Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Catching up on pictures
The Olvers and Williamsons joined us at the hostel for a Christmas day meal.
This is a "pondok natal," which translates to "Christmas hut." Locals build these and blare music from them at all times of day. Is it Christmas music, you ask? Sometimes...sometimes not. We have heard a variety of music and one time I heard an old Disney sounding grandpa voice telling a Christmas story.
Cale enjoys spending time with Uncle Jason's snakes.
Jaalah and Lexie are blowing bubbles for the snake.
Sophie and Dad went up on MacArthur's hill and took in this breathtaking view.
Wyatt opening a Christmas present.
Emma got a new bag for Christmas.
Sophie got a block puzzle.
And Cale got new shades. Now he looks like Elvis.
When the dorm kids left, the pembantus did a major clean of the kitchen.
This church will have a great view of Mt. Cyclops when it is completed.
Cale and some of his new friends.
Cale and Sophie flying through the air.
This lady said I could take her picture if I bought something from her stand.
Cale draws a crowd no matter where he is.
How would you like to take your groceries into your home on this front path?
Anybody want to buy the "Deligent Cattle and Lovely Boy" toy for your child for Christmas?
Rachel is getting to know some of the merchants at the Pasar.
Nia is one of Cale's biggest fans at Hypermarket.
Cale and his rock star status.
The grandmother on the left wanted her grandson to come and play with Cale.
Wyatt in the Christmas Pageant.
Dorm kids cramming for finals.
Emma sang two solos as Mary in the Christmas Pageant.
Sophie was (and always is) an angel.
Cale and Beernt waiting to eat dinner.
We had a warm send off for Kolbe and Kelsea. We'll miss them.
Cale decorating the tree.
Cale and Daddy often go on motorcycle rides to this place on the lake.
Cale is mugging.December 27th - Selamat Natal
Merry Christmas, or if you were here I would say "Selamat Natal!" I hope your Holidays weren't so crazy that you couldn't enjoy them. We had a very nice Indonesian Christmas. Our house was full-we had 16 total over for Christmas dinner. Our dinner was much like yours I am sure. We had turkey and stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, rolls, 2 sweet potato dishes, corn, peas, pumpkin pies, cookies, and a peppermint brownie torte. It was stupendous. I enjoyed every bite.
The kids all ran around and played outside, the ladies cleaned up and the guys went to buy fireworks. Then we had dessert, gave the kids baths, and we all watched Elf and popped popcorn. It was a fun day.
The kids are all feeling better. Cale had a horrible fever, 104, on Christmas Eve. Christmas day he was still a little sick, but today he is much improved. Thank you to all who prayed. Scott, we greatly appreciate the prayers you prayed for our little ones. Thanks.
A BIG thank you also to those of you that shared with us this Christmas-Aunt Bea and Uncle David, Phyllis, Grandpa Frank, Roy and Taney, Mary, Papa Don and Priscilla, Faith Christian School, Dottie, Bev, Ron and Kerrie, Dad's Bible study group, Mom and Dad and Carlena and Donald...who am I forgetting? If I forgot you, please, send me an email and remind me. Don't take it personally, o.k.?
With so many people gone for the holidays, the hill here is very quiet. We had people asking us to feed their cats, give keys to their pembantu, and the director asked Garth to be in charge of the generator while he was gone. So 6 times out of the last 8 nights, the power has gone off during the night. That means Garth has to get dressed and go down to the benkel (garage) and flip the switch for the generator-sometimes it is around 1 am othertimes it is around 5 am.
(The little things we so easily take for granted, huh?) This afternoon we are going over to some friends' house. I am bringing pizza and ice cream and we are going to hang out. They have a amazing yard and it is so fun for the kids to run around. They also have bikes and our kids miss riding bikes, so it is a treat. The last time I went to Abeh I found ice cream cones, and the new store here has ice cream so that will be a treat too.
We are thoroughly enjoying this family time. It has been so special for us to wake up and not have work or activites to rush out for. We have been hanging out, playing games, ping pong, watching movies, playing in the gym, taking walks, reading books, wrestling...I feel so blessed by the family that God has given me. The kids get along and play so well together that it is a joy not a stress to be together.
God sure knew what He was doing when He picked them for me.
I hope that today you can find time to reflect on a blessing that God has given you, and thank Him for it. You are important to Him and He cares about you. And so do I.
Happy Holidays-
Rachel
The kids all ran around and played outside, the ladies cleaned up and the guys went to buy fireworks. Then we had dessert, gave the kids baths, and we all watched Elf and popped popcorn. It was a fun day.
The kids are all feeling better. Cale had a horrible fever, 104, on Christmas Eve. Christmas day he was still a little sick, but today he is much improved. Thank you to all who prayed. Scott, we greatly appreciate the prayers you prayed for our little ones. Thanks.
A BIG thank you also to those of you that shared with us this Christmas-Aunt Bea and Uncle David, Phyllis, Grandpa Frank, Roy and Taney, Mary, Papa Don and Priscilla, Faith Christian School, Dottie, Bev, Ron and Kerrie, Dad's Bible study group, Mom and Dad and Carlena and Donald...who am I forgetting? If I forgot you, please, send me an email and remind me. Don't take it personally, o.k.?
With so many people gone for the holidays, the hill here is very quiet. We had people asking us to feed their cats, give keys to their pembantu, and the director asked Garth to be in charge of the generator while he was gone. So 6 times out of the last 8 nights, the power has gone off during the night. That means Garth has to get dressed and go down to the benkel (garage) and flip the switch for the generator-sometimes it is around 1 am othertimes it is around 5 am.
(The little things we so easily take for granted, huh?) This afternoon we are going over to some friends' house. I am bringing pizza and ice cream and we are going to hang out. They have a amazing yard and it is so fun for the kids to run around. They also have bikes and our kids miss riding bikes, so it is a treat. The last time I went to Abeh I found ice cream cones, and the new store here has ice cream so that will be a treat too.
We are thoroughly enjoying this family time. It has been so special for us to wake up and not have work or activites to rush out for. We have been hanging out, playing games, ping pong, watching movies, playing in the gym, taking walks, reading books, wrestling...I feel so blessed by the family that God has given me. The kids get along and play so well together that it is a joy not a stress to be together.
God sure knew what He was doing when He picked them for me.
I hope that today you can find time to reflect on a blessing that God has given you, and thank Him for it. You are important to Him and He cares about you. And so do I.
Happy Holidays-
Rachel
December 21, 2007 - Wyatt and Sophie
We haven’t had internet for awhile, but right at this exact minute we do, so I am going to type fast because we might lose it. Wyatt is doing better. His malaria slide came back negative, and it looks like he does not have dengue fever. Today his fever broke so now we just have to watch for a rash. His tonsils are still quite swollen and he has a patch or two on his throat, but it is not strep so we will just keep treating him the same. He was so much better today. He was able to move around without being in so much pain. Sophie is still sick, but better. Her fever is down. She is still having stomach pains, her face is quite white, but she was able to get up and around more today that yesterday. We did a malaria slide on her but haven’t gotten the results yet. Wyatt’s platelets were up today so that is good news too. They may both just have a virus. Thank you so much for praying. You guys helped get them better, and we greatly appreciate your concern for our kids. It is no fun to see them so sick. And what a way to start your Christmas break. UGH!
Garth took 2 dorm kids to the airport today and will take one tomorrow at 6:30 in the morning. Then they will all be home with their families for the holidays. I made some gingerbread cookies today. It has been impossible to find molasses here so I was told that I could substitute kecup manis for molasses. I thought I would try it and it worked. They were very good. While the cookies were cooling on the counter Cale snuck in and before I knew it he had one whole cookie in his mouth and another one in his hand. I said, “Cale, you need to ask Mommy before you take a cookie.” So, with his mouth stuffed full he looks at me and says, “Cookie?” How could I say no?
I hope you all know how important you are to us. Even though we are far away and may not call you often, or see you (ever), we still care deeply for you. We pray for our “family” that we left behind all the time. Especially now at the Holidays, we want you to feel the peace that only can come from God. I know that this is the season for craziness and rushing around and not having enough time to get everything done, but still, stop and remember. Remember what this time is about. God should not get pushed out because of your busyness, He should be what makes you stop. And remember. Remember that there is so much more to this life than presents and cookies. Those things won’t last forever. He is really the only thing that will.
Well, try not to freeze there and I will try not to boil. Look up at the moon and realize that in a few hours that is the same moon that I will see. The same one. Isn’t that cool? It’s like we are connected!
Love you all,
Rachel
Garth took 2 dorm kids to the airport today and will take one tomorrow at 6:30 in the morning. Then they will all be home with their families for the holidays. I made some gingerbread cookies today. It has been impossible to find molasses here so I was told that I could substitute kecup manis for molasses. I thought I would try it and it worked. They were very good. While the cookies were cooling on the counter Cale snuck in and before I knew it he had one whole cookie in his mouth and another one in his hand. I said, “Cale, you need to ask Mommy before you take a cookie.” So, with his mouth stuffed full he looks at me and says, “Cookie?” How could I say no?
I hope you all know how important you are to us. Even though we are far away and may not call you often, or see you (ever), we still care deeply for you. We pray for our “family” that we left behind all the time. Especially now at the Holidays, we want you to feel the peace that only can come from God. I know that this is the season for craziness and rushing around and not having enough time to get everything done, but still, stop and remember. Remember what this time is about. God should not get pushed out because of your busyness, He should be what makes you stop. And remember. Remember that there is so much more to this life than presents and cookies. Those things won’t last forever. He is really the only thing that will.
Well, try not to freeze there and I will try not to boil. Look up at the moon and realize that in a few hours that is the same moon that I will see. The same one. Isn’t that cool? It’s like we are connected!
Love you all,
Rachel
December 20, 2007 - Updates
Hi, everyone. I wanted to update you all. Wyatt’s temp has been the highest (103.2 on Ibuprofen) and the lowest (99.6 on Ibuprofen) today. The nurse came back over and took some blood. Poor guy. He was not bleeding well, so she wound up poking him 3 times, then the tube clotted because it took so long, so we had to start over and poke him twice more. He has band aids on three fingers. She was joking that he might run out of fingers so she would have to use his toes. His platelets were still down, only at 120,000. So once his fever breaks we will check his blood again. He started feeling better before bed and his fever was a lot lower. He is on Tylenol and Ibuprofen, so that is good. If he has dingy fever he will break out in a rash, so we are watching for that. His throat hurts and his tonsils are swollen, and his body is achy. Then there is Sophie. Her teacher walked her home at 9:30 and she was so white. Her little cheeks had no color in them. She thought she was going to throw up. I was sitting with her on the couch for a long time reading books when I noticed she felt hot. Her temp was up to 102.5, then she started throwing up. She still feels lousy, but is sleeping. We are looking at Sophie being sick as good news because it means that Wyatt might not have dingy fever-it might be something viral that they both have together. Dingy fever is absolutely horrid, so it would be great if Wyatt and Sophie just had a virus. Emma is feeling good. That girl has a great immune system. Cale is good too. The challenge today was trying to keep Cale away from Wyatt and Sophie.
We have had quite the week. I received a phone call on Thurs. morning that Ibu Poppi was not coming in because a family member died. So I was real busy in the kitchen trying to help Ibu Yulli get lunch out on time. Yosina, one of the pembantu’s that does laundry was also at the funeral, so that made it difficult too. The kids were all trying to get last minute things washed before they packed up to go home for the holidays, so the laundry pile was enormous. Friday I woke up wondering if Poppi and Yosina would come in, but they didn’t. Another crazy busy day in the kitchen. Ibu Yulli had a lady come over demanding a key-that was quite the heated argument. Yulli had to leave early or this lady was threatening to throw all of her stuff out in the street. Saturday morning, none of the pembantu’s showed up, except for Nona Agu and all she does is laundry. She doesn’t cook. So that meant I had to figure out lunch for everyone, which is always a creative challenge when it comes to 18 hungry people. Sunday Garth decided to give me a break and order food from a local restaurant, Mickey’s, so I didn’t have to cook. That was a nice treat. Then Sunday night Wyatt started feeling sick and he has been home ever since. He isn’t sleeping good because his fever is so high. Imagine having a 102 fever with the temp outside 100. It is nearly impossible for him to cool down. So I let him sleep in our bed last night with me since some of the air conditioning blows into our room. That helped him, but Garth had to sleep on the couch. I have yet to see a couch that Garth fits on. I am so glad though that Wyatt was in our room, because he kept getting up in his sleep. At one point during the night he walked over to the towel by the bathroom and was pulling on it. I said, “ Wyatt, what are you doing?” He said, “ I am trying to get something to eat.” We put Sophie’s mattress on the floor of our room for the night since she was so uncomfortable. Hopefully they will be able to sleep all night.
Garth keeps making trips to the airport to get all of the dorm kids on their flights on time. All of the dorm kids are gone but three. Two leave tomorrow and one will leave on Friday. You know I wasn’t going to mention all that stuff about the pembantu’s not showing up and the predicament it put me in, because I feel like I am whining. But on Saturday when I was having a grumbling match inside my head to God, He taught me something. I realized that God never promised us an easy life. Just because I am doing something for Him by serving here, does not mean that my life should be easy. He did promise me that He would be with me through the hard days, give me strength when I am weary and endurance to carry on. That is what I need. I definitely do not need a life with no problems. I learn a lot through these uncomfortable and challenging times. I was thinking about a story I heard once about an old Rabbi that was talking to a young discouraged Rabbi. The young man was talking about how hard the job is and how he didn’t think he could do it. He wondered why God was bringing him hard times when he was doing such holy work. The older Rabbi said, “That is your problem there. You pray for God to take away hard times. We pray for God to make us stronger so we can endure the hard times.”
So, life here continues. Sophie wants to know how Santa will get in since we have no chimney. And then realized that maybe he has a key. Wyatt said-wouldn’t it be fun to go to heaven and get 3 huge buckets of snow to dump on Indonesia so the people can see what snow is? Emma was such a big help today with Cale while I was playing nurse and Garth was playing taxi driver. She has so many Mommy instincts. She comes up with the greatest things to do with him. I went to the library today and checked out about 45 books. I figured if we are going to be stuck home with sick kids over Christmas break, we will make the best of it. I got books on making paper airplanes, and origami, kids cookbooks, hair braiding, how to draw animals and cartoons etc. You name it, I probably have a book on it.
Our Internet is still down so we will try to get to the lab and send this so you get it on Thursday. Take care. We will keep you posted on the kids.
Love you,
Rachel
We have had quite the week. I received a phone call on Thurs. morning that Ibu Poppi was not coming in because a family member died. So I was real busy in the kitchen trying to help Ibu Yulli get lunch out on time. Yosina, one of the pembantu’s that does laundry was also at the funeral, so that made it difficult too. The kids were all trying to get last minute things washed before they packed up to go home for the holidays, so the laundry pile was enormous. Friday I woke up wondering if Poppi and Yosina would come in, but they didn’t. Another crazy busy day in the kitchen. Ibu Yulli had a lady come over demanding a key-that was quite the heated argument. Yulli had to leave early or this lady was threatening to throw all of her stuff out in the street. Saturday morning, none of the pembantu’s showed up, except for Nona Agu and all she does is laundry. She doesn’t cook. So that meant I had to figure out lunch for everyone, which is always a creative challenge when it comes to 18 hungry people. Sunday Garth decided to give me a break and order food from a local restaurant, Mickey’s, so I didn’t have to cook. That was a nice treat. Then Sunday night Wyatt started feeling sick and he has been home ever since. He isn’t sleeping good because his fever is so high. Imagine having a 102 fever with the temp outside 100. It is nearly impossible for him to cool down. So I let him sleep in our bed last night with me since some of the air conditioning blows into our room. That helped him, but Garth had to sleep on the couch. I have yet to see a couch that Garth fits on. I am so glad though that Wyatt was in our room, because he kept getting up in his sleep. At one point during the night he walked over to the towel by the bathroom and was pulling on it. I said, “ Wyatt, what are you doing?” He said, “ I am trying to get something to eat.” We put Sophie’s mattress on the floor of our room for the night since she was so uncomfortable. Hopefully they will be able to sleep all night.
Garth keeps making trips to the airport to get all of the dorm kids on their flights on time. All of the dorm kids are gone but three. Two leave tomorrow and one will leave on Friday. You know I wasn’t going to mention all that stuff about the pembantu’s not showing up and the predicament it put me in, because I feel like I am whining. But on Saturday when I was having a grumbling match inside my head to God, He taught me something. I realized that God never promised us an easy life. Just because I am doing something for Him by serving here, does not mean that my life should be easy. He did promise me that He would be with me through the hard days, give me strength when I am weary and endurance to carry on. That is what I need. I definitely do not need a life with no problems. I learn a lot through these uncomfortable and challenging times. I was thinking about a story I heard once about an old Rabbi that was talking to a young discouraged Rabbi. The young man was talking about how hard the job is and how he didn’t think he could do it. He wondered why God was bringing him hard times when he was doing such holy work. The older Rabbi said, “That is your problem there. You pray for God to take away hard times. We pray for God to make us stronger so we can endure the hard times.”
So, life here continues. Sophie wants to know how Santa will get in since we have no chimney. And then realized that maybe he has a key. Wyatt said-wouldn’t it be fun to go to heaven and get 3 huge buckets of snow to dump on Indonesia so the people can see what snow is? Emma was such a big help today with Cale while I was playing nurse and Garth was playing taxi driver. She has so many Mommy instincts. She comes up with the greatest things to do with him. I went to the library today and checked out about 45 books. I figured if we are going to be stuck home with sick kids over Christmas break, we will make the best of it. I got books on making paper airplanes, and origami, kids cookbooks, hair braiding, how to draw animals and cartoons etc. You name it, I probably have a book on it.
Our Internet is still down so we will try to get to the lab and send this so you get it on Thursday. Take care. We will keep you posted on the kids.
Love you,
Rachel
Thursday, December 20, 2007
December 14, 2007 - Christmas Concert, Partners, and Pondok Natals
Emma was the most amazing Mary you can imagine. She just walked right up to the microphones for her solos and sang her heart out. She didn’t appear nervous at all. And Sophie was such a cute angel. She knew everyone’s lines and all the words to the songs. That girl has quite the memory. Wyatt did great with all the songs he had to sing. In one part he sang “Silent Night” in German and Korean. He learned them quick and remembered every word. We are so proud of them. Last year at this time was our church’s’ Christmas program and Cale was the baby Jesus. That was his shining moment. This year he slept through the whole thing.
Today we had our going away party for the two dorm kids that are leaving-Kelsea and Kolbe, along with the concert and the fact that I was helping with the costumes, and this morning at 6:30 we received a phone call telling us that Ibu Poppi would not be coming in because there was a death in the family…it is always difficult to get everything done when we are short a pembantu. Especially when it is our cook! But we got everything done! YIPEE! Tomorrow Garth is taking our friends Jason and Jodi to the airport. They are flying to Bali for a vacation. It will start clearing out here soon. A lot of people go away for the holiday. Finals start tomorrow and go till Tuesday, but the school allows the kids that are leaving early to take finals early. So one by one they will start leaving. I tell you. It will be quiet.
Garth had an interesting experience yesterday. He was down at the bottom of our hill waiting for a store to open, when a man we see often here, ( a very gay man) came by. At the same moment Garth saw his friend Jason and waved at him-however, the man, (John), thought that Garth was waving at him. So John came over. The conversation went something like this.
J: “Oh, Hi. My name is John. What is your name?”
G; “My name is Garth.”
J: “Oh, hi, Garth. Are you American?”
G: “Yes, I am.”J: “I LOVE Americans. Do you like music?”
G: “Yes, John. I like all kinds of music.”
J: “I like American music. I like Justin Timberlake. And I like your hair, and your sunglasses. Maybe I go for ride on your motorcycle some time. Will you be my partner?”
That is not the whole conversation. I had to do some editing. But you get the idea. Every day is an experience.
There is a tradition here at Christmas time to have pondok Natals. What that means is that certain places will choose to play Christmas and other assorted music at any hour of the day as loud as their speakers will go. There is a new pondok Natal that is right in the valley on the left side of the hostel. It has been starting at about 5 am and going until any hour of the night they choose. We have had one on the right side of the hostel for weeks but this one is by far the earliest in the morning. Even with your pillow on your head, it is loud. The first day I thought it was coming from our living room because the noise was so horrendous. It is an added reason to have patience. The other day we were shopping in Hypermarket here in Indonesia listening to “Feliz Navidad” in Spanish. Ha HA.
Well, these words are starting to blur together because my eyes are getting droopy, and I know that 5 am will come really soon…so I better say “Good-Night!”
Love to all-
Rachel
Today we had our going away party for the two dorm kids that are leaving-Kelsea and Kolbe, along with the concert and the fact that I was helping with the costumes, and this morning at 6:30 we received a phone call telling us that Ibu Poppi would not be coming in because there was a death in the family…it is always difficult to get everything done when we are short a pembantu. Especially when it is our cook! But we got everything done! YIPEE! Tomorrow Garth is taking our friends Jason and Jodi to the airport. They are flying to Bali for a vacation. It will start clearing out here soon. A lot of people go away for the holiday. Finals start tomorrow and go till Tuesday, but the school allows the kids that are leaving early to take finals early. So one by one they will start leaving. I tell you. It will be quiet.
Garth had an interesting experience yesterday. He was down at the bottom of our hill waiting for a store to open, when a man we see often here, ( a very gay man) came by. At the same moment Garth saw his friend Jason and waved at him-however, the man, (John), thought that Garth was waving at him. So John came over. The conversation went something like this.
J: “Oh, Hi. My name is John. What is your name?”
G; “My name is Garth.”
J: “Oh, hi, Garth. Are you American?”
G: “Yes, I am.”J: “I LOVE Americans. Do you like music?”
G: “Yes, John. I like all kinds of music.”
J: “I like American music. I like Justin Timberlake. And I like your hair, and your sunglasses. Maybe I go for ride on your motorcycle some time. Will you be my partner?”
That is not the whole conversation. I had to do some editing. But you get the idea. Every day is an experience.
There is a tradition here at Christmas time to have pondok Natals. What that means is that certain places will choose to play Christmas and other assorted music at any hour of the day as loud as their speakers will go. There is a new pondok Natal that is right in the valley on the left side of the hostel. It has been starting at about 5 am and going until any hour of the night they choose. We have had one on the right side of the hostel for weeks but this one is by far the earliest in the morning. Even with your pillow on your head, it is loud. The first day I thought it was coming from our living room because the noise was so horrendous. It is an added reason to have patience. The other day we were shopping in Hypermarket here in Indonesia listening to “Feliz Navidad” in Spanish. Ha HA.
Well, these words are starting to blur together because my eyes are getting droopy, and I know that 5 am will come really soon…so I better say “Good-Night!”
Love to all-
Rachel
Sunday, December 9, 2007
December 9, 2007 - I am still here
Sorry that you have not heard from me lately, our internet is down again. We are all well and healthy-trying not to melt with this heat.
It has been crazy hot!
Two of our dorm kids are going to be leaving on Friday and won't be coming back after the break. It is a recent decision so we are helping them pack and get ready. Their Dad is visiting right now to help the whole process go smoothly. We will miss them but it is great that they will be able to be together as a family.
Hypermarket is growing by leaps and bounds. It is looking more and more like a store in the States. They now have Campbell's soup, Jell-o and I even saw a few bags of Cheetos there yesterday. It is wonderful that God timed this with our visit here. I am so happy for the convienence.
Our soceer tournament is over. Our girls A team got first place and our boys A team got 2nd. They did a great job and it was so fun to watch. Right down until the buzzer buzzed, it was a nail biter. We had a fun party last night at the hostel celebrating the end of soceer. After the Christmas break, we will start basketball.
There is only a few more days of school and then finals. It is always a tough time as the kids are very acedemic and strive hard for good grades. Hopefully it will all get over quickly.
I need to go home and check on Cale. He was sleeping when I left and I should make sure he still is.
Take care,
Love-Rachel
It has been crazy hot!
Two of our dorm kids are going to be leaving on Friday and won't be coming back after the break. It is a recent decision so we are helping them pack and get ready. Their Dad is visiting right now to help the whole process go smoothly. We will miss them but it is great that they will be able to be together as a family.
Hypermarket is growing by leaps and bounds. It is looking more and more like a store in the States. They now have Campbell's soup, Jell-o and I even saw a few bags of Cheetos there yesterday. It is wonderful that God timed this with our visit here. I am so happy for the convienence.
Our soceer tournament is over. Our girls A team got first place and our boys A team got 2nd. They did a great job and it was so fun to watch. Right down until the buzzer buzzed, it was a nail biter. We had a fun party last night at the hostel celebrating the end of soceer. After the Christmas break, we will start basketball.
There is only a few more days of school and then finals. It is always a tough time as the kids are very acedemic and strive hard for good grades. Hopefully it will all get over quickly.
I need to go home and check on Cale. He was sleeping when I left and I should make sure he still is.
Take care,
Love-Rachel
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
December 6, 2007 - Kitty, Kids, and Grass
We needed to make a trip into Abepura today. (Abepura means city of cemetaries)-lovely name, huh? Anyways we needed to go and pick up some meat that we ordered and take Song Min to get his arm x-rayed at Dian Harapan, (a clinic.) Last night there was a huge storm which caused mud slides all over the road. We must have gone through at least 6 or 7 of them. It is interesting how the police mark the road so you know to slow down because there is a mud slide up ahead. What they do is put a big clump of grass in the road on what should be the middle line, and then people know to go slow.
The kitty is still here-YEAH! The kids and I are so very excited about that. She is very cute, and really a sweet kitty. We are guessing she is around 3 months old. There is a nice veterinarian lady here that I am going to ask to come and check her out and tell me if she needs any medicine for anything. The kids all want to take her to show-and-tell. She sat on Sophie’s lap for a long time today while she read to her. Sophie is actually reading. I have been working with her at home and she is doing great. She has a Dick and Jane book that we got out of the library and she can read almost the whole thing. I asked her to read for her teacher and the teacher was so impressed that she had Sophie read in front of the whole class. Emma is doing real well in her accelerated spelling class. She works hard on her lists of words every day. She is also getting quite good at her cursive handwriting. Wyatt continues to amaze me with his efficiency at learning languages. He is doing phenomenal in Indonesian and has had some kids teach him how to sing “Away in a Manger” in Korean and Dutch. The thing that amazes me is how well he remembers it after just hearing it once or twice. Cale and Daddy have had some real bonding time lately. They have been taking long motorcycle rides in the afternoon; going to different construction sites to look at the backhoes, or to the airport to watch the planes take off and land. They can ride right out to the field by the runway and have the planes fly right overhead. Good father/son moments!
I need you to pray about something for me. There was an incident that happened today to a missionary family here. They are good friends of ours. Their 13 yr. old daughter had a Papuan grab her butt and squeeze it today in the parking lot of Hypermarket, and made an attempt to touch her chest. There are security guards there at all times, and they came running when the girls’ father yelled. The Papuan ran, but the guards caught him and began beating him. The father and another missionary that knows the language and culture took the man to the police station where they learned that the man is crazy. He will go to Jayapura to a mental hospital for 3 days, longer if his family has money to pay for it. So, please, pray for the missionary family as they deal with this: that they wouldn’t feel unsafe here, for the younger brother that was right there and feels like he might have been able to prevent it, and for the parents to know how to handle the whole thing. Thanks.
I hope those of you that love snow are enjoying it, and those of you that are sick of it already, think about us. Sitting here in the heat, sweating, sometimes before we even get out of bed in the morning. Feel the heat, and the humidity, and more heat, and the rain, and more heat…it was 93 in the shade today. Now, the snow doesn’t seem so bad, does it? They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the … world! Well, it really is. We have lots of green grass, and trees, and blossoming flowers-and heat, did I mention the heat? Ha Ha.
Love you all,
Rachel
The kitty is still here-YEAH! The kids and I are so very excited about that. She is very cute, and really a sweet kitty. We are guessing she is around 3 months old. There is a nice veterinarian lady here that I am going to ask to come and check her out and tell me if she needs any medicine for anything. The kids all want to take her to show-and-tell. She sat on Sophie’s lap for a long time today while she read to her. Sophie is actually reading. I have been working with her at home and she is doing great. She has a Dick and Jane book that we got out of the library and she can read almost the whole thing. I asked her to read for her teacher and the teacher was so impressed that she had Sophie read in front of the whole class. Emma is doing real well in her accelerated spelling class. She works hard on her lists of words every day. She is also getting quite good at her cursive handwriting. Wyatt continues to amaze me with his efficiency at learning languages. He is doing phenomenal in Indonesian and has had some kids teach him how to sing “Away in a Manger” in Korean and Dutch. The thing that amazes me is how well he remembers it after just hearing it once or twice. Cale and Daddy have had some real bonding time lately. They have been taking long motorcycle rides in the afternoon; going to different construction sites to look at the backhoes, or to the airport to watch the planes take off and land. They can ride right out to the field by the runway and have the planes fly right overhead. Good father/son moments!
I need you to pray about something for me. There was an incident that happened today to a missionary family here. They are good friends of ours. Their 13 yr. old daughter had a Papuan grab her butt and squeeze it today in the parking lot of Hypermarket, and made an attempt to touch her chest. There are security guards there at all times, and they came running when the girls’ father yelled. The Papuan ran, but the guards caught him and began beating him. The father and another missionary that knows the language and culture took the man to the police station where they learned that the man is crazy. He will go to Jayapura to a mental hospital for 3 days, longer if his family has money to pay for it. So, please, pray for the missionary family as they deal with this: that they wouldn’t feel unsafe here, for the younger brother that was right there and feels like he might have been able to prevent it, and for the parents to know how to handle the whole thing. Thanks.
I hope those of you that love snow are enjoying it, and those of you that are sick of it already, think about us. Sitting here in the heat, sweating, sometimes before we even get out of bed in the morning. Feel the heat, and the humidity, and more heat, and the rain, and more heat…it was 93 in the shade today. Now, the snow doesn’t seem so bad, does it? They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the … world! Well, it really is. We have lots of green grass, and trees, and blossoming flowers-and heat, did I mention the heat? Ha Ha.
Love you all,
Rachel
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
December 5, 2007 - Garth's testimony, kitties, and puzzles
I found a cat today, or I guess I should say kitten. It was under a loader-ironic that it was under a loader. Garth has been saying NO to getting a cat for years, and now, here in Indonesia, I found one under a loader-his mode of transportation for almost 15 years. Well, it is so cute. White and orange. Tiny little thing. But we may not be able to keep it. We wanted to make it an inside kitty but that wasn’t working out with the couches, AND it peed on my pillow-gross! Our pembantu Agu is amazing at cleaning stuff like that, so I know she will take care of it in the morning. Anyways, the cat is now in our gudang (laundry area) but can get out so she may not be there in the morning. We gave her lots of chicken remains from a chicken I cooked up for dinner and some milk along with a box with a nice soft towel in it. So hopefully she will decide to stay. The girls will be so upset if they wake up in the morning and the kitty is gone. I will be sad too.
I forgot to mention in my last email that Garth did a fantastic job in church on Sunday. He was talking about what his life was like before he found God. He was an alcoholic, and doing drugs, sleeping around…not very good. He worked at a rock quarry driving heavy equipment, had long hair, a tattoo, and took his paycheck to the bar every weekend and drank it away. Then his best friend’s little brother told him about how Jesus loves him and started talking about spiritual things. Garth got convicted realizing that he didn’t really know God. He just knew about Him. It was that night that he decided to put his faith and trust in what Jesus Christ did on the cross to get him to heaven. It was a few years before Garth really changed his life. He didn’t know much about going to church and reading the Bible, at first. But once he realized how to learn more about God his life really started to change. He gave up smoking, drinking and drugs, along with sleeping around. Getting involved in a good church was a huge part of his new life. That is where he first heard about the idea of going to Bible college. AND-drum roll please-his first day at Bible college, HE MET ME! Boy, did that ever change his life…In a good way of course. He never would have ended up here, that’s for sure. God had an amazing plan for Garth’s life and still does. Just like He does for you. You know, Garth thought he was a Christian because he knew about God, went to church when he was a kid, etc. but the Bible is very specific about salvation-“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 and John 3 :16 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.” Garth talked about all of this and showed pictures of what he used to look like. That always gets big laughs. I have been thinking about - if Garth had never decided to believe in God, how drastically that would have affected my life. I can pretty much guarantee you that I never would have met him. The way he used to be would have scared me. I would have never known his family, or had these exact kids, who knows where I ‘d be or where he’d be. He says he would have been dead-without God. I am so thankful for the way God has blessed us.
O.k. before I go, I have a funny Sophie story. It goes like this:
Sophie-“Mom, want to do some puzzles?”
Mom-“Sure.”
Sophie pulls out two 100 piece puzzles and gives one to me and one for her.
I say, ”Sophie, do you want to do one together?”
Sophie-“Uh, Mom, you know your kids are not always going to want to do puzzles with you, so maybe you should start learning how to do them by yourself.” What a goober. Just like her Dad, right?
Well, I must be going.
Love you all,
Rachel
I forgot to mention in my last email that Garth did a fantastic job in church on Sunday. He was talking about what his life was like before he found God. He was an alcoholic, and doing drugs, sleeping around…not very good. He worked at a rock quarry driving heavy equipment, had long hair, a tattoo, and took his paycheck to the bar every weekend and drank it away. Then his best friend’s little brother told him about how Jesus loves him and started talking about spiritual things. Garth got convicted realizing that he didn’t really know God. He just knew about Him. It was that night that he decided to put his faith and trust in what Jesus Christ did on the cross to get him to heaven. It was a few years before Garth really changed his life. He didn’t know much about going to church and reading the Bible, at first. But once he realized how to learn more about God his life really started to change. He gave up smoking, drinking and drugs, along with sleeping around. Getting involved in a good church was a huge part of his new life. That is where he first heard about the idea of going to Bible college. AND-drum roll please-his first day at Bible college, HE MET ME! Boy, did that ever change his life…In a good way of course. He never would have ended up here, that’s for sure. God had an amazing plan for Garth’s life and still does. Just like He does for you. You know, Garth thought he was a Christian because he knew about God, went to church when he was a kid, etc. but the Bible is very specific about salvation-“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 and John 3 :16 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.” Garth talked about all of this and showed pictures of what he used to look like. That always gets big laughs. I have been thinking about - if Garth had never decided to believe in God, how drastically that would have affected my life. I can pretty much guarantee you that I never would have met him. The way he used to be would have scared me. I would have never known his family, or had these exact kids, who knows where I ‘d be or where he’d be. He says he would have been dead-without God. I am so thankful for the way God has blessed us.
O.k. before I go, I have a funny Sophie story. It goes like this:
Sophie-“Mom, want to do some puzzles?”
Mom-“Sure.”
Sophie pulls out two 100 piece puzzles and gives one to me and one for her.
I say, ”Sophie, do you want to do one together?”
Sophie-“Uh, Mom, you know your kids are not always going to want to do puzzles with you, so maybe you should start learning how to do them by yourself.” What a goober. Just like her Dad, right?
Well, I must be going.
Love you all,
Rachel
December 4, 2007 - What Does My Finger Have To Do With Pepsi?
Sophie and a first grade boy started a club. His name is Dorian and he is cute. He is the King and she is the Queen. I asked Sophie what they do in this club and she said they follow Dorian around and look for things. The other day they found some rope. I remember having clubs when I was in school. However, we never walked around looking for rope.
On Sunday we took the dorm kids to a new restaurant here called Bakso. It was very nice, and the kids enjoyed it. I hope we do it again. It was so nice for me not to rush home from church to try to get the meal on the table with 15 hungry people standing around waiting.
The clouds here lately have been so amazing. Especially around the mountains and in front of the sun. Totally cool. And today we had a rainbow that was so low across the front of the mountain it was touching trees. Does anyone know why the rain storms here are so fierce? Why are they so much more powerful here than they were back home? If you know, email me.
O.k. I have a trivia question for you-In what ocean is the underwater mountain range called Christmas Range found? Don’t look it up on the internet…unless you want to…let’s see who can be the first one to email me the answer!
I am so in the Christmas spirit. The other day I made a huge pan of brownies and crushed up some candy canes in it. Yummy! I should have timed how long they lasted. That pan was empty in minutes. Today I actually found a store that had small packages of Oreos. So I made a bunch of chocolate cupcakes and crushed the Oreos in them. Those are gone too. It is so fun to go to a store and actually see things that I might find in a store back home-however, there is often writing on the packages here that I cannot read, but still, I recognize the label. Speaking of things I recognize: I found a Pepsi shirt here that says, in big print-“Proud Pepsi” then underneath in smaller print it says, “the strong middle finger of American corporation.” Whatever that is supposed to mean. You would crack up shopping with me. The shops here try so hard to make their stuff look American, but they don’t know what the English words mean, so for us they are hilarious. Some of the other shirts we have seen would not be appropriate for me to write on the blog, so I will stop here. Come visit and I will take you shopping.
On a much different note, we found out that 2 kids that are living with us here in the hostel will not be back after the Christmas break. They will be going to North Carolina to be with their parents. At the moment, their parents are in Ireland, but are being transferred to N. Carolina because of a job change. So we will be sad to see them go, but happy that they can be back with their parents. Oh, and while I am talking about sad things, Cale has ringworm. YUK! Just a little spot on his arm from the cat that hangs around the hostel. We are treating it and he is not uncomfortable, so all is well. Could be a lot worse.
Tomorrow starts our big High School Soccer tournament. We are all excited about that. It goes through Saturday morning. So everyone is trying to rest up for that. Including me, so I better go.
Love you,
Rachel
On Sunday we took the dorm kids to a new restaurant here called Bakso. It was very nice, and the kids enjoyed it. I hope we do it again. It was so nice for me not to rush home from church to try to get the meal on the table with 15 hungry people standing around waiting.
The clouds here lately have been so amazing. Especially around the mountains and in front of the sun. Totally cool. And today we had a rainbow that was so low across the front of the mountain it was touching trees. Does anyone know why the rain storms here are so fierce? Why are they so much more powerful here than they were back home? If you know, email me.
O.k. I have a trivia question for you-In what ocean is the underwater mountain range called Christmas Range found? Don’t look it up on the internet…unless you want to…let’s see who can be the first one to email me the answer!
I am so in the Christmas spirit. The other day I made a huge pan of brownies and crushed up some candy canes in it. Yummy! I should have timed how long they lasted. That pan was empty in minutes. Today I actually found a store that had small packages of Oreos. So I made a bunch of chocolate cupcakes and crushed the Oreos in them. Those are gone too. It is so fun to go to a store and actually see things that I might find in a store back home-however, there is often writing on the packages here that I cannot read, but still, I recognize the label. Speaking of things I recognize: I found a Pepsi shirt here that says, in big print-“Proud Pepsi” then underneath in smaller print it says, “the strong middle finger of American corporation.” Whatever that is supposed to mean. You would crack up shopping with me. The shops here try so hard to make their stuff look American, but they don’t know what the English words mean, so for us they are hilarious. Some of the other shirts we have seen would not be appropriate for me to write on the blog, so I will stop here. Come visit and I will take you shopping.
On a much different note, we found out that 2 kids that are living with us here in the hostel will not be back after the Christmas break. They will be going to North Carolina to be with their parents. At the moment, their parents are in Ireland, but are being transferred to N. Carolina because of a job change. So we will be sad to see them go, but happy that they can be back with their parents. Oh, and while I am talking about sad things, Cale has ringworm. YUK! Just a little spot on his arm from the cat that hangs around the hostel. We are treating it and he is not uncomfortable, so all is well. Could be a lot worse.
Tomorrow starts our big High School Soccer tournament. We are all excited about that. It goes through Saturday morning. So everyone is trying to rest up for that. Including me, so I better go.
Love you,
Rachel
Monday, December 3, 2007
Our dorm kids got all dressed up for their Christmas banquet. Don't they look nice?
These guys were pouring this concrete by hand. And they weren't even half way done.
No, this isn't your worst nightmare. This is a construction worker. Why is he wearing a ski mask in 90 degree weather? I don't know...you ask him.
We believe that Cale has a future in politics.
Yes, I'm older than three. We just didn't think we had a big enough cake for the necessary candles. 
Enjoying Garth's birthday cake.
Decorating our tree in Indo.
This is a market. Can you find Rachel in this picture? She's there.
Emma was the colonial girl, Wyatt was Tom Sawyer, and Sophie was Pocahontas on dress up as history day.December 1, 2007 - Malaria Pills, God, and Barbies
Sophie said to me today, “Mom, do you know what a great thing about you is? You know how to shove my malaria pill down my throat so I don’t choke.” I have so many talents! On Friday she had her friend Maya over and they were playing Barbies. Sophie took the big, buff California surfer boy Barbie and said, “Let’s make him God.” Maya says, “o.k.” Later when they were picking teams for something with the Barbies, Sophie says, “We’ll do boys against the girls and I think all the girls should be on God’s team.” That sounds like a great idea to me-girl’s will totally win, Soph!
Today was a hustle and bustle of activity. The high school had their Christmas banquet. It is a really big deal. The student council spends a lot of time planning where it will be and what they will do, they all have dates and get real dressed up. I had fun helping the boys with their ties, and getting last minute stains out of their shirts, shining shoes…the boys all went out around our yard and picked flowers for the corsages, then we wrapped them in ribbons and put a straight pin in the back. The boys all brought a gift for their dates so I helped them wrap them. The guys here are very considerate. Almost all of them went with their date as “just friends”, but they still treat them so nice. The banquet was at a nice restaurant here and then they went on a boat ride afterwards. They all just got back a few minutes ago. We planned that they would change and then we would watch Elf and pop some corn. So I need to go in a minute.
Garth is preaching in church tomorrow. I am excited about that. He does a great job, and I always enjoy hearing from him. A friend of ours from college, Jim Elliot, came by today. He brought a guy to our hospital that is real sick with cancer. It was nice to see him again. The last time we all saw each other was at our wedding.
O.k. off to movie watch.
Love you all,
Rachel
Today was a hustle and bustle of activity. The high school had their Christmas banquet. It is a really big deal. The student council spends a lot of time planning where it will be and what they will do, they all have dates and get real dressed up. I had fun helping the boys with their ties, and getting last minute stains out of their shirts, shining shoes…the boys all went out around our yard and picked flowers for the corsages, then we wrapped them in ribbons and put a straight pin in the back. The boys all brought a gift for their dates so I helped them wrap them. The guys here are very considerate. Almost all of them went with their date as “just friends”, but they still treat them so nice. The banquet was at a nice restaurant here and then they went on a boat ride afterwards. They all just got back a few minutes ago. We planned that they would change and then we would watch Elf and pop some corn. So I need to go in a minute.
Garth is preaching in church tomorrow. I am excited about that. He does a great job, and I always enjoy hearing from him. A friend of ours from college, Jim Elliot, came by today. He brought a guy to our hospital that is real sick with cancer. It was nice to see him again. The last time we all saw each other was at our wedding.
O.k. off to movie watch.
Love you all,
Rachel
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