale and I got squeeze me out soaking wet today during the storm. Garth had just gotten to the computer lab with Wyatt and Emma to check on emails when I heard the storm start. The force of the storms here are unlike storms in Wisconsin! Believe me! I wish you could hear how loud they are. And the rain doesn’t just drop down from the sky, it seems to come from the top , the left, the right, and sometimes up from the ground. Sophie was napping, and I thought about Garth walking back in the rain with the laptop, so I decided that when it let up a little Cale and I would run over with Garth’s backpack. That way the computer would be protected from the water. So we waited about 15 minutes and then walked over while it was just drizzling. A few steps into our walk back the storm changed. What a downpour we had. Cale kept saying “Wet.” He wasn’t crying, but I could tell he was getting cold. Good thing we don’t live that far from the computer lab. It looked like we took a shower with our clothes on. We put a chair out on our porch and snuggled in a towel while we watched the rest of the storm. What a sweet time. Ironically, by the time Garth finished and came home, the rain had stopped. Ha Ha! Oh well.
Speaking of rain-today in church we had an Indonesian group lead our worship. One of the songs they were singing was about storms. Many Indonesians here have had homes and businesses wiped out by floods and tsumanis and storms, and yet they were standing there with arms open wide to the heavens singing with all their heart to a God they love, “When the oceans rise, and thunders roar, I will soar with You above the storm. Father ,You are King over the flood, I will be still and know You are God. Find rest my soul in Christ alone, Know His power, in quietness and trust.” You really have to trust in the power of Christ when your house is floating down the street…My life is SO good, I have SO much-I hope that I always appreciate God’s goodness to me.
I am doing a little better cooking here. Today I made Chicken Cacciatore (Indonesian style because there are ingredients we can’t get) and dumplings just like my Momma taught me. We always make them with farina and there is none to be found here so I bought something in a little package that looked kind of like farina but it said it was vanilla flavored so I was afraid that they would taste sweet. But Garth tried some and said to me, (with mouth full of dumplings) “Honey, these taste just like the ones you make back home.” Yeah! I even tried a Italian green bean salad that I found in my Taste of Home magazine I brought with, and a batch of homemade bread. That was Sunday lunch along with brownies for dessert and a coffeecake for breakfast. That is a good feeling. I was getting frustrated that nothing seemed to turn out here the way it would back home. The oven here cooks things different every time, so the end result is always a surprise. I do like surprises, but not exactly like that…
Emma said to me today that when she gets big and has a little girl the first thing she is going to do is tell her about Jesus so that she will be a Christian.
I am going to join Garth down in the gym and watch the end of High School soccer before bed.
Love to all,
Rachel
Speaking of rain-today in church we had an Indonesian group lead our worship. One of the songs they were singing was about storms. Many Indonesians here have had homes and businesses wiped out by floods and tsumanis and storms, and yet they were standing there with arms open wide to the heavens singing with all their heart to a God they love, “When the oceans rise, and thunders roar, I will soar with You above the storm. Father ,You are King over the flood, I will be still and know You are God. Find rest my soul in Christ alone, Know His power, in quietness and trust.” You really have to trust in the power of Christ when your house is floating down the street…My life is SO good, I have SO much-I hope that I always appreciate God’s goodness to me.
I am doing a little better cooking here. Today I made Chicken Cacciatore (Indonesian style because there are ingredients we can’t get) and dumplings just like my Momma taught me. We always make them with farina and there is none to be found here so I bought something in a little package that looked kind of like farina but it said it was vanilla flavored so I was afraid that they would taste sweet. But Garth tried some and said to me, (with mouth full of dumplings) “Honey, these taste just like the ones you make back home.” Yeah! I even tried a Italian green bean salad that I found in my Taste of Home magazine I brought with, and a batch of homemade bread. That was Sunday lunch along with brownies for dessert and a coffeecake for breakfast. That is a good feeling. I was getting frustrated that nothing seemed to turn out here the way it would back home. The oven here cooks things different every time, so the end result is always a surprise. I do like surprises, but not exactly like that…
Emma said to me today that when she gets big and has a little girl the first thing she is going to do is tell her about Jesus so that she will be a Christian.
I am going to join Garth down in the gym and watch the end of High School soccer before bed.
Love to all,
Rachel
October 20, 2007 - Storms
Aren’t Saturday’s nice? I am so glad God planned them into the week. We always sleep in (a little), at least until we hear the pitter-patter of bare feet on our tile floor, and tiny voices saying “Mommy, I am hungry.” I always get up and make a big batch of pancakes on Saturdays-it’s a great way to start the morning. Today we all went to the computer lab to see if we could get online, because, yes our internet has been down. So, hopefully, Garth will be able to go back up there and send this when I am done. The kids have fun in the kids side of the lab playing Freddi Fish and LineRider-while we sit in the big kid side and pray for the internet to work. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. Flexibility is the KEY! Especially right now, since we have no internet and our phones don’t work-BUT we have water-so that is good.
I will catch you up on our weekend. Friday was a new experience for us. There was a Helimission helicopter coming in to our airport that Jason was going to load so they invited us to come. We were able to stand right near the runway and watch the helicopter land. Garth and Jason unloaded it and reloaded it with supplies for Kwarja and then we waved it goodbye. Cale was on cloud nine so we stood there for quite awhile and watched other planes land and take off. What fun! The boys had their last volleyball game and did very well-the end result was a loss-but they are much improved since they started. Garth and Jason did a great job.
Today after the computer lab and much needed naps by the girls and Cale, we went on a boat ride around part of Lake Sentani. The timing was perfect. On our way there we were driving through a storm and wondered how that would affect our boat ride. However, it stopped when we got there. The driver sure knew how to read the rain clouds because you could see the rain moving around us on the water but we dodged it the whole time. It made the sky and the pictures incredible. Evening was coming, the air was actually nice and cool, the clouds could not have been more dramatic and the sun was shining through in the midst of the storm. The kids were moved by the beauty and couldn’t believe all of the awe-inspiring things to see. I felt very safe and protected out on the water during the storm because I could see that our boat driver knew what he was doing and would keep us from the storms. How much more safe and protected should I feel in God’s care. He is the Creator of the storms and much more able to keep me from harm than the boat driver. On the way home Sophie was laying on my lap watching the clouds and trying to make pictures out of them. You know she is mega-creative, this is what she saw. A bird, a crocodile, a hippopotamus and a little duckling eating a worm.
We almost didn’t have our pembantu’s today. There is a fence around the whole perimeter of our property and periodically on the fence are gates with locks on them. Well, our pembantu’s walk through the valley and come up the back way to our house and every day there is supposed to be a gate man there to let them in. Well, he is very often not there and they would wait and wait-so finally we were able to get them a key. Today, however, when they came, they realized that someone changed the lock and so they couldn’t get in. They waited for a long time until they got the gate keepers attention to let them in. They told me that if it happens again they will go home and not come in to work. YIKES! They are not mad at me about it, just frustrated at this being such an inconvience. I will try to get it resolved so we don’t have a day with dirty clothes and Mac-N-Cheese. Ha Ha. J
Love to all-
Rachel
I will catch you up on our weekend. Friday was a new experience for us. There was a Helimission helicopter coming in to our airport that Jason was going to load so they invited us to come. We were able to stand right near the runway and watch the helicopter land. Garth and Jason unloaded it and reloaded it with supplies for Kwarja and then we waved it goodbye. Cale was on cloud nine so we stood there for quite awhile and watched other planes land and take off. What fun! The boys had their last volleyball game and did very well-the end result was a loss-but they are much improved since they started. Garth and Jason did a great job.
Today after the computer lab and much needed naps by the girls and Cale, we went on a boat ride around part of Lake Sentani. The timing was perfect. On our way there we were driving through a storm and wondered how that would affect our boat ride. However, it stopped when we got there. The driver sure knew how to read the rain clouds because you could see the rain moving around us on the water but we dodged it the whole time. It made the sky and the pictures incredible. Evening was coming, the air was actually nice and cool, the clouds could not have been more dramatic and the sun was shining through in the midst of the storm. The kids were moved by the beauty and couldn’t believe all of the awe-inspiring things to see. I felt very safe and protected out on the water during the storm because I could see that our boat driver knew what he was doing and would keep us from the storms. How much more safe and protected should I feel in God’s care. He is the Creator of the storms and much more able to keep me from harm than the boat driver. On the way home Sophie was laying on my lap watching the clouds and trying to make pictures out of them. You know she is mega-creative, this is what she saw. A bird, a crocodile, a hippopotamus and a little duckling eating a worm.
We almost didn’t have our pembantu’s today. There is a fence around the whole perimeter of our property and periodically on the fence are gates with locks on them. Well, our pembantu’s walk through the valley and come up the back way to our house and every day there is supposed to be a gate man there to let them in. Well, he is very often not there and they would wait and wait-so finally we were able to get them a key. Today, however, when they came, they realized that someone changed the lock and so they couldn’t get in. They waited for a long time until they got the gate keepers attention to let them in. They told me that if it happens again they will go home and not come in to work. YIKES! They are not mad at me about it, just frustrated at this being such an inconvience. I will try to get it resolved so we don’t have a day with dirty clothes and Mac-N-Cheese. Ha Ha. J
Love to all-
Rachel
October 18, 2007 - Makeovers
Sophie had her friend Maya over after school today and they wanted to do makeovers. So I set up a salon and did their nails, makeup, hair, perfume etc. Then we walked up to the library to show Mrs. Lee. The girls were struttin’ their stuff. When we got back, they decided that it was my turn. Boy, did I look pretty. I had makeup on every place available on my face and neck, and just about all of the clippies, and ribbons and ponytailers. They wanted to take me back up to the library to show Mrs. Lee, but I distracted them with brownies. Somehow it isn’t the same showing me off as it is showing them off. However, the high schoolers in there for study hall would have gotten a great laugh. So, today I have been thinking about makeovers. I love seeing them on TV or the before and after pictures in magazines. I think the media tries to make the person look their absolute worst before so they look their absolute best after. (A little misleading). They want you to think that they were plain before and now they are extraordinary. As Christians we don’t need a makeover to feel extraordinary-we are extraordinary because we have Jesus living inside of us. That makes us special. That makes us better than plain-even when we don’t feel special, because it is not based on feelings. It is a relationship that we have with Jesus. Just like if there is a day one of my kids might be upset at me and not feel like being a part of the family-they still are because it is a relationship-they belong to the family, and always will. That is encouraging and reassuring. So smile and be encouraged today! J
Tonight during our family time we prayed. Here is a sample of the kids prayers: Wyatt: “Help my friend Caleb to get the rats out of his house and my friend Sophie to get the snake out of her house, and my friend Jonah as they are getting ready for furlough and my friend, Micah as they are trying to get all of their papers together so they can get their visas…” Emma: “Help Song Men and Sungsu to get over their colds, and I pray for Carlena, and thank you for my teacher…” Sophie: “Please help our cat to have fun mating…” She never fails to surprise me!
We haven’t been able to get online today so we asked one of the computer geniuses here to come look at it and he said that the tower is down, so I figured that I would not be able to email for awhile. But I thought I would try one more time before bed and NOW I AM ON! I have no idea how this is working except maybe by prayers-but I sure am happy it is. Thanks God!
Today we wanted to go to a new store that we have never been to before and see if we could get pictures printed off of our flashdrive. I was praying that there would be an English speaking person there to help us. Sure enough. Simon was there and more than willing to help us communicate. Isn’t God good? He even cares about pictures!!!! During our dorm devotions last night Garth asked us all what we like most about God. Here are some of the answers: His forgiveness, His understanding, that He died for me, that His love for me is not based on my behavior, warm waves and morning sunlight, His faithfulness…
Garth had an interesting experience last night. There was a girl trying to talk to him on SKYPE and she said that she was trying to find her soulmate and thought he might be the one for her. Garth said definitely not and when she asked how he knew he shared that his wife loves him a lot and he loves his wife. Garth suggesting that she might try going to church as a better place to find a mate instead of SKYPE and had an interesting conversation trying to lead her to church and God. It turns out that she is from Ghana. Isn’t it awesome the opportunities God brings along?
Pray that as a family we will know God’s plan for us- If we should stay for another year or not. Thanks!
Goodnight to everyone in my time zone, and Good Morning to everyone that is not-
Rachel
Tonight during our family time we prayed. Here is a sample of the kids prayers: Wyatt: “Help my friend Caleb to get the rats out of his house and my friend Sophie to get the snake out of her house, and my friend Jonah as they are getting ready for furlough and my friend, Micah as they are trying to get all of their papers together so they can get their visas…” Emma: “Help Song Men and Sungsu to get over their colds, and I pray for Carlena, and thank you for my teacher…” Sophie: “Please help our cat to have fun mating…” She never fails to surprise me!
We haven’t been able to get online today so we asked one of the computer geniuses here to come look at it and he said that the tower is down, so I figured that I would not be able to email for awhile. But I thought I would try one more time before bed and NOW I AM ON! I have no idea how this is working except maybe by prayers-but I sure am happy it is. Thanks God!
Today we wanted to go to a new store that we have never been to before and see if we could get pictures printed off of our flashdrive. I was praying that there would be an English speaking person there to help us. Sure enough. Simon was there and more than willing to help us communicate. Isn’t God good? He even cares about pictures!!!! During our dorm devotions last night Garth asked us all what we like most about God. Here are some of the answers: His forgiveness, His understanding, that He died for me, that His love for me is not based on my behavior, warm waves and morning sunlight, His faithfulness…
Garth had an interesting experience last night. There was a girl trying to talk to him on SKYPE and she said that she was trying to find her soulmate and thought he might be the one for her. Garth said definitely not and when she asked how he knew he shared that his wife loves him a lot and he loves his wife. Garth suggesting that she might try going to church as a better place to find a mate instead of SKYPE and had an interesting conversation trying to lead her to church and God. It turns out that she is from Ghana. Isn’t it awesome the opportunities God brings along?
Pray that as a family we will know God’s plan for us- If we should stay for another year or not. Thanks!
Goodnight to everyone in my time zone, and Good Morning to everyone that is not-
Rachel
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
October 16, 2007 - Super Powers
Sophie informed me yesterday that she has super powers (because she didn’t think I knew). “Mom, I have super powers, the scitch slide, the run scitch, and the super slide, but I can’t show you right now cuz I don’t have the right shoes on.” Today she thought she saw a wolf, but there are no wolves here so I am not sure what she saw. She also decided that she would run around the world , and she wanted me to say “GO.” So I did but she only got as far as the living room before she got distracted. When I noticed that she stopped I asked her why she wasn’t running and she said that she decided she needed someone to go with her so she would do it later.
Cale had a fun ride yesterday. One of our Indonesian gardeners was out on the riding lawnmower and of course, Cale wanted to be out there watching him. Well, our pembantu Agu picked him up to take him closer and the Indonesian stopped and motioned for Cale to come over to his lap. So Agu put him on the man’s lap and he took off to cut the grass with Cale. We took quite a few pictures so hopefully one will make it to the blog sight. Cale was very content just riding around saying “Hi Mom” and waving as he came close to me.
We don’t have internet right now so I am writing this with hope that tomorrow it will be working and we can send this.
There is a missionary lady that is in charge of organizing Thanksgiving dinner for those of us that will be here. Apparently there will be 68 of us, but it doesn’t look like we will have turkey. We can pre-order chicken breasts by the kilo, and we will have mashed potatoes and veggies and rolls. It will be different, but we can easily make it work. It is strange to be thinking about Thanksgiving when it is so hot out. Mom keeps talking about the leaves changing and the cooler weather, and a fire in the fireplace…that sounds nice.
Cale had a fun ride yesterday. One of our Indonesian gardeners was out on the riding lawnmower and of course, Cale wanted to be out there watching him. Well, our pembantu Agu picked him up to take him closer and the Indonesian stopped and motioned for Cale to come over to his lap. So Agu put him on the man’s lap and he took off to cut the grass with Cale. We took quite a few pictures so hopefully one will make it to the blog sight. Cale was very content just riding around saying “Hi Mom” and waving as he came close to me.
We don’t have internet right now so I am writing this with hope that tomorrow it will be working and we can send this.
There is a missionary lady that is in charge of organizing Thanksgiving dinner for those of us that will be here. Apparently there will be 68 of us, but it doesn’t look like we will have turkey. We can pre-order chicken breasts by the kilo, and we will have mashed potatoes and veggies and rolls. It will be different, but we can easily make it work. It is strange to be thinking about Thanksgiving when it is so hot out. Mom keeps talking about the leaves changing and the cooler weather, and a fire in the fireplace…that sounds nice.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
October 14, 2007 - Quakes and Shakes
The kids are back-well, some of them. Those that flew to Wamena won’t be back until tomorrow morning. They usually come in by 7ish and then go right to class. Garth is going to go in Gus to the airport and pick them all up. We will also start up our Indonesian lessons again tomorrow. Our teacher had pink eye so he cancelled last week.
This morning we did not go to church at our regular place, we had church here as a family. It was so much fun. We put in some of the praise CD’s that we used when we were teaching Kid’s Church in the States and we danced and sang and did all the hand motions that we could remember-Carlena, remember Lava, Lava Island? And Mom, remember Fruits of the Spirit? We did them all. What a great way to praise the Lord. The kids were saying, “Can’t we do one more song…?” That is nice to hear. Then Garth talked about 1 Peter 5:5 and not making excuses for bad behavior. It was a very special time for all of us. We spent time praying together-which I love. The kids, talking to God from their heart, is one of my favorite things. Sophie, ”God, thank you that you are bigger than Satan and that you are going to throw him into that lake full of lava…” And Emma, praying so hard for Auntie Eena… It is so amazing that God can hear our prayers whether we are in Wisconsin or Indonesia…
Tonight in the Bible study I do with the High School girls we had some great discussions. I started out asking them to write down how they would describe themselves, then how others would describe them, then how God would describe them. Were the lists different or the same? After we talked about that I brought up the book The Scarlett Letter-they are reading it for school right now. We talked about how the towns people made Hestor walk around for the rest of her life with a big A on her chest to let everyone know that she had sinned by committing adultery. They never forgave her or allowed her to be free of that burden. We compared that to the Bible story of the woman caught in the act of adultery that was brought before Jesus. The law said that she should be stoned. The church people were asking Jesus what should happen to her, and He said that she should be stoned-AND whoever there was without sin should be the one to throw the first stone. The Bible says that they began to leave one by one, the oldest first, until only the woman and Jesus were left. Jesus said, “Where did they all go? Did no one condemn you?” And she says “No, my Lord.” Jesus says, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” Wow! He did not make her wear a big A. He did not make her promise to change her life and then He would forgive her. He just forgave her because He loved her. What a freeing thought. He wants to do the same for us. He will never look at us and say “Oh, no. I won’t forgive you-You have messed up too much.” He is such a loving and forgiving God that when we ask Him to forgive us His answer will always be “YES!” It is so cool. I am always learning new things about God’s love-it is huge!
On a totally different note………………………………….We did have an earthquake here yesterday. Actually it was the second one since we came. The first one was on Thursday and to tell you the truth, I missed it. Garth was just getting out of the shower when he felt it-he was thinking that he was in a bad predicament for an earthquake. I, however, was in the kitchen and just thought that a piece of equipment was going by to the construction site next door. The ground barely rumbled. But the earthquake we had last night at 10:16 p.m. was bigger. It was off the North Coast of Papua and registered at 4.6-not huge, but enough to totally freak us out. The ground was really trembling and the glass in our windows was rattling like crazy. We both jumped up and away from the windows. Garth ran in to check on Wyatt and I ran in to check on the girls. They slept through the whole thing. For quite awhile after my legs were shaking. That was really my first earthquake. Friends of our who have been here in Sentani for 5 years said that the whole time they have only had 5 or 6 earthquakes, and now we had 2 in 3 days! We spent some time today thanking Jesus for keeping us safe. We know that you guys pray for us too. Some of you may feel that we are in a more dangerous environment here than we were in Wisconsin, but that is not true. God is in charge of what happens to us no matter where we are. We are just as protected here as we were there. So keep praying, but don’t worry, o.k.?
Thanks.
Rachel
This morning we did not go to church at our regular place, we had church here as a family. It was so much fun. We put in some of the praise CD’s that we used when we were teaching Kid’s Church in the States and we danced and sang and did all the hand motions that we could remember-Carlena, remember Lava, Lava Island? And Mom, remember Fruits of the Spirit? We did them all. What a great way to praise the Lord. The kids were saying, “Can’t we do one more song…?” That is nice to hear. Then Garth talked about 1 Peter 5:5 and not making excuses for bad behavior. It was a very special time for all of us. We spent time praying together-which I love. The kids, talking to God from their heart, is one of my favorite things. Sophie, ”God, thank you that you are bigger than Satan and that you are going to throw him into that lake full of lava…” And Emma, praying so hard for Auntie Eena… It is so amazing that God can hear our prayers whether we are in Wisconsin or Indonesia…
Tonight in the Bible study I do with the High School girls we had some great discussions. I started out asking them to write down how they would describe themselves, then how others would describe them, then how God would describe them. Were the lists different or the same? After we talked about that I brought up the book The Scarlett Letter-they are reading it for school right now. We talked about how the towns people made Hestor walk around for the rest of her life with a big A on her chest to let everyone know that she had sinned by committing adultery. They never forgave her or allowed her to be free of that burden. We compared that to the Bible story of the woman caught in the act of adultery that was brought before Jesus. The law said that she should be stoned. The church people were asking Jesus what should happen to her, and He said that she should be stoned-AND whoever there was without sin should be the one to throw the first stone. The Bible says that they began to leave one by one, the oldest first, until only the woman and Jesus were left. Jesus said, “Where did they all go? Did no one condemn you?” And she says “No, my Lord.” Jesus says, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” Wow! He did not make her wear a big A. He did not make her promise to change her life and then He would forgive her. He just forgave her because He loved her. What a freeing thought. He wants to do the same for us. He will never look at us and say “Oh, no. I won’t forgive you-You have messed up too much.” He is such a loving and forgiving God that when we ask Him to forgive us His answer will always be “YES!” It is so cool. I am always learning new things about God’s love-it is huge!
On a totally different note………………………………….We did have an earthquake here yesterday. Actually it was the second one since we came. The first one was on Thursday and to tell you the truth, I missed it. Garth was just getting out of the shower when he felt it-he was thinking that he was in a bad predicament for an earthquake. I, however, was in the kitchen and just thought that a piece of equipment was going by to the construction site next door. The ground barely rumbled. But the earthquake we had last night at 10:16 p.m. was bigger. It was off the North Coast of Papua and registered at 4.6-not huge, but enough to totally freak us out. The ground was really trembling and the glass in our windows was rattling like crazy. We both jumped up and away from the windows. Garth ran in to check on Wyatt and I ran in to check on the girls. They slept through the whole thing. For quite awhile after my legs were shaking. That was really my first earthquake. Friends of our who have been here in Sentani for 5 years said that the whole time they have only had 5 or 6 earthquakes, and now we had 2 in 3 days! We spent some time today thanking Jesus for keeping us safe. We know that you guys pray for us too. Some of you may feel that we are in a more dangerous environment here than we were in Wisconsin, but that is not true. God is in charge of what happens to us no matter where we are. We are just as protected here as we were there. So keep praying, but don’t worry, o.k.?
Thanks.
Rachel
October 13, 2007 - Riding The Palm
The Pacific Ocean is stunningly blue. We were able to go to the beach and see it yesterday with some friends of ours, the Price’s. To get to this beach, we drove about 45 minutes and then got on to a long dugout canoe with outriggers and took it across. What a blast! We did everything. From digging in the sand, to collecting shells and coral, to snorkeling, to riding a palm tree…Yes, I did say, riding a palm tree. There was a great tree bent low over the water, and the kids could shimmy out on the trunk. Then us adults jumped up to grab the trunk and pulled it way down by the water, and then all at once we let go. No, we did not send the kids sailing, they were holding on, kind of hugging it, and so they got a great ride up and down. Snorkeling was fantastic. There were some places that were not too deep and I felt like I was going to scrape my stomach on the coral, so I preferred to go out where it was much deeper. We saw big, blue starfish, and the regular orange ones, blue neons, a small tiger shark, lots of different colored striped fish, anemones, and beautiful coral. Garth has the “snorkel burn”-he got fried on the back of his legs from snorkeling so long. When we were eating our picnic lunch Garth noticed some dolphins out in the water. There was a whole pack, or school (whatever you call them) of about 40 to 50 dolphins about 150 yards away from us just jumping and playing-showing off for us. They gave us quite a show, and then hung around so that everyone was able to see them, even the kids. That was such a treat. The whole day seemed unreal. Garth set up Cale’s playpen under some palm trees for his nap. How many kids get to sleep like that with the sound of the ocean next to him. No one wanted to leave so I am sure we will be going back. I can’t wait to take my family there.
The dorm kids all went home or to friends or guardians homes this weekend for the holiday so it has just been us and the pembantu’s. Wyatt thinks it is too quiet. It has been a nice break for us. We are thoroughly enjoying the kids, but this was a nice time also.
We had the Prices over for dinner after the beach. Poppi said she would surprise us and make something. She made pigs in a blanket. What a treat to come home to a meal. Thank you Ibu Poppi.
Today, Saturday, we experienced some of the Indonesian culture. There is a wealthy Indonesian family down at the bottom of our street that invited us over for a feast. Was it ever a celebration! They had so much food, and lots of people, lots of red velvet chairs and candles…It was wonderful. The wife is a Christian and the husband is Muslim. I ate some interesting things. Especially this stuff that kind of looked like pink punch until you dip into the bowl and find little squares of gel things and long pieces of coconut that looked like octopus legs and little green cone things and fruit cocktail. That was different. They had a big cooler full of sticky rice and lots of meat, chicken, fish, beef etc. We all enjoyed the experience.
After the party, the kids had some friends over, the Olvers and another girl named Kaylee. We all ate dinner together, Chicken nuggets-yes you can find them here, sometimes in the frozen part of one store-and pasta salad, garlic bread and corn. Just like in the States, huh? We had a great time with the Olvers looking at pictures from when we first came here and they were introducing us to everything-so much has changed. Then we played doubles ping-pong (You know how much we love doing that.) The kids all put on a concert for us. Sophie, for those who know her this is no surprise, is always looking for a way to make a buck. She decided that if they were going to put on a show, they should charge us, you know to make a profit on all their hard work. When she was younger in church we would all sit in one pew-Mom, Dad, Carlena, Donald and all of us. Well, Sophie would motion down the aisle for Grammo or Eena aksing them for their offering so she could put it in the plate. Well, then after some time of doing this we realized that she was keeping this money-it would go straight to her pocket. When I confronted her about it she simply said, “Mom, I was going to give it to Jesus later.” Yeah, sure you were-Stealing in church? Whose kid is that?!? Today Sophie decided she wanted to run around the world. She stopped in the living room however, when she got distracted. Childhood is full of fleeting ambitions. The other day when she had been playing outside and I was calling her in for dinner, she comes in and walks right up to me and says, “Mom, if you are calling me, you need to say Joy, or Erickson, but not Sophie, cuz there are two Sophie’s in this country and the wrong one might come!”
Well, enough for now. We love hearing from you. Thanks to all who write.
Love,Rachel
The dorm kids all went home or to friends or guardians homes this weekend for the holiday so it has just been us and the pembantu’s. Wyatt thinks it is too quiet. It has been a nice break for us. We are thoroughly enjoying the kids, but this was a nice time also.
We had the Prices over for dinner after the beach. Poppi said she would surprise us and make something. She made pigs in a blanket. What a treat to come home to a meal. Thank you Ibu Poppi.
Today, Saturday, we experienced some of the Indonesian culture. There is a wealthy Indonesian family down at the bottom of our street that invited us over for a feast. Was it ever a celebration! They had so much food, and lots of people, lots of red velvet chairs and candles…It was wonderful. The wife is a Christian and the husband is Muslim. I ate some interesting things. Especially this stuff that kind of looked like pink punch until you dip into the bowl and find little squares of gel things and long pieces of coconut that looked like octopus legs and little green cone things and fruit cocktail. That was different. They had a big cooler full of sticky rice and lots of meat, chicken, fish, beef etc. We all enjoyed the experience.
After the party, the kids had some friends over, the Olvers and another girl named Kaylee. We all ate dinner together, Chicken nuggets-yes you can find them here, sometimes in the frozen part of one store-and pasta salad, garlic bread and corn. Just like in the States, huh? We had a great time with the Olvers looking at pictures from when we first came here and they were introducing us to everything-so much has changed. Then we played doubles ping-pong (You know how much we love doing that.) The kids all put on a concert for us. Sophie, for those who know her this is no surprise, is always looking for a way to make a buck. She decided that if they were going to put on a show, they should charge us, you know to make a profit on all their hard work. When she was younger in church we would all sit in one pew-Mom, Dad, Carlena, Donald and all of us. Well, Sophie would motion down the aisle for Grammo or Eena aksing them for their offering so she could put it in the plate. Well, then after some time of doing this we realized that she was keeping this money-it would go straight to her pocket. When I confronted her about it she simply said, “Mom, I was going to give it to Jesus later.” Yeah, sure you were-Stealing in church? Whose kid is that?!? Today Sophie decided she wanted to run around the world. She stopped in the living room however, when she got distracted. Childhood is full of fleeting ambitions. The other day when she had been playing outside and I was calling her in for dinner, she comes in and walks right up to me and says, “Mom, if you are calling me, you need to say Joy, or Erickson, but not Sophie, cuz there are two Sophie’s in this country and the wrong one might come!”
Well, enough for now. We love hearing from you. Thanks to all who write.
Love,Rachel
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
October 10, 2007 - Rappin' in Sentani
I just got back from a rap concert. Bet you never thought I would be saying that from Indonesia! There is a Christian rap group from Texas, Click 116, that is here in Sentani and they came to the school to put on a concert for the kids tonight. There were over 100 kids that showed up so that was good. Funny that they showed up here. You never know what might happen. Our dorm kids enjoyed it and Wyatt liked it a lot. He wants to learn how to do some of their dance moves. He informed me, “I might do that when I grow up.” So now he wants to be a professional baseball player, professional skateboarder, and a rap dancer. Interesting.
Garth and I decided to go into Abeh today. It is a town about 45 minutes to an hour away. Garth had never been to this store before but it was a big mistake for us to go today. With Idul Fitri coming up, EVERYONE was at the store-everyone-except maybe you. It was madness. Garth said he will never go back, but I think I will be able to persuade him. There is a KFC there in the store with a little play area and Cale had so much fun playing in the tunnels and going down the slide, so I think he will go back for that.
Sophie, who is my little planner, just gave me her list of ideas for her birthday, complete with drawings of the foods she wants and a drawing of the cake AND of course drawings of the presents. Her birthday is in June!
The dorm kids did a great job with Sadie Hawkins. Garth put a picture of their costumes on the blog. They made their own costumes and I must say I was impressed.
Night night to you all.
Rachel
Garth and I decided to go into Abeh today. It is a town about 45 minutes to an hour away. Garth had never been to this store before but it was a big mistake for us to go today. With Idul Fitri coming up, EVERYONE was at the store-everyone-except maybe you. It was madness. Garth said he will never go back, but I think I will be able to persuade him. There is a KFC there in the store with a little play area and Cale had so much fun playing in the tunnels and going down the slide, so I think he will go back for that.
Sophie, who is my little planner, just gave me her list of ideas for her birthday, complete with drawings of the foods she wants and a drawing of the cake AND of course drawings of the presents. Her birthday is in June!
The dorm kids did a great job with Sadie Hawkins. Garth put a picture of their costumes on the blog. They made their own costumes and I must say I was impressed.
Night night to you all.
Rachel
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
October 9, 2007 - Little Candies
There is such a fluster of activity around Sentani right now with everyone in preparation for Idul Fitri. This weekend is the end of their month of fasting and this weekend, the feasting begins. Houses are being painted, little wooden huts are being erected, and long pretty dresses are being aired out, fields are being prepared and piles of trash being burned. We will take pictures of some of the celebrations. We were invited to participate in a feast Saturday for lunch, not a Muslim feast, but just a huge celebration. That should be fun.
I know this is going to seem hard to believe, but for the first time since we came here, I got sunburned. I know, I know. I thought since we were so close to the equator, like 2 degrees below it, I would get fried everytime I went outside. But it wasn't until today, when Garth and I went back around the lake on the bike to take pictures, that I got burned. Boy, you could feel the intensity of the heat rising off the pavement. Yesterday when we took this ride it was so overcast and cool. Today, the heat was suffocating.
Garth's volleyball team had games today and won. YEAH! One game was 25 to 23 and I must say that it was making me quite nervous. But they did real well. The season is almost done and they are playing much better as a team unit.
One thing I have noticed here, is that often when we pay, the cashiers will give us little hard candies. I thought they were being nice because I have small children so I always made them say thank you. Well, come to find out that if the cashiers don't have the right coins to give us our change they will substitue it for candy. It would be interesting to see how that would go over at Wal-Mart. "Sorry, I am short $.50. Why don't you just pick out a candy bar?" Yeah, right!
During the afternoon today, our pembantu Agu came to get me and brought me to the door. Standing there were two men from the military base at the bottom of our hill going on and on to me about who knows what. I kept saying, "Saya tidak mengerti." (I don't understand.) Of course what I meant is that I don't understand Indonesian. What they thought was that I didn't understand what they were saying, so they just kept repeating it in different ways. Finally, I stuck my head in the door and hollered for Ibu Poppi and she came running. Apparently they thought I was in charge of the office of the school and had some issue to discuss. So Poppi showed them where to go. That was interesting. There is always something going on here. Garth will try to post pics from our lake drive today. Hope it works.Love to all,
Rachel
I know this is going to seem hard to believe, but for the first time since we came here, I got sunburned. I know, I know. I thought since we were so close to the equator, like 2 degrees below it, I would get fried everytime I went outside. But it wasn't until today, when Garth and I went back around the lake on the bike to take pictures, that I got burned. Boy, you could feel the intensity of the heat rising off the pavement. Yesterday when we took this ride it was so overcast and cool. Today, the heat was suffocating.
Garth's volleyball team had games today and won. YEAH! One game was 25 to 23 and I must say that it was making me quite nervous. But they did real well. The season is almost done and they are playing much better as a team unit.
One thing I have noticed here, is that often when we pay, the cashiers will give us little hard candies. I thought they were being nice because I have small children so I always made them say thank you. Well, come to find out that if the cashiers don't have the right coins to give us our change they will substitue it for candy. It would be interesting to see how that would go over at Wal-Mart. "Sorry, I am short $.50. Why don't you just pick out a candy bar?" Yeah, right!
During the afternoon today, our pembantu Agu came to get me and brought me to the door. Standing there were two men from the military base at the bottom of our hill going on and on to me about who knows what. I kept saying, "Saya tidak mengerti." (I don't understand.) Of course what I meant is that I don't understand Indonesian. What they thought was that I didn't understand what they were saying, so they just kept repeating it in different ways. Finally, I stuck my head in the door and hollered for Ibu Poppi and she came running. Apparently they thought I was in charge of the office of the school and had some issue to discuss. So Poppi showed them where to go. That was interesting. There is always something going on here. Garth will try to post pics from our lake drive today. Hope it works.Love to all,
Rachel
Monday, October 8, 2007
October 8, 2007 - Silence
I had a breathless journey today when Garth took Cale and me out on the motorcycle on a secluded road around the lake. Granted we only went around a small part of Lake Sentani (It’s huge) but it was amazing. The different types of mountains here, from all green and frosted with grass, to dark and rocky, to the mountains overflowing with trees-it is so cool. And the whole time the beauty of the clouds suspended over the mountains and the stillness of the water. We got to one high point of the road and pulled over. We turned off the bike and just listened. It was absolutely silent. There weren’t even any birds singing. I need to hear that every once in awhile. How often do we have absolute silence? It is easy to think there shouldn’t be silence-that silence is bad and needs to be filled with some form of noise. But it is not bad. In fact it can be quite refreshing and help rejuvenate your soul. Back home I always had music playing-practically all day long. But here I am finding I crave my moments of comforting silence. See if you can find a moment of silence today.
On a funnier note, Sophie came in to me today when I was in the kitchen and announced, with one hand on her hip, and the other hand holding a pencil, “Mom, I am writing Cale a story and it is going to take me awhile, so you better cancel my plans.” Like a true professional. And Emma today when she was splashing around outside in one of our travelling containers said, “Mom, my tub smells like damp water.” Is it possible for water to NOT be damp? Wyatt has been playing a lot of soccer. He started out playing with kids his own age and now he is playing with the big kids. This is definitely the place to learn. These kids came out of the womb with a soccer ball attached to their foot. Cale continues to entertain everyone. He has such a great temperament for being here. Our pembantus are always scooping him up (which he now takes in stride), and the ladies in the store grab him, or rub his hair and cheeks-and he stands there looking at them. Or he yells, “Pagi”- “morning.” He yells that all day long. Much to Poppi’s dismay. She is trying hard to get him to say the right thing at the right time. But she softens immediately with him. She always laughs when he says it wrong.
Pray that we continue to find a good balance between spending time with the dorm kids and spending time as a family with our kids. I am trying not to feel guilty when I am giving more time to one area than the other. So I would appreciate your prayers.
Thanks,
Rachel
On a funnier note, Sophie came in to me today when I was in the kitchen and announced, with one hand on her hip, and the other hand holding a pencil, “Mom, I am writing Cale a story and it is going to take me awhile, so you better cancel my plans.” Like a true professional. And Emma today when she was splashing around outside in one of our travelling containers said, “Mom, my tub smells like damp water.” Is it possible for water to NOT be damp? Wyatt has been playing a lot of soccer. He started out playing with kids his own age and now he is playing with the big kids. This is definitely the place to learn. These kids came out of the womb with a soccer ball attached to their foot. Cale continues to entertain everyone. He has such a great temperament for being here. Our pembantus are always scooping him up (which he now takes in stride), and the ladies in the store grab him, or rub his hair and cheeks-and he stands there looking at them. Or he yells, “Pagi”- “morning.” He yells that all day long. Much to Poppi’s dismay. She is trying hard to get him to say the right thing at the right time. But she softens immediately with him. She always laughs when he says it wrong.
Pray that we continue to find a good balance between spending time with the dorm kids and spending time as a family with our kids. I am trying not to feel guilty when I am giving more time to one area than the other. So I would appreciate your prayers.
Thanks,
Rachel
October 7, 2007 - Learning the Culture
We are learning so much about the culture here. I know that I told you this is Ramadan, the month of fasting during sunup. The Muslims are not allowed to even swallow their own spit. And if a woman is pregnant or nursing she is allowed to skip this time but has to make it up double once she is done with her “condition.” They believe that if they have perfect fasting they will have perfect forgiveness from their sins. What strict expectations to put upon themselves! Who can be perfect? No one. That is why God gave us the free gift of salvation based on believing in Him and not on what we can do, or living the perfect life. How difficult to be in the bondage of the Muslim beliefs, yet how freeing to be in a relationship with God!!! These people need to hear about Jesus’ love for them exactly as they are, whether they swallow their spit or not. I am glad we are a part of this ministry. There is a group of men from our church that travelled to 7 villages in 7 days to educate the Indonesians about bird flu – how they can prevent the spread of that awful disease. Another man in the church that is a pilot asked us all to save water bottles for the Indonesian men and women that work in the fields. They have no way of taking water out with them when they work out there all day every day in the hot sun. He said that he will fly the water bottles into the villages when he gets enough. These are little ways that our Christian community is trying to make a difference. The High Schoolers in the school here have something called Outdoor Education every year. They usually fly somewhere or get on a boat and travel to a place that needs help. Last year, there was a big flood in the area and many bridges were wiped out and homes ruined and business destroyed. So the kids all stayed here and helped to rebuild the town. They offered service to anyone that needed it, and food and fresh water etc. That has given us an amazing connection to the people and was a tangible way for the Indonesians to see that we care about them because God cares about them. The kids learned to work together and to care about others more than themselves. What a great chance for growth.
I had a very enjoyable conversation with a man from Papua New Guinea named Julius on Friday night at the volleyball game. He knew English so we were able to speak to each other. Julius shared with me his story about how he heard about Jesus and became a part of His family. He won a scholarship to come to America and go to a college, Christ For the Nations, in Texas. Now he is back in Indonesia to tell his family and his people about God’s love. What an exciting story! On the funny side, he told me about how some friends from college took him to Six Flags Great America to ride the roller coasters. He said that he thought he was going to die on Batman. He screamed the whole time “I’m done. I’m done!!” When it was all over, he liked it. I asked him if he would ever go again, and he said no.
I took Sophie and Emma to one of the new stores by Hypermarket that has clothes in it. They had so much fun running around yelling, “Mom, look at this, Mom come here and see this.” Such excitement to be able to shop. I let them each buy a new dress and hair ribbon. Going to church today was quite the production-showing everyone their new dresses. They keep saying, “Mom we HAVE to go back to that store. “
I made dinner today for everyone-Chicken stir–fry. Actually it was a joint effort. Wyatt helped cut up the veggies, Garth did the massive pile of dishes. I tried to make Jell-o using the Indonesian jell-o but it didn’t work. But we did have sticky rice and a chocolate pudding dessert. YEAH! I was so happy to find one store an hour away that you can call and order ahead boneless chicken breasts. That will be a nice treat every once in awhile.
Sophie is excited to show everyone how she can now count to ten in Indonesian. Wyatt is learning whole phrases. Emma is learning about names of body parts. Ibu Poppi is helping me a great deal. She feels free to correct me when I say something wrong. The other day I wrote her a note using my broken Indonesian words asking her if she could please cut up some fruit for one of the girls in our dorm. She called me over and crossed out my words and showed me the right way to write it. She is helping me learn colors and names of foods. I told you she is scared to death of the escalator at the new Hypermarket, well, the other day she agreed to go. She got as far as the escalator, stood and looked at it, and left. She couldn’t do it. She is so funny about it. In her mind it just doesn’t make sense why anyone would make such a thing.
One of the dorm kids, Josh, just got back from Australia and brought Wyatt a handmade boomerang, so he is going out to the field to try it out. So I should go.
At the moment we do have internet in the dorm so I should be able to send out regular e-mails again. And check e-mails. Praise the Lord!
Love you all,
Rachel
I had a very enjoyable conversation with a man from Papua New Guinea named Julius on Friday night at the volleyball game. He knew English so we were able to speak to each other. Julius shared with me his story about how he heard about Jesus and became a part of His family. He won a scholarship to come to America and go to a college, Christ For the Nations, in Texas. Now he is back in Indonesia to tell his family and his people about God’s love. What an exciting story! On the funny side, he told me about how some friends from college took him to Six Flags Great America to ride the roller coasters. He said that he thought he was going to die on Batman. He screamed the whole time “I’m done. I’m done!!” When it was all over, he liked it. I asked him if he would ever go again, and he said no.
I took Sophie and Emma to one of the new stores by Hypermarket that has clothes in it. They had so much fun running around yelling, “Mom, look at this, Mom come here and see this.” Such excitement to be able to shop. I let them each buy a new dress and hair ribbon. Going to church today was quite the production-showing everyone their new dresses. They keep saying, “Mom we HAVE to go back to that store. “
I made dinner today for everyone-Chicken stir–fry. Actually it was a joint effort. Wyatt helped cut up the veggies, Garth did the massive pile of dishes. I tried to make Jell-o using the Indonesian jell-o but it didn’t work. But we did have sticky rice and a chocolate pudding dessert. YEAH! I was so happy to find one store an hour away that you can call and order ahead boneless chicken breasts. That will be a nice treat every once in awhile.
Sophie is excited to show everyone how she can now count to ten in Indonesian. Wyatt is learning whole phrases. Emma is learning about names of body parts. Ibu Poppi is helping me a great deal. She feels free to correct me when I say something wrong. The other day I wrote her a note using my broken Indonesian words asking her if she could please cut up some fruit for one of the girls in our dorm. She called me over and crossed out my words and showed me the right way to write it. She is helping me learn colors and names of foods. I told you she is scared to death of the escalator at the new Hypermarket, well, the other day she agreed to go. She got as far as the escalator, stood and looked at it, and left. She couldn’t do it. She is so funny about it. In her mind it just doesn’t make sense why anyone would make such a thing.
One of the dorm kids, Josh, just got back from Australia and brought Wyatt a handmade boomerang, so he is going out to the field to try it out. So I should go.
At the moment we do have internet in the dorm so I should be able to send out regular e-mails again. And check e-mails. Praise the Lord!
Love you all,
Rachel
Friday, October 5, 2007
October 4, 2007 - Bread and Escalators
I had so much fun today. One of the ladies here wanted to know how to make bread, so we had a bread making party. We made rolls, buns, stromboli, pans of cinnamon rolls and loaf bread. THANK YOU MOM for teaching me how to make bread. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know how to do that. It comes in SO handy. I made two huge pans of cinnamon rolls for the dorm, thinking they would be for breakfast, but one pan was consumed right away, so ....I guess they liked them. That's good. My MOM is the queen of cinnamon rolls and sticky buns. Ask her for the recipe some time if you are ever in the mood to make them. In fact, Mom, if you want to send me your sticky bun recipe I will see if we can get the ingredients here.
Lynne, a lady that was in training with us in Idaho is here, so yesterday we took her out to see the town. That was so fun. It feels like a long time ago that that was us, new here, and checking everything out for the first time. We took Lynne to Multi-Jaya, our old store, and then we took her to Hypermarket, the new store. It is amazing the difference. Our pembantu, Poppi, refuses to go to the new store because she is scared to death of the escalator. I told her I would go with her and hold her arm, but she said no, that her heart can't take it. One of our other pembantu's went and wiped out trying to get on the escalator. Many of them have never seen anything like that before.
We are at the halfway point from when we got here and when my family will be here to visit. So I must say that it has gone quickly. And it is so fun to have something to look forward to. Speaking of family
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y M O M !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wish I was there to hug you, but hopefully your day is special, just like you. Love you tonz. Have fun. Try to relax.( Ya right)
I must go,
Rachel
Lynne, a lady that was in training with us in Idaho is here, so yesterday we took her out to see the town. That was so fun. It feels like a long time ago that that was us, new here, and checking everything out for the first time. We took Lynne to Multi-Jaya, our old store, and then we took her to Hypermarket, the new store. It is amazing the difference. Our pembantu, Poppi, refuses to go to the new store because she is scared to death of the escalator. I told her I would go with her and hold her arm, but she said no, that her heart can't take it. One of our other pembantu's went and wiped out trying to get on the escalator. Many of them have never seen anything like that before.
We are at the halfway point from when we got here and when my family will be here to visit. So I must say that it has gone quickly. And it is so fun to have something to look forward to. Speaking of family
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y M O M !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wish I was there to hug you, but hopefully your day is special, just like you. Love you tonz. Have fun. Try to relax.( Ya right)
I must go,
Rachel
October 3, 2007 - Flexibility
We are learning how important patience and flexibility are here. We just found out that the antenae that sends the signal to our dorm so we can have internet is fried, so we may not have internet down there anymore. But at least we have another option. We can come up to the computer lab and use the internet there. That is what I am doing now. The thing is that we may not be able to do it everyday. We will try.
Garth did get his laptop. YEAH!!!!!!! He is having so much fun getting to know it. Hopefully it will help in loading pictures.
We just got back from the MAF base. A friend of ours that was in training in Idaho with us just got here today. Her name is Lynne and she will teach Wamena. She is coming over for lunch tomorrow, so we will take her for a ride on the town. How exciting!
Two girls in the dorm think they may have malaria, so last night I did two malaria slides to take to the doctor today. I hope I am doing them right. I guess I will find out later. I am praying that they aren't sick. Beernt did have malalria, but he is so much better now. He even went to volleyball practice yesterday.
This weekend is the Sadie Hawkins banquet so the kids are all abuzz about costumes and dates etc. The theme is always a surprise so they are trying to guess what it might be. It sounds like it will be a great night.
A quick update on the atennae. The are looking to try and fix it so we may be able to have internet again. I am in the computer lab now and the kids are coming in for a class in a few minutes so I need to send this. I wanted to tell you a few more things, but they will have to wait.
Love you
Rachel
Garth did get his laptop. YEAH!!!!!!! He is having so much fun getting to know it. Hopefully it will help in loading pictures.
We just got back from the MAF base. A friend of ours that was in training in Idaho with us just got here today. Her name is Lynne and she will teach Wamena. She is coming over for lunch tomorrow, so we will take her for a ride on the town. How exciting!
Two girls in the dorm think they may have malaria, so last night I did two malaria slides to take to the doctor today. I hope I am doing them right. I guess I will find out later. I am praying that they aren't sick. Beernt did have malalria, but he is so much better now. He even went to volleyball practice yesterday.
This weekend is the Sadie Hawkins banquet so the kids are all abuzz about costumes and dates etc. The theme is always a surprise so they are trying to guess what it might be. It sounds like it will be a great night.
A quick update on the atennae. The are looking to try and fix it so we may be able to have internet again. I am in the computer lab now and the kids are coming in for a class in a few minutes so I need to send this. I wanted to tell you a few more things, but they will have to wait.
Love you
Rachel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)