Chronicles from the Fields...: April 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Party Time!

Who knew that having a child would open up so many doors for interacting with your neighbors?

We have been living in the same house for a few years now and this was our first official birthday that we actually received an invitation to. The other parties I'm pretty sure we were invited as an afterthought, because either the party was already going on or it was already over and there was left over food that needed to be taken care of- honestly, I have no problem helping in that way!

Kate was invited to Rio's 8th birthday party. Rio and his family live on the end of our road. We pass their house any time we want to leave ours. His sweet older sister and momma LOVE Kate.

An invitation for a Saturday party was delivered to "Cath's" house on Thursday afternoon.

The invitation said the party would start at 4 PM. It sounded like the party was an all day thing. Kids were running up and down the street all morning. Laughter filled the roads and echoed through our house. I love that. I'm excited about a day when Kate (or Cath) will be big enough to laugh and run with them. In my experience of parties in Indonesia, a 4 PM start doesn't really mean a prompt starting at 4 PM. So, I've relaxed my Western expectations- "BUT the invitation SAID it starts at 4! We're going to be LATE!!" We walked over after Kate woke up from her nap about 4:30. When we arrived we said hello to everyone with handshakes and hands covering our hearts. Cath was given a party hat.

We were ushered in the house that was packed full of kids and other mothers watching Rio take care of the cake. It's custom that the birthday person cuts their own cake and then (in Rio's case) feeds bites of cake to family members and close friends. Many kids had icing marks on their face, which I can only assume also came from Rio.

After the cake, food was passed out to the kids and adults were invited to get their own plates of food. While I was grabbing a quick bite to eat, Kate was held by the official MC of the party.

We left the party soon after this. We said thank you and happy birthday to Rio and began our short walk home. On our way home we stopped to visit with our next door neighbors. Their eldest daughter is now 12 years old. It's amazing how much she's changed in the four years we've lived here. Kate played with balloons for the first time with this sweet family.

I'm sure Kate will have many more parties to attend, but this party got me thinking (stressing out!!) about her first birthday. I mean SURE it's ONLY six months away :) How do you throw a birthday party for a little one in a foreign culture? Close friends only? Entire neighborhood? Just the kids on our street? Indonesians go all out for the first birthday- do we do that too? Will the first time she eats cake be on her first birthday? Will that be too much sugar at one time? Do we have to have a big ol' party? Thankfully, I have six months to come up with answers to these questions that creep into my thoughts in the middle of the night!

One thing is for sure- Kate will be there, and where ever she is people (nationality doesn't matter) are smiling.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Life Pause

Life paused the morning of Wednesday, April 9. Josh called and said,"Bob Roberts has been in an accident. It sounds like he and another passenger did not survive."

Pause.

In that moment everything stopped, and a second later thoughts of his wife and family flooded my mind. What could I do? How could I help? How is Jan? Who is with Heidi?

Even though Josh and I were not close to Bob, we are still impacted by his death. I know I'm processing things because at random moments through my day something will happen that will cause me to think of Jan. Friday night Josh and I went to bed at different times, and I rolled over and saw his side of the bed empty, my heart broke for Jan. His side of the bed will be empty. His smell is still there in every inch of the house. Oh Lord, comfort her in a way only You can.

Pause.

Life continues on. It must. Some experienced this accident in a more "real", physical way. They are battling in their dreams- replaying what they saw. A psychologist is arriving Tuesday morning to begin the long process of binding up wounds and healing broken hearts. My hope is that sleep will be restored and that the Lord will give His people rest.

Pause.

Bob's family flew in from all over the world- Africa, America, Thailand. It's amazing to me they were all able to arrive so quickly from the different parts of the world. His grandson had just finished taking his last final of the semester, had no plans for the Easter break, and had just received a wire transfer of funds from his parents that had been sent weeks before. God has done (and continues to do) many amazing things.

During the service, Bob's youngest daughter, Stephanie, eulogized her father. She shared special stories and nicknames that he had given her. It touched my heart to hear her share in both English and Indonesian- the two languages that are closest to her heart. Stephanie gave a challenge- an emotional plea to those gathered at the service.

The cry of her heart was:

Do not quit!

Keep working hard!

There is still SO much work to be done!

The outpouring of what was inside her heart, overflowing from her mouth, splashing over the ears of those who were there was a challenge to keep going. In the midst of her beloved daddy's passing, she has the maturity to put the sudden loss aside, and with clarity remind us of what our purpose here is really all about. I'm still thinking about this challenge days later.

So, yes, we grieve but not as one who has no hope. We know that God has a good plan to reunite believers with Him to spend eternity with Him. We rest and cling to the promises that are found in the Word.

We will continue to process.

We will continue to work.

We will continue to trust.

Un-Pause.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Washington Visit

The last part of our "baby-lough" (yes, I guess it's a furlough but really it was a baby-lough) was spent in Washington with Josh's family. It was wonderful how many times we were able to see his family this time home. A grandbaby opens up those kinds of doors ;) We were able to visit with Josh's parents, his sister and her husband, the crew from the flight school Josh trained at, some other family friends, and dedicate Kate to the Lord. It was a very busy eight days! (Get ready for a TON of photos!)