Two Sides to the Coin

If you gave me a plane ticket home today I would have grabbed it and ran to the airport.  My frustration level was high.  Our microwave is broken, our water dispenser is broken, we have a kid getting over malaria, one with a bad foot infection, others with various illnesses, on top of that our cook Ibu Poppi has not been doing her job, she hasn’t been making meals that I have asked her to make which makes for A LOT more work for me, there were ants throughout the entire canister of sugar, there were weevils in the oatmeal bag and in the flour, black ants all over my mouthwash and toothpaste, and big red ants that take over the kitchen after 7 pm.

Ugh!  I woke up to pouring rain and it would have been a good day to stay in bed.  Do you ever have days like that?  It is so easy for me to think that if I was in the States I wouldn’t have these frustrations, but that is not true.  The frustrations would be different but they would still be there.  I keep asking God for patience and He is giving me perfect opportunities to work on that with these annoyances.  That is one side of the coin,  I need to look at the other side and rejoice. 

By being here in Indonesia with the schedule we have, we have been able to connect so much more with our kids than we ever did in the States.  Our lives are much more relaxed and unrushed.  We are here in the morning when the kids go off to school and at recess and at lunch and every day after school.  We are in tune with everything they have going on and their friends and their frustrations and joys.  We are able to spot bad habits right away and as Barney Fife would say, “Nip it in the bud.”  We are a part of their classroom and help with games and activities and substitute teach .  Not just one of us but both of us.  That is a treasure that the kids love.  These years of their lives are just flying by.  They are growing up so fast.  We have been able to invest so much of ourselves in their lives and we see the benefits of that.  They have grown so close to us and us to them.  Our devotion time as a family is wonderfully rich.  We have been able to find ways to serve here as a family that helps us focus on someone other than ourselves.

Most importantly, we all feel like this is where God wants us to be right now.  That helps us get through hard times because we know that God has a reason for all of this.  Hard times are not punishments-they are times for us to learn how to hold on tighter to God’s hand.  With all that in mind, I want you to know that we have decided that we will be staying for one more year.  It is our fourth and final year.  This summer MAF is sending us home to the States and then we will be back here for that last year.

Thank you for all the prayer and financial support you all have given us.  You are a vital part of helping us continue. 

We greatly appreciate you.

Love

Rachel