Today in Singapore

Knowing that we only had two free days here in Singapore we decided to pack them full.  So I must say that we are exhausted, but we had so much fun together.  Today we took the MRT (the rapid transit system) to a huge store called Mustafa and found things we haven’t seen for almost 2 years…Snyder’s pretzels, Mac-N-Cheese, Cinnamon Toast Crunch…that was fun.  Then we took the kids to a water park.  In spite of the rain storm that was pelting down upon us, we still had a really great time.  We introduced Cale to a Slurpee from 7-Eleven (He thinks he needs one every day now), we went to Little India, and later found a Pizza Hut and a Subway.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the doctor to find out the results of the samples we gave at the hospital on Monday.  I will let you know what we find out.  (Ever try to gather 5 stool samples in a city that only has automatic flushing toilets??????  Crazy!)

Here are some pictures from today:

Where we are

O.k.- Now for the answer to my question yesterday, “Where are we?”…If you guessed Singapore, then you guessed right! 

Why are we in Singapore, you might ask?  Well, for medical reasons.  I was tired of writing about all our health problems  so for the last few months I have deliberately not brought that subject up.  When I was home for medical at Christmas, the doctors took out some scar tissue, and some endometriosis and my appendix along with giving me medication for an infection, but there was no guarantee that that would take care of my stomach issues.  Shortly after I came back to Indonesia, Wyatt started having some of the same stomach symptoms that I did.  Then Sophie, Cale and Emma.  We  tried a few things in Sentani but we were all still feeling lousy.  So we decided to come here and see if we could get any answers.  We had an appointment with a doctor that specializes in infectious diseases and GI problems.  She took blood and ran various tests.  We will find out the results of those when we see her on Thursday.  If everything goes as planned we will leave here on Friday.  Until we find out the results, we are just going to hang out and enjoy Singapore.

Today we took the kids to Explorerkid, the largest indoor playland in Singapore.  They had such a wonderful time.  Here are a few pictures of our time so far:

Can You Guess?

On Sunday our family left Sentani and flew somewhere. I want to see if you can guess where we are. We left Sentani at 8:30 in the morning and arrived at our destination at 6:30 at night. The place we are in does not allow chewing gum in some areas. They also have a very strict law on mosquitoes. You are not allowed to have standing water and are even told that you must change all water in your vases after 3 days. If any mosquito larvae are found on your premises, you will be given a large fine. There is no food or drink allowed on their transport system or you can be fined for that as well. They speak English. They have McDonald’s.

Can you guess? Send me your guesses and I will tell you where we are tomorrow.

Love you

Rachel

Peace

Sophie lost another front tooth today.  Now the window is complete.  So at lunch the dorm kids were talking about teeth and they mentioned something – in Indonesian culture when you lose a bottom tooth you throw it up on the roof.  When you lose a top tooth you bury it in the ground.  No one was sure why, it is just the way it is done.  It is interesting how cultures differ.

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

The kids at the pool, Cale playing soccer, and a birthday party for one of Cale’s friends.

I was reading in a book last night about God’s peace-It was talking about how God is not only the giver of true peace, he IS our peace.  It went on to say, “Thanking God for the gift of peace, regardless of how we feel, is ultimately an act of trust.”  I was thinking about that.  I guess I never realized that God’s peace is always available to me.  Many times when the boat is really rocking and the waves are crashing around me, I don’t feel His peace.  That is not because it is not there, but because I am not accepting it.  Often times, if I stop and consider the facts, I realize that I am the one rocking the boat.  When situations of trouble come my way, I will sometimes hash it over and over in my mind causing the boat to continue rocking.  However, in every storm, God’s peace is available to comfort and calm.  There are enough boat rockers out there, we need more people who will give the storm to God and rest in His peace.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you.”

Love you

Rachel

Housecleaning

We have a family coming to stay with us for a few days. They will live back in our apartment. I have known for a little while that they were coming so I have had a chance to clean up, move some things around and make it all look nice and dandy. I was thinking about how I would feel if they came unannounced and just walked in and started looking in every nook and cranny… I know I would be embarrassed at the clutter, and disarray, but what else would I be embarrassed about? Movies, books, emails…what? There is much worse dirt in our lives than the flecks you can wipe off with your finger. I don’t want that kind of dirt in my home. I want to always be prepared for a guest. Now I am using this as a metaphorical picture of Christ. What do I do, or say that I hope He doesn’t notice? Or hope He doesn’t hear?

Spring will soon be here. It would be a great time to do some REAL housecleaning and get rid of all the dirt.

Love

Rachel

Work Team

Sophie wants to legally change her name to either Jade or Love animal.  Jade because she likes how it sounds, and love animal because she loves animals.  I told her if she still wanted to, she could do it when she was 18.

This week has gone by fast for us; sometimes that is nice, sometimes not.  There is a work team here from California helping to remodel one of the New Tribes buildings.  It is fun to see Indonesia through their eyes.  I have enjoyed taking them some of the strange fruits we have here to try.  They are doing an excellent job being resourceful with what we have and finding ways to make it work.  One of the tasks they had was cutting up old foam mattresses and stuffing the pieces into the walls for insulation and to block out sound.  Also building staircases where they had to create their own two-by-twos.  The lack of supplies here can either be really frustrating or force you to be creative.  Here are some pictures:

That picture is of Tom trying markissa for the first time.  Garth says it is like eating eyeballs, but I love it.

Here are some pictures of Garth and Cale doing art time and then Wyatt went with them on a bike ride.

One of the stores here still has its Christmas decorations up.  (You know, you don’t want to rush these things…haha.)

There is always work to be done here, and not always enough bodies to do it.  If you have even the smallest desire in your head to come over here and be a part of a work team, please, don’t push the thought aside.  Start praying now that God would show you if He wants you to do that or not.  We would gladly host you and spoil you.  There are so many needs.  For next school year, we need at least 8 more teachers.  And we can always use carpenters, electricians, computer people, nurses, doctors, and volunteers who can help out wherever the need is greatest.  Think about it.

Love

Rachel