This is all of us--the whole Gang!!!!!

My Goodnight Book

Today at the orphanage I decided to bring some of Cale’s board books for the students to read. They are really coming along in their English,so I thought it would be a good learning tool for them to practice reading to each other. I asked them to write down the words that they didn’t know and we would talk about them. It was interesting for me to see some of the things they didn’t understand. Like, one book was My Goodnight Book and it talks about Mommy tucking the little girl into bed. That whole concept made no sense to them as they don’t have blankets and covers and are not tucked into bed. Also, it talked about the girl climbing into bed. They have mats right on the ground so they don’t climb. And the book showed the girl kneeling to pray beside her bed. They wondered why her bed was up so high. One of the other books was a farm book that showed a family having a pet cat and a dog that lived in the house with them and sat on their furniture and ate inside. That idea is very foreign as well. Animals live outside and are never considered a part of the family.
I am so thankful and blessed that God allowed me to grow up where I did with the family I did. And I am glad for this opportunity to see how different my life could have been had God chosen to have me born here instead.
As you climb into your soft, warm bed tonight and tuck yourself in, remember to pray and tell God what you are thankful for.
Love you-Rachel

Can you see me Mom?

Gotta love that smile!

My hand-picked Valentine's Day flowers

They were beautiful

My hand- picked honey!

Trying out some homemade bamboo stilts

Cale chatting with our gardener

Sandwich

Let me tell you about the kind of sandwich my daughter Emma likes to eat. Bread, ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard. That is it. No, I didn’t leave anything out. Honestly, that it how she likes it. Now, most of us fellows sandwich lovers would hearken to say that something is missing from that sandwich. Like meat for instance, and lettuce and tomato and a nice juicy pickle…But to Emma, it is perfect. She doesn’t think it needs anything more. Although, I am fine with her eating just that, part of me wants to make her a sandwich the “real” way and let her taste how yummy it could be. I was thinking about that. The same idea applies to my life. I can be so “fine” with the way I am living my life, that I don’t think anything is missing. Great, I only lost my temper twice today, or I gave my kids one hug, or I spent 30 minutes with my husband, or I spent time with God today; I prayed on the way to the store…any number of things in my day that I think are “just fine”. However, God has this great, big, scrumptious sandwich for me-blessings that I am missing that I am not even aware of because I am doing things my way, or because my day is too busy, or because I feel crabby…Whatever. I don’t want my life to be missing anything. I want it all in there. That will make each day more delicious!
Love you
Rachel

Now that is Love!

Here is an interesting Indonesian fact for you. When a boy wants to marry a girl here, the girls’ family can set a dowry for her. Lately it has been getting quite expensive. The other day, two of our pembantu’s came up to us and asked to borrow money. Their friend, Deena’s son wants to marry a girl and the girl’s family set the dowry at 55 juta. Now, one juta is equal to about 100 dollars. One juta is about a month’s wage for one of our pembantu’s and that is a REALLY good wage. Most people don’t make that much. Can you imagine? And the money usually goes to the family not the bride. I was thinking about that whole issue. Luckily for Garth, my parents didn’t charge him and arm and a leg to marry me. He would have tried to pay it if he had to, but of course, it would have been difficult. What can these people do? Most can’t afford that exorbitant price! What a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us. We are His Bride and He loves us and paid the ultimate price for us. He gave His life. We could not have paid this price-yet He did out of His love. And you know what? HE believes it was worth it. Even if you were the only one on the Earth, He would have given His life just for you. Now that is love!
I love you-not as much as Him, but I do.
Rachel

Queen of What?

If you could be donned Queen (or King) of something what would it be? Now wait, I am not talking Queen of England or Genovia-I mean like Queen of Gossip, or Messiness, or King of Complaining or Being Late…something like that. Name yourself according to a character trait. I was thinking about this the other day and I decided that I would probably name myself Queen of Wanting Things Done Her Way. (QOWTDHW). Ugh! I wish I wasn’t so crazy like that, but I know I am. I was like that as a kid, ask my sister. I have an idea in my head of the “best” way to do things and want them done that way. I can be a crab if they aren’t done that way. Anyone else like that out there? I am trying to take a chill pill and not be so controlling. I think I would name my husband King Of Patience the way he puts up with all of that! Yesterday was one of those days. I was frustrated because we were short a pembantu so that meant that I really should help Ibu Poppi in the kitchen. But first we had to go back to the hospital for Sophie’s eye. (Yahoo! No more spots!) That took a lot longer than I wanted. Then helping in the kitchen and Poppi wasn’t listening to what I was asking her to make. I asked for fried eggs, and she did scrambled, and I asked her to make bread dough and leave it for me to bake but she baked it. I wanted to use it for something for my lunch on Sunday. And the day just spiraled from there. So I was crabby-and had to apologize. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just push your faults away? You know, like load them into a shopping cart and then push them over the cliff and they would be gone? That would be nice, but I know that it is something God and I work on every day, and I am making progress.
On a much different note, I was looking at the tube of Saran Wrap that I bought here the other day and noticed that it has an expiration date on it. Use before Feb. 2013. What will happen to it in March of 2013? Will it decompose????? Will it stop being sticky? So funny-I didn’t know things like that expired.
Hope you all had a very Happy Valentine’s Day. We decided to have a Valentine’s party with the dorm and did Dinner and a Movie. I made pizza and slushies and cake. Then we watched Swiss Family Robinson. What a fun place to live! They talk in the movie of wanting to go to New Guinea. That is right by us. Cale asked Wyatt to get him a baby elephant to ride. Sophie wants all of those animals as pets, except for the tiger.
You should see our waterfall! It is amazing right now. Since it has been raining so much it is huge. You can see the water gushing down in cascading waves right from our living room window. I have never seen it this big. As long as we don’t get too much and have flooding again, I like it. I need to start on lunch for the “mob”.
It’s a happy day because of you!
Love
Rachel

Mom and Dad

Throughout my life I received a lot of gifts from my Mom and Dad. Cabbage Patch dolls, my Holly Hobby bed set, Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag, thousands of Barbie’s, my Farah Fawcett doll that I lost through the floor boards of the attic, my electric piano, moccasins and my Indian beaded belt (cool!), trips and vacations, the thrill of doing good hard labor and the reward of a job well done, homegrown vegetables, warm homemade bread, and an immense amount of love and laughter…you know I could go on and on. But out of all the wonderful gifts they have given to me, one of the Greatest by far, is that they have a godly marriage-they really love each other and have been together for 38 years today. They have shown me Jesus through their love for each other and that has spilled over in their unconditional love for me. I have learned from them that you don’t give up when the way seems tough, that your love is not based on circumstances but on commitment, that your faith needs to be in the One that doesn’t change, and that forgiveness needs to be done before bitterness sets in. They would laugh at my funny stories and encourage me on, they would clap at my piano recitals and ask for more, they would hang up my drawings and applaud my efforts. All the while they loved each other, they communicated with each other, they prayed and sought God in every area of their lives. Even times that seemed confusing. They gave up everything to go into Missions when it seemed like a foolish thing to do. They trusted God would provide when the money was tight, and put Him first in our family knowing that God was what we needed most. What a gift! What an example for me-for the world. I am so thankful for them, for their love for me and for each other.

Soap

I have been telling you all about Cale’s little escapades with people pinching his cheeks. Well, today at the pasar (market) I was holding Cale when a man came up and pinched his cheek. Cale said, “Hey, Jangan!” (stop) Then he says, “Pinch my Mom’s cheek, not mine.” Great, Cale. Thanks a lot, Buddy!
Yesterday we took Sophie in to have the check-up on her eye and after waiting almost 3 ½ hours to be seen, they checked her and found one remaining spot. Bummer! Her cornea infection is so much better but not yet completely gone. So we have to go back again on Saturday. Today after school the kids were all outside playing. So at dinner I asked Sophie, “What were you doing outside today?” She said, “I was sitting looking at the different plants on our hill for about an hour. Then I laid back and watched the clouds. I learned a lot about plants by watching them. They were telling me things. Like what their names are.” She has been planting and growing bean plants and took them to school for show-n-tell.
The other day when I was at the store buying bar soap I was noticing the different scents you could get here-woodsy, citrus, flower, and then one soap really caught my eye. It was the soap that said it smelled like cockpit. It reeked! It wasn’t a joke, it was a real soap and a real scent. It reminded me of those Jelly Belly’s you can buy that are flavored like grass, mud or vomit. I bought the soap because I knew you all would enjoy seeing the picture. And I thought about all the pilots out there that might really miss work when they are at home. Wouldn’t they love to smell like the cockpit at work and at home???? Ha ha. I could bring this to the States and make millions in the airports of America…well, maybe not millions. More like pennies.
Anyways, here’s hoping you smell better than this soap.
Love you
Rachel

Pinch My Cheeks

You know…I have been thinking that someone should invent a coffee flavored cereal. That way it would be like getting two things done at once. Especially on those mornings when you are running behind. And think about how yummy that milk at the bottom of the bowl would be!!!! OR how about inventing coffee flavored chocolate chips! That would be enticing! I would happily devour those. Can you tell I am craving coffee????
Well, Cale is getting more bold with his Indonesian lately. He has been saying “Jangan!” to the Indonesians when they pinch his cheeks. That means “STOP!” The other day he was running around the house with one of Wyatt’s pretend guns and he was shooting at people and things. I stopped him and said, “Cale, we don’t shoot at people. You especially never shoot at your Mommy, o.k.?” He thought about it and said, “Can I shoot at bad people-like people that pinch my cheeks?” I said, “Just for pretend, Cale.” So he walked up to one of our dorm girls with his gun and said, “Pinch my cheek.” He is all ready and loaded. I am sure he will “get” the next guy that walks up and pinches his cheeks. It hurts and now he knows what to do.
We are adjusting back into our routine of a full house. The kids are back from Outdoor Education. They were gone for 2 weeks interior in a village called Ebele. They went with a doctor and a dentist and learned how to treat diseases and wounds, how to extract teeth, they showed the Indonesians the proper way to brush their teeth and passed out toothbrushes and toothpaste, along with doing AIDS awareness clinics, showing the Jesus film, setting up kids clubs and various projects like painting and building. What a wonderful, eye-opening experience and we have enjoyed hearing all the stories and looking at all the pictures.
Tomorrow we are taking Sophie back to the hospital for an eye check-up, hopefully it will be the final one (I know you have heard me say that before). There have been a few times I forgot to do the bedtime eye drops before she was asleep, so I go in with a flashlight under my chin and do it while she is sleeping and she never wakes up. That is funny to watch!
It is Sunday here and we are going to go out for a walk.
Love you all-Rachel

New Indonesian sunglasses

Cale being Cale

Hanging out on the bridge

Me- jumping

Wyatt giving me a heart attack!

Garth

Isaiah, Kreston, and Wyatt

This is a great pier for Cale to play on

Kali Biru

What a fantastic day we had today! There was no school so we loaded up the Gus bus and went back to Kali Biru. The weather was perfect since it was overcast but not cold. Everyone was more brave this time. I even jumped off the high platform. Wyatt was hanging upside down from his ankles from the bridge just dangling over the water. I put pictures of it on the blog if you want to see. The only problem was that I forgot to pack Cale's floatie. UGH! That gives him freedom to swim around by himself. It worked out alright though. Everyone pitched in and helped watch him. Toward the end of our time there, quite a few groups of Indonesians came and amazed us with their feats of bravery: backflips off the bridge, running and jumping off the rocks on the side...It will be awhile before we try that!
Sorry this is so short, but I am exhausted and ready for bed.
Love you-
Rachel

Cale playing airplane

My little blue eyes

Cale "climbing" a tree

This is where we live

Emma and her Daddy

Cale and his Mommy

Cale and his hurt finger

Sophie at her eye appointment

Happy or sad?

Well, either you are happy right now or sad. The Super Bowl is over, and the Steelers won. We of course couldn’t watch it but we did read about it online. It sounds like it was a nail biter.
We have a cool rainy, dreary day here in Sentani. Which is one of the reasons we went to the pasar this morning. It is always nice to go to the market when it is overcast because the sun doesn’t make it so hot. But, we discovered when we got there that the power was out throughout the whole pasar. Normally it is dark in there. Only the booths in the front are outside under blue tarps then the farther you go in the darker it gets as they are just long tunnels with little wooden booths on the sides. Some booths had a candle or two but most didn’t. Needless to say it made for difficult shopping.
I went to the clinic this morning to talk to a nurse and found out that I have some sort of amoeba in my stomach. They had the medicine I needed to treat that and so I soon should be back to normal. I also have a little something going on with sores in my throat so you could pray about that as well. The nurse seems to think that if I gargle regularly with salt water that problem should be taken care of as well. She said that she has never seen someone without tonsils get these sores. I guess that makes me special!
Garth is a bit frustrated with his motorcycle tires. We are on our third flat tire in 2 weeks. The last one they put on didn’t even last a day. We finally got the leak in our ceiling fixed so now the rain doesn’t run down my cabinets onto the floor and counter. And the maintenance workers are fixing the floor in one spot of our house that was all broken and coming apart and full of ants. All we need for them to fix now is our phones and we will be set. The phones haven’t been working for about 2 weeks. So it will be nice when we have them up and running.
Sophie is back at school and her eye is so much better. She is happy to be back with her friends. One of her favorite things is to write and illustrate her stories. Hmmmm…wonder who she gets that from? Emma and Sophie love Mondays since they have ballet after school. Emma is struggling a bit in Social Studies. The material is very difficult and she has a hard time on the tests. She knows the material but the way it is worded on the tests is very tricky and she gets confused. Wyatt is really enjoying Grade 5. His teacher makes learning fun and he is doing very well in his studies. Cale loves having time with Mom and Dad every day. He is learning well when I do school with him. He is trying to learn how to spell his name, however, he gets confused between numbers and letters. If you ask him he will spell his name C 8 L 3. We will keep working on that!
Time to feed Cale lunch.
Love you
Rachel

Sophie's eye

Sophie’s eye is improving. YAHOO! We wound up driving to the hospital on Tuesday and the eye doctor wasn’t there so we went back on Wednesday. It didn’t entirely go the way we would have liked. Cale accidently sat on a fire ants nest when he and Garth were outside waiting. He has at least 12 stings up his legs and on his feet. Sophie was doing really well at her appointment. We took a friend with to help interpret what the doctor was saying. Toward the end of the visit, Sophie thought what the doctor was going to do was going to hurt and she began freaking out and wouldn’t open her eye. The doctor was getting frustrated, and decided to leave without finishing the exam. So, he could see that she had spots on her cornea and that the cornea was infected but he didn’t know which kind of infection she had since she wouldn’t open her eye. So he gave us some steroid drops to use and told us to go back on Saturday. We were sure praying that it would be the right kind of drops and it turns out that it was. We went back on Saturday and the spots have decreased, however, she still has a bunch so we need to go back again on Wednesday for another check-up. Thank you for your prayers and concerns.
We got a new camera. THANKS DONALD AND CARLENA!!!! It is cute and wonderful and takes really good pictures. A lady we know was coming to see her family in Indo and she carried it over for us. THANKS KAREN!!!!! We are so very thankful to have a camera again.
This week has been a bit quieter with our High Schoolers gone. We have only 2 Junior Highers. Except for this weekend. It was crazy. One of them had three friends spend the night and the other had two and we had a birthday party here as well…so it was hopping.
A couple of things you should pray for: Our Kindergarten teacher went to Singapore over the Christmas break to get a lump checked out and has since discovered that he has cancer. So he has returned to Pennsylvania to begin treatments. Luckily there is a teacher here that is able to fill in. Also the Grade four teacher is still in the States. He is trying desperately to get his visa processed so he can come and is running into roadblocks. So the school is using subs for now but they really need a permanent teacher for that Grade. Pray that the whole process gets moving.
I am sending warm thoughts your way. Maybe they will melt some of your snow.
Love you
Rachel