December in a Flash

Even though December flew by, my camera caught some fun memories.

 Here's my "December in a Flash".

Festive backdrop at the local arcade

Santa with the Texas flag

Our cozy tree

 

Sinterclaus- a Dutch tradition

Completion of the Jesse Tree journey

Mafia with the middle schoolers

 

HIS Staff Party



Friends and fellow MS teachers

MS teacher and friend

 

Fireworks!!

Christmas Breakfast

Unwrapping presents from family

 

Yoshi knife!

Cute candle warmer

Even Boo Radley got a gift

 

Grade 6 Tales

 This Advent season grades 6 and 7 Bible classes are making a Jesse Tree. It's a journey through the Old Testament to the birth of Christ. Each day we have a devotional, a challenge for the day, and an ornament to hang on the tree. They cut, pasted, and tied string to each ornament. They also chose their own tree. It's neat to keep the focus of Christmas on Christ.

 

Another event that grade 6 participated in was the annual band concert. We are so thankful to have our band teacher back after a longer than expected furlough. They worked so hard! It was so fun to listen to them play these instruments they've learn this semester. They were experiencing a mixture of emotions- nervous and excitement. For most of them, this was the first time they performed before a crowd. They did a fantastic job!

November Activities

The past couple of weeks seemed like a blur with statements like "You just have to make it through Wednesday" being muttered under my breath and repeated through my mind. I'm thankful that we have a few days of rest from school. It was perfect timing because it fell right on the week of Thanksgiving.



The annual fall concert is a fund raiser for the senior class. Members of the community come together to sing songs, [try to] dance, and [try to] act. The theme this year was songs from the 1940's. Gay and I sang two songs- "Mairzy Dotes" and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree". My friend, Elaine, did my hair and makeup.

The following Monday we had our middle school's spiritual emphasis day. The focus was how to be a practical servant. We had a speaker, had two rounds of service projects around campus, challenged them with a week of service ideas, and spent the afternoon at the pool. Yes, the pool water is green. No, the students didn't care. No, I did NOT get in. :)

 

 

The same week of spiritual emphasis week a group of teachers went to a conference in Thailand. I decided to stay behind. Last week I was informed that while they were away I was the "go-to person should anything important happen". I spent the next couple of days sneaking from my classroom to my car avoiding others, in case there were any "issues". Just kidding... or am I? I'll be glad when everyone returns on Monday.

 

Thanksgiving is a day that often seems to sneak up on us here. Mainly due to the fact that Indonesians do not celebrate this American holiday. We gathered together with some friends and shared a great meal. We also took some time to think about things we were thankful for. I wrote that I was thankful for Josh (who couldn't make this dinner, because he was in ground school), our wonderful househelper who makes sure we eat our veggies, the Advent season, and that we live in the tropics where it's [usually] bright and sunny.

 

This morning I met my friend Alyssa's new baby girl, Madilyn Grace. She is such a sweet baby. She was passed around the room to moms who were reminiscing when their own children were that size while giving me "encouragement" and "pep talks".

 

that face says it all- mine and her's :)

 

This date with Madilyn and Alyssa was followed up by a long nap on the couch.

 I love refreshing breaks!

Busiest Time of the Year

"It's the busiest season of all..."

 

Indoor soccer has started.

The fall concert is coming.

 

It's just busy.

 

Here are some pictures of life.

Baby Shower

Pirate Birthday Party

Trick-or-Treating

Fun Day- Grade 6 style

And in other news-

We bought a new helmet for Josh. A few days later my red helmet was stolen. A few days after that Josh's brand new helmet was stolen. We had two helmets taken in less than a week. Josh bought two new helmets with some really cool sun visors. We said good-bye to our first helmets. It was the first time since we've been in country that we had anything stolen.

Singapore Trip

Two weeks ago we left Sentani to go to Singapore to have my right knee checked out by a sports medicine doctore. The local Indonesian doctor said there was a 30-40% tear in my ACL. He recommended (and we agreed) that a trip to Singapore for more information would be wise. The journey of seeing the Lord provide began before we left.

Affordable housing in Singpore is difficult to find. The guesthouses must be booked months in advance to insure a room. I booked a room at the beginning of the summer for our October trip. We planned to go at the beginning of October so we could take advantage of the new insurance year. Friends began to tell me about their experiences, and I began to think maybe a week wasn't going to be long enough. I quickly wrote the guesthouse a week prior to our departure asking if there was any way to extend the stay due to a possible knee surgery. They wrote back and said that was going to be no problem, and they moved us to the only ground floor room.

There were small things that happened along the way. Things like standing in a line for an hour at the airport marked for your flight, but seeing a small sign on the top of the counter that said that line was only for another flight and still being allowed to check in. Things like checking in for your international flight, not having enough money to pay the airport tax, the ATM is on the other side of the airport, and a kind stranger says,"Tell me how much you need." Things like all you can drink Dr.Pepper with cherries served to you or fast internet. Things like finding the brand of deodorant Josh uses. (Thank the LORD we found that one! He was running out!)

There were also big things that happened along the way. We brough MRI results that we had done in Indonesia, but the doctor said they must be looked at by a radiologist and have a report completed. We didn't have the report, so he recommended trying to get a doctor trained in reviewing MRIs to try to make a report. The specialist couldn't tell which leg it was and the picture splices were not of all the angles they would have liked to see, so she suggested we get another MRI done there. (It was a totally different experience, I'll just put it that way and leave it at that!) The next day we visited the doctor to discuss the results. He said there was no damage to my meniscus or my ACL, so there was no need for surgery. Everyone was so excited, except for me. If there was no damage, then why was it hurting? He went on to explain that there was a bad sprain in my MCL, and that was the source of my pain. The procedure was easy: two shots to the knee and gradual exercise. The following day I spent the morning mentally preparing myself that I was going to get two shots. I hate shots and needles.

Getting psyched up.

This is NOT a time for pictures!

Right after this one nurse put her hands over mine and said." It's okay but don't look."

Ewwwwww

A photo for memories as they say in Indonesia

So far the pain hasn't returned, and I'm hoping that walking daily will help strengthen the muscle around the knee and MCL.

Another incredible way the Lord was amazing was that there was "glitch" with our insurance. The doctor's office called in things, but I thought it would be wise if I called them too. I needed to know about different payment options. After spending almost an hour on Skype (wow, the internet was quick enough to spend an hour of uninterrupted time using skype!), he looked up our insurance type. We were quite concerned. He was telling us our insurance was still on the old plan that had higher out of pocket pay. The insurance agent tried to make the change on the phone but said he would need atleast 24 hours to do this. Wait, what? 24 hours? We're in Singapore, things change quickly in 24 hours here! We sent an email to our employer explaining the situation, and then I stayed up and called them. My social security number was entered incorrectly, so the insurance company didn't make any changes and kicked back the request. The error was ammended and pushed through for a quick correction in their system, allowing for immediate use. When I woke up the next day we received an email and a phone call informing us the problem was corrected. This was definately a "God thing". Seriously, working with insurance, having situations corrected in your favor, and remaining calm the entire time!

We enjoyed our time in Singpore (after the shots of course!) but were happy to return to Sentani. Thank you for praying! The situation could not have turned out better! :)

Remembering

A year ago we were in Washington with Josh's family. It was early in the morning, and I was still waking up. He came into the room and told me that Paul's plane had gone down. I'll never forget thinking thoughts that began with the words what, why, how, and the phrase that could have been...

 

That day in America we were trying a million different things to keep our mind off of things that we had no control of. We couldn't help our friends plan a funeral. We couldn't process this in an environment of people who knew Paul and his family. We couldn't cry with them. We wanted to talk to anyone that we could cry with. I'm thankful for Josh's mom, who just held me and let me cry when I walked into a room and burst into tears. There were no words to share, and she had so much wisdom in just patiently listening and hugging me while we mourned the loss of a friend and grieved with our friends who were far away. We phoned others who were stateside just trying to fit pieces together.

 

A year later, we remember Paul's life and the impact he had (and is still having) on those around us- both in Sentani, in local villages, and around the world. After a rainy week, we spent an absolutely perfect day at the beach. The Lord turned our mourning into laughter a year later. We chose to spend that same day a year later having fun with our "family". Friends, fun, food, beach, banana boats, and sunburns. Laughter filling the air, cheering when a group of five was flipped off the tube, and sharing time together.

 

I looked out over the blue ocean and thought," Paul would have LOVED this! This is exactly where he would want us to be a year later!"

Paul Westlund and crew

Banana Boat rides

Our banana boat ride

 

Memorial Service under the palm trees

Memorial Service- special song

 

LaVonne and her crew- before the banana boat experience

 

A year later- turning mourning into laughter, creating new memories

the first turn- wipe out!

LaVonne and her crew- after the banana boat experience

 For you turned my griefs into joy; you took off my sackcloth and you clothed me with joy!

Psalm 30:11