Wednesday, May 27, 2009
I am going to speed type. We have not had internet for awhile, and right this instant we do have it. I want to say hi while I can. These past few days have been a whirlwind as things always are when they are coming to an end. The kids are done with school on Thursday and then we have graduation. There have been lots of final tests, and parties and snacks, running kids here and there-organizing good-byes etc. We have had problems with our cook Poppi not showing up and that always affects my day in a HUGE way since there in no one else to cook except me. Thankfully, she showed up today-so I had some extra time.
We got back from Jakarta on Thursday and on Friday we had our vision flight with MAF. The organization that we came here with pays for each new couple to take a flight into a village so you can get a sense of what work is going on around you and can see the big picture. That was such an amazing thing for us. Garth was able to go on three flights and I went on one. The pilot, Clarence has been with MAF for 15 years and this was going to be his last flight since he is leaving and going back to Canada. The fact that we were able to fly with him for his very last flights makes it all the more special. The whole experience was so wonderful. The village I went to was Nongmay and the villagers were so excited to see us and all wanted their picture taken. They wanted to shake our hands and touch us. The kids have such beautiful eyes, and love to smile. Clarence asked me if I wanted to fly the plane????? Of course I said yes. There I was, up above the clouds, flying high, above it all. That was something I will always remember.
Saturday was a fun flag football game with Garth and Wyatt in the morning and a bonfire with hot dogs and marshmallows with the dorm at night. Sunday was a good time of hanging out with friends that will be leaving. Monday was the start of finals-yuck! It was one of the dorm kids birthdays so we had a nice party for him last night along with a staff appreciation dinner where we got to play Staff Jeopardy. Time is moving quickly toward the end. That is always exciting for the kids, but sad as there are sooooooooo many leaving that we may never see again.
Wyatt and his band performed a concert for all the parents today. They know one song, “Redeemer.” Wyatt was on the bass and I must say, I was very impressed. I need to go work on dinner. I sure hope you are able to get this. Enjoy your day. See if you can catch a sunset this week-ours lately have been full of bright oranges and pinks.
Love you all
Rachel
We got back from Jakarta on Thursday and on Friday we had our vision flight with MAF. The organization that we came here with pays for each new couple to take a flight into a village so you can get a sense of what work is going on around you and can see the big picture. That was such an amazing thing for us. Garth was able to go on three flights and I went on one. The pilot, Clarence has been with MAF for 15 years and this was going to be his last flight since he is leaving and going back to Canada. The fact that we were able to fly with him for his very last flights makes it all the more special. The whole experience was so wonderful. The village I went to was Nongmay and the villagers were so excited to see us and all wanted their picture taken. They wanted to shake our hands and touch us. The kids have such beautiful eyes, and love to smile. Clarence asked me if I wanted to fly the plane????? Of course I said yes. There I was, up above the clouds, flying high, above it all. That was something I will always remember.
Saturday was a fun flag football game with Garth and Wyatt in the morning and a bonfire with hot dogs and marshmallows with the dorm at night. Sunday was a good time of hanging out with friends that will be leaving. Monday was the start of finals-yuck! It was one of the dorm kids birthdays so we had a nice party for him last night along with a staff appreciation dinner where we got to play Staff Jeopardy. Time is moving quickly toward the end. That is always exciting for the kids, but sad as there are sooooooooo many leaving that we may never see again.
Wyatt and his band performed a concert for all the parents today. They know one song, “Redeemer.” Wyatt was on the bass and I must say, I was very impressed. I need to go work on dinner. I sure hope you are able to get this. Enjoy your day. See if you can catch a sunset this week-ours lately have been full of bright oranges and pinks.
Love you all
Rachel
My Ode To Jakarta
We are home!!!!! Yahoo! Exhausted but here. Thanks you for praying. Instead of yielding to my frustration in my summary of our time, I thought I would throw some humor in there in the style of a rhyme.
An Ode to My Time in Jakarta
Our time in Jakarta is almost done,
And I must say that it was lots of fun.
Once there we grabbed the first taxi we saw,
But we didn’t know he was breaking the law.
In our politeness we both tried not to moan,
As he delivered us safely to a beautiful home.
Those Indonesians welcomed us in
And treated us just like one of the kin.
We went popping around the hospital like a little toaster.
From one opinion to the next like a roller coaster.
We saw 4 different doctors while we were here
Contradicting each other and raising our fear.
One saying the kidney stone is rather small
One saying there is no stone at all
One seeing a growth 3 cm long
One saying, “No growth – he is wrong!”
One saw a cyst he wanted to cut around
One saying there is no cyst to be found.
They all agreed there’s 2 infections there
Cervical and bladder-what a great pair!
They needed more time for the symptoms to show
So they took some samples to culture and grow.
They said the bladder is prolapsed and we could,
Do surgery now if we thought that we should.
We talked about it and because we didn’t know
We asked you for advice, prayed, and said, “No.”
So what we have now after all of these capers
Is a pile full of strange conflicting papers.
A host of opinions that do not agree
And 2 different medicine to try and cure me.
I appreciate doctors and all that they do
But compared to God, they haven’t a clue.
He’s the Physician that truly can see
The reason things happen and what’s best for me.
I trust him to take this as only He could
And turn it around into something so good.
Life’s stinky sometimes but He’s always there
To help me walk through this when I feel it’s unfair.
His way is beyond me, I can’t understand
But my character growth is part of His plan.
So papers, doctors, opinions galore,
He is the One that I will trust more!
Rachel Erickson
An Ode to My Time in Jakarta
Our time in Jakarta is almost done,
And I must say that it was lots of fun.
Once there we grabbed the first taxi we saw,
But we didn’t know he was breaking the law.
In our politeness we both tried not to moan,
As he delivered us safely to a beautiful home.
Those Indonesians welcomed us in
And treated us just like one of the kin.
We went popping around the hospital like a little toaster.
From one opinion to the next like a roller coaster.
We saw 4 different doctors while we were here
Contradicting each other and raising our fear.
One saying the kidney stone is rather small
One saying there is no stone at all
One seeing a growth 3 cm long
One saying, “No growth – he is wrong!”
One saw a cyst he wanted to cut around
One saying there is no cyst to be found.
They all agreed there’s 2 infections there
Cervical and bladder-what a great pair!
They needed more time for the symptoms to show
So they took some samples to culture and grow.
They said the bladder is prolapsed and we could,
Do surgery now if we thought that we should.
We talked about it and because we didn’t know
We asked you for advice, prayed, and said, “No.”
So what we have now after all of these capers
Is a pile full of strange conflicting papers.
A host of opinions that do not agree
And 2 different medicine to try and cure me.
I appreciate doctors and all that they do
But compared to God, they haven’t a clue.
He’s the Physician that truly can see
The reason things happen and what’s best for me.
I trust him to take this as only He could
And turn it around into something so good.
Life’s stinky sometimes but He’s always there
To help me walk through this when I feel it’s unfair.
His way is beyond me, I can’t understand
But my character growth is part of His plan.
So papers, doctors, opinions galore,
He is the One that I will trust more!
Rachel Erickson
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday in Jakarta
I am sending you out a quick email. We did not find out anything new today. We did go to the hospital to meet with one of the doctors and he is typing up a summary for me to take with me, otherwise we will not hear the results of my tests until Friday. I did have a very nice time with Garth exploring the Times bookstore, and the mall and watching him enjoy McDonalds. Right now we are at the home of the Indonesian family that we are staying with. They have been wonderful. This morning they gave us a tour of Lippo Karawaci (the area of Jakarta we are in.) My Dad would like it here-lots of beautiful resorts with waterfalls and amazing flowers. We were able to tour the UPH (a fantastic University here), and eat lunch there. AND great fun for me, we were able to SHOP!!!!! Real shopping. I haven’t done that in almost a year, so I took my time and soaked it all in. Now after a quick shower and pack up, we will eat dinner with this family and then catch a taxi out to the airport and fly out at 9 pm Jakarta time and land in Sentani 7 am Sentani time. The kids do not have school tomorrow so we will have a dorm full. Garth and I are planning on trying to sleep on the plane so we are ready to go.
Thanks for going with me on this odd medical journey. I will let you know more later.
Love you-
Rachel
Thanks for going with me on this odd medical journey. I will let you know more later.
Love you-
Rachel
Tuesday in Jakarta
Hello. Let’s try this again. We are apparently having internet problems. I already typed this up once and sent it but it did not go through, so here I am typing it again. We left Sentani on Monday morning at 8 am and landed here at 3 pm Jakarta time. Getting medical help is not easy here in Indonesia. In order to see decent doctors we had to fly all the way over to the other side of the country, find someone to stay at the hostel and someone to help out watching our kids. The flight was interesting. I saw one of the stewardesses walking to the front of the plane with a green bag that said Tool Shop kit, and men were spitting on the floor of the airport. Lovely! When we got to the airport in Jakarta, we flagged down a taxi cab. The driver yelled, “Hurry! Hurry!” and then pulled away while Garth was still getting in the cab. He said if we get stopped to say that he was our private driver already ordered. I asked him if he was supposed to be driving us and he said, “We’ll see!” Thankfully, nothing happened. He asked us where we were from, and we said Wisconsin. He replied, “Oh, I know Wisconsin. That is by Texas, oil country.” After getting lost we arrived at the home of the Indonesian family that we are staying with. Their home is by far the most beautiful home I have ever seen. What a blessing that they are letting us stay. We dropped off our stuff and then headed to the hospital. I wrote to you yesterday about all of that hoopla. We have decided not to do surgery to repair my prolapsed bladder. We may have to do it in the future but not here, and not now. Thanks for praying for wisdom in that decision. We were able to talk to some Medical professionals in Wisconsin last night and unanimously came to that decision.
This morning we arrived at the hospital for a test at 8 and to have an appointment with our main doctor. We were told he would not be in until 2. During that time we met with the same ob/gyn that I talked to yesterday. He said that I do have a bladder and cervical infection that he wants to treat with antibiotics along with some medicine for my kidney stone. Shortly after that we met with a urologist that said that yes, I do have a bladder and cervical infection, but I do NOT have a kidney stone. He also said that I have some abnormal cells growing where I should not have abnormal cells. He is doing a culture on them that will be ready on Friday. If it shows something questionable, he wants to do a biopsy. Since we are leaving Wednesday night, that may pose a problem. Ha ha! We will talk about that tonight when we go back to the hospital. The urologist also said that my infections are because I flush the toilet while I am still sitting on it, or from peeing standing up. (Neither things I do.) He also said that if I drink more water and jump around and exercise more that I will get less infections. Are you shaking your head or laughing? Go ahead. Laugh. It is sooooooo funny if you want it to be. Medical care here is just so different. The doctors do not agree. That is making things frustrating, but what can you do? I have had three people ask to go back with me to Papua or America and if I could help them get a visa and a job. One lady wanted me to teach her English, and other ladies wanting to shake my hands while we were in the bathroom together.
In spite of all this craziness, I am having a nice time with Garth. This is our first “date” in about a year. I know, it is not really a date, but if you stretch your imagination, you can pretend that it is. We need to leave in a few minutes to go back to the doctor. We went at 2 like they said, and were told that now he won’t be in until 4. I will try to send out another email tonight if we find out anything different. I know this is long and I often ramble, but I wanted you to feel like you are on this journey with me, because I feel like you are.
Today if you have time, drink some water and jump around. You wouldn’t want to end up in my condition! Ha ha hahaaaaa!
Love you all-
Rachel
This morning we arrived at the hospital for a test at 8 and to have an appointment with our main doctor. We were told he would not be in until 2. During that time we met with the same ob/gyn that I talked to yesterday. He said that I do have a bladder and cervical infection that he wants to treat with antibiotics along with some medicine for my kidney stone. Shortly after that we met with a urologist that said that yes, I do have a bladder and cervical infection, but I do NOT have a kidney stone. He also said that I have some abnormal cells growing where I should not have abnormal cells. He is doing a culture on them that will be ready on Friday. If it shows something questionable, he wants to do a biopsy. Since we are leaving Wednesday night, that may pose a problem. Ha ha! We will talk about that tonight when we go back to the hospital. The urologist also said that my infections are because I flush the toilet while I am still sitting on it, or from peeing standing up. (Neither things I do.) He also said that if I drink more water and jump around and exercise more that I will get less infections. Are you shaking your head or laughing? Go ahead. Laugh. It is sooooooo funny if you want it to be. Medical care here is just so different. The doctors do not agree. That is making things frustrating, but what can you do? I have had three people ask to go back with me to Papua or America and if I could help them get a visa and a job. One lady wanted me to teach her English, and other ladies wanting to shake my hands while we were in the bathroom together.
In spite of all this craziness, I am having a nice time with Garth. This is our first “date” in about a year. I know, it is not really a date, but if you stretch your imagination, you can pretend that it is. We need to leave in a few minutes to go back to the doctor. We went at 2 like they said, and were told that now he won’t be in until 4. I will try to send out another email tonight if we find out anything different. I know this is long and I often ramble, but I wanted you to feel like you are on this journey with me, because I feel like you are.
Today if you have time, drink some water and jump around. You wouldn’t want to end up in my condition! Ha ha hahaaaaa!
Love you all-
Rachel
Monday in Jakarta
I am in Jakarta to try to find out answers to why I have been having reoccurring problems with my stomach and kidney, abdomen area. We have spent the day at the hospital and now are staying with an Indonesian family. It was a very long day. I have a lot if interesting stories to tell you about today, but it is so late and I need to get this out. So this is the short version-The radiologist said that she saw a growth on my uterus that was 3 cm, a myoma, that is a benign tumor. She saw evidence of an infection still, probably bladder, and saw a kidney stone 1.8 cm. The internist ran some blood work and urine samples and said that my leukocyte levels were still high, looked at the ultrasounds and thought it was a myoma, and agreed that i have cystitis-an infection. The ob/gyn said that he saw no myoma, but that the wall of my (? I think uterus) was thick, he said it might be a sign of endometriosis. He did an ultrasound on my abdomen and a pelvic exam and said that it looks like my bladder is prolapsed and causing a change in my uretha and that is why I keep getting Urinary tract infections. He said that the infection is also the reason for the kidney stone, and that the infection has started to spread up into my kidneys. He said he can do surgery tomorrow to try and reattach the bladder but that this could be a chronic problem and it may happen again. He said if we don't do the surgery I may keep on getting infections that may turn into more kidney stones. we have to decide on the surgery very soon-if I am NOT having the surgery I need to be at the hospital tomorrow at 8 otherwise I need to be there at noon for the surgery.
Please pray for clear wisdom and direction. I sent this information to my doctors in the States and I am praying that they can send back some quick advice. Love you all
Rachel
Please pray for clear wisdom and direction. I sent this information to my doctors in the States and I am praying that they can send back some quick advice. Love you all
Rachel
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Hellooooooooooooooooooo!
Busy, busy day up here on HIS hill. Today was the Junior/ Senior Banquet. What a fun event full of so much excitement. The Junior class did an amazing job of decorating and planning the whole event. They put up a huge tent outside and had the theme of an African Safari. I will send pictures because there is no way I can describe how beautiful it was. They had lots of candles and white Christmas lights and timed it so they were able to see the sunset behind the mountains…doesn’t it sound dreamy? It was. I remember my Junior/Senior Banquet was at the Pfister in Milwaukee-very nice! And the singing group that my sister was in sang to us. It was very special!
Friday Night we had a big Youth Event here in the tennis courts with one of our bands leading the worship and Garth gave a message. It was an outreach event for the Indonesians in the area especially those involved in a program called TITTIP. That is a schooling opportunity where 16 Indonesians have the chance to participate each year. They stay in a hostel and are taught English. This helps them immensely and provides them with a real opportunity to get a better job after. When we had that Indonesian man named Harild stay with us last month, he was from that program. The music was amazing and the whole night really blessed my soul.
An update on my situation-Garth and I are going to Jakarta on Monday. That is a seven hour flight and there we have appointments to see a few doctors and try to figure out what has been going on with my stomach, kidneys etc.
The kids will all stay here. There is a family that has offered to stay at the hostel and help out while we are gone. I told the pembantus and they all agreed to be here while we are gone and not skip out like some are prone to do.
Pray that the kids do well with us being gone and that I am able to get everything done quickly and efficiently. We will be staying in the guest room of an Indonesian family near the hospital and are planning on returning early Thursday morning.
Don’t worry, I will keep you posted.
Love you all-
Rachel
Friday Night we had a big Youth Event here in the tennis courts with one of our bands leading the worship and Garth gave a message. It was an outreach event for the Indonesians in the area especially those involved in a program called TITTIP. That is a schooling opportunity where 16 Indonesians have the chance to participate each year. They stay in a hostel and are taught English. This helps them immensely and provides them with a real opportunity to get a better job after. When we had that Indonesian man named Harild stay with us last month, he was from that program. The music was amazing and the whole night really blessed my soul.
An update on my situation-Garth and I are going to Jakarta on Monday. That is a seven hour flight and there we have appointments to see a few doctors and try to figure out what has been going on with my stomach, kidneys etc.
The kids will all stay here. There is a family that has offered to stay at the hostel and help out while we are gone. I told the pembantus and they all agreed to be here while we are gone and not skip out like some are prone to do.
Pray that the kids do well with us being gone and that I am able to get everything done quickly and efficiently. We will be staying in the guest room of an Indonesian family near the hospital and are planning on returning early Thursday morning.
Don’t worry, I will keep you posted.
Love you all-
Rachel
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Update
I wanted to give you an update on my health. I did get some test results back today, but they were not very helpful. I had four tests done and they contradicted themselves. So in the end we did not learn much from them. I did, however, send them to a doctor in the States that used to be a doctor here. She looked at them and seemed to think that I have typhoid. We are in the midst of consulting her as to what made her come to that conclusion and then we will decide what to do. It was suggested of me to go to Timika (a 45 minute flight from here) to have another ultrasound done and an IVP test on my kidneys, but after contacting Timika’s clinics I was told that the main radiologist is not there now and the on-call doctor only reads ultrasounds on pregnant people. They also informed me that they can not do IVP tests. So as of now I will not be going there. On Friday I did have an ultrasound done here at one of our hospitals but that was not helpful either. One radiologist said that he saw a growth on my uterus that was 6 cm long. But he wasn’t sure, so he called in another guy, who after much consternation came to the conclusion that I was fine. He said that the anatomy of a Westerner is just real different from the anatomy of an Indonesian.
So, my request of you is that you pray that we have wisdom in knowing what to do. I know all this seems so crazy. This whole ordeal keeps reminding me that I am not in America. Yet, I am well aware that I am in God’s hands, and that is reassuring. I am sure that it all sounds worse to you than it really is. I mean, how sick can I be if I am stomping on beetles…? Did you get that email?
Love you all
Rachel
So, my request of you is that you pray that we have wisdom in knowing what to do. I know all this seems so crazy. This whole ordeal keeps reminding me that I am not in America. Yet, I am well aware that I am in God’s hands, and that is reassuring. I am sure that it all sounds worse to you than it really is. I mean, how sick can I be if I am stomping on beetles…? Did you get that email?
Love you all
Rachel
A Beetle
Life Lesson from a Beetle
Friday when I was walking up to the school I noticed a beetle on his back struggling to flip over. I did not help it since it was one of our big beetles and I don’t like them. There are some beetles here that you have to jump on with two feet to kill because of their size. This one was longer than my finger, and I figured it was fine flailing around on its back. Monday when I went up there I noticed it was still trying. Such perseverance! He had actually moved himself closer to a bank of grass. Using the grass he was able to put his head at a slight elevation and use that height to boost himself over. Once he was finally flipped he just sat there for the longest time. I thought he would quickly run away, but I am sure all his energy was used up. I thought about how easily I could stomp on it now killing the victory he had worked so hard to achieve. I thought about how when we feel down, it is easy to let our bad thoughts get to us-“You are not good enough, you are not smart enough, etc.” Those thoughts can just defeat us like a stomped on beetle. But God is right there waiting for us to ask Him for help. He is that grassy bank that can help us flip back over. Instead of spending four days flailing around on our back overcome by our troubles and sorrows, we should go to the grassy bank of God’s great goodness and He can help us get our life back on track.
Love you
Rachel
Friday when I was walking up to the school I noticed a beetle on his back struggling to flip over. I did not help it since it was one of our big beetles and I don’t like them. There are some beetles here that you have to jump on with two feet to kill because of their size. This one was longer than my finger, and I figured it was fine flailing around on its back. Monday when I went up there I noticed it was still trying. Such perseverance! He had actually moved himself closer to a bank of grass. Using the grass he was able to put his head at a slight elevation and use that height to boost himself over. Once he was finally flipped he just sat there for the longest time. I thought he would quickly run away, but I am sure all his energy was used up. I thought about how easily I could stomp on it now killing the victory he had worked so hard to achieve. I thought about how when we feel down, it is easy to let our bad thoughts get to us-“You are not good enough, you are not smart enough, etc.” Those thoughts can just defeat us like a stomped on beetle. But God is right there waiting for us to ask Him for help. He is that grassy bank that can help us flip back over. Instead of spending four days flailing around on our back overcome by our troubles and sorrows, we should go to the grassy bank of God’s great goodness and He can help us get our life back on track.
Love you
Rachel
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Roller Derby and Mothers
Saturday- When was the last time you put on a pair of roller skates? My sister and I used to ride on ours in our basement and whip around the poles. We made up all sorts of games - yeah, I am sure you did too. Today we got in on some of that excitement. Garth and I hosted a Roller Derby for the kids here complete with a chicken song, Father Abraham, and the limbo. We even had some adults joining in and some kids from an Indonesian hostel came to try this "new" thing. There were multitudes of falls, some even bounced, but all in all it was a wonderful way to renew a "treasure from the past."
Sunday- Garth spoke today in church about how God likes to take ordinary people and have them do extraordinary things. It was really good. Do you ever feel ordinary? Or insignificant? Take that feeling and throw it out the window. You are significant to me and more people than you know. You can do magnificent things even if you are ordinary. That doesn't matter. So be encouraged. You are one hot cookie! (That's a good thing!)
I must say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of the wonderful, (almost perfect) creatures out there in the world called Mothers. You all are astounding! Thank you for ALL that you do for all of us! We love and appreciate you. And for the days when you are wondering why you do all that you do, remember this: Don't give up! Your kids are worth it! I woke up to a glass of fresh picked flowers and breakfast in bed, along with homemade cards and lots of hugs and two new pairs of earrings and a new necklace. What a lucky lady I am!
I hope your day is full of lots of little goodies, because you are very special!
Love you
Rachel
Sunday- Garth spoke today in church about how God likes to take ordinary people and have them do extraordinary things. It was really good. Do you ever feel ordinary? Or insignificant? Take that feeling and throw it out the window. You are significant to me and more people than you know. You can do magnificent things even if you are ordinary. That doesn't matter. So be encouraged. You are one hot cookie! (That's a good thing!)
I must say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of the wonderful, (almost perfect) creatures out there in the world called Mothers. You all are astounding! Thank you for ALL that you do for all of us! We love and appreciate you. And for the days when you are wondering why you do all that you do, remember this: Don't give up! Your kids are worth it! I woke up to a glass of fresh picked flowers and breakfast in bed, along with homemade cards and lots of hugs and two new pairs of earrings and a new necklace. What a lucky lady I am!
I hope your day is full of lots of little goodies, because you are very special!
Love you
Rachel
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Homemade ways to save money
Granola
6 cups oatmeal
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
Mix up with a wooden spoon and layer on two greased cookie sheets. Add more or less honey to suit your tastes. Bake for 20 minutes in 350 degree oven. Store in an airtight container. Add raisins, or dried fruit, chocolate chips, peanuts, sunflower seeds…after baking.
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
Mix 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup milk and 3 Tbsp. of the dry Ranch mix.
Syrup
2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. Heat on the stove and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add a teaspoon or two of maple flavoring. Store in the fridge.
Bread and Butter Pickles
10 small or 5 regular cucumbers
1 large or 2 small onions
¼ cup salt
Ice water
Thinly slice the cucumbers and onions. Combine salt and water and pour over to cover. Refrigerate for 3 hours and drain off water. Combine in a large pot 2 ½ cups of sugar, 2 ½ cups vinegar, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 1 tsp. turmeric, ½ Tbsp. whole cloves, 1 tsp. celery seed. Bring to a boil. Add drained cukes. Stir and bring to a boiling point but DO NOT boil. Remove from heat and spoon into jars or Tupperware. Store in fridge.
Tortillas
4c. flour
2 t. salt
6 Tbsp. shortening or oil
1 c. water
Combine flour and salt and cup in shortening. Add water. Form a ball, and add more water if needed. Work until bowl is clear of all dough. Knead well on floured surface and make into egg sized balls. Cover with cloth and let sit for 15 minutes.
Roll a ball of dough thin until about 6 inches across. Place on hot ungreased skillet or griddle and cook about 2 minutes, turn over and cook 1 minute more.
Noodles
2 c. flour
2 eggs
¼ c. water
½ tsp. salt
Mix dry ingredients with egg beaten together with water. Knead until smooth about 10 minutes or so. Dough should not be sticky but not too dry that it falls apart. Cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. On lightly floured surface roll out thin. Sprinkle with flour. Roll in a tight roll and cut into ¼ inch strips for thin noodles or 1 ¼ inch strips for lasagna noodles. Toss to loosen the strips and dust a bit with flour if sticky. Spread out on a cloth to dry out or cook immediately. Drop by handfuls into boiling water. Cook about 10-12 minutes. They can be frozen uncooked and cooked later.
Pancakes
2c. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 cups milk
4 Tbsp. oil
Mix all ingredients and cook on a hot griddle.
Waffles
1 ¾ cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup m ilk
½ cup oil
Mix all ingredients and cook in a hot waffle iron.
Bisquick Master Mix
1 cup shortening
2 tsp. salt
4 ½ cups flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
Cut in shortening until well mixed-like cornmeal. Keep in tightly sealed container.
Bisquik Pancakes
2 cups Master mix
1 egg
1 2/3 cups milk
Pizza Dough
1 ¼ tsp. yeast
1 cup water (lukewarm)
1 ¾ cups flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
Mix all. Let rise 1 hour. Shape and bake on greased pan at 450 for 8-10 minutes.
Pizza Sauce
1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes with added puree
4 ½ tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. oregano
Mix in 4 quart saucepan over low heat. Bring tomatoes and oil to a simmer, cover partially and continue simmering stirring occasionally. Add sugar, salt and oregano.
Soft Pretzels
3 tsp. yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
3 tsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. salt
3 cups flour
4 Tbsp. butter
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and salt. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. Knead 5 minutes. In a greased bowl, cover, for 1 hour. Divide into 12. Roll into a rope and twist into a pretzel. Brush with butter and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown. These are super yummy!
Tips
Make up some powdered milk to use in recipes and use regular milk for cereal.
6 cups oatmeal
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
Mix up with a wooden spoon and layer on two greased cookie sheets. Add more or less honey to suit your tastes. Bake for 20 minutes in 350 degree oven. Store in an airtight container. Add raisins, or dried fruit, chocolate chips, peanuts, sunflower seeds…after baking.
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
Mix 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup milk and 3 Tbsp. of the dry Ranch mix.
Syrup
2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. Heat on the stove and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add a teaspoon or two of maple flavoring. Store in the fridge.
Bread and Butter Pickles
10 small or 5 regular cucumbers
1 large or 2 small onions
¼ cup salt
Ice water
Thinly slice the cucumbers and onions. Combine salt and water and pour over to cover. Refrigerate for 3 hours and drain off water. Combine in a large pot 2 ½ cups of sugar, 2 ½ cups vinegar, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 1 tsp. turmeric, ½ Tbsp. whole cloves, 1 tsp. celery seed. Bring to a boil. Add drained cukes. Stir and bring to a boiling point but DO NOT boil. Remove from heat and spoon into jars or Tupperware. Store in fridge.
Tortillas
4c. flour
2 t. salt
6 Tbsp. shortening or oil
1 c. water
Combine flour and salt and cup in shortening. Add water. Form a ball, and add more water if needed. Work until bowl is clear of all dough. Knead well on floured surface and make into egg sized balls. Cover with cloth and let sit for 15 minutes.
Roll a ball of dough thin until about 6 inches across. Place on hot ungreased skillet or griddle and cook about 2 minutes, turn over and cook 1 minute more.
Noodles
2 c. flour
2 eggs
¼ c. water
½ tsp. salt
Mix dry ingredients with egg beaten together with water. Knead until smooth about 10 minutes or so. Dough should not be sticky but not too dry that it falls apart. Cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. On lightly floured surface roll out thin. Sprinkle with flour. Roll in a tight roll and cut into ¼ inch strips for thin noodles or 1 ¼ inch strips for lasagna noodles. Toss to loosen the strips and dust a bit with flour if sticky. Spread out on a cloth to dry out or cook immediately. Drop by handfuls into boiling water. Cook about 10-12 minutes. They can be frozen uncooked and cooked later.
Pancakes
2c. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 cups milk
4 Tbsp. oil
Mix all ingredients and cook on a hot griddle.
Waffles
1 ¾ cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup m ilk
½ cup oil
Mix all ingredients and cook in a hot waffle iron.
Bisquick Master Mix
1 cup shortening
2 tsp. salt
4 ½ cups flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
Cut in shortening until well mixed-like cornmeal. Keep in tightly sealed container.
Bisquik Pancakes
2 cups Master mix
1 egg
1 2/3 cups milk
Pizza Dough
1 ¼ tsp. yeast
1 cup water (lukewarm)
1 ¾ cups flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
Mix all. Let rise 1 hour. Shape and bake on greased pan at 450 for 8-10 minutes.
Pizza Sauce
1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes with added puree
4 ½ tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. oregano
Mix in 4 quart saucepan over low heat. Bring tomatoes and oil to a simmer, cover partially and continue simmering stirring occasionally. Add sugar, salt and oregano.
Soft Pretzels
3 tsp. yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
3 tsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. salt
3 cups flour
4 Tbsp. butter
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and salt. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. Knead 5 minutes. In a greased bowl, cover, for 1 hour. Divide into 12. Roll into a rope and twist into a pretzel. Brush with butter and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown. These are super yummy!
Tips
Make up some powdered milk to use in recipes and use regular milk for cereal.
Road Closed
We had a bit of excitement here yesterday. The main road between Sentani and the next biggest city, Abeh, was closed on Wednesday. We only have one road from here to there, so it was a big deal. Apparently one of the Chiefs sons of a nearby village was killed and they wanted to seek retribution the only way they know how, violence. So due to safety reasons the road was closed down. One of our Sentani families were stuck there in Abeh and were not allowed to go through. Their three kids were here at school. The parents were told that they may be able to leave their car and take a boat around to Sentani, but that would be the only way they could get here. Some other kids that live in Abeh and go to school here in Sentani wound up staying at our hostel for the night since they couldn’t get through. Today I heard that they road is open and all is fine so hopefully that is the end of that whole ordeal. This is a great place to learn flexibility. You get many opportunities daily to learn that character trait!
I don’t know about you but I am excited that the semester is coming to a close. There are only 13 ½ days of school left. The kids are out on May 28th. I know that time will just fly until then. Saturday Garth and I are hosting a Roller Derby Party for the kids up to grade 6. I have been having fun picking out songs and activities for that event. There really aren’t too many happenings for kids that age so they are all excited. The gym has lots of roller skates for the kids to borrow, and someone donated a bag of knee pads and elbow guards. I am sure I will send you pictures so you can feel like you were there.
It is so hot today. Even the Indonesians have been commenting on that. When they say it, you know it is true. Poppi didn’t show up yesterday, but today she did. She informed me that she will be here Friday but not Saturday. See what I told you about opportunities for flexibility??????
Anyways, I need to go. Hope you are all well.
Love you
Rachel
I don’t know about you but I am excited that the semester is coming to a close. There are only 13 ½ days of school left. The kids are out on May 28th. I know that time will just fly until then. Saturday Garth and I are hosting a Roller Derby Party for the kids up to grade 6. I have been having fun picking out songs and activities for that event. There really aren’t too many happenings for kids that age so they are all excited. The gym has lots of roller skates for the kids to borrow, and someone donated a bag of knee pads and elbow guards. I am sure I will send you pictures so you can feel like you were there.
It is so hot today. Even the Indonesians have been commenting on that. When they say it, you know it is true. Poppi didn’t show up yesterday, but today she did. She informed me that she will be here Friday but not Saturday. See what I told you about opportunities for flexibility??????
Anyways, I need to go. Hope you are all well.
Love you
Rachel
Monday, May 4, 2009
Today
We were all split up today. The kids at school, Garth and Cale here and I was with my friend Mary in Jayapura to have some tests done. I have still been having some troubles with my stomach so I went to have some blood work done and some urine tests as well. It was an adventure for sure. The drive to the hospital is at least an hour on very windy roads. Some of the roadways are getting washed away from the torrential rains. So that made it more interesting. Once we got there we had to wait and then an older man dressed in a military uniform called my name to draw my blood. The needle was sterile, (we made sure of that), but he did not wear any gloves and was not at all concerned about touching my blood. Then I was given a small vile for my urine sample. That was an ordeal to perform over a squat pot with at least an inch of water all over the floor. I won’t say more. We were supposed to have an ultrasound done but there was no one in radiology that could do ultrasounds today, so we came home. I will get the results next week Tuesday or Wednesday, so I will let you know what they say.
How was your day? Did you do anything new? It is good to try new things, even uncomfortable things like my day had. It stretches you, and I feel SSSSSTTTTRRRREEEEEETTTTTCCCCHHHHHEEEDDDD!
Wyatt has been asking for jobs to do so he could save up his money for a guitar. I knew of a friend that was leaving and wanted to get rid of her guitar. She offered it to Wyatt. So yesterday we did a fun scavenger hunt with the kids and the end prize was this guitar for him. He was elated!!! So now, the three of them, Wyatt, Emma and Sophie have started a band. They have been making up the best songs and putting on hourly concerts. How fun to see this talent grow!!!!
Well, I love you all. Hopefully you all received our newsletter this week. If you didn’t and would like to, please let me know and I will send you one.
Love
Rachel
How was your day? Did you do anything new? It is good to try new things, even uncomfortable things like my day had. It stretches you, and I feel SSSSSTTTTRRRREEEEEETTTTTCCCCHHHHHEEEDDDD!
Wyatt has been asking for jobs to do so he could save up his money for a guitar. I knew of a friend that was leaving and wanted to get rid of her guitar. She offered it to Wyatt. So yesterday we did a fun scavenger hunt with the kids and the end prize was this guitar for him. He was elated!!! So now, the three of them, Wyatt, Emma and Sophie have started a band. They have been making up the best songs and putting on hourly concerts. How fun to see this talent grow!!!!
Well, I love you all. Hopefully you all received our newsletter this week. If you didn’t and would like to, please let me know and I will send you one.
Love
Rachel
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