Chronicles from the Fields...

We're Up and Running!

2012-02-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

Since we moved into our house in November 2010 we haven't had a phoneline. If anyone needed us, they just called our cell phones. For internet we were using a 3G wireless modem, which when we first got it was sufficient for our internet usage. When we returned from furlough, we noticed the length of time we could actually be on the internet using the wireless modem slowed waaaaaaaay down to only about 20 minutes a day (I'm not exaggerating!).

Josh had tried to talk to the phone company and was told that all the phone lines were full in our neighborhood. He was given a phone number of the field agent who might be able to help us out. Josh called but when asked how much he (Josh) thought it should cost we got the idea that it probably wasn't going to be the right price for him to come out. We even offered to pay another phone bill that wasn't ours to connect the line to our place.

This past Saturday we contacted our landlord. We explained how we had tried to get a line hooked up to the house and how we felt disconnected from our family. He understood and made a phone call. Sunday we got a message telling Josh to go to the phone office to pay on Monday. By Monday afternoon, we had a phone line running straight from the main road to our house. Tuesday there was a miscommunication and the phone guy returned to install internet, but we were both gone. He returned on Wednesday, and by Wednesday night we have a faster internet connection! It's so fast that we can use skype, check email, update the blog, and see facebook. :)

We are counting our blessings, and hoping to talk to you soon!

First Few Weeks Back

2012-01-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

We arrived back in Sentani a few weeks ago. With the help of our househelper, we unpacked our whole house in just a few days. This was great, because once the house was in order, I had to get my classroom in order. The first week of school felt like I was just keeping my head above the water! It's difficult teaching new classes and having a short time to get ready for them. This second week of school seems to going much more smooth.

Here's some photos of our first few weeks here.

This is our first meal that we cooked at home. There's stir-fried veggies, chicken crispers, and (of course) rice. :)

We took a trip to the local mall where the pizza place is. They had a stage set up in the middle of the mall and crowds of people were surrounding the stage. People were lined up around the second floor so they could look down on to the stage. It was a highschool dance team that was doing a pop-and-lock dance (I think that's what it's called).

I watched them dance, and this little one was watching me.

After we got our pizza to take home, the place was empty because two guys started singing karaoke. :)

This first week we did some airport pickups. Some other friends were coming back from America and needed rides from the airport to their house. We picked up two families, but I only took photos of one. I'm sure you'll see some more photos of our friends. :)

One of our favorite things to do is to watch American Idol each week with some friends. We watch it with a couple and then a single gal who works with me at the school. Our group is a bit different than last season, because the couple moved to a different part of Papua, Indonesia. So on our first time together, our friends brought over an Idol cookie cake. :) It was so good. We don't LOVE American Idol, but we like the chance to hang out with people on a steady basis.

While we were away, YAJASI, the Indonesian organization that Josh works for, got a makeover. The process had begun before we left but made a lot of progress while we were away. The man overseeing the project has done an absolutely fantastic job! He has been patient, even when supplies didn't show up. It looks great!

A more recent adventure we had was filling up the car with gas. We have two gas stations in town. One was out of diesel, so we headed to the other one. The line was about six trucks long. We had a bet going about how long it would take. We only waited for about 10 minutes before the attendant allowed us to go into an extra place to bypass the long line.

Hope to share with you more faithfully about live on the other side of the BIG pond :)

-Amber

The Long Road Home

2012-01-08T01:32:00.000-08:00

Right now we're in Bali, Indonesia. Our plan was to have a couple days here to recover from jetlag as much as possible before returning to life as "normal" in Papua. So here's some photos from the journey to where we are now. :)

Here's our luggage, just a few things that we'll need for the next couple of years. After carefully weighing all bags, we were sure we would be under the limit for each bag. We ended up checking all the blue bags in Dallas, but were requested in Houston to check one black bag.

Entertainment Centers are a must when crossing the globe!

Our second stop was in Moscow at a chilly 2 degrees Celsius (35 fahrenheit) with snow on the ground and ice on the windows. It was cold outside, but it was quite nice inside. The duty free stores must have sprayed purfume in my face because that's all I remember about Moscow. :) I also remember meeting some friendly people from Texas who were also en route to Indonesia.

Here we are when we land in Moscow:

Here's Moscow when we land:

We stopped in Singapore, but I don't remember much because this is what I did the entire time there.

We arrived in sunny Bali, Indonesia a few hours later.

We breezed through immigration and customs. While we were waiting at baggage claim, there was a man who had a sign with our name on it. I remember mentioning to Josh this trip that I've never had a person at the airport with my name on a sign! Well, that's all changed now! :) Unfortunately, his sign was to tell us that our black bag which was gate check in Houston was not on the airplane and would come later tonight. No big deal, right? Well, Josh waited for the rest of our bags to arrive, but only one was there. We reported it to the right people and were told they didn't know where our bags were. So, we're tired and we're trying NOT to freak out. We go to the hotel, shower, sleep and wake up to receive the black bag. We got word the next day that all of our bags were here and they would reimburse us for the delay. Sweeeeeeet!

Note to self and other travellers: January is the rainy season in Bali! Papua has a "rainy" season, but it's unpredictable when it will happen. In Bali and other parts of Indonesia, it WILL rain. It will rain ALOT. just a heads up. :)

We were soaked after our outting today.

Bali has been a relaxing time for us. We know we'll hit the ground running when we arrive, but we're looking forward to being in our space.

Thanks for reading this. Try to leave a comment either here or on our facebook page to let us know who reads this! :)

December Update

2012-01-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

Our time in America is quickly coming to an end. We begin the long journey to our second home on Wednesday. Here's the route: Dallas-Houston-Moscow (I know, right?)-Singapore-Bali-Jayapura. It looks pretty crazy when I write it down, and I can't figure out the path in my head. I trust that the pilots of Singapore Airlines will get us to our destination safely though.

I haven't updated much this month, because we have been really busy. The month of December began with a quick trip to Oklahoma City. Josh participated in a high altitude training course. They put a group of people in a chamber, bring you to 25,000 feet and have you take off your oxygen mask for five minutes while you log your symptoms every minute. This helps the participant recognize what their symptoms of hypoxia look like. They recorded the simulation, and it's pretty funny what the body will do with a lack of oxygen before you pass out. It was a wee bit cold while we there! This is the bucket with the thing to wash the windshield off.

Josh spent a week in Wichita, Kansas at a maintenance training course. He stayed with a really sweet family who took great care of him during his time there. While he was gone, I focused on studying for a state test which would allow me to teach grades 4-8 math in Texas.

We also had a chance to go to a real, live rodeo! It was Josh's first time to see one. Those cowboys have a lot of guts to ride around on a really mad bull or bronco!

A couple weeks later we got to see the Dallas Mavericks win their first game of the season. They're off to a rough start and are in a time of transition, but hopefully they'll be able to defend their championship again this year.

We got to see "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens at the Dallas Theatre. The play is truly meant to be a ghost story, but when it's read to children it's not very scary. The movies aren't scary either, because of the audience it's made for. Well, the Dallas Theatre held NOTHING back! It was a great rendition of a holiday classic. There were a couple times where we jumped and even yelped!

The best part of the entire month was visiting family. It's strange to meet kids who are two or three years old that you've never seen before. We were worn out by the end of Christmas day, because of all the excitment of visiting. Just a few days later we hung out with some good friends to celebrate the New Year. We played a dance game on the Xbox Kinect, and it was a riot! There are some people in the world who can keep a beat and have "moves"- the Harringtons (and friends) are not those people! :) We still had a great time.

I also took the math test for the state of Texas. The morning started off with the whole family sharpening pencils on the front porch. Don't buy cheap pencils! One perk of the day was eating lunch at In-N-Out Burger. :) We haven't heard the results yet, but hope for a passing grade!

We also got to eat at Josh's favorite BBQ place. (We BOTH were stuffed for atleast two days, because of all the meat we ate!)

These next couple of days will be full of packing, saying good-byes/see ya laters, hugs, tears, food, and who knows what else...

Advent Thoughts

2011-12-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

Advent:
1. The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important
2. The period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting

Advent is from the Latin and it means "coming".

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.

God created the Heavens and the Earth. Everything was good. He made man, who was lonely, so he gave him a companion. They lived in complete perfection with access to everything, except for one tree. The two disobeyed, and ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. As a result of their wrong doing, they were kicked out of the garden with no way of re-entry.

Years later, God made a promise to a man. He promised that He would bless him and make his offspring as many as the stars in the sky. The man and his wife were old and had no children. God stayed true to His promise and gave them a baby boy.

His chosen people, the offspring He had promised, had a history of disobeying God, apologizing, following the Lord, disobeying, apologizing, following, disobeying, apologizing, and following... It was their pattern (Mine too, might I add). God eventually let them do what they wanted to do, so much to a point that

He
was
silent.

He was silent for about 400 years. This is the time period between the Old and New Testaments. No communication, no audible voice, no prophets, no angels, nothing but silence. I'm sure they prayed but no answers.

God was silent.
Had he abandoned them?
Where was He?

Then an angel appears to a young girl, her husband-to-be, and their relatives all at different times with a message from the Lord. It's been such a long time since anyone has heard a message from God, so they must have been terrified. The angel says to them all," Do not be afraid." God is doing something and is using those who were anticipating the arrival of the One who would rescue them from the oppression they were facing. God spoke!

I put myself in Mary's sandals for a moment. In my head it's something like this: I'm a young girl, and an angel comes and tells me I'm going to have a baby. (Woah! What, Angel??) Then I say wait a minute, Angel! I haven't been with a man, so how can this be??? For real? "Not just ANY baby, but GOD'S baby... Mary, don't be afraid!" (Yeah, right, Angel!) But that's how it happened.

Now Mary, an expectant young mother, anticipates the arrival of her first born.

What are things that we're expectant of?

(Synonyms of expectant: anxious, anticipating, awaiting, eager, hopeful, looking for, ready, vigilant, watchful)

-Paydays ($$ not the candybar, although maybe someone is eager for candybars)
-Vacation
-Birthdays
-Christmas Morning
-First Day of School (I guess we're expectant of good things and not so good things)
-Birth of babies
-Returning home after a long absence
-Getting a drivers license
-Learning to Read
-Owning a home
-Living on our own for the first time
-First Jobs
-Marriage
-First dates
-Engagements
Those are a few things I think MOST people are expectant of.

The Christchild's coming into the world changed EVERYTHING. Nothing has or ever will be the same. After years of silence, God sent His son, Jesus, to the world. So NOT only is He speaking, BUT He is in the body of a man. For 33 years, Jesus walked on the earth-
God speaking,
God doing,
God loving,
God understanding man.

After His death and resurrection, He sent the Holy Spirit. The advent of the promised Comforter ensures that God will never again be silent.

Anticpate more than just the gifts your family and friends give you. Your Heavenly Father's gifts are way more precious.

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!!!!"

2011-12-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for a delayed blog posting, but sometimes I have to sit and ruminate about things. The month of December (so far) has been one of those times of pondering, digesting thoughts, and considering.

Last night while flipping through tv channels, I came across "A Charlie Brown Christmas". A Christmas classic from my childhood. I can remember receiving the book one year as a child. On IMDB's (International Movie Data Base)website the film is described like this:
"Repelled by the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas."

Maybe this has been part of my pondering...

The transition from Indonesia to America hasn't been THAT difficult for us. There are a few things where we think," Woah, that's different." For the most part when we go to the grocery store we're grateful for the selection! In Indonesia if you want a bottle of BBQ sauce, you get one choice of flavor or brand and you pay whatever the asking price is. You do have endless varieties of instant noodles though. One thing that has been slapping me in the face is this compulsion to BUY. BUY. BUY.

When we returned for a seven month furlough in June, I wanted to BUY. I wanted to go shopping to the stores that I hadn't been to in three years. I wanted to buy clothes! I just wanted. I asked the Lord to release me from this compulsion to buy, and He did.

Maybe this has been part of my pondering...

Charlie Brown brings in his Christmas tree for the cast of the play to see. They laugh at how it looks. Then they turn their laughter to Charlie himself. I can just imagine how he must have felt. Even your closest friend pointing and laughing at you. He finally just yells out "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!!!!" I have found myself asking the same thing.

Here's how the TV/Society tells me what Christmas is all about:
- Buy a Lexus with a red bow around it
- Buy gifts from under $100 (I guess $99.99 is still under that $100 mark)
- Don't miss the door buster deals starting at 10PM on Thanksgiving Day
- Do whatever it takes to get that great deal! (Use pepper spray if you must!)
- Buy diamonds
- It isn't Christmas without Starbucks Christmas flavors! (Has the Christmas Season started if you haven't tried a Peppermint Mocha?)
- It seems that Christmas is a time to ignore the basic rules of the English language and allows us to use "merry" as a verb and spell "season" as "ceason" to fit the initials of our network.
- Don't forget the "epic" battle between Mom and Santa.
- Christmas is about being on your best behavior because a little Elf who sits on a shelf will give a final report to Santa regarding your nice-ness or naughty-ness.

I could go on and on but I'm asking myself:
"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!!!!"

November Happenings

2011-11-23T10:58:00.001-08:00

It's been a whirlwind of a month! It's pretty crazy to think we only have about a month or so left of our furlough. We have SO enjoyed being in America. It's so diverse and beautiful. We saw our first fall in almost four years. The colors were incredible!

We left Texas to go to the JAARS Center (http://www.jaars.org/)in Waxhaw, North Carolina for a recurrency training for Josh. I think it's a refresher course of how to fly in America or something... While he was busy with that I was studying for a math test. I hope to take a test that will allow me to add the certification for math grades 4-8 to my teaching certificate.

Here's the apartment we were in. All these shots were taken from standing in one spot by the front door.

We went to an airshow with some new friends. I rode in a helicopter! I'm also grateful that my friend had an extra PINK down vest :) I would have frozen without it! I tried the minature feature on our camera for a fun effect. :)

We went to church with some friends that we knew in Indonesia and played in the leaves with some girls we didn't know :)

We had to extend our stay in North Carolina by a week. So we left from NC and headed straight to Arizona. We arrived after a short delay around 11:30 PM. It was a long three weeks. We've had a chance to visit family and friends.

Even some friends from Indonesia happened to be in Arizona. Her son had these goofy glasses! :)

Texas- Here, There, Everywhere

2011-10-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, Texas is big!

The third weekend of our month tour of Texas was spent in the Piney Woods of East Texas. We left our comfy home in our sweet ride (thanks Big G!) and headed east.

We shared at Crossroads Baptist Church in Marshall. During my time at East Texas Baptist University, I was apart of this fellowship. This weekend just happened to be the same weeked as ETBU's homecoming. Here's some shots-

Our (20 minute)Homecoming Parade:

We saw some friends and made a few trips to Bodacious BBQ. :)

We shared in both morning services and had the evening service to share more in depth.

Our next weekend in Texas was spent in "The Jewel of the Forest" aka Jasper, Texas. We stayed at a lake house for the weekend and shared at Peachtree Baptist Church. Here's some photos:

This month has flown by! This Sunday we're going to North Carolina to the JAARS training center for two weeks.

We're eagerly anticipating the upcoming months because of the treats!

The Goal

2011-10-19T17:07:00.001-07:00

This is the work we're apart of. Josh was at this New Testament dedication. Very cool!

Texas- Week One Review

2011-10-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

We've been in Texas for one week! Here are some first week highlights:

AWANA
We had the chance to share at an AWANA program at the church I grew up in. We talked about the importance of a team to help a translator be successful in a foreign country. No matter how many people are on our team or how strong the team looks like, the team will fail without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Celebrate Roanoke and Baseball
It's weird returning to the place you grew up and seeing all the changes that have happened since you were there last. This annual celebration of our city has really become quite popular. This year they were expecting around 30,000 people to come and celebrate. There was a lot of food, drinks, music, and football- that's right a big screen that was showing the University of Texas vs. Oklahoma University. Let's not discuss the outcome of that game!

This is our buddy, Luke. He was the ring barer in our wedding. He's in the 4th grade! It's weird coming back to kids that grew up.

The Texas Rangers are currently leading the American League Championship Series. Game 1 had a ridiculously long rain delay, and Game 2 ended in extra innings with a Grand Slam for a Rangers win! Game 3 is on tv right now, and I'm hoping for win #3 even though the Tigers just took the lead as I typed out the previous part of this sentence.

This past Sunday we had the opportunity to share at the church I grew up in. We had a potluck after church. I love potlucks... maybe I just love free food. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos of our share time. But, you can trust us, we were really there! :)

New Blog Additions

2011-10-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say thank you to those of you around the globe who check in every once in a while to see where we are and what we're up to. It's very encouraging to us :)

I want to take a chance to explain some of the additions to this page.

To the right there are two new options. One is called "Get the Email!", if you're interested in receiving email updates of the most recent blog entry just type in your email address in the spot. I know some people that are interested but forget about this journal (and that's okay, because, honestly, I forget too!). This option will notify you when we write a new entry.

The second option is called "Join the Team!" If you click on the link below that title, you'll be taken to a partnership page on Wycliffe's website. Just type in Harrington in the last name section. As of right now, we're the only ones. Click on "Learn More". This is a chance for you to commit to be apart of our prayer team, financial team, or express interest in receiving our newsletters. We encourage you to consider joining our monthly financial team. Wycliffe is a faith-based organization. None of us get paid for what we do, so we depend on friends, families, and churches to give monthly. It's been amazing to see how the Lord has provided over the past three years! None of that could have been possible without the prayer and financial support of you. Prayers have meant soooooo much to us! On the most difficult days, your prayers and God's strength gave us the extra push we needed. On the most wonderful of days, your prayers reminded us how grateful we are on a team- both overseas and stateside- that stands with us to preach the Good News of Jesus to the whole world. Thanks for being apart of the team!

So take a chance to check out the new additions :)

Blessings.

Meet Paul.

2011-09-29T15:23:00.001-07:00

It's been quite the week, folks. It seems so strange that no matter where you are in the world, life continues. This past Thursday we received word that a pilot that Josh works with in Indonesia was killed in a plane accident along with two Indonesian passengers. We were crushed, immediately feeling the miles that separated us from our team. Josh and I were constantly checking our email and facebook looking for any information we could use to begin to piece information together. Our hearts ache for our friends and colleagues who had to plan the memorial service for their friend.

Here's Paul.

Here is the casket with paper wreathes of condolenses from friends all over the world. We ordered one.

These are the Indonesian teammates who load the planes.

Notice the crowd...

Here are the pilots.

Here are the mechanics and technicians.

Here are the Bible translators.

The photos we saw were very moving. We are truly apart of much more than a team. That team that you work alongside everyday becomes your family. These photos show our family coming together in a time of crisis and standing firm, not allowing the Enemy shake our foundations. They were allowing the Light of Jesus Christ to shine during a dark time. Hundreds attended this service. As our friends were carrying the casket down the hill, God reminded them that He had not abandoned them- a rainbow stretched across the sky. The memorial was a time of celebrating a life that loved the Lord and LOVED serving those around him.

Furlough Goals

2011-09-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Furlough rumors and realities:

1. America has deliciously unhealthy food!
2. It's almost certain that you will gain weight while you're on furlough.
3. It's possible that you might return to Indonesia completely exhausted.

These are some "rumors" that we heard just before we were going to go on furlough. The truth is- these are NOT rumors! This is reality! So to fight against these things, we've set some personal furlough goals.

Here are my goals:
1. Complete requirements for recertification of my Texas teaching license.
2. Participate in a 5k- maybe in every state we're in IF possible- not likely in California or North Carolina.
3. Take a test to get certified to teach mathematics in Texas.

Goal Progress:
1. I've finished all the requirements and now need to complete the paperwork.
2. Josh and I ran in our first 5k- story with photos below.
3. I've checked out a math book with examples- so I sit around doing math problems in my free time :)

5k Story-

This run was to benefit a non profit organization that builds houses for people.

I thought the run started at 9:30, BUT when we got there at 9:20 the only people standing around had blue jeans on and were holding cameras. We asked if the run had already started. Yep, it started at 9. Ooops! We asked if we could still run. Sure, they said, but your time will be all messed up and you probably won't win. We said we're not in it to win it. Grabbed our numbers and music and were off! I kept our time on my watch. We passed a hand full of people and finished 76th and 77th (out of like 80 people!) with an "official" time of 54 minutes... but our "unofficial" time (according to my watch) was 35 minutes. Not too shabby for us considering we had just finished week 4 of the Couch to 5K program.

Looking back at my motivation and attitude I think it's a lesson learned. In reality I knew there was no way that I would win... but what if I'm the only female in my age group? All I have to do is finish to win! What if the spirit of competition motivates me to push harder and finish faster? What if I could be better than I really am... what if my dreams could become reality?

**Reality Check**
You can't win races if you show up 20 minutes AFTER the race starts!
You can't win races if the first place runner was FINISHING when you were beginning!
The reason for running is NOT to win but it's to fight against an unhealthy lifestyle.
If we're honest, we're running for the t-shirts and to support good causes.

We finished!

The official- unofficial time.

The trophies we didn't win! :) **note** these were for the 10k runners- some finished right about the same time we unofficially did!

This is the first place finisher- notice the time in the bottom right hand corner.

Wooohoo! I finished it! Notice there is no time... they didn't write it down for the back of the pack.

Here's the proof that Josh finished too. I beat him because he LET me go first :) so sweet.

I'm a goal setter.

Furlough in a Flash- Friend Edition

2011-09-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

I tried to correct the spelling of "edition" in the previous post but wasn't able to.

One thing that is really cool about being on furlough is that other people that we live with in Indonesia are also on furlough. Everyone is traveling from here to there and back, and the chances are pretty high that you could plan to meet up.

While I was in Texas I visited Chase and Kelli Reynolds along with their three handsome boys (Uriah, Nathan, and baby Corin). We spent the afternoon catching up, complaining (just a little bit) about the heat, and making the most amazing sign for the Rangers game.

I went the Rangers game with Tim and Kyle Cripe. Tim is the high school principal at Hillcrest International School, where I teach middle school. During the World Series some friendly bantering was going back and forth between the three of us.

Kara is somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. It's like that game "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" You know that game, and if you don't find it. Right now. Play it for days and learn something. :) I still remember my good friend, Abby, having that game growing up. I played for hours, and she went to bed. :)

Joel, Elaine, and Esther made their way to Camano Island. (I'm going to throw in some USA lingo that other people around the world don't know about or use.) They live in Minnesota and "GPS-ed" our address. We were so excited when they came! We hiked, camped, grilled out, hiked some more, ate incredible icecream, and visited with one another. Control yourself, you're about to see some incredibly CUTE pictures. :)

Furlough in a Flash- Sports Addition

2011-08-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

It seems as though the rest of the world LOVES soccer. I do, too. I'll just say you've never really experienced the World Cup (save for actually being there) until you've watched some games in the middle of the night with a group of neighbors who are placing bets on who will win. In America, however, the focus is more on the sport that is currently in season. Josh and I have gone to a baseball game and watched hours of pre-season football games.

Here's my version of what we're doing: We're watching the Rangers play in Seattle.
Here's Josh's version of what's happening here: We're watching the Mariners play the Rangers.

See the difference? I'll just add that the Rangers swept the series. :)

It was a bit strange at first being the ONLY fan anywhere around you. You can't contain a Texan's fan for their hometeam. So, as you can tell by the scoreboard, I was a little loud :)

While in Texas, I made it to a Rangers game there. It was the closest I've ever sat to homeplate! It was SO cool. I was even able to spy Nolan Ryan from my seat. My friend, Kelli, helped me make a sign that said "We came all the way from Indonesia to see the Rangers". It was probably the BEST sign I have ever seen make it's way into the ballpark. Seriously. The camera crew either didn't spot my sign (impossible, because I held it up faithfully until my arms would fall off) or they... I'm just going to believe they didn't see it. Sure, there were alot of people there, but not that many amazing signs. Sadly, I don't have a photo of the most amazing sign ever. I'll ask my friend, she might have one. Not only was this the best view I've ever had, it was one of the best games I had seen in a while. They were behind the majority of the game, tied it up in the 9th inning, walked away with the win in the 13th inning, and finished the night with a firework show.

:)

Furlough in a Flash

2011-08-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Flight Camp!

Josh and I had the chance to serve at a flight camp for MATA (Missions Aviation Training Academy- http://www.mata-usa.org/) in the month of July. This is the flight school where Josh completed most of his training. Their goal is to train up pilots who desire to serve God through missions aviation. They have a summer camp for kids ages 13 and up who might be interested in aviation, missions, or both. They asked Josh if he'd be willing to flight instruct for the week. Josh had six students that he flew with once a day for five days. I helped feed these kids with bottomless pits for stomachs! I guess this is the life for some of you with teenage boys! :) It was cool to watch the campers get excited about flying. We had the opportunity to share with them about the work we're apart of and our team (which is really, really big!). By the way, you're apart of our team, too! If you read this, it means you're interested and maybe you'll pray for us. :)

If you've said even one whisper of a prayer for us or had a passing thought about us, you're apart of our team! :)

Furlough in a Flash

2011-08-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

This will be a series of posts dedicated to the adventures of furlough. When I mention that we're on furlough some look at me with worried faces. Furlough in the airline world means you've been laid off, but in the missions world it means you're back in your home country for an extended time. :) There's a BIG difference.

These adventures are in no particular order, but I'll try to keep the chronological.

Here is a hike to Heather Lake.

Imagine living your entire life in a flat world. Your world has rolling hills that gradually increase. There's grainfields that dance in unison when blown by the winds. This is not my world.

This new world begins with mountains and trails covered by trees on both sides. It also involves that hot-cold feeling. You know, when you wear a long sleeved shirt you're hot, but when you take it off your arms are cold... but you're hot.

Our journey continued through trees for a couple of miles. Then we came upon snow. SNOW in July?! Yes. in. July.

Then FINALLY we came to the lake. After having quite a grouchy attitude, I was immediately quieted. It was incredible. The trees opened up to the clearest lake I have ever seen. The color green burst forth against the white backdrop of the snow. We were encircled by a world of waterfalls created by melted snow.

More to come.

Jumbled thoughts on a Jog

2011-07-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

In America you have the freedom to run anywhere you want with only a few weird looks. In Indonesia, however, it's unusual when a white girl runs by. So we jog at the school- on a gigantic hill.

Yesterday I grabbed my music, shoes, and no map. :) I just did an interval run until I found my way back. I went through this gated community that has a lake. The roads twisted and turned, but it was a beautiful, sunny day. I got lost twice and that got me thinking. I have only walked through with my family and only paid attention to a few landmarks.

There's some adventure and "fun" in just taking off and going wherever we want- no restraints, no regards, no appointments, no expectations. Just go. As I was running, I took a wrong turn. None of the houses looked familiar- all of the houses looked unfamiliar when by myself! At first I didn't mind, but then my thoughts turned towards the dreaded "what ifs"... you know what if Josh goes to look for me on the normal roads, what if I miss dinner, what if there are dogs that are out of the gate... the "what ifs". The "what ifs" took some of the fun out of the journey, and fear began to creep in. The "what if" thoughts might not even show on the outside- that fear, uncertainty, lack of peace seems to only effect the inside.

All of the sudden, I recognized the road that led home! Safety, comfort, peace. Although the journey took longer than expected, it was really fun and felt good just to go.

I'm learning that this journey that I'm on is an adventure. Sometimes I'll take a wrong turn and not follow the One who knows the way. It'll take longer to get back on the road to home, but the lessons learned on the "wrong ways" might be well worth the journey. Sometimes "wrong ways" are hard lessons, and we want to quit and give up. Newsflash- you can't quit in the midst of the run because you have to go somewhere- back home or to the finish line. Don't give up. Continue on the journey-hard times and everything.

Don't fear the wrong ways but at the same time try to stay on the road home...

Great Adventures

2011-07-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

This month has literally flown by!

- We landed in Washington on June 8.
- June 15-19 I was in Arizona for my college roomie's wedding
- June 20-25 in Washington (with my feet on the the ground!)
- June 26-July 2 in Orlando, Florida for a debrief about our time in Indonesia.
- July 3- Aug. 1 We'll both be in Washington.
- Aug. 1-8 I'll be going to Texas to visit my family!! :) (I'm really looking forward to that!)
- After that trip, I'll return to Washington and we'll plan again from there.

So this has been a busy time, but it's been so wonderful to reconnect with others!

This week in Florida has been such a blessing. We've met others who are co-laborers all around the world. We've been encouraged by our friends in Orlando and had the opportunity to just share our experiences. We had tons of great food and even took a trip to "Gatorland". I held the tail end of a HUGE snake and almost passed out!

Here's some photos because I know you're itching to see!

Before snake:

I shut my eyes closed, because I did NOT want to see what was coming! Here's the first touch:

I'm freaking out.

Then we had a chance to pose with the snake in groups. So, Josh was upset that he didn't get to hold the snake. This is me trying to be brave.

It was short-lived...

I have mixed feelings on any recommendations for Gatorland. :)
I also did not volunteer for this but was volunteered by former students and athletes of mine! They love to see me squirm! :) Now that I think of it, Josh was probably pointing me out too!

Here's the evidence.

This is Josh while they were bringing the huge snake out. It's clear who volunteered me, isn't it?

The Long Road Home

2011-06-07T02:43:00.001-07:00

It began on May 31 with a seven hour flight from Papua to Jakarta. We booked a room at the transit hotel "FM7". The idea of a swimming pool with a nice place to eat sounded wonderful. The pool area had three different pools- a freeeeeezing cold one, a not so freezing cold one, and a hot tub. There was also a sauna, which we didn't go into but enjoyed wathching others come out and go straight into the ice pool.

From here we left on our 11:40 pm flight to Seoul, South Korea. We stepped off the plane and began the hunt for the shuttle bus to the transit hotel. **Note to self- while in SKorea, look for the yellow question mark when calling for the hotel shuttle. The hotel desk looked at us like we were nuts. The weather in SKorea was windy and chilly! We had our sweatshirts out though. We arrived around 10:30am, went straight to the hotel, and crashed for a few hours. We woke up hungry, confused on the time, and cold. We set out to find some food or Dr.Pepper- no DP but we found a fun Mexican food place, which unexpectedly had good food.

Our next flight left at 9 pm on June 1. I think. The SKorean airport has this really neat room with chairs that are reclined and comfy. It was a nice place to hang out. They also had DP and subway! So SKorea, your airport was fantastic!

Somehow we made it to Honolulu, Hawaii at 10:30 am on June 1- how did that happen? For real, we left on the night of June 1 and arrived on the morning of June 1- whaaaaaat? Thanks alot, International Dateline. Needless to say, our bodies were soooo confused on the time of day or date that we didn't know when to eat or sleep. We wanted to eat at weird times, and when the clock said we should be hungry our bodies just weren't hungry. It's been a wonderful place to adjust and keep the cranky, jetlagged monsters at bay.

Tomorrow we'll move on for our final leg of travel for now. We'll leave around 10pm and arrive around 6am. **Note to self- for future travel try to avoid night flights. seriously.

Here are some photos :)

A Photo Journey of Lives Changed

2011-05-04T02:49:00.000-07:00

A Glimpse of Life

2011-04-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

We live in a pretty unique situation. Our neighborhood is made up of three streets, with houses that all share walls. We share walls with the neighbors that surround us. Because of that we have a fairly small yard... ok "fairly small" doesn't do it justice, it's a patch of grass.

Many families in our neighborhood have children that have no playground, so their playground is the street. That's right, folks. They rule the street. Sure, they will give permission to the occassional car/motorcycle to pass by, but if their bike is parked in the street in front of your driveway, chances are you'll be the one to go around before they move it. :) So here's a glimpse into their lives (and our's too) when I joined them on their playground.

These kids live all around us. Some of these kids help run a small shop out of their home. A few of these kids stay home during the day and do not go to school. It dawned on me as I was taking these photos, these kids don't have cameras. They were asking for the photos, because they don't have pictures of themselves through their years. They are very sweet and always say hello to us... always is not an understatement. Every time we walk outside there is a greeting exchanged. Sweet kids. I think we're kinda lucky to live near them.

-Amber

T O U R

2011-03-31T17:27:00.000-07:00

Most of my adventures in Sentani, Indonesia, take place in the classroom at Hillcrest International School. The school has about 200 students from K-12 grades. I teach 6th grade math and language arts, as well as 5th grade math. Sixth grade consists of six boys, and fifth grade is totals out at 19 students. It's quite a difference :) Here are some photos of my classroom... be careful, after viewing God could place the desire in your heart to teach MKs at HIS :)

This is the view from the door.

This is the back wall of the classroom.

This is the Critic Corner board. After students read a book they create a two-part paper. It includes a brief summary of the book and a recommendation. They also design an alternative cover. These are their opinions of Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.

This is the side wall. This wall is our "Word Wall". Each week we study 10 words and their origins. We look at their Greek or Latin roots, research other words that fit into those categories, and get very familiar with our dictionaries.

Here's a close-up of our "Word Wall".

This side wall has three windows that over look Mt. Cyclops, here's two shots from one window. Sangat indah (sahn-got en-dah: very beautiful)!

Finally, here's the most comfy corner of the whole room, my desk. It's actually some what clean and organized right now. Just for those of you who are sitting in disbelief, this is ACTUALLY my desk. It's hard to believe that, I know, due to the fine organizational skills, but it's true. Pinky Promise.

Here's another bulletin board. I won't metion exactly how long it's been up there. :)

It almost felt like an episode of "Cribs" on MTV or "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", without all the flash.

I pray that this post will plant some dreams or stir hearts to seek what the Lord has in store for us. Who knows? It might be teaching overseas at HIS. I hope so, it would be great to have you on board! If you are interested in knowing more, please contact me! I would love to tell you of the amazing things that are happening here! :)

What's for dinner? Seriously...

2011-03-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

I think I ask myself this question almost every single night. The meat in Sentani is mainly chicken, beef, fish, tofu, and more chicken. Our dinners are mainly chicken and rice, and when we tire of that we switch it around to rice and chicken. :)Not really, but sometimes it feels like that. We eat pasta, Mexican food, and pizza too. Tonight I went through a "drive thru" (insert imagination here). It was almost like KFC or Churches Chicken.

This is called a "Kaki Lima" (Kah-Key Lee-Mah). It literally means "5 Legs".

Vendors will push the cart around town selling their goodies. If you count the legs when the cart is stopped, you'll count five legs including the two legs of the vendor. This car is stationary, so it might be missing a few legs... The guys in the back are the vendors. They have a huge vat of oil which is used to fry the chicken. They then set the chicken in the window and sell it to people that walk up to buy it. Fried chicken (ayam goreng "eye-yam gore-ang (like angle)") is a popular dish.

We have to be very careful with the foods we eat if it isn't cooked in our home. Fruits and veggies have to be washed and dried very carefully, killing all of the harmful bacteria that can make us very sick (in both directions... if you know what I mean, either way not pretty). A good rule of thumb that we use is- if it's freshly fried, it's just right. So buying food from a kaki lima can be harmless if the food has recently been fried. This kaki lima offers fried chicken that is freshly fried around 5:30. The price is only 7,000 rupiah (roo-pia or rupes if you're local), that is about $0.81. What a bargain!

So ayam goreng, that's what's for dinner

Ants

2011-03-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

*TOTALLY*RANDOM*BUT*WAY*COOL...I just learned this from a friend today that if you put * around your words in facebook chat your letters would be bold. amazing.

Today our bathroom was attacked for the second week in a row. Maybe it was our amazing towels that have the Texas stars all over them, or possibly the floral scent of the fabric softener.

Here's the scene:
We have two towel racks in our bathroom. One, which happens to be mine (Amber), is directly under a window which allows a little bit of sun to come into the room. This is where the army of ants made their entrance. The came down and attacked my towel from Texas. Oddly enough, they left the local towel virtually untouched even though they were right beside each other.

I carefully and delicately grabbed the towel and put it in a laundry basket. Our sweet helper calmly took the towel outside and shook it out. I figured it would be unwise for me to keep the other towel there that had a few stragglers on it. So I shook it out. This all took maybe five minutes. When I returned to the upstairs bathroom to spray those ants with bug spray, they had disappeared! Maybe only a couple were left... I let them live, showed some mercy.

But, seriously, if they decide to attack my Texas towel again... they're going down.

Here's the photos:

Returning about 5 minutes later:

I guess this goes to show that everyone, even ants, love Texas :) OR they don't and like to aggravate those who do.

These Days...

2011-03-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

These days I'm missing home more and more.

These days I'm watching new movies with new friends.

These days I'm wondering when and if Kraft mac and cheese will ever come back to Sentani.

These days I'm wondering if I'll go home before my last stick of deodorant runs out.

These days I'm more thankful for the rain.

These days I'm pondering what it means to have joy in all situations.

These days I'm resting in the Truth of God's word that He is faithful.

These days I enjoy laughing with my six 6th grade boys (no girls).

These days I don't seem to mind walking in the rain.

These days I value family more.

These days I hope to update this blog more often... no promises, but no excuses either.

These days will soon be those days, but I hope these lessons will always be things I'm pondering.

Flight to Bias

2011-01-30T22:57:00.000-08:00

The other day I was able to fly a national language helper into his home village called Bias. Bias is located in the interior of Papua. It is about 90 miles directly south of the airport we are based at. The Reynolds family from the States recently started the process of learning the Yetfa language in Bias in the hopes of translating the scripture one day into the native Yetfa tongue. The process has just started, but the Reynolds already have a home and they are making friends and quickly learning this new language.

This is a picture Of Sion. He is the Reynolds national language helper. He is a native speaker of Yetfa and is fluent in Indonesian.

Some of Sion's buddies that came along to Bias.

Proof I was there:)

Some fair weather rain over the mountains just to the North of Bias. My camera doesn't do justice to the beauty of contrasting the heavy rain against the blue sky and green jungle floor.

We are required to overfly all interior runways before landing so that we can verify the surface conditions. This is an overhead view of Bias.

Here is a picture out of the left and right side of the airplane from the pilot seat. Nothing special, but this is pretty much what it looks like when I land at an interior runway. Some villages are a little more animated than others, but the plane is always greeted by someone.

The Reynolds weren't in the village, but here is a picture of them in Bias at a different time.

Summer!

2010-06-07T01:31:00.001-07:00

Summer is finally here! One of the perks of being a teacher almost anywhere in the world are the breaks. At HIS, we get almost 3 months of summer vacation, a month for Christmas break, four days to celebrate Easter, and many more holidays throughout the year. By the way, HIS is in need of teachers :) But, seriously, summer break comes with many mixed emotions. Friends leaving, friends returning, and a chance to build better relationships with those that are here. Here are a few things from my "hope to do" list.

-I hope to start running again.
-We hope to move into a new house next month.
-We hope to make new friends.
-To do the above, we hope to be bold to ask people to hang out or have families over for a meal or game.
-I hope to get to know some of the highschool girls that are here this summer a little better.

I'm sure that list will continue to grow as I get further into summer.

We returned from a week vacation in the beautiful, world famous, Bali. If you're on the other side of the globe, chances are you have never heard of this place. Don't feel bad, we had no clue what it was when we got here. It was great! We stayed in a hotel, ate at western restraunts, watched two movies in theatres, ate ice cream at mc donalds, went to a bookstore that sold books written in English, and read those books by the hotel swimming pool. It was fantastic! No, we didn't do very many touristy things. No, we didn't go to "waterbomb" (the waterpark that all my 6th graders said that I HAD to go to!). I started thinking about what a vacation is. Is a vacation where you run around trying to squeeze all the sights in during your stay? Is it going swimming every single day, all day long like it was when I was a kid? Is it relaxing by the pool reading a good book? Is it doing nothing at all or is it doing everything you want to do (which might be nothing at all)? Is it a time for renewal or refreshment? Yes, to all of the above. Vacations can be all those things or none of those things.

So, we returned to Sentani on Sunday afternoon. Josh went on a flight today. His summer is shaping up to be a busy one. He is busy with work and partnering with our potential new landlord to design and build this house. He's doing a great job and working really hard.

This summer I'll be a helping hand wherever I'm needed. I started scanning some of the stories that have been translated into Indonesian that teach about health issues like providing sufficient food for a baby. It's really cool to read some of the stories and see the pictures.

So I leave you with this- Take a vacation for whatever reason you want to. It'll be good for you :)

Comings and Goings

2010-05-14T00:40:00.000-07:00

***Random sidenote*** Because we live in Asia, blogger.com automatically assumes that we speak/read Indonesian. This makes me feel really good, because I know which buttons to push to make it continue to think that :) It also makes me feel like I'm fluent, while in reality we're waaaaaay off from that!

It's that time of year where most of the people are "going" instead of "coming". They are going on furloughs, summer vacations that last anywhere from 1 week to 3 months, and some are going home with no plans of return. It's the last group that I'm sad to see go.

It's strange, because we have many aquaintances and a few that we would consider friends. We don't live in a place where all of us are in the same spot. We are spread out all over town... and even though our town isn't that big, it's kinda scary to brave the traffic... and by traffic I mean motorbikes coming the wrong direction on your side of the road, wait what side of the road is that? right or left? Exactly...

The school year is winding down. This is great, because ALL of us are ready for a break :) Some of my students are already on vacation, and while I want to slip into that mindset, it's my responsibility to remind them "not yet" over and over daily.

Students are going on furloughs, too. Friends are going home for good. I think this is one of the most difficult things that I have had to/am/will continue to face during our time overseas. Nothing is permanent- duct tape melts, liquid evaporates much quicker here, even permanent markers can be rubbed away. People are no different. Last year when we arrived this had no effect on me, because we didn't know anyone. How can you be sad when you have no relationships? This year is different. Our closest friends are returning and not coming back. Strange enough, they are in their late 40's and early 50's, but they like the same things we do... same tv shows, same movies, same jokes, same foods. So, for this reason, I'm not looking forward to summer.

It's intimadating inviting new families for dinner, because I have no idea how much to cook if it's more than 2 people. How do you entertain children when you want to get to know their parents but you don't have toys or kids of your own? Seriously, we might be the only couple in the province without kids by choice (at this point in our lives, and we are happy :) ). This makes it difficult to have that instant connection.

This summer could change all of that. We want to have people over for dinner and to play games more often this summer. We want to make ourselves more available to hang out. I want to build up enough courage to say,"Hey, want to hang out even if it's at your house?"

So pray for us, because I believe summer can be an exciting time but it can also be very lonely. No one likes to feel lonely.

We're going to a going away party tonight. I made a video of our friend's 18 years of service here. I've never made a video before, so it was fun to learn something new.

Life = Busy

2010-04-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

When we get into our "grooves" or "routines", it can be REALLY easy to think that no one cares what you're doing because it's the same everyday. I think that's how I've been feeling as of late. I get up, get ready, teach for a few hours, have lunch, take a nap, read a book, make dinner, watch tv, read, go to bed. This is my daily "groove" with minor changes depending on what day it is. Even tough the day-to-day might seem mundane, there are many "Wow Moments" (for those of you American Idol fans).

-Wow Moments in the midst of routine-

1. Many of you received our newsletter introducing you to a family that was near the end of their project. At the end of the month of March, they had their NT dedication. We just saw the video that was put together of the dedication with some really amazing photos of those that were once in darkness being introduced to THE Light in their heart language. WOW!

2. Josh is very busy with his different duties at the office. He's pilot, accountant, and in charge of making and maintaining correct info on ALL the runways that we fly to. Who knew what he was capable of! It's interesting to see how God will use you (if you're willing!) to be apart of what He's doing in many different ways. Josh recently got checked out at four different strips in one day! Wow! :)

3. School is almost over for the summer!! (That in itself is a "Wow Moment", but I'll continue.) My class is special to me in many ways. I think they'll always be important, because they're my first students. Yes, it was hard! Yes, I had to be flexible. Yes, I had to deal with things that I would rather ignore. Yes, I cried. No, no one was hurt. :) God shaped my small class of 6th graders into a close group. I was thinking of this just the other day. It's not unusual for some of my students to meet up with me and talk after church, at the Friday night game, or after a meeting. This past Friday, we had a movie night. The movie was their choice, not mine (although, I confess, I love this movie!) The Sound of Music. It was full of popcorn, sing-alongs, ice cream, and a tooth falling out. I can really see how God has used this time with my students to gel with missionary kids (MKs). It's not just with my class either. The high school students and I connect too. Yes, I'm here supporting the work of Bible Translation, BUT my target, my focus, my goal is working with MKs. Wow, what an adventure :)

4. Summer is comin' around the corner! I think at different times throughout my life I have dreaded summer. What will I do, what friends will be here, will I be at home by myself all day?? These things I asked when I was a kid, and I find myself asking them again as an adult! Life here is very transient, not many people spend more than 2-4 years here at a time before they return home for a 6 month-1 year furlough. This is the first summer that people we've gotten to know will go home for a furlough or permanently. This is sad for me. I make quick acquaintances and slowly develop deep and meaningful friendships. It's hard for me to say see you later. It's hard for me to think about what this summer of upcoming year will be like without those friends. God has provided something for me to do! :) There is another woman who has been here since the mid-70's (wow!) and she is overwhelmed with paperwork. I am going to help her scan documents and file things. It's not the most amazing thing ever, but it's helping someone that really needs it. I'm also hoping to take some online courses to help me with the renewal of my teaching certificate. So, although people are coming and going, God has provided an opportunity for me to get to know people that are out of the routine that I'm involved in. I'm very excited, because I can't wait to hear the stories :)

5. This is a moment of honesty. I like where we live. I love what I do. Yes, I do miss you. At times, I miss you more than you'll EVER know. I miss your during the tragic times- unexpected deaths, cancer, divorces. I miss you during the times of rejoicing- new relationships, marriages, babies. I miss just hanging out with you. This "Wow Moment" happened just the other day during the "read before bedtime" part of my routine.

18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to(AF) inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21 And he said "All these I have kept from my youth." 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" 27But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." 28 And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." 29 And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."

How many times have I yelled out exactly what Peter said (just in the last few weeks if I'm being honest)? His words brought peace. Yes, we're missing hospital visits. Yes, we're missing holidays. Yes, we're missing weddings. Yes, we're missing births and birthdays. BUT we're seeing light bursting into and through darkness. We're seeing the advancement of God's coming kingdom on earth. We're making relationships that are eternal with Indonesian believers. Jesus says," Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." Wow, what a promise.

I challenge you...
This is a side note, but today I was challenged by a first grader to a game of tether ball.
So, I challenge you to examine your routine or grooves and search out the "Wow Moments" from God. I think you'll have more than you think you do.

We miss you. We think of you all the time.

-Amber (for Josh)

This is the first picture Josh and I took together. It was the orientation where we met. :) Wow!

Adventures in Flying with Josh

2010-03-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

I started my flight and maintenance training for the purpose of supporting people like these pictured above. Although being a pilot can be viewed as a romantic occupation, the basic purpose of my position here is to serve the people who are working directly with isolated people groups. Whether I am working in the hangar performing routine maintenance, entering data in the billing department, or flying a load of supplies into an isolated village, I get a chance to serve some of the neatest people in the world.

This picture was taken on final approach to an airstrip located at a village called Okpahik. There is a national mission school in Papua that is training up national evangelists, teachers, and pastors to go into the interior and minister to the many villages scattered throughout the island. Okpahik is one of the locations were people from this missions school go to fulfill their practical experience before they graduate.

One of the people from Okpahik that came out to greet us after we landed.

This is a common scene at the aircraft anywhere we land. It can get a little crazy sometimes as you offload the aircraft, load it up again and brief the passengers. This picture was taken in a village called Obokui. There is a national translator as well as the community that is supported by our aircraft. There are no roads or major rivers that come anywhere near this village.

This is one of our ramp agents from our home base in Sentani helping us get the next load of passengers on the aircraft. We had extra room in the aircraft that day, so we asked him if wanted to come along for the flight. Pius is a great guy and is always ready to help.

This picture of bananas was taken in a village called Pasema located in the central highlands of Papua. Yajasi supports a ministry called Oikonomos. There purpose is to train the people how to grow locally available produce and then sell it at a city in the central highlands called Wamena. Yajasi provides an aircraft twice a week to fly the produce out of these villages to Wamena where it can be sold. The proceeds from the produce goes back into the villages.

These are a bunch of school children in Pasema that were watching us as we unloaded a half ton of rice, salt and cooking oil and loaded up the bananas.

Two Yajasi Pilatus Porters are parked at the top of the airstrip in Koropun. Yajasi flew in two planes full of people for Koropun's Bible dedication. I remember when I was 5 years old two missionaries came to our church at Camano Island Washington. My grandparents took me to their presentation on Sunday night and I got to see for the first time slide shows of what life was like in Koropun Iran Jaya. Their names were Orin and Rosa Kidd. They were the first missionaries that I had ever met. After working in Koropun for many years, Rosa Kidd began translating the Bible into the language of the people of Koropun. On March 16th, the people of Koropun received God's word in their own language for the first time. It was incredible to see the dedication first hand and meet Orin and Rosa Kidd again. My grandparents have already passed away, but they would have loved to have seen the people of Koropun who they had prayed for, progress in the LORD.

Me and a man from Koropun who is all dressed up for the dedication.

Watching the ceremonies at the Bible dedication in Koropun.

Here are some of the pictures of flying in Papua

S O L O

2010-01-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

In the life of a pilot, there are some highlights to remember. You’ll forever remember the first time you sat in the pilot’s seat, the first time you flew the plane without an instructor- your first “solo”, the time you passed the exams, the first time your certificate came in the mail, the pie shops that are tucked away in mountains, the time you saw a rainbow form around the propeller, all the breathtaking beauties that can only be seen from the plane, the first time you had a passenger with you, the first time you instructed someone on how to fly a plane, your first job flying, and many more.

It seems like since we’ve moved here we get to celebrate “firsts” all over. The first time Josh went on a ride-along into the interior of Papua, the time he flew animals instead of people, the first time he landed on a grass strip in Indonesia, the first (and hopefully only) time he took Indonesian certification tests, the first time he talked to passengers, and his first solo from Sentani, and many more that are unmentioned or undiscovered.

Last week we celebrated a “first”. Josh flew to a jungle strip by himself! This was the result of months of training. Word flew around cell phones, and a group was greeting him when he pulled up with his passengers. This is a unique celebration, as are many solo flights. Some might get the shirt off their back cut off, signed, and posted on a wall where everyone can see this exciting accomplishment. Well, at Yajasi in Indonesia, clothing can’t just be bought at the local Wal-Mart, so they “celebrate” a little differently. Everyone gathers around with buckets full of “celebration water”, personal water bottles, cups of water, and cameras. Once the pilot steps out of the plane (after being forewarned and leaving behind phones, cameras, and other important items) he is greeted with “celebration water”. There were buckets, cups, bottles, old paint cans, and a water hose. It was all smiles by the parked planes to celebrate the end of hard day of work with rejoicing with their newest “solo-ed” pilot.

I was told that he would be soaked, so I asked if should bring an extra shirt. So I brought an extra t-shirt and a towel. I didn't realize that the towel I grabbed was a small hand towel! I also was unaware of how soaked he would actually be! Needless to say the neither the t-shirt nor the towel were used! :) Enjoy the photos!

Josh in the village his first time as the only pilot.

Returning to Sentani.

He's here!

Filling up the buckets.

Here's some friends that came to support Josh. Baby Esther brought her parents :)

Let...

the soaking...

begin!

Totally soaked but soooooo happy!

I wanted to say how proud I was of him, and I got a BIG wet hug and someone sprayed me with the waterhose!

Here's a towel to dry off with :)

Another pilot congratulating Josh on a job well done.

Hooray! Way to go, Josh!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

We have been apart of one party after another these past few weeks. It has been really different than our holiday experience last year. Last year we were on our way to the beach Christmas day and returned just in time to ring in the new year on our friend's rooftop.

Christmas Day:
This year we had two fantastic meals. We had lunch with some really good friends. This was the first time I had ever tried sweet potato casserole. My grandma always made it, but I just had never tried it. It was yummy- like dessert with your main meal! For dinner we headed to the dorm that our friends run. We had turkey and HAM!!! with friends that we were in Bandung with and some new ones too. It was sooooo yummy. We had a great time visiting and playing Wii.

For the next week, we recovered. I had something really attack my body. I went from having a normal appetite to none at all. When I did eat, it wasn't much. My body was just extremely run down and exausted. We tested for malaria, but it came back negative with my white blood cell count really high. The nurse said that means that I was fighting some sort of infection and put me on an antibiotic. Praise the Lord, a few days later my appetite is back and my energy level is increasting.

New Year's Eve:
We spent New Year's Eve with two families. One lives in the interior village, and the other hopes to go interior when a new family comes available to partner with them. We had great discussions about what they do in their village, the progress that's being made with their language work, saw pictures of their house, and it ended with an invitation to come and stay in their village with them. (Very Cool!)

We drove the less than 10 minute drive from one side of town to the hill the school is on to watch the fireworks. Indonesians live by "rubber time" or "flexible time" because they started popping off fireworks 20 minutes before midnight! Driving through town felt like we were in a warzone. Fireworks going off over the street, in the street, on the street when you pass by. The remains of fireworks were all over the city. We made it to the school just in time to watch the fireworks go up in smoke. Literally, after about 10 minutes of fireworks all over the city the entire sky was FULL of smoke! You could barely see some fireworks going off unless they were colored. It was soooo exciting. We were in t-shirts and shorts with friends ringing in the new year together. We went home around 12:30, but the neighborhood party continued until atleast 3 AM. Fireworks, music, laughter, and homemade pipebombs making huge, deep booming noises made this night unforgettable. I can only imagine what next year will be like!

Housing Update:
In recent posts I've asked for prayer about long-term housing options. We had our name on a house of a family that had to return home due to their son's sickness. Another family, who had their name on another house, was on the list in front of us. Within a few days, God unfolded events that allowed us to move from third to first on the list. The family announced that they would not be returning due to health reasons. Family #2 announced that they were going through with contract negotiations on the other house. Family #3 (the Harrington's) became Family #1- the only family on the list. So, the next step is to talk with the landlord and attempt to negotiate a fair, reasonable rental price for the house. Please pray with us that a rental price can be negotiated that is within our set budget. This house is literally right down the street from the curret place we're living, so it should be relatively easy to move :) (I hope!)

Spoiler Alert

2009-12-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Ok this post is a spoiler of our upcoming newsletter that is in route to the printshop. Enjoy!

What a great journey we are apart of here. Not only are we on our own, but we're involved in other's adventures, too. One special thing that's going on right now in our neck of the woods is the completion of the first New Testament since our arrival in April 2009. This family has been working on their project for 22 years! They came to Indonesia just a few months after they were married and have been here since. Recently, they got their copy of the Ambai translation back from typesetting. (Here's where we partner in their adventure) They asked the community to come and check for mistakes. My first thought was," Yeah right! Me? Check for grammar mistakes in a language I can't read?!" BUT that's not what they wanted :) whew. So we checked that the footnotes matched the verses they were meant to match. We checked that references were written correctly. Most importantly, we came along side of this translation team to support, encourage, and rejoice with them and the Lord that more people are going to read His words in a language they completely understand!

Check out the photos:

Very cool opportunity.

happenings of late

2009-11-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks have definately been the craziest since we've moved to Indonesia.

It began a couple weeks ago with an event at school called "Fun Day". This event is hosted by the elementary/middle school, and is just like a fall festival but geared towards the familys of the Indonesians that work at the international school. My 6th graders were running two booths "The Dunkin' Booth" and "Bucket of Worms". We had a rotation, so everyone had their chance in the dunking booth. Bucket of worms was an idea I borrowed and revamped from Crossroads Baptist Church's youth group. It's a bucket of green spaghetti noodles with mushrooms, sardines, and squashed tomato. Inside the bucket are pingpong balls with numbers on them. You reach your hand in, pull out a pingpong ball, and the number on the ball equals the amount of candy you get. I think I realized that any booth next to the dunking booth will most likely go unnoticed. **Pictures coming soon.

After that, we had an indoor soccer game. I have been coaching the highschool girls "B" team. We focus on our skills and train to prepare for playing on the "A" team. We have played three games, and our record is 1-1-1. Not too shabby. The girls work so hard, are teachable, and take what we learn in practice and apply it to the games. It's great to see them being rewarded for working so hard in practice. **Photos coming soon.

Right after our first futsol game, I went to a ladies retreat that was opened to all the ladies in the community. It was great for me, who is still fairly new, to meet a variety of ladies serving in a variety of ways throughout this community. The theme was "Princess Warriors". We have to play both roles and fight for those that are important to us.

We headed straight into a normal week of school following the retreat. Friday we had another game, and Saturday was moving day. We had been living in a temporary housing situationn, because right now, permanent/long term housing is difficult to find. Some of our friends had to return home because of an unknown illness that our friend had been fighting for a few months. So we moved last weekend to the other side of town. It only took one day with the help of my amazing pilot husband who is skilled at loading cargo, some friends that brought an extra vehicle, the highschool junior that lived next door to us who helped with the heavy stuff, and our previous househelper who came and cleaned the empty house. This house really had me worried. Our friends had a running count of how many rats they had caught in their house since they had moved in (which was less than a year I believe). They were past the 40 mark. So I have been waiting, worrying, fretting, and feeling many other emotions towards these rats, but so far we've had no rats. I hope it stays this way.

That same Saturday, Josh and I were asked to "chaperone" Sadie Hawkins. This is where the girls ask the guys, always a surpise... you know the song :) It's a costume party with food, games, and fun. The directors asked me to dress up the day before. So we threw something together Saturday, while we were moving. We decided to go as surfers. When we arrive, I notice that no other sponsors had dressed up! I served as a judge along with two others. Josh helped back in the kitchen washing dishes with fellow parents and chaperones. The theme was "Runway" and not where airplanes land. The students had designed a catwalk that each couple would walk down to display their costumes. The judges got to "walk the catwalk" in a very special way... we danced down the catwalk. It was probably one of the most ridiculous things I've done in a while, but everyone was having a blast. Pictures did make it to facebook. :)

Josh has been in the plane a few times a week with the training pilot. We had plane that was owned by the police crash in the mountains here. Our pilots were asked to help with the search and rescue. Unfortunately, it was just a search and no rescue. All four passengers were dead. This past Friday, Josh had his check flight with an Indonesian examiner. It was about a 30 minute flight. The results should allow him to apply for his Indoesian pilot's license. He is continuing to help in the accounting department by managing the daily flight records.

This weekend we are relaxing. I can't believe I just said that. We haven't had days to sleep in and lay around in a couple weeks. We love and miss you and our families. We are soooooo thankful for internet that allows us to keep up with our family and friends.

These are the days...

2009-10-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

I remember the days where my schedule was totally open everyday. I remember those days of really wondering what my place was here, wondering if I "fit in". Everything has changed now. Those days of having nothing to do have quickly changed into having something to do everyday with a barely a chance to breathe in between.

Josh is well into his flight training. He finished ground school a couple weeks ago. Now he is taking off and landing in Papua! I think it's so exciting. I won't tell much, because I'm hoping that he'll fill you in on the details of what he's been doing and where he's been going. I will tell you this: it's VERY exciting :)

Today I'm enjoying a day off of school. Even though I don't have school today, my body still woke me up as if I did. The good thing is I have the rest of the day to get stuff done. I try to have a "flexible agenda"... this means I have things I would like to see get done, but if someone calls with better (or more exciting) ideas then I will be flexible and put off those things I would like to see get done. This past week I turned in my grades for report cards for the first time ever. I think that my new favorite days of the school year aren't Fridays, but the day after grades are due. Everything is new. It's just a relief to start over.

All in all, things are moving right along for us. We'll be moving to the other side of town within the next few weeks. The perks are: closer to school, closer to the majority of our friends (all are within walking distance), and it's a really nice place. The downside: this family has counted 40+ rats in their home since they moved in a year ago. (I'm totally freakin' out about this! Eeeek!) Our plan: Bring a cat. Hopefully this plan will work. We'll see how it goes, and we'll keep you updated about our adventure in the house dubbed "The Rat House"... maybe we can come up with a cooler nickname,too.

Quake Update

2009-10-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

We just wanted to let you know that we are fine. We weren't affected by the earthquake that happened in Indonesia this past week. That happened in Sumatra, which is located in Western Indonesia. We live in Papua, which is the most eastern province. Although Josh says that he felt a small tremor, that's not uncommon and I totally slept through it!

Lots of lives were lost, and they are still searching for many. The last time I checked the deathtoll was well over 1,000. I read that this earthquake was caused by the same faultline that caused the tsunami which devasted this part of the world a few years ago. Please pray for Indonesia and the rescue efforts. As far as 44 hours after the quake, the rescuers were hearing cries for help. People are still alive. God has an incredible plan for those that survive, pray with us that they will see what that purpose is.

Thanks for being with us in this journey. Although scary at times because of things we can't control, we can trust in the One who is in control of ALL things.

-Amber

Catch Up, Catsup, Ketchup

2009-09-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Wow. This thing called life is so crazy. At times, it's super slow and at other times it's waaaaaay too fast! We are in the midst of the waaaay to fast moments.

A few weeks before we went to Singapore, I was really getting down in the dumps. I couldn't understand why God wasn't allowing one more person to "work" for Him. Since I couldn't legally work as a teacher without a visa, I felt like I was just spinning my wheels without a clear direction. We still didn't know where we were going to live after we move out of this house. It was really very stressful. Then all of the sudden, things started to change.

In the course of a week and a half, I had been granted a work visa and we had some friends who we were talking with about staying in their house.

We left for Singapore on a Sunday morning. Singapore is totally different from our world. There are sidewalks, coke machines, crosswalks, lines, Chili's, steaks, grocery stores that sell Dr. Pepper, movie theatres, and Christian bookstores that sell books in English. BUT with all the glitz, that place is soooooo expensive! So we were thankful for our get away, but glad to get back. I didn't think we would miss Papua, but some how over the time we've been here this place is starting to feel more like "home".

We celebrated my birthday in Singapore. Josh's mom pointed out a really neat thing. This past year, Josh and I both celebrated our birthdays in two different countries. Josh's birthday was in March when we were in Malaysia, and mine is in September when we were in Singapore. We went to a Christian bookstore, walked around the botanical gardens and the orchid garden, and went to Chili's for dinner where we watched soccer on their televisions.

Saturday came and it was time to come back to our world. We were met with some "welcome back" gifts that only Papua has to offer. While we were gone there was a lightning storm that hit our phone line. Our phone line was down for a couple days but was repaired before our return. The modem was also connected to that same phone line and was down too. That night the power went out. This is not unusual, so we went to bed because we were soooo tired. We woke up the next day to still no power- now this is weird. The electricity didn't come back on until 5 PM Sunday afternoon. A transformer had gone out in our neighborhood, so no one had power.

Monday morning I was in the classroom. Let's just say 45 minutes is NOT alot of time to fit in a whole math lesson :) I've learned that I have to write out the information I want them to know BEFORE class. The second week was much better. This upcoming week we're adding on Language Arts, so I'm anticipating this week to be another "learning experience".

Josh also had a busy week when we returned. He was welcomed with a safety team from the States that were here to give us imput on areas of improvement. Josh was able to get his initial flight physical completed without having to take the 7 hour flight to Jakarta. He was also able to build some relationships with some of the saftey team members that really encouraged him to chase dreams and desires that he has.

This catches us up to now. The Muslim Community is celebrating Idul Fitri. This is the holiday that breaks the fasting month of Rhammadan. This is an important time for them, because it's a time of forgiveness and renewal. Our forgiveness and renewal came from the Cross, so we used this extended weekend as a time of rest. Josh went back to work today for some inventory, and I will go back to the classroom tomorrow for the start of a new week.

Jeremiah 29:11

2009-08-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Since we've moved to Indonesia, I have been waiting. Waiting for language school to be finished, to move to Papua, to start teaching, to get a work visa, to find a house, to make friends, and the list goes on. I find myself still waiting. This waiting period has caused me stress.

My outlet for stress was running...until a stranger asked me for my phone number and probably yelled in my window that afternoon (we aren't sure, but it's likely). So now, I just try to tell myself that I'm not totally stressed out. Well, my body is saying otherwise. I've heard that some people express their stress through headaches, ulcers, not eating, or other things like that. I'm not having those symptoms, but my skin will break out into itchy rashes. I was praying yesterday and thanked God for my "warning singal" that let's me know that my stress level was too high. I'm not sure how to de-stress. There aren't many forms of entertainment things to do, and I'm finding that I don't have hobbies. So I'm up for ideas on ways to de-stress. I tried to treat myself to a trip to a nice salon. It was wonderful, until I backed into someone's car that wasn't parked all the way in their spot. That is taken care of (Praise the Lord!). Please pray that I would find a way to de-stress, be less anxious, not worry... all those things. God and I are on a journey together trying to figure out this thing called life.

In other news, last week was a crazy week for Josh too. Monday was a holiday, so we went to a friend's house to play games and have dinner. When we got home he started running a fever that eventually lasted almost all week. Tuesday I took his blood slides to a couple different pharmacies to check for malaria. One came back positive for the type that enters your bloodstream and will eventually kill you if not treated, and the other came back negative for malaria. I called the nurses, and they said,"Treat it as a cold because many cases from that certain pharmacy are coming with the same result, and that's just not that likely!" So, the next day I took another slide to one final pharmacy. That result came back negative for malaria. On Friday, we went to the clinic. They looked at him, listened to his symptoms, and said,"You probably have the type of malaria that goes into your liver." So, his started taking medicine this past Friday. His symptoms are now gone, and Monday he worked a half day. Today he decided to go back into the hangar. He still is low on energy, but God has restored His health. We know that it was God who healed Josh, and it's Him who will (and is already) restore His strength.

One less thing to wait on is the work visa! As of yesterday , the visa that will allow me to teach is waiting for pick up in Singapore. We have half our plane tickets, we have information on a place to stay, and we're excited for a "mini-vacation". It will be nice to eat a nice meal at a nice restaurant. In Papua, the place you go for a nice date is the same place you go after church on Sunday. I'm looking forward to going to a movie theatre and book stores that stock English books. We hope to celebrate our anniversary (June 23) and my birthday (Sept. 3). We had a nice dinner at home and split a dr.pepper (thanks marilu!) for our anniversary. Still, we're looking forward to it.

We think we have places to stay through August. We're hoping to have a more permanent place, so we don't have to continue in our (unwanted) nomadic ways. We're praying that we can settle down, begin a routine, and feel more at home here.

Josh is hoping to start his ground school training at the end of September. He's hoping to start his flight training sometime soon after that. We're praying that he can get in the air soon. He's been on the ground too long!

I hope this gives you some ideas of more specific ways to pray for us. God is, has been, and will continue to be so good to us. We're thankful for the ways He has provided. It's hard to sit back and wait. Pray that we can focus on now and leave tomorrow's worries to itself. If any of us try to carry the regrets of yesterday, the agenda for today, and the worries for tomorrow surely we'll all collapse. We love you, miss you, and wish we could see your faces.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to bring you hope and future."

this whirlwind called life

2009-08-11T02:47:00.000-07:00

So busy with so many things happening all at once!

- I (Amber) went on a "ride-along" to two villages that yajasi services. It was great! I saw a handy-cam in the middle of no where... very interesting :)

- We went to a "water hole" called Kali Biru. It was sooooo much fun. We got to jump off this bridge, which was really just two logs laid across the water, into freezing cold mountain water.

- Amber was involved in a teacher in-service training. This was fantastic training that really reenforced what I have already learned.

- Josh changed a tire in less that 15 minutes after church.

- I still don't have a visa for teaching. They are waiting on one letter that represents the churches. Until they have that letter, all visas (including mine) are frozen and will not be processed.

- This past weekened we hit the lake with another yajasi family. We had a blast wakeboarding (Josh got up on the first try, and I got up on the 8th try!), kneeboarding, skiing, and tubing!! It was a great stress reliever. We are STILL sore :) :)

- School starts tomorrow!! Summer is officially (but unoffically until I get the visa) over.

Lots going on here. Sorry for the long over due post!

We are Safe!

2009-07-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Many of you will be waking up to news of bombings at 2 hotels in Jakarta. I just want to relieve some of your worries, concerns, or anxieties about where we are. We are about a 7 hour flight east of Jakarta in Papua. We had plans of going through Jakarta in couple weeks on our way to Singapore for visa reasons, but it looks like this may be postponed too. Don't worry! God is in control of all things. Continue to pray for this country that hearts may be turned to the Truth.

Jakarta is in bold letters with the star. We are located on the most eastern side boardering Papua New Guinea.

Visa... and not the credit card :)

2009-07-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

This summer we found out that I would be allowed to teach at the international school in August. We made plans to fly to Singapore for a week for visa purposes, spend a couple days in Jakarta, and then return to Papua. We just found out this past week that all visas for the school have been frozen. This is due to a tax being put on the school which will make them pay $100 USD every month for every teacher (that's some big bucks!) Until they get this situation resolved, they are not processing visas. They are hoping to get the visa ball rolling again soon, but as of right now we're not sure when that will be. This has not only effected my visa but also one of the administrators. We can't work legally until we have a work visa. Please pray for the school, teachers, students, faculty, and that in the midst of chaos that God would still be glorified.

Kami masi hidup! (We're still alive!) **Now with Photos!

2009-06-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry for not updating this blog lately!

We are still alive! Our weeks are filling up with things to do. It's very different than when we first arrived. We're thankful for friends that have been here for a LONG time and friends that have just arrived.

We had a good time experiencing the Sentani Lake Festival. This is a time for the villages, who live around the very large Lake Sentani, to dance tradional dances in their native dress. I have never seen the colors orange and red stand out so much like they did against their dark skin! Beautiful! (Photos to come!)

We celebrated two years! So many changes have happened in those two year. It was great to look back and see how we've changed to compliment each other more and more. All the glory goes to God!

This past weekend a friend took some "couple photos" of us to help build up his portfolio. I also just wanted some recent photos of us. That was alot of fun, but by the end of the day we were both really tired! Thanks Max! (Photos to come!)

No changes on this photo. This is how the shot came out :)

Tomorrow we will celebrate our first year in Indonesia! It has gone by SUUUUPER fast. We've lived in three places- Jakarta (about 3 weeks), Bandung (about 9 months), and now Sentani (almost 3 months).

We have started to house hunt again. During this time, Psalm 77:19,20 has really been a challenge and a great reminder to me.

"Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters-- a pathway no one knew was there! You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds." Psalm 77:19,20

The Reminder: God knows the way! He knows what He's doing. He knows where He's going. While finding a house, I trust that He's leading us down a pathway that no one knew was there!

The Challenge: All of us have different shepherds- God, teachers, preachers, parents, husbands. God has placed Josh as my shepherd. I am constantly learning (this pursuit of knowledge started 2 years ago) to trust him to lead and to guide me. This is hard, because sometimes (most of the time) I think I know better! So, I'm learning to trust.

Here are a few things to pray about:

- that we would trust God as the shepherd as He leads us down pathways that only He knows about

- that God would continue to show me how to follow Josh

- that we would continue to develop friendships in this still new place

I'll update this entry with photos when I get the photos ready to be posted! Thanks, you all mean more to us than you'll ever know.

-A&J

Whew, What a Weekend!

2009-06-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

It all started in March, when we moved to Papua. We took a trip to the "pasar" (pah-sar) or the farmer's market. Here you can buy fresh veggies, fruit, meats, and whatever else you need. In a way, it's like the Wal-Mart of Sentani, if you use your imagination. They have a section of meats- chicken, fish, shrimp, even some pork or deer meat. Josh is always making comments of how he wants to buy a fresh piece of fish to grill. So, I took a trip on Thursday with a friend and bought a piece of fresh yellow-finned tuna ALL for him. I don't really like fish, but I love my husband so I bought the fish. I brought it home, cut it up, made a batter to fry it in, and cooked corn on the cob and made a salad. So we ate dinner, and Josh made me feel so great! He kept saying," This is so good. This is really good. Wow, so good." As he put another fish bite into his mouth.

After dinner, we were watching the Bourne Ultimatum- great movie!- and he said that his hands and feet were itching. I just said while still focusing on the movie that maybe it was the fish. He then got a big headache, which he thought was because he didn't drink enough water, so he took two tylenol. After the movie was over, he went to lay down in the bed. I followed, and I looked at his eyes. I said something like," Wow, your eyes are really red! I mean like REALLY red. You should go look at them." So he got up to look in the mirror, when he turned around I noticed that his face was REALLY red and swollen. The redness went onto his neck too. I asked him to lift his shirt up- red EVERYWHERE. It looked like some design of red and white. My first reaction was to laugh and get the camera (we were both laughing about this!), but after the photos we immediately realized that this was not a good situation. So I called some friends that knew we were having fish. After our friend got his laughs out, called a nurse, and came to our house with his wife, Josh took two benadryl. He lasted about 1 1/2 hours on TWO benadryl- he's a beast. Most people would have been out after about 20 minutes. So I woke him up again at 2:30 AM for two more pills. When I woke him up at 7 AM, he was back to normal but had a big headache. He did look tired, but after 4 benadryls in 9 hours anyone would, right? He's back to normal now, but we're staying away from tuna.

Saturday we took a trip to the beach with some families that Josh works with. It was a cloudy, overcast, rainy day. Not unusal for some mornings here, but we thought it would clear up. So we went anyway. Someone had built a new swing. You climb up a tree onto a platform of bamboo and swing into the water. Along the shore of the water was alot of dead coral, due to fishermen that use dynamite to bring in the catches. That not only kills the fish but also the coral. So, I climb up the tree, grab the swing, and go. I had sand on my hands that caused me to lose my grip! So I land on my right knee in the row of dead coral. I stood up, tried to laugh it off, but my knee looked a little rough with blood running down my leg. I iced and elevated it. I was out for about an hour, mainly because I was afraid of the salt water burning it like crazy. Josh and I did go out again for snorkling. It is really different when there's no sunshine, but still quite the sight. I woke up Sunday morning with really intense neck pain. When I slipped, we think I had a little bit of whiplash too. It's funny, because you never realize what neck muscles are used for what until they are sore- like holding your head up, you use them when you yawn, or when you look down or around. As of Monday morning, it's still a little tender, but looking down is a little bit less painful.

You really NEVER know what will happen in life :) Praise God that He knows everything that is going to happen to us and wrote it out before time. Incredible!

I've been withholding information

2009-06-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's true, I have been withholding information from the blogging world. It's okay, I think that's normal. This particular event I haven't shared, because it was SUPER embarrassing for me.

Here's the story:

I decided that I wanted to go on a bikeride. Can anyone even remember the last time I rode a bike? Didn't think so, me either.

The bike looked something like this. It was a mountain bike decked out with a basket on the front of it and a bell. So I put my ETBU hat on, grab my ipod shuffle, and I'm off. My route was just around the neighborhood near by our house.

These are some renditions (taken from google images) of what the side of the road may have looked like. The road was higher than the ground, so it was not level but raised way above the ground. To go to someone's house, you would turn DOWN into their driveway.

The grass was about this high. At one point, the road actually turned into a path and by that point I turned around.

From the street, the grass looked like this (please replace the black bear with a couple of chickens).

The grass, if standing in it, could have been this high maybe a little shorter.

As I am riding along a rocky, unpaved road a group of women are outside of their home (which is set DOWN off the road) working and hanging out. They look up, smile, and wave at me. So I smile and proceed to wave back. As soon as I wave back, I hit a rock big enough to move the tire or I lost control of the bike, or BOTH! Off I go, way down deep into that high, high, very high grass.

I look up, and the ladies are already at the edge of the road looking down at me! I am eye-level with the road and totally embarrassed. I was laughing in my head because of the picture from their point of view- one second I was there, and the next I was completely gone!

The bike landed on my left leg. So, my ankle was covered in dirt with a couple of scratches. Nothing serious at all. My ankle was a little swollen, even now if I jump, run, or step on my left foot the wrong way, I remember what happened that day!

So fast foward to yesterday.

This is the third week of the couch to 5k running program. I enjoy running the same route, because it makes me feel safer I guess. It's easier to calculate where I am time-wise, so I don't get stuck walking back the rest of the way. As I am running, this girl is walking the oposite direction. She stops and says," Are you the lady the fell?" and points to the very, very high grass where I had previously fallen. I said that that was me. This opened the door for a small conversation. She asked where I lived and if she could come visit me. I said sure.

I share this story with you (3 weeks late), because we never know how God is going to use those moments we wish to forget (although, this moment I consider quite funny, but a little painful too). He could open the door for a new friendship or something else unexpected. I also share this story to remind you that laughing at yourself and those moments that you wish to forget is okay! We need to loosen up and enjoy this gift of life that we've been given. We don't know when our last breath with be, so make the most of every opportunity-

laugh,

dance (even if you don't know how),

sing (even if you can't carry a tune),

but most of all...

live.

running and planning

2009-06-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

It seems like now is the time that schools are out for summer, students are bored, and teachers are ready for a break. This makes me laugh, because I have been experiencing "summer break" since we moved to Papua. With no job and lots of free time, my day is totally open- just like summertime. So, I try to find things to occupy all this free-time.

My friend started a running program called "Couch to 5k". I thought to myself," That would be so good for me to do here." It's basically for really lazy or out-of-shape people (like me) who want to start running. It starts off slow and gradually work its way up to the distance of a 5k. The program is 3 times a week, so it's not really that demanding. After I do the work-out, I head to the pool for water aerobics. This helps work out any of the soreness in my legs, and gives me a chance to cool off, because let's face it, it's hot here.

I don't love running, but what I do love is seeing the same faces on the route that I jog. I haven't stopped to meet anyone, but I see their smiling face each time I pass. There's a woman who is always working in her garden- rain or shine! There are the same group of kids that play outside of their home underneath the shade of a tree. There are the two scary dogs that sometimes chase me, and I promise that the other day the white dog had a black mask painted on its face!

Other than that, I have been spending my time developing a math test the math skills of Josh's Indonesian co-workers. Many of them are training in the hangar and hope to get their certifications later, but to do this they have to be proficient in math skills. So this test, hopefully, will show what they know and give our trainers an idea of where they can begin to tutor these guys so they can pass their tests!

I never thought I would say this, but math is becoming my life. I'm teaching 6th grade math this upcoming year. Yesterday, while our power was out, I spent the day looking over the first chapter. Get this- I have basically the first week roughly planned out. Look at that, planning ahead... I never do that, Josh can testify, probably lots of you can testify!

Thanks for reading this. Sometimes the posts are waaaaay exciting and others are not that exciting. Such is life- some days are waaaaay exciting and others are not that exciting, but each and everyday is a gift from the Lord. I'm thankful for every single day that we are here in Indonesia. We're going to LOVE looking back on these days 50 years from now! Will you enjoy looking back at these days 20 or 30 years from now? If not, I challenge you to do something that will be unforgetable, so when you look back you're not disappointed!

-a

Is the red light on??

2009-05-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

Something that is waaaaaay different here is electricity. Normally in our town we are on an electricity cycle. Our normal power outage day is Tuesday but has switched to Thursday. This usually means that all day we're without power. All day means 9AM-5PM or earlier/later.

Homes are equipped with different electricity items too. We have a "stablizer". This regulates the power throughout the whole house, and hums when too much stuff is being used. When the red light is out, it means no power. When it's on, you should have power. It's become routine for us to pull into the driveway and automatically look to see if the red light is on. It's kinda like "Krispy-Kream" donut, but when our red light is on it means something totally different and unfortunately there are no fresh donuts. So we use this:

Know what this is? I didn't until I got here. It's an answer to prayer when your power has gone out. It's a generator. It generates electricity and allows us to pretend that our power is really on, even though it's not. It powers the AC, you can have internet, watch tv, run some fans. Wow, it's like the power isn't even off. The only downside of this "gift" is the loud noise that it makes while it's running and the horrible smell of deisel fumes that come out from it.

In other news: I have really been loving this song by Jeremy Camp called "Trust in You". One line says "I will trust in you, and I will not be afraid". Living here we have to trust for soooo much. We have to trust for health, for friends, for safety, for flexibility, for safe food to eat, for safe water, for a house.... blah blah blah. So the other night while I was thinking (aka worrying) about all of these issues, I decided to make a "Do Not Worry" list. I put things on here that I am choosing NOT to worry about. Our major one right now is 1. we need friends. 2. we need a house.

1. We have people that we're getting to know, but everyone is in a totally different place than we are. They have their schedules, friends, circles, and we just don't fit into those because we're new. We are the only married couple (probably in all of Indonesia) that don't have kids yet! That was only a very tiny exaggeration. Honestly though in all of Sentani, we probably really ARE the only married couple with no kids. We have a kitten and are "dog-sitting".

2. We need a house. Right now we're living in a temporary house that is totally amazing. This house has hot water for showers, an AC-ed bedroom, cable tv, fast and reliable internet. We were totally spoiled moving here for our first home in Sentani. The home is a home to a family that is visiting the States and come back in October. So we'll stay until the end of September, but will need to move obviously before they get back. They might not want us to be roommates :) So we've started looking for other options. Here's the thing- there's not really anything permanent opening up. The first time I heard that I thought "Yeah right, in ALL of Sentani, NOTHING is opened." Here's what this means: no homes that were previously lived in by Westerners are available. Lots of Indonesian homes are open. This means that they need lots of renovations done to them. The cost of building material is very high right now, so building or renovating is kinda out of the question. So our other option is to house hop. We move from temporary home to temporary home until something long-term opens up. See how this could be a stressor??? BUT I have chosen NOT to worry about this issue. I have to believe that if God has called us here, provided everything (and more) thus far, He must have a place that we can afford and are happy in. So we wait.

I will trust and not be afraid, worried, anxious, freakin' out, or strrreesssssed! No. I will love God and be thankful for EVERYTHING He has freely given to us! This is small stuff in comparison to what our Indonesian friends deal with daily. They love God, trust Him for everything, thank Him for everything, and truly set the example of what it means to trust God. They are teaching me so much more than I am teaching them. Just sit back, watch, and learn. We can learn so much when we stop thinking we know everything and just listen. That could go for not only learning from others, but also learning from God.

So, maaf (i'm sorry), but

close your mouth,

listen.

Help Me Understand

2009-05-24T04:08:00.000-07:00

I am fairly new to this world of blogging. I added "followers" to the blog thinking that was a cool addition the page. My "goal" was ten, but now we have 11. (Thanks for thinking this is cool enough to follow) :)

The thing is I have NO idea how to use it! I have so many blogs that I want to follow, but I don't know how. So, I just add them to the "other's stories" section. Please help me understand how to use this. I just don't get it.

So I thought I would google photo "how to use follower". I got some interesting feedback. Here's some results:

"I use my del.icio.us account as a ..." (what does this even mean??)

"follow the herd"

"are you a qwitter or a follower"

So my google image search was NO help at all but highly entertaining :) Maybe you could be of more help? Thanks!

-A

Sneezes and Updates

2009-05-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Achoo! Achoo! AAAAAAAchooooo! This is becoming a common sound in the Harrington (temporary) house! The house we are living in is right across the street from a saw mill. The saw mill is "noisy", but the constant sound of the saws running almost becomes theraputic. The mill dumps the saw dust on the street in front of us and burns it. It never really burns completely though. Just a constant fire for those saw dust particles that wish to burn up. Unfortunately, there's also a growing trash dump across the street too. It was small when we first moved, but word has spread and more trash is being tossed there. In many foreign countries trash is a big non-issue that most Americans don't (or can't) understand. We just try to set an example by throwing away things in a trashcan. The only way to get rid of your trash is to burn it. So once a week, Josh will burn our trash. It's just one of the things you have to adjust to, because if you don't you'll have lots of trash piling up around your house. Then people might think your place is the place to dump the trash! :)

This past Wednesday we had a meeting with the elementary and highschool principals at the international school. Josh and I were just wanting to hear what options were open. God was really great and provided a position that everyone thought would fit me best. I have no offical teaching experience. I have a certificate, graduated, and worked with kids at the church for a year. So, I have some experience, but not a full-time job experience. The position offered to me was.... drumroll.... 6th grade! As of right now, there are eight 6th graders. This position will be... drumroll... part-time! Why am I excited about part-time? Honestly, I would answer this by saying-because it's scary thinking about teaching. I'm only scared because this is my first time. I guess it's the "first year teaching jitters". Does that exist? Well, it does now. God opened these doors, and I have to trust that He will walk me through everyday. I only want to glorify God, and give these students what they need. The principals were SUPER encouraging. They said things like "we want you to succeed", "we want to help you", "you will not get fired if you struggle". You might never hear these things in a public school in the States!

So, I'm excited. I'm excited because we've been waiting on the Lord for Him to open up doors for where my place/role would be. He has a role for us all, but it's so hard sometimes to wait for Him to answer! Oh boy, but when He DOES answer- you better look out because it will be incredible. Think about it, the God who positioned the universe so perfectly also positions/plans the events in my life that shape and mold me into who He wants me to be. Wow. So, we're walking with God through this time.

Thanks for staying tuned with what's happening with the Harringtons. :)

we love you and miss you.

Groggy Sundays

2009-05-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

After a long Sunday afternoon nap which resulted in a state of "groggy-ness or grogginess", I am going to attempt to recap some of this weekend.

Before this, let me tell you a story of our life. While we were in language school, we received news that my lil' grandma found out that she had cancer. There are very few moments when you realize how far away from home you REALLY are, but this was one for me (the other was Thanksgiving). We spread the news around and loads of friends and churches were praying for her. She started the radiation treatment, hoping it would shrink the cancer on her lung, making it easier for her to breathe. She had an appointment with a chemo doctor this past week. They ran some tests, and the results were totally a God-thing! No cancer on the lung! The cancer that was in her throat- so small, not even felt by the hand! This means no need for chemo!! Are we happy? Yes, we are. Am I praising the Lord? Yes, I am. Do I know we should be here? Yes, I do!

That very day I got word that one of my bff's from college was waaaaaaay sick. This might not be a big deal, but she lives in a different third world country. Let me tell you, we often pray for health living here. If something goes wrong, we pray that God can heal it, because it is scary going to a hospital here or any other third world country. She went, because she had to have surgery. She had accute apendicitice (hard word to spell, not sure if it's right, still groggy). We're keeping updated with her status through facebook (Thanks facebook!) So, we continue to pray for God's goodness to shine through into her life. She's had loads stories, sure there's more to come in her short time left there. Love you... you know who you are. :)

Friday I spent in Abe- no not Abe like Abe Lincoln, but like this "Ahh-bay", shopping with three other gals. Sometimes the better deals are this city, but now thanks to "the mall" there are more options here in Sentani. It was a good trip of getting to know these ladies, and buying dishes. Yes, I bought dishes. Woah. That's a grown-up moment in my life. They match too. Cute dishes, red mugs, bright colored mixing bowls, a serving dish, and a casserole dish- all around $30-$40 USD.

Saturday we hit our favorite spot- the beach. We went with three other families on a taxi boat. One of the most amazing things that we have done since we moved here, we did yesterday. We snorkled. Now you might be thinking," Snorkling? Hmmm, you can do that here too. It might be just as amazing." Well.... I don't know about that. There were no prime snorkling spots in the DFW area. Our friends let us borrow some of their gear. We saw A M A Z I N G things that most people in the world will never know exists. We met the cast and family members of the film "Finding Nemo", and they were in their natural habitat.

The whole time when my face was underwater, when I wasn't focusing on breathing through the tube, I was admiring how creative God is. Everything under the water was doing EXACTLY what God created it to do! The fish were swimming in their schools, the coral was hiding the sea urchents, the starfish were displaying their bright colors of blue to the best of their ability- not for me to see, but to give glory to the One who created him! The seaweed was swaying with the pull of the undertow and current like it was praising the Lord with a song of praise! We were there. We saw creation praising their Creator! Everyday He receives praise from dogs chasing their tails, from trees losing their leaves just to get even more beautiful ones back the next spring, from birds soaring on the jetstreams that we don't even know exist, and from the many clumps of stars, universes, and black holes- He gets the glory! All of it- it's all His! Neat. It was like when my face was underwater, I heard a loud music and voices praising God. When I pulled my head out- nothing. Head in- Music, Head out- nothing! Head in was much better.

God receives the most glory, when His creation does what they were created to do. What are you created to do? How are you bringing God the MAXIMUM amount of glory in your life? We pray the with clarity you can see what it is that God created you to do, and that you would do it! It's one thing to know and do it. It's another thing to know and life's circumstances or comfort to hold you back from really EXPERIENCING life. Not just drudging through life with a routine lacking joy. I'm on the search for the kind of life that glorifies God in EVERY action, thought, word, deed- everything.

So after this long, exciting weekend we are resting. Groggy Sundays are ok with us.

Hello, Life is calling.

2009-05-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

As I settle into this new role of housewife, I am beginning to live a life of availability for God. If someone calls,"Hey want to go run errands with me?" Yessssss, I do. "Hey do you want to go with me to this village on the lake- in 5 minutes?" Yessssss, I do. It's amazing what God will do with you when you have an open schedule. Here's one of the adventures!

Meet my friends, Christy and Ibu Ona. We sat on this trip together this last Wednesday.

We headed by boat-taxi to a village call Yoboi (pronounced "Yo-Boy")to visit a woman from the church who had given birth to a baby boy the week before. She was having issues feeding the baby, because her milk had dried up. Christy bought some presents and some formula for the mom. Our purpose was to encourage this new mom with the Word, prayer, songs, and testimony. Her husband is not a believer, but she and her family are. Here's some of the sights from the boat:

While waiting to leave on the taxi, we heard this cry that sound like either a cry of death, a cry for help, or something else. It wasn't pleasant. We didn't know what it was, that was until we saw the goat. This goat's legs were tied up and had just arrived from a lake village. The goat would ride by ojek or a motorcycle taxi to its next stop. The ojek driver just tied the goat around his waist to keep him on the back of the motorbike. Let's hope they made it to their destination with no problems!

We also saw this fisherman in his dugout canoe. This is the trunk of a tree that is "dug out" into a canoe. They can be many different shapes and sizes.

We saw the village. This village is unique because the entire thing is built on a huge boat dock. The houses are built on stilts. To go to your friends house you can walk over the bridges, swim, or take your dugout canoe.

Our friend lived at the very end of the bridge. We think they ran out of strong wood pieces and had to revert to the use of tree bark. The bridge to a beginner (or anyone who doesn't live in Yoboi) is weak. But to the experienced, you just have to know where to step. So, Momma, came out to help us cross the bridge. Christy went first, Ibu Ona followed, and I brought up the rear... with the help of Momma.

After crossing the scary bridge of death... a little exaggeration but you get the picture... we made it to our friend's house. We walked into seeing a dark skinned Indonesian three year old bathing next to her mom who was holding her brand new baby brother. We oooed and ahhhed over the baby. He's a cutie!

Momma has her own dugout canoe. "Do you want to ride?" Yesssssss, I do! So the new mom disappears for a little while. She comes back to the backdoor with their canoe. So we all climb in with this beautiful three year old and Momma. Every movement was felt in this canoe. You turn your head, and you feel like you're going to tip. There was never a "aaahhh this is no nice" moment. It was always a "hang on to the edge, enjoy the scenery, but focus!" moment.

Here is a close up of Titin, the three year old sister, and Momma.

Here's the view of the hills from the dugout canoe ride with Momma.

They gave us a ride back to meet the boat taxi in their dugout canoe. They went to "park", and Titin had to duck. She was obedient and ducked until they had cleared the low bridge.

That was our adventure to Yoboi. It was a neat trip. God allowed me to enter into homes, hearts, and establish relationship with a lot of people. How amazing is that?

Here's some random photos of our (temporary) home and our kitty #3. This house has loads of fruit trees in front of it- pineapples, guava, papaya, lemon, and bananas.

Meet kitty #3. Her name is Molto. What is "molto"? Molto is nothing special, but it's a fabric softner used to make your clothes smell nice used by many Indonesians. I had no idea what this was until my (temporary) househelper brought it to use it on our clothes. She mixed Molto (the fabric softer, not the cat) with water in a spray bottle to use while she was ironing. When we got the cat, we were told a spray bottle will help quicken the training process. So, she would try to climb our legs and we would spray her. The very first time she was sprayed she smelled like flowers! We couldn't figure out why, until we realized we sprayed her with Molto. Lucu (pronounced Loo-chu, this means funny/cute) story!

So that's all for now. I'm glad we have this blogspot to share with you about our daily life here. It's a little different from the States, but Indonesians take joy in many of the same things you do. You have a lot more in common than you may think!

-A

"Let the Road Pave Itself"

2009-05-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

That is the title of a new cd that I bought on Itunes a few days ago. His name is Phillip LaRue. I really like his sound, and the lyrics are fresh.

This weekend we really did let the road pave itself. Our friends invited us to go to the beach with them. They forewarned us that this "wouldn't be the "normal beach trip" that most Westerners take. It's not the "touristy" beach trip. We're going to a village with our househelper, and we have no idea what it might be like. It'll only be for the day, you can come or not, it's up to you." We were undecided until Friday. We committed to this adventure. Saturday morning welcomed us with rain. I thought this was our scape-goat! I called," Are we still going, even with the rain?" My answer was "Yep!". So we loaded up and met up for an adventure.

We got into two cars, about an hour behind our schedule,

***Side note***
Schedules really carry no importance with most Indonesians. They value relationship more than schedule, so being an hour behind is still "on schedule" for our friends. :) ***end of side note***

a car for the girls and car for the boys. After about an hour or so, we pulled up to a dock parked with boats. This is where would catch our "taxi" that would take us to Ibu Dina (our friend's househelper)'s village. We load up all of our stuff, bags, cooler, sunscreen, hats, and head to our destination. We left this dock and saw some amazing things along the way!

Here are some shots from the boat trip.

This was one of the many beautiful beaches we saw. It looked pretty deserted to us. At one point, all of our friends were yelling at people that lived on the very top of the mountain. They had a garden up on the top. We had no idea! So, we started yelling too!

We bought these hats to protect our face from the harsh sunlight that blesses us everyday! We felt a little goofy, but our faces are safe! Years later our faces will thank us!

Our half-way point was a stop at another village along the way. This small village had a school that one of Ibu Dina's boys went to. So, we dropped off a nurse that lived in the village and picked up her son and his school teacher and headed on our way. This was the water that we saw when we pulled up! Sooooo clear!

When we pulled up, a group of boys were swimming in the ocean. They were having a great time!

The village.

So we "docked".

This boy was hanging from the boat. He had the right idea and wanted to come along. It didn't last long, because the driver yelled at him to get off.

We unloaded, reloaded, and set off again.

Once we got to our destination, Bukisi, we unloaded and headed straight for the water! This is Bukisi.

It was soooo refreshing after being on the boat for about an hour. The kids all stripped down and ran for the water. They loved rubbing the sand all over themselves and then running to the water.

I made some friends with some of the older girls. We swam together and took a walk through the village. Frila (the girl on the right) had a relative that lived in the village. As we walked through the village, I noticed that people not only stared but when I waved or said hi they got very shy and either turned their heads or ran away! Then my new friends told me that I was the first Westerner that had come to their village. How amazing!

I just couldn't handle that these kids were just watching our group. Why didn't they join in? I was so confused. They were shy. So I asked if we could play together. We tossed around a soccerball for a little bit. At first they were very serious, but the first time one of their friends got hit in the back of the head with the plastic ball everyone started laughing! Everyone was watching- people from the boat, and people from the village!

The day was coming to an end, and we needed to get back. So we loaded up on the boat again after a great day at the beach! Here are some photos from the boat on the way back.

Opening Doors

2009-04-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have officially hit the streets of Sentani. Yes, that means I am driving now. It's very different than in the States, because Indonesians drive on the opposite site of the road. The steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car. Our car is a standard/stick shift model. I have only sat in or practiced a few times in one of these. Now we own a standard, so I have to learn if I want to leave the house. So far, so good. No damage to me, the car, landmarks, or Indonesians. I feel like I'm 15 all over again.

Since we moved here we have introduced ourselves or been welcomed about three times. Tonight is the third time. We have to tell a plane story (guess who will be doing that one) and a personal God did something amazing story. God does amazing stuff everyday. We can say it in English and someone will translate, or we can say it in Indonesian. I think I would like to say it in Indonesian. We went to school for about 9 months to learn the language, there's no better time to use it!

I never realized how much of a door opener language is. Language is one of the keys to understanding, the key to building a relationship, the key to feeling comfortable or "in the know" of things. Language allows someone to know that you are important and worth the time. It's really quite amazing.

Cooking from Scratch * Revised Version*

2009-04-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

****Since I wrote this post I have really been contemplating what I said in it. The Holy Spirit would not let me forget what I wrote in here. I have to apologize, because I have lots of girlfriends in the States that are housewives. I think this post downplayed the very important role that they play. There are also certain conveniences that we have here in Indonesia that housewives in America don't have. The biggest (and most helpful) is a househelper. We call them "pembantu". For us, our helper comes three times a week. She does all of our laundry, hangs it out on the line to dry (we don't have dryers), irons everything, and cleans the house. This makes it easier for us, because it frees up alot of time for other things- like cooking. When I think about my friends in America and what their life is like, I get tired! They work so hard. Washing clothes, folding clothes, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, cooking, taking care of babies, being actively involved with church events or other events, and still finding time to go for a run or a trip to the gym- sometimes all in one day! So, I am sorry because I don't think what I wanted to say came across clearly. No one told me that they were upset with anything, but I just know that if I were living in the States and I read that, I would be offended. I think you're super, and you work hard- much harder than I do. So please read the following, but extending lots of grace to me. Thanks, Amber****

Housewives in America have it sooooooooooo easy compared to housewives here. Now, don't get me wrong, that job is hard anywhere in the world. What I am saying is that Americans have more "convienences" than some other parts of the world.

Take for example, Wal-Mart. I never really appreciated that store and others like it until I moved here. Now I play games with my friends like the "What one item would you buy from Wal-Mart?" game. At Wal-Mart you can buy pre-packaged, pre-cooked food. Amazing. Pop it in an electric oven (oh yeah, what's that? everyone uses gas ovens here)and presto! You have a fancy Italian meal that only took you 20 minutes! Man, I miss those days! Want a whole cooked chicken? No problemo! Just head to Wal-Mart's deli section and pick one up. Want some mashed potatoes on the side? Tidak apa-apa (no problem) just buy some at the deli or pick up an instant potato package.

That is the life I am used to. That is the life I grew up in.

Transition to now. Wal-Mart? What's that? Instant? What does that mean? We have instant milk and instant noodles (like Ramen, but the flavors are much better). So I am learning to cook from scratch. That should be the title of a cookbook (it probably is somewhere). It should tell you how to cook everything worth eating in easy steps and without breaking a sweat! That would be A M A Z I N G!

So, do you cook from scratch? What are you favorite recipes that don't involve a "can of whatever" or a pre-made package of whatever? Please pass it on! Any tricks that you have? Any cookbooks that you suggest?

The adventure of becoming domesticated is hard, I'm not going to lie. I'm always trying to find "short-cuts" or "the easy way out". It's hard to have a hot meal prepared and on the table for dinner. We don't even have kids yet! So hats off to you moms that work hard everyday to put a hot meal on your table!

T I I.

2009-04-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

T I I = This is Indonesia

*Have you ever lived in a place where you take atleast 2 showers a day, just to escape the heat? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived in a place where the family dog runs around with about 5 other dogs that hang out in your yard and bring trash into your yard? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived next door to a soccer stadium and across the street from a place where everyone dumps their trash? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever been bit by one mosquito about 18 different times on one leg? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived with people who's teeth are always red because they chew beetlenut? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived in a place where the ratio of motorbikes to people is equal or more than equal? We have... or we think we have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived in a place where you can hear the local church congregation singing at the top of their lungs while it echoes through the streets? We have.T I I.

*Have you ever lived in a place where you can look at the face of a child that you don't know and get a smile? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived in a place where you meet a stranger and are instantly part of the family? We have. T I I.

*Have you ever lived in a place where normal things take twice as long? We have. TII.

***Have you ever lived a place that's far away from your real home, but all these things that make this place unique is slowly making this new place become your home?
We have. T I I.

Water Aerobics Make Me Feel At Home

2009-04-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today begins the second official week of living in Sentani.We moved from the blue island to the orange island. We live right on the border of Indonesia and PNG. This past week we met alot of different families. They really made us feel welcomed. Saturday night they showed a movie up at the international school. It was just a relaxing time.

On Sunday, we went to the international church. We were so used to going to an Indonesian church that we showed up late! Showing up late in a national church really means showing up on time. The believers shared in remembering the Lord's supper. This was special for us, because it was our first time in Indonesia.

We got an email about our things we shipped from the blue island to the orange island. It basically said, " Your stuff has been shipped, but we apologize because there might be a chance your stuff didn't make the boat. If it did make the boat, your stuff might be there tomorrow. If it didn't make the boat, your stuff will be there May 4 or 5." Interesting, huh? Life is a little different here. Patience is a life lesson here. Everyday is the classroom.

Today I went to the pool and did water aerobics- me and five other ladies. I was definately the youngest there. I might have been the only one not wearing a swimsuit with a skirt on it. It was lots of fun! I didn't know how much work it would actually be. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it looks. It was a nice way to get some exercise in and cool off at the same time. It was a nice pool, and I haven't been swimming in a long time. The pools on the blue island aren't heated so normally they are freeeeeeeeezing! The pool on the orange island is heated by the sun, so the water was sooooo nice.

While we were there these clowns showed up.

Just kidding! They weren't there :)

This is what it looked like:

Just imagine me in the very back row trying to figure out what is going on! It was easy to catch on to and lots of fun :) Maybe I'll go again on Thursday.

what a week!

2009-04-03T02:38:00.000-07:00

When I last wrote, we were relaxing in KL. Here's a quick update to bring you up to speed on us.

-Caught our plane from KL to Jakarta that was delayed 2 hours. Our neighbors were meeting us at the airport to drop the cat off.

-Checked in for our flight from Jakarta to Papua, and say goodbye to the cat.

-After a looooooooong and cramped flight, we arrived. Lots of families met us at the airport. It was great and really made us feel apart of the team.

We got our luggage, but something was missing... the cat. The cat got stuck in Makassar, which is where we switched planes at 2:30 AM. So we unloaded our things and went on with the day.

**Sad story following**
The cat arrived on Monday morning. Josh came home with him. We let him out, and he sniffed around. Our neighbor came to tell us we had to take him to the animal quaratine office at the airport. So we all loaded up and headed for the airport. After a quick (but confusing) conversation, we were given the option of sending the cat back to Jakarta or putting him down. There would be no one in Jakarta to pick him up. I started crying. I felt really bad knowing that this cat trusted us, and well you know... So Josh took me home, and I grieved all day. The next day was better, because it was already finished. It's sad. We had everything in order, but this province has special rules that other parts of Indonesia don't have to follow. They are rabies free, and will not allow animals that have been vaccinated or exposed to it. That cat was both.
**Sad story finished**

Today we were welcomed by a stomach bug. We both were welcomed at the same time. So we spent today in bed recovering and sleeping. That's just one of the ways a new place says "welcome, glad you're here." it's also a way that the enemy can discourage us and get us down. Please pray that this will go away, our appetites will return, and we can get back to the norm.

It's also VERY hot here. Bandung was comfortable, Papua is sooooo humid. My skin is not reacting very well. I have a rash that is red and scratchy on my arms, neck, chest, legs, and hands. I've started some new meds, and today was better. Pray for our adjustments here.

Thanks for following this. Sometimes the news is good, sometimes it's sad, and sometimes it's bad. This was a mix. Life is a journey with ups and downs, and we're lucky to have you come along on our's.

-J&A

"People Watching" or "Profiling "

2009-03-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen people that you just want to know more about? Sometimes I'll catch myself making up stories about people and their lives just to feel some sort of connection with them. It's weird I know but it makes travelling way more fun.

So we're staying in our hotel, and I notice a lady wearing an "Atlanta" shirt. I think,"Wow, I've been there. Wonder if she's been there?" The guy with her was tall with lots of bracelets on both wrists. Tan with a ballcap on.

Next day, I see the same couple at breakfast. He is wearing a Texas A&M hat. Now I'm starting to wonder (and make up stories) about their life. Are they from the States? Maybe from the South? Definately in the know about some BIG college teams down south. So at breakfast I drag Josh into my "game". We talk about why they might be in Malaysia and where they're from.

After making some predictions:

**Josh's Prediction**
They are from Europe, spent some time in the States, and are here on vacation.

**Amber's Prediction**
They are from the States, maybe he works as a youth minister (because all my old youth minister's were from the South), and here on vacation.

Soooo I wanted to know. Who are these people- that I don't know, but I might want to know, because we might be great friends... so I asked. Yes, I did. I went straight up to their table (which was next to the coffee, so if I needed to abort missions I could rendezvous at the coffee) I asked where they were from because I noticed his A&M hat.

**Reality**
Australian? (Didn't see that coming!)
Vacationing. (Points for both of us)
Travelled to the States. (One Point for Josh)
He works for the government.
She works in telemarketing.

So ironically my husband's predictions were closer than mine were. I think he's learning from me how to read people, or atleast make up entertaining stories about their lives.

Today we had breakfast together, and the husband of the couple was wearing a Dallas Mavs hat. Atleast he has good taste. It's been fun eating getting to know them.

This is our vacation.

First Leg of the BIG (but not as big as before) move!

2009-03-22T22:35:00.001-07:00

Wow soooo crazy, that last week was. after the very short notice that the moving company was coming the very next day, we spent our wednesday packing our whole life up!

Here's our life shown in boxes and plastic bins in our last living room.

This moving company packed up everything. They were very thorough and efficient, so far so good. Our things will be packed into a shipping crate and shipped across the waters surrounding Indonesia to our new home. A little different than renting a U-Haul, huh? They had very creative ways of moving big items. This is our mattress boxed up. One guy was lifting with his head...I've always heard,"Lift with your legs!" but this changes everything! Here's the "moving truck" that will move our things to the crate.

So we spent the next few days just resting, visiting friends, and packing our bags to head to Kuala Lumpur (KL). Our main reason for going to KL was to see my dad. He was there this past month for work. We were hoping to catch him for a quick visit, but it's okay because he came to Indonesia! Our other reason was to change our visas from students to worker/housewife. So our cat, Laki Galak Balboa (Mean Boy Balboa) thought he should get in on the action too! He chased some socks right into the suitcase.

We made it to KL, but NOT without some stories to share.

*Story #1*
We had two huge bags and two hiking bags with all our "can't live without things". We had paid for the max amount of luggage. Well... we were overweight, not us but our bags were. They suggest to "shuffle some things around". This could not be done, no room anywhere. The family of four standing behind us had 22kgs. left. They volunteered to check one of our hiking bags (thankfull it was mine, that thing was sooo heavy!) This allowed us to get through baggage claim and arrive in KL with ALL of our things! We know that we were being looked out for.

*Story #2*
Boarding the plane in Bandung is very different. It has a very 1960's feeling to it. I was reminded of the photo of JFK and Jackie O when the arrived at Dallas Love Field in '63. There's no covering, and you walk straight to the plane. Quite interesting.

BUT through all of that, it was a nice flight. KL is a lovely city. It looks amazing at night, and I'm so thankful to be here.

Today our first stop was the Indonesian Embassy for visa paperwork. Normally this causes headaches in almost every country, but we are really fortunate to have a great team that work on organizing paperwork for visas. Our visas were soooooo smoooooooth. Filled out a form, turned in our papers, made some copies, stood in some lines... done at 4 PM this afternoon (hopefully!) Fast and easy... someone must have pushed that "easy button"! OR someone must be praying! Thanks for looking out for us!

-A&J

Moooooooving! Head 'em up, Move 'em out!

2009-03-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

So this is our last official week in Bandung. It's so crazy. Have you ever noticed that when it's your last week anywhere, you want to sqeeeeeeze as much time as you can with your friends into that last week? It's our last week. So it's jammed pack full of sweet times with friends from here.

In all of the "jammed pack-ness" of this last week, we have elected Thursday to be our offical packing day. No plans are allowed during the day but are allowed that night. The moving company comes on Friday to pack up almost all of our things into a crate that will be shipped from here to Papua... moving is much different on this side of the world. Moving Companies use boats instead of U-Hauls. Friday night we'll take one last trip to the hot springs with some friends. You'd be silly to go during the day, the weather has been warmer than normal. Sitting in a hot spring with the sun beaming down on you doesn't sound very appealing. Who knows what will happen Saturday? A new chapter will begin on Sunday. We'll offically leave Bandung and head to Kuala Lumpur for one week to sort out our visas. We'll arrive in Sentani on March 29, after a few hour flight from Jakarta.

We've just started watching LOST, too. This isn't bad, but it's during our "jammed packed" last week. We've paced ourselves. Lots of people love that show. After only watching a few episodes, I guess I can understand why. I think it's different when you watch them on a dvd, because you don't have to wait in suspense for a full week you just hit play all and watch the whole thing. So, I'm not sure how I feel about LOST, yet. I do think JJ Abrams is really talented. He can make shows like Felicity (and we all know what that show is!), Alias, and now LOST. These shows keep our attention throughout a whole season or seasons, even when the plot turns weird or too sci-fi. That's talent. So, thanks JJ Abrams for making television shows that keep us hooked and entertain us at home of far away.

***EDIT***
So literally about 15 minutes after writing this, our moving company has a rep knock on our door. I don't recognize the guy, so am careful when opening the door. He asks for Josh and tells me he's with the moving co. I gave him Josh's number, and he hands me a sheet of paper with our "updated" shipping date. The date the ship is leaving has been moved ahead, and tomorrow they will come to pick up our things! TOMORROW?! we were expecting FRIDAY! so we were... what's that word?... oh yeah,
f l e x i b l e. :)

"But the LORD's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken." Psalm 33:11

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."
Proverbs 16:9

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Here's a great quote that I will leave you with:

"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it." Harry Emerson Fosdick

Amber's Thoughts.

2009-03-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

You know, I thought I would be so excited when we finished language school. Well, it's here. We finished (Praise the Lord!) but I don't feel "freedom". I have mixed emotions. This is the first city that we have felt settled. We knew it was a temp position, but I wasn't expecting to connect to people the way we have. At some point, all of our friends here will move to other countries or other islands, so in a way it's probably best that we leave first. Our teachers became like family, you know the rock that will always be there. They were there every day, rain or shine (trust me in Indonesia sometimes there is more rain than shine!) and always willing to invest into our lives. It's a bittersweet mixture of emotions for me.

Here's some examples of the mixed emotions I have:
happy, sad
anxious, nervous
excited, cautious
willing to move, clinging/grasping for life here

I feel what I felt when we made the move here from America, but now we know a little bit of the language. You can fill in the blank on the word you think fits best for how I feel.

Now we're turning to these next two weeks in Bandung. We'll go to Jakarta for a night, because Josh has a pilot test take. The week after that is strictly reserved for packing. When we moved, we had four suitcases, 2 hiking bags, and a backpack. That's our whole life. We've expanded since we moved here... adding a car and motorcycle to our family. A moving company will come next week to ship our things to Papua. We'll leave Bandung and head to Kuala Lumpur for switching our visas and "vacation" before going to Papua. We'll arrive on the morning of March 29. Terlalu cepat (too fast!)!

Once we get "settled" (does this ever happen in the Christian life???), I should have more time to update to fill you in on all our new adventures! Thanks for going on this journey with us.

A&J

Long Over Due Update

2009-01-28T01:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's so crazy how life can totally distract from updating this thing! So much has happened these last few months. I'll try to recap it without boring you.

December:
The month flew by with language school. Our friends celebrated a holiday called "Idul Adha". This holiday has lots of different meanings, but here's the gist: an animal is sacraficed and the meat is passed out to the poor. The night before the "big day", the kids were hanging out in front of the mosque. They were so friendly, which is different than normal!

We were super busy, because there was a new group that came. Three new families moved to Bandung. They spent the month in orientation. We spent the month juggling language school, helping with orientation, helping them get set up in homes, and life in general. The highlight of the month was our Christmas day trip to the beach! It was soooo beautiful. It was only about 130 miles but in Indonesian time that means 6 hours on winding roads. We were there for almost a week. A couple of our friends came too. We also checked out a place called "Green Canyon". A beautiful cave tucked away on the island of Java. When we got home, we had a visit from a great great friend!

January:
We had a great New Years experience. We've celebrated 3 different times! The Islamic Calendar ends 11 days before January 1. We celebrated our normal new years. This past Monday we celebrated the Chinese New Year. Now we are almost finished with unit 5. We will only study through unit 6. So right now we're looking for plane tickets to leave the country for our visas!! Can you believe it?! We'll be moving to Papua in a couple of months. Wow. I can't believe it. This month has been a sad month too, because we just recently found out that my grandma has cancer. This was a surprise, because we weren't expecting news like this. God has been so faithful to us, and we know we are where we need to be. That knowledge doesn't make it any easier being on the other side of the world.

What an interesting time this has been. I believe we've grown alot. Hopefully when we meet again you can see even more clearly the light of Christ reflecting off our faces. We've met with Him, but we're not veiling our faces :)

P.S. we still have the cat. his is still naughty! Hope you're doing great. We love you and miss you all!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T03:15:00.002-08:00

I’m thankful that Josh and I are here in Indonesia together. It would be really challenging to live here alone. I’m thankful that God has put us together to experience the adventures of this live with one another. Fifty years from now, we’ll be talking about that time we were in language school.

I’m thankful for my parents. It would be really hard to accept the fact that your only child has decided to pack up and move to another country that is FAR away from home. I’m so thankful that God has continually protected them from worry and that has given them ability to accept that we live here. They were really supportive of all the travelling and random summer jobs that had a point for advancing Kingdom work.

I’m thankful for Josh’s family. They are such an encouragement to us. Again I’m thankful for God and the peace that He gives to our families while we are far from home. I’m especially thankful for the cookies that you send us! They are literally a taste from home.

I’m thankful for both old and new friends. You have been there for me through some crazy times. I think God gives us friends, because He knows we need other people. As much as we can try to be independent, we are very dependent on one another. We need each other. Indonesians understand this. Our neighbors know that they need each other. We face difficult times together, we rejoice with one another. We carry each other’s burdens. Friends are a blessing from the Lord.

I have never been so thankful for health as I am this year. Moving to a new country that has tropical diseases that are passed through mosquitoes and where every tummy ache with fever can be something serious is something that can really wear you out. Praise the Lord that we have had mostly good health. We have had a few days where we had to stay in bed because of upset tummies; nothing serious though.

Even as I write this, I’m reminded of God and His faithfulness. Being so far from family during the holidays for the first time is a sad thing for me. He is my Heavenly Father and will never leave me or forsake me. He reunited us through His Son’s death on a Cross. He is good and never changes. I’m so thankful that He NEVER changes. He is my firm foundation. One day every nation will bow willingly at His feet to worship Him for who He is. He is altogether beautiful and lovely. For that I am truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving! We miss you!

2008-11-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

Lately, it seems like we have been spending a lot of time learning the language. The more we learn, the more we realize how far we have to go. Now that our vocabulary is starting to expand, we have been accidentally switching words. This means that sometimes there are a few embarrassing moments like when I called Amber a cell phone the other day. After a confused look, I was able to straighten it out.

Every Monday morning at school, we have a one hour devotion called a kebaktian. The hour is filled with students and instructors giving testimonies in Indonesian and singing Indonesian worship songs. Next week I will give my testimony in Indonesian and Amber will read from the Alkitab (the Indonesian Bible). In the picture below, one of the instructors is praying for the kebaktian.

We have eight people in our class right now. Three people are native Korean speakers, two are native Japanese speakers, and three are native English speakers. This has forced us to communicate to one another in Indonesian. Since the school is based on the concept of full immersion, the language diversity isn’t a problem. This is a picture of our class (minus one other American) and one of our instructors is to the far right.

A couple weeks ago, Amber and I went on a motorcycle ride to another town that isn’t too far from where we live. We spent the night at hotel and visited a volcano nearby the next day. It was a fun getaway that gave us a chance to relax and take a break from all our studying. The volcano’s name is Tangkuban Perahu which literally means overturned boat. The name came from a legend about a love relationship that turns upside down. Wikepedia does a pretty good job of explaining the legend. The rim on one side also looks like a giant overturned boat. The crater itself was huge and was equally rank with the stench of sulfur.

Some of our friends back in the States have sent us care packages. (Thank you!!!) We couldn’t have been happier about the hadiah-hadiah (gifts) inside. The food here is a little different, so you would have thought it was Christmas when we received pancake mixes and deodorant! We picked up a stray kitten off the side of the road a couple months back so one of the packages came with toys for kittens. If you look closely in the picture, the cat is attacking the toy while Amber is holding it in her left hand. He is pretty much your typical kitten and plays until he passes out. We couldn’t find cat toys anywhere here, so it was nice to get something that keeps him occupied.

Long Time, no posting

2008-09-30T03:01:00.000-07:00

We have lived here for three months now. Sometimes I look back and it seems like forever, but other days it seems like everything has flown by. Three months ago, we could only say “Good morning”, “Good afternoon”, or “Good evening”. Now we are carrying on conversations with people in our neighborhood. It’s still a little rough, with lots of broken sentences and filling in the blanks. We praise God that He’s helping us learn the language.

The month of September flew by. Here are some high points:

• Amber’s first birthday overseas. It was a great time! A group of girls took me to a salon for a “cream bath”. It was very interesting. While putting this gook in your hair, they massage your scalp, and tug your hair. Then they wash it out, blow dry and “style” it. I just asked for the straight look. A group of friends met us there and we had dinner at “Amigos” a Mexican food restaurant in Indonesia! Sure it wasn’t Taco Bueno, Uncle Julios, or Taco Time, but it was a little taste of Heaven. We headed back to our house and shared great conversation over ice cream cake. Some family members sent money to say “Selamat Ulang Tahun” or happy birthday. I bought a guitar. It's really pretty.

• Passing Unit One! Pujih Tuhan (Praise God!) Little did we know that the beginning of Unit Two would redefine the word “stress” for us!

• Amber’s Dad came to Malaysia for one month for work. For a birthday present, we were able to go to Kuala Lumpur for the week we had off from school. We had a great time. Visiting family, seeing photos, phone calls… they are so re-energizing and encouraging for us. We took some field trips to the Petrones Towers (the tallest Twin Towers in the world), The Batu Caves, an Aquarium with a walk trough tunnel surrounded by sharks and stingrays, and Chili’s.

A note about the Batu Caves: Do not let your guide lead you into a dark cave with only a small light on your hard hat and say,” Oh, I’ll be right back.” Our guide left us in this dark cave on our tour for about 10 minutes!

• This month of September has been a very special month for our Muslim friends. This month is known as Ramadan. During this time, all Muslims will fast during the hours of 4AM-6PM. No food, water, smoking, or anything else that brings you pleasure. This month is when they are cleansed from their sins and wrong-doings and given a clean record. We have had to be very careful about what we do in public, so as not to be a stumbling block. It’s been interesting to observe the culture during this time. Tonight (or Tuesday morning if you’re in the States) is a VERY special time for our friends. The men will spend all night in the Mosque praying for Allah to reveal Himself to them just like He did to Muhammad. The women will pray at home while cooking. Wednesday morning (Tuesday night in the States) there will be a special prayer service outside. Wednesday and Thursday will be the official breaking of the fasting month. This holiday is called Idul Fitri. This is a time when families get together and EAT as much as they want. We’ll go visit our friends and feast with their families.

• Halfway down our stairs, there is a door. This led to a house that a guy about 23 years old lived. We always saw him and he always was willing to help with our homework. He was killed in a motorcycle accident last week. The whole kompung was in mourning. The body was buried within 12 hours of the accident. It was our first experience going to an Islamic funeral. They will pray for the soul of our friend for 7 days all the way up to a year. They are praying that his soul will find his way to Heaven. The family believes that this was fate. Please pray for this family. He was very young, funny, friendly, and this neighborhood will not be the same without him. Pray for us, too. We want God to use this bad situation for good- His Glory.

• We have been going to an Indonesian Church that gathers together in a hotel’s meeting room on Sundays. There are so many new believers there. The worship time is really a time of praising the Lord for who He is. It’s exciting. People raise their hands, clap, jump, and express their love for God in whatever way they feel they need too. There really is freedom, because the Spirit of the Lord is there.

• Badminton is huge here. So, on Monday nights we play. Are we good? Umm… not yet :) On our way to the court, we spotted this little kitten on the side of the road. His eye was matted shut and was covered with fleas. A stray cat isn’t unusual in Indonesia, so we kept going. On our way home, the same kitten was on the side of the road hunched up. Full of compassion, we picked that thing up and brought him home. A mistake? Maybe… but now we have something to entertain us. Josh named him “Laki” which is short for laki-laki. In Indonesian that means “boy”. He’s crazy. The photos will probably fool you into thinking he’s cute. Be careful, because as soon as you think that he’ll scratch or bite you. Hope you "dog people" still talk to us after reading that we have a cat now.

Hope you’re doing well. We think of you often… yes, you. We miss you. Let us know how you are. We are all apart of the body of Christ and have different functions in different parts of the world. No matter where we are or where we come from, we are apart of the Global Body of Christ. It’s amazing to share these experiences with Koreans, Singaporeans, Indonesians, Dutch, Americans, Canadians, and Columbians… our God is a global God who has a plan for the Nations! What’s your role?

Photo Catch-Up

2008-08-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

So, I'm really sorry about not updating sooner! We ran into some small problems with our internet, so it wouldn't run fast enough to allow us to update. There's so much that has gone on the past few weeks. So instead of explaining it all in words, I thought I'd take you on a photo tour.

"Rumah di Pak Josh dan Ibu Amber"

The "street" we live on.

Take a trip downstairs... watch out! They're steep!

Welcome to our living room.

Here's the central room. We repainted. Here you can access the office, our bedroom, and a guest bedroom. Yes, we have a spare bedroom... so come visit!

This is our bathroom. Here's our shower...

and here's our bathtub.

Our bedroom.

This is our "bathroom" sink. It's not located anywhere near the bathroom. It's outside. On the left side is a set of stairs that leads down to our kitchen that we don't have photos of yet.

This is our backporch that overlooks the valley.

How's the view? You might be able to spot a fisherman or two down there.

Here's a stray cat that lives on the neighbors roof. He's parallel with our faces as we come downstairs to get to our front door. I don't think he appreciated the "photo op".

Photo Tour number 2

"Indonesian Independence Day"

August 17 begins a party that lasts for one full week. Each neighborhood puts on a festival for the people that live there. They play "traditional" Indonesian games. You'll see on our tour that the "traditional" games have the same or similar games in the States.

This game we don't have, but we should! They tie water balloons to a clothesline, blindfold the participants, spin them around, and the first to bust the waterballoon wins.

This is a greased pole. The pole is stuck deep into the ground and is greased up. It's SO slick. The object is to climb to the top of the pole (as a team) to reach the prizes up at the top.

What's a festival without a good ol' sack race?

Tug-of-War

So close to the top of the greased tree!

The object of this game is to be the first to eat the rice cake off of the string.

Our new friends (aka language tutors) have made us feel so welcomed!

Story Time:

I (Amber) really wanted to play one of these games. So, I signed up for the break the waterballoon game. I was playing with a few other women. We all line up while the volunteers blindfold us....

They spin us around.

The sad thing is they only spun us around twice! I was completely lost. I had a game plan... "OK, take a few steps in front of you and bust that waterballoon." Notice where I am and what direction I'm going.

Oops! My helper guides me back.

So after everyone picks themselves up from laughing so hard, we all try again! Unfortunately, I was the only lady that didn't bust the balloon.

Final Photo Tour
"Kitchen Adventures"

We don't have an oven in our kitchen. The people living in our neighborhood have these ovens called "Kampoung Ovens". This is a very unique invention. It's a metal box that sits on top of your stove burners. The burners heat up the inside and creates the same effect as an oven. Our house helper and friend taught Amber how to make brownies using the oven. After the first try, the results are in. Everyone agrees the brownies will need some work, but they still get a thumbs up and an "A" for effort!

When making a smoothie or milkshake while living in Indonesia, always first check the blender before doing anything! We got a small surprise in ours. This is a cicak (pronounced chee-chuck). This little guy lives in our kitchen and eats unwanted mosquitoes and other critters. We have no idea how he got in here! The lid was closed. There was no access point for him!

We really hope that you enjoyed the photo tours! Again we're so sorry it's taken us so long to update. We love you all. Thanks for being interested in our life here and sharing the journey with us!

-J & A

A Working Title

2008-07-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

We are alive and healthy. We've been learning so much about the culture of Indonesia during these last few weeks. We've had the opportunity to visit the largest Mosque in SE Asia. It was beautiful! It was designed by a Christian. On Friday afternoons, 10,000 people will pray. The days following Rhamadan 200,000 people will go to pray at that Mosque.

We had the opportunity to visit the Indonesian Bible Society. This is an incredible place that prints almost all the Bibles that are in Indonesia! They use two machines that are 30 years old to print the black and white pages. When we arrived we saw copies of the Gideon Bible being completed.

This past weekend we stayed with an Indonesian family. The youth of Indonesia spend their time at the malls, so we enjoyed a day at two malls searching for tickets to see the new Batman movie. We saw our first movie here on Saturday night. Sunday, after going to church at 6 AM (yes, I really was up at 6 AM), we went to a party to celebrate the anniversary of the church's men's vocal group. There was a time of singing, eating, singing, visiting, and dancing. They had karaoke... with a live band. The owner of the home requested that we sing two songs. Us, sing? I know. We jammed to the Beatles- Yesterday and Hey Jude. Everyone sang along to Hey Jude. Who would have thought that the Beatles could unite people that don't speak the same language?

Today is our last day in Jakarta. Tomorrow we'll be moving to Bandung, a city about 2 hours from Jakarta. We're going house hunting. The weather is cooler there because it's at a higher elevation. The change in scenery will be nice, and hopefully the macet (Indonesian for "traffic" pronounced ma-chet) will be lighter. After settling down into our own place, we'll begin to learn Bahasa Indonesia (the language of Indonesia). During this time, we hope that we make close friends.

We're excited about the adventures that lie ahead. I'm so thankful that we have ways of keeping in touch with you. It doesn't seem that we're really on the other side of the world! Keep in touch with us, because we miss you all and need your encouragement.

Getting Around Jakarta

2008-07-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

Today we learned how to get around Jakarta. We were given two hours to take as many forms of public transportation that the city of Jakarta had to offer. This proved to be a fun and challenging experience.

We started off on the back of scooters which is how many people who live here in the city choose to get around. The traffic here is unlike anything I have ever seen. Crazy doesn't begin to describe it. If you ride a motorcycle in the United States and you feel restricted by all the traffic laws, you need to take your next vacation in Jakarta.

After the motorcycles we took a variety of buses, taxis, covered flat bed pickups, trains, and a little three wheeled covered motorcycle called a bajai. For those who are used to using public transportation in a foreign country, you already know that personal space is defined a little different than what it might be in the U.S. The smells, the pickpocketing, the backfiring bajais can not be fully expressed in words. In actuality, we had a lot of fun. This might be attributed to the fact that it was only a game today and it hasn't become daily life yet. We have a little adjusting to do and today we got to have a little fun in the process.

We Made It

2008-07-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

After some long flights and no sleep, we made it to SE Asia on Tuesday afternoon. We forced ourselves to stay awake to help lessen the jet-lag. We had some "get-a-ways" to the local immigration office a couple times to check in. It was quite the adventure, but it exposed us to some of the culture in our new home. It's a very diverse place with some of the most wonderful people.

We've started our orientation class this week. So far, we've gotten our handphones (cell phones for those of you in the States), went to a pharmacy where we decide how much and which medications to take, and we've been to many malls. We took a ride in a taxi, a van, a bus, and a small truck that has the bed of it covered with benches in it to get places (we always had someone with us that could speak the language). There are lots of restaurants that are seen in the States: KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, A&W, Wendys, Dunkin' Donuts, and even a Chili's. So, even though we're miles away from "home" there are aspects of our new home that make us very comfy.

Here's a couple of experiences we've had:
- While registering with immigration, I had a killer headache. I needed some caffine or some kind of kick to pick me up. We went a street vendor and ordered a nice, cold, coke in a bottle. The vendor takes our coke and pours it in a plastic bag and sticks a straw in it! They reuse all their glass bottles, so we got our cokes "to-go".

- We went to a huge expo celebrating the diversity of our new home. Several vendors were selling hand-made crafts from their home region. We were waiting at an ATM for our friends to withdraw money, and I sat next to a small boy that had two red balloons. I pushed on his balloons. His dad, who was also standing in line, grabbed his son's hand and placed it on my arm. He kept saying "He just wants to touch you, He just wants to touch you." and then began apologizing. Our new friends believe that if their children touch a Westerner that they will be blessed with happiness, wealth, and prosperiety.

We look forward to sharing more with you, and thanks for showing an interest in what our Father is doing around this area.

Welcome!

2008-06-01T16:34:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our blog. We'll try to keep this updated as we begin a new chapter in our lives! We're looking forward to sharing this journey with you!

-J and A

Chronicles from the Fields...

We're Up and Running!

First Few Weeks Back

The Long Road Home

December Update

Advent Thoughts

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!!!!"

November Happenings

Texas- Here, There, Everywhere

The Goal

Texas- Week One Review

New Blog Additions

Meet Paul.

Furlough Goals

Furlough in a Flash- Friend Edition

Furlough in a Flash- Sports Addition

Furlough in a Flash

Furlough in a Flash

Jumbled thoughts on a Jog

Great Adventures

The Long Road Home

A Photo Journey of Lives Changed

A Glimpse of Life

T O U R

What's for dinner? Seriously...

*Ants*

These Days...

Flight to Bias

Summer!

Comings and Goings

Life = Busy

Adventures in Flying with Josh

S O L O

Happy New Year!

***Spoiler Alert***

happenings of late

These are the days...

Quake Update

Catch Up, Catsup, Ketchup

Jeremiah 29:11

this whirlwind called life

We are Safe!

Visa... and not the credit card :)

Kami masi hidup! (We're still alive!) **Now with Photos!

Whew, What a Weekend!

I've been withholding information

running and planning

Is the red light on??

Help Me Understand

Sneezes and Updates

Groggy Sundays

Hello, Life is calling.

"Let the Road Pave Itself"

Opening Doors

Cooking from Scratch *** Revised Version***

T I I.

Water Aerobics Make Me Feel At Home

what a week!

"People Watching" or "Profiling "

First Leg of the BIG (but not as big as before) move!

Moooooooving! Head 'em up, Move 'em out!

Amber's Thoughts.

Long Over Due Update

Thanksgiving

Long Time, no posting

Photo Catch-Up

A Working Title

Getting Around Jakarta

We Made It

Welcome!

Ants

Spoiler Alert

Cooking from Scratch * Revised Version*