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