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Friday, May 29, 2015

Blind Taste Test

Blind taste tests are not something I would normally recommend when living in a foreign country, but when it's in your own house I'd say it might be okay. 

Josh likes coffee. Josh is creative. Josh has combined these two characteristics and has begun roasting his own coffee. The creative process has been adapted- it went from roasting them in the oven to heating them on the stove top in one type of pan to using a different pot to now using a heat gun. The heat gun, the latest and fastest way to roast your coffee, shuts of the power to our house so everything else needs to be turned off for the magic to happen without interruption. To me, the 2 cups a year person, it's a messy process; to the 2 cups a day/ love of my life person it brings a lot of joy to create something he enjoys. 

He received a special bag of Pikes Place Roast from Starbucks as a birthday present in the mail. He wanted to put his coffee against PPR. Challenge accepted. He brewed the coffee the same way, poured them in identical cups (the cup with the black tape on the bottom was his roast), had a blindfold, and I had the video camera. 




The result: He knew right away which cup was which. He still said his roast was pretty good. I'm not sure if he ever said which was "better". There was no clear winner- if you mean spitting out the loser. 

Would your favorite coffee stand a challenge to Josh's Papuan Roast?? Bring it on. 

Monday, May 25, 2015

Dentist Visit

Before we moved from America to Indonesia, I started to grind my teeth at night. I hear this is your body's reaction to stress, which we were (and are) experiencing a lot of. My local dentist suggested I wear a night guard to help protect my teeth and jaw from the night time stress relief. I've used that night guard every night for about 7 years or so. Recently the back teeth on both side cracked from the intense grinding that is happening every night. My teeth weren't touching, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal. 

Not too long later I noticed that things felt off on one of my molars. My tongue would get caught on something on top of the tooth. I called the Colombian dentist for help.

The patient reclined in a lawn chair. I told him my story, he examined my mouth, and agreed there was a problem. He said," Okay, before we get started we're going to give you the injections." I started to panic- I don't like needles (seriously, who does LIKE needles? No one. Well no one should.) My heart rate increases and it takes an incredible amount of strength not to run out of the room. The Doc could see I was uneasy and prayed before the procedure began. His Papuan assistant held my hand, patted my arm, and reassured me how good a patient I was. She was very calming, and helped me through the injections. 


The dentist was able to fit me for a new mouth guard, which he ordered from Jakarta. He also repaired the damage done to a filling. The grinding had busted one of my fillings. I'm so grateful for his skill and service to both the expat and Papuan communities. 

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Easter Week Review

This Easter our organization held a family retreat. Our colleagues from all over Papua gathered together to have times of fun, fellowship, and learning. A church from California sent a group to run nursery through high school activities for kids, and their senior pastor taught from the book of Hebrews. I am so grateful for a great nursery crew who cared for Kate. She left the weekend learning how to use crayons to color and how to nod her head yes. I was thankful for a break from routine, but was really happy to get back to it once the weekend was finished. 

Prior to retreat weekend, a massive amount of food needed to be prepared. An incredible team stepped up to the challenge of feeding 200 people, 8 meals, in 4 days in a place where you can't just run to your local Costco or Sam's Club and purchase items in bulk. Weeks before meat was cooked, sauces were made, items were purchased and stored throughout the community. Kate and I went on a couple of shopping trips to helps purchase some of the materials. 




We also went to the open air market with our house helper to purchase produce for the retreat. This was the first time Kate had been to the pasar, and it was the first time I had been in a while. I enjoyed going with Ibu Engge and now feel more comfortable going to pick up a few items. 



Our shopping cart was a guy pushing a wheelbarrow. He followed us through the market and our kilos of produce was loaded into the cart. 

Honestly, you never know what you may find here. You may find shark in the meat market, ready-to-eat bat, beautiful handmade bags, or feathers of rare species like a Bird of Paradise.





Kate learned how to use crayons after the retreat. She brought home some beautiful artwork. 


She wore a pretty dress with bunnies on it that a neighbor friend gave her for her 1st birthday. The bow lasted for about 20 minutes, much longer than any of us thought was possible! 

The dress I chose for her to wear on Easter arrived a few days later in the mail. So we saved it and she wore it to church on a sunny Sunday. 



The week of Easter I went to a program put on by a local school for Papuan students. Papua School of Hope (SPH) has a holistic approach to education- teaching them spiritually, physically, and intellectually. The students produced a drama of the final week of the life of Christ. They sang beautiful songs and helped us see what the last week was like for Christ. A friend from a Bible study group I attend was directing the program. They did a wonderful job! 



So while the weeks prior to Easter were very busy, I'm so grateful we had a retreat weekend set aside that helped us focus on what is really important- Jesus. The teachings were about the supremacy of Christ in all things. This was a great reminder for me to check my attitude in difficult situations and a new picture of the meaning of the resurrection was painted for me. A new personal appreciation of the meaning behind the resurrection was created. Happy Resurrection Sunday! 

Monday, May 18, 2015

A Glimpse of Kate

Kate loves to play. She loves to play with her neighborhood friends. She loves to play with friend who will read to her, let her "play" with their Ipods, run with her, pump her on their scooters, and sneak her snacks. 

Kate loves to run around with next to nothing on. I'm also convinced she's got a sixth sense to know when the front door is open and makes a break for it. One morning there was an escape and she was only wearing pants- no shirt, no shoes. She was happy to play in the front. 

Until she saw her friends. She the tried to squeeze her way out of the gate and when she realized that was impossible she stood at the gate and cried. 

So we ran inside, grabbed her shoes and freed her. Then this happened...

This melts my heart. This neighbor LOVES Kate. No matter where he is, when he spots Kate he runs to her to tell her hi, to hug her, or brush her cheek with his hand. He and his brothers will often pump Kate around on their scooters. 

The days here can be really hot. So we've started playing in the water hose. Kate enjoys watering (drowning) our basil plant and two other potted plants. The sun was so intense, she was only out for about 15 minutes right before lunch and came in with pink arms! Note to this momma- put sunscreen on Kate!  




Another day the power had gone out. It was a super hot day and the power had been off for hours. Nap time is next to impossible on these kinds of days, so we brought out Kate's bathtub and filled it up with cold water from the hose. Wearing a swimsuit and water shoes, she passed the day by playing outside on the front porch. After a little while, this same friend came outside on their porch. I said he could come over if it was okay with his momma. 



Scooters, a water hose, bathtubs, and friends- what more could a girl ask for? 

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Birthday Celebrations

Josh turned 35 this year! To celebrate his life, we had an evening of fun. It began with a friend allowing me to use her gigantic oven to bake a Texas sheet cake. The only way to protect a beloved cake from greedy ants is to create a sanctuary surrounded with water. So our contraption looked a bit like this: 


The day continued with a couple volunteering to take Kate for a couple hours, so we could go on a motorcycle ride to watch the sunset and have dinner together. Motorcycle rides are one of my favorite things to do here! We went to a hill that overlooks part of the lake. At the top of the hill is a cross, so everyone calls it "The Cross". The problem is there are multiple hills with crosses on them here, so we just assumes everyone means this one even if they aren't. :) 









We came back home and our guests came over for cake. I didn't take any photos of that because I was having too much fun visiting. It was a low key celebration this year, but our love for Josh is anything but low key! Happy birthday, Josh! We love you! 

Monday, May 11, 2015

Annual Family Trips

Do you have a spot that you go to every year? Maybe it's a cabin in the woods or a beach house? Maybe it's a special place that you go to with your family, and you never miss a trip. 

We have that same place too- it's the immigration office in Jayapura. Every year our family heads to the provincial capital city. We never miss it- because if we do it could mean jail time or getting kicked out of the country BUT that's a different story! :) 

We have a hard working Indonesian colleague who makes sure that all our paperwork is in order for our check in. This process has improved so much just in the few years we've been in country. Stories would be shared of waiting hours in the office, waiting for people to return back to work, waiting for the electricity to come back on, waiting with sweat dripping down your back- oh wait, that still happens :) The wait time (for us) has been reduced greatly because of our colleague's hard work. 

We walk in, sign papers, take some photos, and we're done. Then we can do some shopping and get some KFC or go to a nice restaurant on the water. 



Another place we don't miss out on is the annual trip to the police station to renew our drivers licenses. It's the same story here. The hard work of our colleague allows us to be in and out in only a short amount of time. This time Kate was bigger and was waaaay more active than the last year's visit. This always draws an audience of admiring fans. Kate gained access to the office of female police officers and attempted to steal their phones, delete documents on their computers, and even had a fashion show in their hats. 




Other than these two places we have yet to find that special spot that we'll go to every year. Any suggestions? 
 
Images by Freepik