RIMSHOTS

I Am Developing Trust Issues

2012-01-28T23:53:00.002+07:00

It's true. I walked into the kitchen the other day, after a key event, and told Barry I was beginning to have trust issues with him, which caused him to laugh.

Now, before you call Member Care and sign us up for marriage counseling, let me explain the reason for my trust issues.

Step back in time with me to my second year of marriage. The year is 1991. We were living in Little Rock, AR, (Here's a shout out to all my Geyer Springs FBC peeps!) as newlyweds, living in bliss, enjoying student m*inistry, and eating at Tony's Egg Roll King (yes, Tony, and he was Chinese! lol) Instead of raising our salary, the church moved us into a house that was on property that they were in the process of building a new church building on. The house was a bit run down, but had an old charm to it. In fact, here is a funny side note, one day the pastor took us out to eat at Tony's Egg Roll King and talked to us about moving into the house and took us out to see it. As we are leaving the house and going back to the church office, Barry mentioned that it's not a bad little house and suggested that maybe the pastor might want to fix it up and move there himself, to which the pastor replied "No, that house is too old, when you guys are done with it we are going to tear it down." Hahahaa That still makes me laugh. I know what he meant, but I don't think it came out like he planned! I always wondered if he realized how that sounded.

Back to the story. We moved in and since we had a water bed, and it had just been filled, it was too cold to sleep on that first night so we opted to sleep on our big orange sleeper sofa that someone had given us. We snuggled into bed and I drifted off to sweet dreams of how I was going to decorate the house and make it our home. That is until "it" happened. "It" is when I woke up to see Barry out of bed and shaking our covers and sheets. Now, since in the last year or so of being married to him, he had never exhibited this type of behavior I ask him what he is doing. His response? "Nothing, it's okay, just go back to sleep." What? So now I am fully awake and want to know what is going on, only to find out that as Barry was laying there not quite into lullaby land, he felt something run across his chest. Run.Across.His.Chest. What? In 2 seconds flat I am out of that bed and lo and behold, there were mouse droppings in the bed. In.The.Bed. Needless to say, I sat up on the couch all night wrapped in my quilt and we watched mice run all over that place. It was infested in a major way. The church sent an exterminator the next day thank goodness, but that was a rough start and I still cannot believe Barry said "Nothing's wrong, go back to sleep."

Now to the present time, 2012. It is 6am and I am doing some morning dishes from breakfast when I think I see something run under the stove. Now, listen, we constantly have cicaks (cheechaks=geckos) running around our house. That is normal. So I am looking at the direction and thinking to myself, was that a cicak? It was awfully dark colored, but the cicak by the trash can is always dark because the trash bag is black. As I am pondering this, a huge..HUGE..HUGE rat comes running from under my stove into the storeroom. There is a slight chance that I may be exaggerating it's hugeness, I mean I didn't get a great look because I was too busy screaming my fool head off! It was definitely bigger than anything I have ever seen in a house! Five months, I only had five more months to make and we could have been rat free for three years, but no, it had to happen. Have I heard them in my roof before? Yes, all running and squealing around in there but never had they made it into my home. This means war. It must die. If you love rats and are going to write and tell me how cute or whatever you think they are...at the risk of sounding rude, don't. I don't care to hear it. Just go watch Ratatouille and keep those warm fuzzy thoughts to yourself. (Like who was the brainiac at Disney that thought rats in the kitchen was a good idea?!) It will die. Make no mistake. Fast, Slow, quick or painful makes no difference to me, seriously. Let there be no confusion where I stand on this.

So..where does the trust issue come in? After all this transpires and I make Marshall shut the storeroom door so that I can trap the rat and devise my plan for his immediate death, Barry says that he thought there might be one because he had been hearing something under the stove! Seriously? And he said nothing? Nothing, to the person that he loves and who half of everyday stands at that stove making meals for her family? Let me tell you people, I have to get down on my knees every time I want to use the oven and light the flame myself. On.My.Knees. Do you understand how close that rat has been to me? I shudder at the thought even as I type. SHUDDER!!

Do you see my point now? To be fair, Barry's explanation is that he doesn't want me to be worried or afraid if there isn't a need to be. Isn't that sweet? Uh, whatever! :) So now you know why, as he says this statement in light of this event and as I recall the story from 21 years ago, I am having trust issues with my dear husband. I love the man, but in this area...........he has some 'splaining to do!

Let it be known that he went and bought about four different forms of rat traps and poisons. So he has taken steps toward redeeming himself. That being said, until I see a carcass, I still have issues!! :)

My hero preparing the glue trap

Lots of good sticky glue

The girls run for protection behind their barricade as Barry opens the store room door to place the trap

Be watching for next week's post where Marshall becomes a human banana split!

The Fire Station

2012-01-01T11:57:00.000+07:00

How did I forget the picture of the fire station? I just want you to gain perspective on this situtaion. This was just built in the past year. There is a much larger fire station at the Chevron Oil Camp that is similar to what most of us are use to.

Happy New Year friends and loved ones! This year, 2012 = 6 months in Macchiato + 6 months in the USA....sounds perfect to me! :)

Rooftops Roasting on an Open Fire

2011-12-31T20:31:00.001+07:00

The "red" in our Christmas Day celebrations!

This is sure to be a Christmas to remember. We have taken "Go light your world" to a new level! First, our happened upon tradition (2 years running) of going to KFC and getting our picture taken with a local Santa Clause on Christmas Eve was disrupted by the fact that this year, not only did they not have Santa, they had no decorations up. None. You wouldn't even have known it was Christmas. So sad. We did see a Santa at the mall walking around with humongous sunglasses on, but the kids opted out of approaching him for pictures! Ha!

Secondly, due to Christmas Sunday being a busy day for us we decided to celebrate our Christmas on Saturday morning and ending the day by doing our annual Christmas Eve run to KFC. Despite KFC not working out we had a fun day with all of the kids enjoying their gifts and enjoying each other. Barry and I had quite a time finding gifts here this year but in the end, all were pleased and thankful for the chance to get something new. Sunday would entail ch*rch with nationals in the morning, possible visitors in the afternoon and then a dinner/fellowship with the International ch*rch in the evening. We went to bed feeling ready for Christmas day.

While the family slept, Barry and I woke early Christmas morning. Barry was getting ready and I began food preparations for the days activities. In the midst of making tortillas I hear a loud POP....and then all the lights went out. This was a noise unlike anything I have ever heard. I thought maybe a transformer had gone out, I went outside in the backyard and saw nothing. I went around the inside of the house and saw nothing. I then went into our bedroom and asked Barry, who was in the shower, if he had heard it because it didn't sound good. About that time I hear my neighbor yelling "Mister! Mister! Hati-hati, ada api! Ada api!! Mister!" So I think oh man, a house is on fire! I then rush out to see my neighbors hauling a ladder to my roof and lifting buckets of water up it!! MY ROOF! Just like those old Taco Bueno commercials would say, "Now that was unexpected."

Just to clear the record: Even though I have been given the nickname of "Sparky" due to my electrical mishaps, neither I nor my cooking was the cause of the fire! There...now I feel better, let's continue.

I never smelt anything nor had I seen any smoke inside the house. I run into the house and yell "FIRE!!" like it's my own hair that's flaming. All my kids had slept in one room together and it was directly under the flaming part of our roof! I scream to Barry who comes rushing out along with the kids. We scoot the kids outside and my neighbor is yelling to see if we have a spigot they can use and a hose. Uhm..the spigot is in the back and the hose is roughly 5 feet long (no joke!). That and the fact that with no electricity we have like zero water pressure, none of that is going to be helpful. We quickly gather more buckets, filling them from the "bak" and hauling them outside.

Kids waiting and watching the action...obviously they have had better wake up calls than this.

Now by this time, we literally have the whole neighborhood, and then some, at our front gate. They have called the "fire department", the landlord, and the electric company I think before we even knew there was a fire. Which of course was great of them, and it was reassuring to know that we have neighbors willing to not only watch out for us but help out in such an extraordinary way. So the fire truck arrives...after the fire is put out (with water, which we are very fortunate because you really are not suppose to put water on an electrical fire) and they begin to inspect and make sure it was contained and extinguished. While I am grateful for these guys and their attempt to help, let's just say they gave me lots of fodder for this posting!

Looking good and saving the day...sort of!

First of all, they arrive in full gear (a good sign) looking quite efficient they climbed up and inspected the damage on the roof and then asked to go inside. We showed them the attic door which is in the kids bath and then they asked if I had a ladder they could borrow.

What? The firemen didn't bring a ladder?

I thought ladders and firemen just went together! So after explaining that we didn't have one they proceeded to stand on each others shoulder, 3 men high, and climbed up into the ceiling. I am so not kidding! It reminded me of a circus act! So once the guy made it up into the roof they asked for a flashlight.

What? The firemen didn't bring a flashlight?

So we find them a flashlight and they look around and declare that, "It is good, no more problems." Uh, ya, thanks buddy. I'm sure that a less than five minute inspection of faulty wiring is thorough! After all this I am a little less then relieved and not at all comforted that this ordeal is over.

Here comes the Electric Company...and if you were a child in the '80's that has a whole different meaning to you! LOL

Finally....the electric company has an extending ladder that the firemen can use!

This is about the time that the electric company arrives and so the firemen use their ladder to check the roof again and the electric guys asks if he can come in and check my outlets, of course you can check our outlets! So he checks them, proceeds to get into our attic (not sure how, I missed that) and messes with something up there and POOF, we had electricity! Which is nice...but kind of scary! He smiles at me and says everything is fine. We want to know what happened, he said, "Some wiring caught on fire but it is okay now, and you have electricity again." Needless to say I am thrilled that all the outlets didn't fry and fry everything that was plugged in along with it, but having electricity at that point was not at all comforting...in fact it was down right frightening! We quickly called the electrician that we always use and asked him to come check it out. It took him all of about three minutes to declare that it was unsafe and that the whole house would need to be rewired and he was afraid it would catch on fire again. Lovely.

The electricians checking out the damage on top

By this time it is lunch time, we have missed ch*rch and there is no way that I can get a dish and dessert done for the evening fellowship. Now we have the dilemma of whether we leave the house to go to the fellowship or stay to watch over the house. In the end, we decided that we would turn off everything and then go to ch*rch that night. Just seemed kind of weird to not go to w*rship, especially when it falls Christmas. We had a great time celebrating the birth of the Son and our good friends, the "G's" offered to let us stay in their home while they were on vacation and our house was being rewired. What a blessing that has been! Barry has stayed most of the nights at our home, first to be on watch for a flare up and then to not leave it empty at night as that just not a good thing here.

So now, by the time I am wrapping up this blog post, the house is completed, all rewiring is done. We will next have them come and repair the roof where the fire damaged it then all will go back to normal again. Of course normal here means something else will break, leak, stop working or snap off in your hand or aparently catch on fire.....ahhh....normal is so over-rated! :)

I don't want to close this post without saying just how thankful that I am that I can place the care of my family into the hands of the CEO. My thankfulness for His care and protection of my family is something there are not words enough to express. I know that tragedies are not always thwarted and some things happen with His promises to carry us through, but this time we were spared any real grief and that in itself is gift beyond my deserving. So.Very.Thankful.

Hope you each had a wonderful Merry Christmas and may this next year be the best you have ever had in terms of your love and service to the CEO and your fellow man!! Then, CEO willing, Christmas in the great state of Oklahoma next year!!! Six more months.....not that I am counting!! :)

A neighbor showing them where the flames were coming out.

Not sure who this guy was, but I wanted to show you how the many motorcyclist will often leave their helmets on unless they are going in somewhere and staying

The "stack" of firemen as they stood on each other's shoulders, this is the best pic I could get!

He must have thought it was funny too, he was taking pictures! Ha!

div>

Visitors From the East at Christmas Time

2011-12-17T10:22:00.001+07:00

Two weeks ago we got a phone call from our friends who live in Bali. They might have to travel to "Starbucks" for a visa renewal and wanted to know if they could come up for a visit. Uhh...YES!! Then just when it looked like it was not going to happen, they got the call to do their visas and everything quickly fell in place! They just happen to have sons who are the exact same age as Marshall, Hudson, and Haddon. So needless to say, my kids were SO excited to have friends come and visit. It was very humbling that they would spend their time and money to come to "Folgers" for a vacation and stay with us. Imagine leaving Bali and vacationing in........."Folgers"! They came Wed-Sun. A nice Christmas surprise.

You see, at our annual summer meeting the leader who was opening up the session started doing random introductions and happened to interview Barry. He was asking him get to know you questions, then he asked what the most exciting thing to do in "Folgers" was, to which Barry replied, "Eating grilled corn by the river where you can watch kids jump off the outhouse into the river!" The man then said, "Wow, makes you want to go there!" and "Ya, that's pretty much what I heard about your city!" LOL Needless to say, after those comments, and our city having the reputation of being the "armpit" of Macchiato, we have not been expecting many visitors. Campbell lovingly says we are not just an armpit, we are an armpit with deodorant now! LOL

However, because the CEO is so good and understands our desires, not only this family but two other families have sent their sons up to visit and stay with our family while their dads came here on business a few months ago. How cool is that? My boys loved having their friends fly up to visit them. Again, that these families would pay for a plane ticket for their kids to come see my boys is humbling and such a special gift. Our family, my kids, are so blessed with the people and friends in their lives over here. (Unfortunately, the other two boys came during Ram*dan and the corn stalls were not open due to the fasting. Boo!) Guess they'll just have to come again so they too can join "The Order of the Corn", what we have affectionately dubbed this "Folgers" rite of passage. :)

While the Basha family was here we went to our Team "R" Christmas party, the farm and orphanage, the water park, and the boys went to the PYP Christmas party. Busy, but fun times!

Here is an explanation for mine and Campbell's water slide pic: At the water park they barely had water trickling down most of the slides, therefore except for the wide green slide, we all got stuck and had to walk or push our rafts down the slides (um ya...that was fun!) As Campbell and I come walking out of the tube slide, carrying our raft, the lifeguard made us get in it and insisted that he must push us the rest of the way into the water...no kidding. I was cracking up, welcome to my life. No wonder world peace seems so far away, people around the world do not have the same solutions for the same problems. It never ceases to amaze me! Oh well you have to embrace the differences or they will drive you crazy...and I would know...trust.

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas season and remembering to focus on people not things, busy creating memories not stress, and loving the CEO even more because of promises fulfilled in the Son!

One last note. Barry leaves Sunday to get his cast off. Can you believe it has already been six weeks since his surgery? Please lift up him and us as we stay behind again, thankfully only until Tuesday.

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The Gift of Giving of Yourselves

2011-12-05T17:35:00.001+07:00

I absolutely love this time of year! Even here, where the Christmas season seems a bit non-existent outside our homes. Where to the majority of the population December 25th is just another day on the calendar. I love the reason we celebrate, I love the cold, I love the family traditions, and I love presents....er....giving, I mean I love giving presents! :)

The picture at the top of my blog shows the boys in PYP (their International Ch*rch youth group) blowing up 125 soccer balls and unwrapping and trying to figure out the maze of string for the ball string that came with them. (fyi- I looked up the "official" name of the ball string only to discover it is officially called "ball string," so there you go, who knew?!) lol

This year their group is helping the "G" family prepare 125 gift bags for school children in a neighboring area. The interesting thing about this school is that while it is a public school (all public schools are M*slim), they are allowing a teacher there to offer a course on Chr*stianity. This does not mean it is warmly accepted or desired, she has experienced pers*cution due to offering this class, but she keeps doing what she feels called to do.

To assist her, the "G" family offered to prepare gift bags for their celebration of Christmas. One way they did this was to gather supplies and donations while they spent the summer in the States. However, the crate that they put the items in has run into numerous delays and although it left in August, it has still not arrived. Well, that's not necessarily true. It arrived in Macchiato last week and we were so excited, until they received word that there was a dock workers strike at the shipyard and therefore it was sent back to Singapore. So frustrating, but also very much on par for the way things are over here. But the "G's", despite facing roadblocks, set plans in motion to find a factory in "Starbucks, the capitol city" that could send them 125 soccer balls for these bags and miracle of miracle they were ordered, and arrived this week. Just in time to put the bags together! Yay, for the CEO!!

The way Mrs. G explains it is that after struggling with the fact that the gifts and donations didn't arrive in time she felt the CEO saying that he wanted to do something different here. He said "she" could supply school supplies, but that "He" wanted to supply soccer balls! Can't argue with that can you? See, the kids here LOVE soccer. Daily you can see them running around kicking a ball, usually one that is battered and worn beyond belief, or maybe a wad of paper and plastic in place of a ball if they don't have one of their own. Isn't that just like the CEO?  He doesn't always just give what people need, sometimes he gives what people want so they can experience His love. All because He is good.

I thought this story was beautiful. It reminds me of how very good the CEO is and how He is always looking out for us. We certainly do not always understand His ways, but I love that we can always trust him to do what is best for us. See, as much as we believe that our circumstances, life, wants, and needs depend on those around us, the truth is that the CEO is always in control. His plans will not be thwarted by the actions, lack of actions or the obedience or lack of obedience of others (or a crate that is 3 months overdue!).   I love that! If something is/is not being done that you are praying for it is because the CEO, in his infinite knowledge and love, has a different plan/timeline than you do. Don't let that discourage you or cause you to grumble like an Isr*aelite in the wilderness (after all, that didn't end well for them), allow it to strengthen your faith by believing that He works all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to His purpose.

I know some of you might say, here we go again with the worn out scripture verses. But these are not some contrived words of pseudo empathy. This is TRUTH. This verse is so often misquoted without the last half, and that is an important part that should not be left out!

Definitions -
"..for the good.." - That which conforms us into the likeness of the Son.

"...called according to His purpose.." - His children for His purposes, His divine will and plan of redemption. (not our plans and purposes, even with the best of intentions)

So often we focus on ourselves, but there is such a bigger plan in motion! Yes, we are a part, but the CEO wants to mature and grow us into His Son's likeness, being outward focused so as to draw men to Him. Now, if you are anything like me, that is no easy task! I readily admit, this is not something I have conquered. But being over here and being stripped of so many things that I thought I needed or thought I would do here, I have been humbled in more ways than I care to count. It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes I can be focused on my plans and purposes while living in a place that so desperately needs people willing to live out His plans and purpose. To be willing to say, "Okay, I surrender my will. This '(situation)' is not what I wanted but I trust you and what comes from Your hand is enough.  I will keep doing what I need to do in obedience and trust you for all results!" (which might mean giving soccer balls instead of toy cars and school supplies) When we can do this without grumbling or worrying then we are truly maturing and growing into the Son's likeness, willing to be content with what He supplies. That, my friend is not an easy lesson to learn, but the rewards of learning it are priceless when it comes to living out your daily life with joy.

Join me in lifting up these precious kids who will be hearing (some for the first time) about the amazing gift that the CEO gave them on that first Christmas morning. This is in an extremely impoverished brick makers village, bricks sell for maybe $60 USD per 1,000 bricks and their equipment is very old. The kids here would never dream that they would own their own ball. They will be so excited!

I am so grateful for the "G" family. They are tender hearted and giving, we are blessed to call them our friends. I am so thankful that they take the time to lead this youth group and offer our kids a place where they can give of themselves and serve others. We truly feel they are an answer to our prayers as they formed this group at a time (unbeknownst to them) my boys were having trouble adjusting to life here after leaving the International School. It has been such a blessing to them.

The girls are making dozens of snickerdoodles for the gift bags.

125 un-inflated soccer balls waiting to be aired up and placed in their own string bag.

Marshall trying to unravel/untangle the string bag for the soccer ball, it was no easy task!

Snickerdoodles waiting to be placed on the cookie sheet. The girls did a great job.

Mr G. passing out hot cocoa, Hudson was thrilled that they also had marshmallows that they brought back from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What a treat! We can't get them here.

Here the group is putting together bags of candy for the kids.

A few of the bags that were filled with the soccer balls.

The PYP group, here in Folgers! They are great kids, and don't you love that huge tree? A mall where the "G's" live in the States was getting rid of them and they were able to snag one, so pretty!

Remember, you are most like the CEO when you focus on others and give of yourself, you are least like Him when you are inward focused and dwell on yourself. For the CEO so loved the world that he gave...
Love = Giving

div>

Things That Go Bump in the Night

2011-11-28T00:09:00.003+07:00

Civet Cat (Musang) the "hero" of Kopi Luwak, world's most expensive coffee....and my enemy!

I figured I better get at least on blog post in while I still have the Fall background up! LOL

Barry spent two weeks in Singapore getting a dislocated thumb repaired. He thought he had just strained it but apparently it was wearing away the ligament. Surgically they took a piece of tendon from his forearm and attached it to his thumb by drilling a small hole in his bone and looping it through. Amazing! We were so thankful because the other main option was to fuse it and well, that would be awful! But being two weeks apart was a LONG time, and we were so thankful when he returned. He will go back for a couple days in December to get his cast off and then another month of pt and he will be good as new. The CEO was faithful in caring for us and him!

Okay, so the other night while Barry was in Singapore for surgery on his hand, I waken to hear what I think is our roof as it begins to rain. Upon waking up further, and listening closer I think, oh, the metal roof is flapping because of the wind. Then as I fully awaken, I remember that we had the roof replaced and it no longer "flaps in the wind", and I also noticed that it was not raining.

So, now that I have all my senses heightened and I realize, it has happened again. An animal has gotten inside my roof! UGH! Not a feral cat, too big and too heavy. Maybe a large rat, or a large lizard, or maybe a large lizard chasing a large rat! Or possibly, and most likely, a civet cat. You know, the one who eats the coffee beans and then....well...uh ya know.....kopi luwak gets made! LOL

It was SO stinking loud!! I was just praying that as it ran back and forth on my ceiling....ON MY CEILING.......that is the only thing between it and me, one thin sheet of pieced together plywood! Praying that it would not fall through. It has happened. I've heard the stories. It was all smacking around like it was chasing something and going full speed whacking into the ends of the roof. I was also praying that it would not wake up the kids, which it didn't thank goodness! I was hoping that it would find it's way out quickly. While I am doing all of this hoping and praying I am trying to conjure up some kind of plan if this thing falls through the ceiling!

This past July someone had just told me about the time they lived in this house and a monitor lizard got caught inside and how it eventually had to be killed to get it out, it was running around all crazy and they were whacking it with whatever they could. My mental scenario was not pretty, I had no plan, nothing significant to whack it with, and I couldn't not imagine this having a good ending for it or myself! It lasted about an hour but eventually, much to my relief, left. Needless to say I could not get back to sleep for some time. That was a long night!

The civet cat has been back one time since Barry has been home....there is no way to describe the creepy feeling it gives while running around on my ceiling! Here is a peek at the critters we've had this month:

The "Houdini" centipede that came out in Marshall's room but manged to get into our bedroom...by NOT crawling out the door....creepy!! Here he is shriveled after a beat down by Barry..my hero! :)

The tail of the Cicak (cheechahk), known to you as a gecko, that found his way into Hudson's light socket, but was unable to escape before his head got fried. The boys gagged trying to get his remains out of there! Yuck! Barry was gone for this one. My boys....my heroes! :)

Not necessarily a pain to us, but since we were talking about critters, here are a few monkeys at the oil camp in the field across from the home where Marshall's friend lives. Several were running around like crazy!

Haven't seen a Praying Mantis in a long time!

As Barry and I were driving away from the house I asked him to stop, Out my window I saw this beetle. I couldn't believe how big it was with it's three horns...crazy, and it was all iridescent shiny like an oil slick.

Trying to put it's size in perspective for you! Barry said it was surprising how strong it was and it had little barbs on it's legs.

Well, just a taste of life here this past month. Hope you guys had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Just know that we are thankful for each of you and how you lift us up. We need it, and we feel it. The CEO has heard and answered!! I will post pics of our celebration soon, but I left my camera at my teammate's house. :( Going to try to crank out a few more blog posts that never got finished. Sorry again for the delinquency....I am going to do better!

div>

Three Wedding Parties and a Lady

2011-10-13T09:04:00.000+07:00

(And Barry, but I couldn't make it fit and be funny!) :)

What an experience the wedding was, we ended up having a blast and really feeling honored to have been a part of it. I am still chewing on my deeper thoughts about the weekend and pondering them in my heart, I hope to share them with you after I sort through them. Let's just say, I was profoundly affected and had trouble sleeping as I considered the souls of these precious people.

I am going to bullet list some highlights as well as some bloopers for your entertainment. You know, make you smile about some things, make you laugh at me for some others! :)

Highlights:
•Being included in the wedding. What I was afraid might be a form of mild torture ended up being a gift. Being one of 6 couples to meet with the groom's family before the ceremony and escorting him back to the home.

•Allowed to be inside the home for the actual ceremony, this doesn't happen often since I am a foreigner and of a different faith.

•That even though I absolutely did not want to dance, they asked (read: drug me out) to join them. It's always nice to be included.

•I was never asked by them to do something I might not have been comfortable with, they had obviously thought about our role and they made it very easy on us and enjoyable.

•A man asked me to sing karaoke (they always do that here) and I said no that I don't do karaoke and that if I sang he would cover his ears, he replied, "But I think you are such a happy person you must sing!" I took that as a compliment.

•During the night of the nail ceremony the women were discussing my age, they still could not believe that I was 43. They collectively decided that I didn't seem my age because I laugh a lot like a teenager. I was not clear on whether this was a compliment. :)

•At the reception my friend/companion was asking me about weddings in America and comparing them to weddings here. We covered all kinds of ground on the topic and then I made the mistake of sharing "something borrowed, something blue, and a penny in you shoe". I quickly learned this is one of those things that sounds sillier and sillier the more you try to explain it! She was in stitches! LOL Then I thought she was going to spew her drink when I told her about the throwing of the garter. And let me tell you another thing, have you ever tried to describe a garter to someone from another culture? Well, I am here to tell you....it's not easy! I wish I could see what she had pictured in her mind.
Bloopers:
•When asked about my dress I had made for the wedding and it's pattern, I quickly replied that I had it made like a traditional kebaya, except that I had the fabric inside cover my shoulders also, that the lace was fully lined except for the sleeves. (Traditional kebayas are normally lined like a strapless dress under the lace, baring shoulders and arms) Then I found out that since they are Musl*m, they all lined their sleeves! But they were quick to assure me this was okay and not to worry.....thanks! Leave it to me to be scandalous! :)

•During the nail ceremony my neighbor came by and said a phrase in English that sounded like something special was "coming up", so I asked what the special thing was, and he said THIS!! "Oh, yes, this is very special, thank you", was my quick reply!

•That same night as I was about to walk home they stopped me as there was yet another planning meeting. They asked me where Barry was and I replied that he was home (two doors down) because we thought tonight was only for women. I didn't tell them we were under the impression that we were all getting manicures and pedicures...stupid language barrier. :)

Here is a video of the procession to greet the groom to the reception:

A slideshow of the process and weekend. Enjoy:

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Is Three Meters Enough?

2011-09-20T09:45:00.002+07:00

Four little words. Four words that I was mortified to hear. Four words that seemed to be said in a loud long drawn out tone in a tunnel like something from a movie,"IIIIS THREEEEEEE MEEEEEEETEEEERRRRRS EEEEENOOOOUUUUGH!" Four words spoke into a microphone by my neighbor in response to my answer to his question. So, what was the question he asked? He wanted to know if my material packet had enough material or would I need more. So I answered that my seamstress said that their was enough material for my skirt and the lining of the shirt, but I would need more lace material. She said the lace they gave me was only enough for someone her size. And let me tell you, for all practical purposes, she could be considered a "Who" from "Whoville", she is so tiny! Then he nodded, made a phone call and told me that the fabric would be here from "Starbucks, the capital city" in three days. I thought that was the end of it. Apparently not.

At 6:45pm we arrive for the neighborhood committee meeting for the planning of my neighbor's youngest child's wedding. Immediately we are ushered in, greeted, and asked to have a seat. We do so of course, remembering what culture we are in. No one sits in the middle of the room which has been covered wall to wall with various Persian rugs. Everyone finds a seat along the wall, men on one side, women on the other. I am the only woman there who is not wearing a Jilbab (head covering)which feels slightly awkward in such close quarters. As more and more people arrive I find some to be warm, some to be stand-offish, and others who will not acknowledge me with out my hostess insisting they shake my hand. (In this culture you greet everyone with a handshake as you come, and as you go, always.) So right off the bat I am trying hard, yet feeling very much out of my element. Also, this is the first time I have met my neighbor's wife. The husband has arranged all of this, my helping with the wedding, giving the fabric, etc. through Barry, not me. So I am smiling, speaking, asking questions, and answering for the 1 billionth time how old I am (yippee!) and how many kids I have (these are common introductory conversations here). We sit for what is about an hour and then they serve food. Men first. When the men are finished eating the main course and are onto the fruit portion of the meal, the ladies get up to fix their plates. As we are wrapping up our meal, the men are moving on to the meeting and forming of committees. I found it funny how the men did the planning and the woman only gave their input when it seemed something that the men said might not be right. The women mostly conversed with each other during the meeting while the men hashed out the details of transportation and musicians....using a microphone in the house. Because, you really cannot have any kind of a meeting here without a microphone, lol! But I am getting ahead of myself.

After we ate and the meeting was beginning he began to go over a few details such as the date of the wedding, when family was coming into town, where they were coming from, and then he said "it"...he mentioned that I did not have enough material! SHUT UP! I could not even believe it! Now, my pride is begging me to tell you that I was not even close to being the largest woman there, but really that is beside the point. Why did he do that? He then proceeds to ask me my name again, and again says, "Is three meters enough?" As I am picking my jaw up off the floor, restating my name, and trying to make sure I understand what he is saying, he asks again, "Is three meters enough?" By this time the two women around me who speak some English are repeating the question out loud as I am politely nodding my head that yes, three meters more should be enough......what am I a whale? Good grief,! Toss me a fish and call me Shamu!! I could have died. Where is the rapture when you need it? :) Since returning from that meeting I have replayed that scene, more times than I should have, in my head. I am trying to figure out why he did it. I mean, I am just one of about forty other women who have material packets and he never mentioned any of them or their material issues. I don't want to assume his motivation, but I am curious I guess.

So back to the meeting, it lasted four hours....four, quatro, empat...doesn't matter what language you say it in, it's four long hours! Barry's leg begins to swell and my ankles have tile marks carved in them. It's about this time that my eyes meet Barry's across the hot crowded room. I meekly cock my head ever so sweetly and mouth the words, "You owe me!" I enjoyed watching him try to remain respectful as he read my lips and his shoulders began to shake from trying not to laugh out loud. I needed that moment, pretty sure it saved my sanity. :)

What I didn't know at the time was that Barry had been dealing with his own issues. It seems that as the men were greeting Barry and asked what he did for a living, he quickly became somewhat of a pariah to some of them. Seems that not all of them were fond of a pr*acher being in their midst. One man in particular is a "Hajji*" (Someone who has made the pilgrimage, or h*j, to M*cca in Saud* Arab*a) was less than trhilled that we were there. However, no one is too far from the CEO's reach as long as there is breath right? Remember a guy named Saul/Paul? Lift him up and maybe we will see what the CEO will do! Let's call him "Johnny Quest" (if you've watched that show, you'll know why!) :)

As we left the meeting and walked home, Barry and I were relaying to each other what we heard as to what our responsibilities for the wedding would be. Seems like we are picking up the father and mother of the groom from their hotel, taking them to a local home from where we will then walk them down to my neighbor's house where the wedding will take place. This may or may not involve holding an umbrella over their head (ha!). This will be on Sunday, October 2 at the reception, at which time I will also be wearing my matching outfit. On Friday we are getting mani-pedis (all of us ladies in the 'hood I guess) and on Saturday the actual wedding will take place, not clear on our role there yet.

Wow, so much to process, and yet I feel in this retelling that I am not doing it justice. Like I didn't mention how I tried to be faithful to the Son's command to eat what is placed before me when I enter a home and did, but it was stinking HOT! I quietly coughed and my nose began to run, so the girl next to me giggles and said, "It's hot, right?" LOL Why yes, yes it is!

I also met a young woman who was extremely kind to me, the kindest of the night by far. She is a young mother who speaks some English and was friends with Jamie who lived in this house before me. She took me "under her wing" so to speak and would translate for me, as much of the meeting involved words in Arabic and in local ethnic dialects that I would never know. She hopes to practice her English with me, I hope to share something with her also :) but her husband will be returning soon and he is from an extremely strict part of the island, so we shall see where this leads. Let's call her "Mocchacino".

As always, thank you for lifting us up, and if your not........you should be! LOL I mean, we need it! There are many wonderful things here but there are many more things that wear you down here, physically, emotionally, and sp*r*tually. This is literally "someone else's" backyard, if you know what I mean. We need you to intercede for us. But not only for us, but for them as well. Please don't forget them! At the end of the day we have peace, hope, and the assurance that we are never alone. They do not. They desperately need what we have, they just don't know it yet. Lift up that blind eyes see and deaf ears hear, by the CEO's power alone will it be done!

Okay..this wiped me out. I'm tired. Just wanted to keep you posted on the latest. We are lifting you all up, please let us know how we can pr*y more specifically for you, it would be our privilege.

Here are a few pics of our life and our city:

This is the road where the ladies ran into us, hard to believe we would be hit by a motorcycle, huh? :)

I really miss "Big Trash Pick up" in Okc!

Two for one! A shirt that doesn't make sense and a man wearing a down coat...on the equator!!

Four people on a motorcycle, and the mom is riding side-saddle, which is typical here.

The girls and some of their neighborhood friends

Aaron, Hudson, and Marshall playing Mario Smash Party. Aaron flew up to spend the weekend from another part of our island. They had a blast!

Marshall and his new school laptop. He has two online courses this year that he is really enjoying.

Hudson taking his first online course, he really enjoyed interacting with other students and likes his teacher. In his class are 3 kids living in China, 1 in the States, and him in Macchiato.

Steak on a Stone, a Wreck, and a Wedding Outfit

2011-08-30T19:45:00.007+07:00

With summer ending and schools all over the world getting back to business, "Folgers" is no different. People come and people go, but we especially like when people come! For us that means that the teachers from the school at the Oil Camp in town have returned and that makes life here more fun. Friendships are renewed, youth group starts up for the boys, and life falls back into a form of a routine. Our friends, John and Kathi G. who are teachers, recently returned from spending the summer in the States and invited us out to dinner. They took us to a hotel restaurant. Barry and I had eaten there before, but we never knew they had such a fun meal on their menu. As we arrived Kathy said that if we liked steak then we had to try the "Australian Steak on a Stone." Then she told a story about a time that several teachers ordered it at one time and set off the smoke alarm!! LOL

Right away they seated the four of us as a table for 10. Ten! All of the tables had "reserved" signs on them so we asked if we could change to a table for four but they said no. By the time we left, all of the tables that seated four still had reserved signs on them and none were ever used...ahhh, such is life in Macchiato. You quit trying to understand and just go with it, it will never make sense to you anyway. It just is what it is. The first thing they do after you place your order for the steak is to bring out a bib/apron for each person and tie it on you. SO FUNNY!! But trust....you need this as the steak on the stone will splatter you! Next they bring out the "stone" which is square and is hot enough to cook your raw steak and several veggies on. So you sit at your table and cook your steak to your liking and throw some of your veggies on and grill them as well. Add to that some fantastic mashed potatoes and that, my friends, was one of the best meals I have had in over two years! It was SO GOOD! We had a great time catching up, laughing as we cooked, splattering ourselves, and trying to figure out what all the sauces were. Kathi, if you are reading this...a big THANKS again for such a great evening! Here are some highlights:

Upon entering the hotel we were greeted with the gigantic Ramadan statue of a man reading the Quran

As we were being seated we heard the banging of this large drum which was to symbolize that the fasting for this day was over, "Buka puasa".

Barry and John looking dapper in their aprons!

The "Steak on a Stone" as it first comes out

Kathy, John, and Barry surrounded in smoke

We cracked up because Barry's steak came out in a wad, but it turned out great

Ta da!! One perfectly cooked "Steak on a Stone!"

The stones in the aftermath, wish you could see all the splatters that were everywhere!

Obviously, I enjoyed my meal :)

Next, a few Sundays ago we were headed to services at the International church when the inevitable happened. We knew it would happen one day and we knew that when it did it would not be fun or convenient. We were right. As we traveled down a very crowded road, made even more crowded by the people who were out preparing to break the fast that evening, a motorcycle ran into us from behind. It was two ladies, and they hit us hard. Both flew off the bike and flip flops and bags of produce, one being oranges, flew everywhere. We immediately stopped and got out to check on them.

Before I go on, I need to clarify a few things for you about the "rules" here when something like this happens. First, no matter who is at fault, the person with the better vehicle pays. I know what you're thinking, those are my thoughts exactly, but that is not how it is done here. Secondly, if you are driving a car, you are expected to load up the injured in your car, take them to a hospital and pay their fees. Lastly, when an accident happens you will often find yourself surrounded by a crowd, maybe friendly, maybe not. The crowd being the numerous people on the street, buyers, sellers,

passersby-ers (?), etc. all of whom will have an opinion of whose fault it is and what you should do.

Oh, did I mention that Barry was to pre*ch that night? Or did I mention that as we were about to walk out the door I noticed that my phone needed charging so I decided not to bring it with me but leave it charging? I didn't? Well, that is an important part of this story because what I didn't know was that Barry was out of "pulsa" (minutes) and decided not to bring his phone thinking that I would have mine. Ugh...not a good time to be without a phone!

So, back to the story. The crowd immediately gets the driver and mover her off the road, she is obviously in a daze, her bell must've been rung, because they hit us without any use of their brakes. This is not a road you can go fast on, it is really crowded. We think she pulled out and just ran straight into the back of our van. I am checking on the second lady, picking up oranges as I go. Before I can even get my bearings, they have loaded these ladies in our car, with my kids, and telling us to go to the hospital. By this time the ladies have their senses back. We are trying to figure out where the closest hospital was they would like us to take them to, but we also need to let someone at the church know that we are running late and why. So we asked if they would ride to our house (which was nearby) with us because we needed to call someone and explained our situation. They reluctantly agreed, mind you, these are M*slim woman in a car full of uhm....us...and this is during their holy month where things in that department are a little tense, if you know what I mean. So we get our phone, call the ch*rch and explain we will be late, and take them to the Sanders house so that we can have help negotiating the price. Steve talks them down to about $45 USD,we pay it and then they decide to just go home and not the hospital, so Steve took them home so that we could get to ch*rch and he even shared Truth with them. :) What else do you do with a captive audience?

If I am 100% honest, I had a bad attitude about this ordeal. We were headed to the service, Barry needed to get into a mindset to pre*ch and I was praying for the CEO to refocus his mind, to bind the enemy who tried to stop him, and also to get my attitude of resentment in check. You see, I still struggle with my American mindset and my "rights" as I perceive them. I have the right to say, "No, we won't pay you, this was your fault not ours.", or "No, that's a lie, we were not stopped when you ran into us, we were creeping along with the rest of the traffic on that road and you did not look and therefore rammed into us, damaging our vehicle.", "When you hit from behind, you are at fault!" And last but not least, "You want me to buy obat (medicine) for your busted lip? Get an ice pack on it and take a panadol (Tylenol), no one uses meds for a busted lip." Wow, just keeping it real here, but that sounds ugly doesn't it? The truth is that sometimes these people are not easy to love....but then again, sometimes, neither am I. And I know someone else who paid a price far greater than $45 for something that was not His fault either. What if He had had the same thoughts I did and acted on them? I (we) would all be in a world of hurt with no hope.

So in the end the CEO taught me a valuable lesson and in the end I chose to look at it as though we paid $45 for two people to get to hear the Truth. It doesn't look so bad in that light and now they are responsible for what they will do with what they heard. Hopefully, they will receive the Truth. Who can get mad about that? The enemy didn't win the battlefield of my mind that night, now to just stay on guard for all the other ways he tries to distract me from my purpose here, he's sneaky, but not in control!

Finally, on our way to Ch*rch we were re-living all that had just transpired, and who we thought hit where and how,suddenly Campbell looks out the back window and says, "Hey look! There's a lip print on our back window!" And sure enough, there it was, lipstick and all! Which is totally not funny.....but was kind of funny later. (Sorry, it was raining when I got out to get a pic!)

Last but not least, as R*m*dan is winding down, the wedding preparations will begin. The date is set for October 2. For those of you not on Facebook, Barry volunteered me to work on the neighborhood wedding committee...needless to say, I was thrilled! (Right!) This ought to be very interesting. Anyway the father of the bride stopped by to give me the material for my matching wedding clothes. Yes, I said matching. :) We asked about the pattern, he said there wasn't one (okaaay) but was so cute as he tried to assure me that the gold material was to go under the lace as a top, not for a head covering. Good to know! LOL

Here is my neighbor's house. This is obviously not a typical home here, so I imagine this is going to be some kind of shindig. They have been making improvements and adding outside lights to the house all month. You will be amazed as how they transform it for the wedding.

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Wishing and Hoping and Dreaming and Praying.....(sung like the Dusty Springfield song)

2011-08-07T07:37:00.003+07:00

As I wrote about it being R*madan in my last post, I started to add this but decided it warranted its own posting. I ask that you pr*y for the millions of M*slims in our country, and particularly the ones in our city as they enter this, their "holy month". As they fast daily, do good works and seek forgiveness during this month. As they look forward to the "night of power" where they are often encouraged to stay up and may be visited by angels and spirits carrying out the will of All*h since it is believed he more readily hears their pr*yers on this night. I ask that you pr*y that the Truth will visit them and that blind eyes will be opened and deaf ears made to hear. That they will understand that they cannot earn favor with the CEO but that they need to believe in the Son and the work that He did on the cr*ss to set them free, truly free.

Our family and Katrina went to visit the grand m*sque in our city

Even now as I type, I can hear about ten m*sques as they teach and lead the "call to pr*yer" over their loud speakers. Their loud long mournful wail of crying out to All*h. For their rituals to be received and good deeds to be enough for the forgiveness of their sins. Pr*y that we can be light in the darkness. That our relationships are fruitful and bear not just a good friendship but bear fruit for the Kingdom.

Just the other day after the girls spent the afternoon playing with their national friends I overheard Haddon tell Campbell, "I had so much fun! I hope they are able to go to Heav*n!" That is when I knew that they were "getting" it. You see, Haddon wanted a drink of water and as usual she asked them if they were ready for one too. The girls usually respond eagerly with a "yes" because of the heat and all the running around they do, however this time they said they couldn't because the fast had started. It was very sobering for her because often the kids don't participate in the fast, even though they are still encouraged to do so, and it was a very personal experience for Haddon to see her friends trying to earn their way to Heav*n. We are hoping to be able to share Truth with the girls' family in the coming days.

I cannot express enough just how grateful we as a nation need to be that we received the Truth and built a nation around it's principles. There but for the grace of the CEO, go we.

I love this picture....out of the darkness into the light!!

MARVELOUS LIGHT

by Charlie Hall

Into marvelous light I'm running,

Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way

I once was fatherless,
a stranger with no hope;
Your kindness wakened me,
Awakened me, from my sleep

Your love it beckons deeply,
a call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.

Sin has lost it's power,
death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

Chorus
Into marvelous light I'm running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way

My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. now I'm free!

Lift my hands and spin around,
See the light that I have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light

Lift my hands and spin
See the light within...

Basking in Bali

2011-08-06T23:18:00.003+07:00

Well.....did you think that I fell off the planet? I am so sorry for being delinquent in keeping up with the blog this summer. I think it was a combination of many things but......I'm baaack! :)

We had a great time again this year in Bali. You will notice a disproportionate number of pics of the girls versus the boys, that is because the boys are always gone with a crowd of friends and come in only for sleep!! LOL The teens had a great time having two and a half weeks with each other, it is such a treat for all of these tck's. Not to mention for the parent's as well!

A big shout out to the B*ptist General Convention of Arkansas for again bringing a great group of people over who served our families with such love! Many of them were the same ones from last year so that was nice, the youth had the same leaders and that made for such a great time for them to establish and keep those relationships. Campbell and Haddon's teacher was back and Haddon was in her class again. Love her, Miss Debbie is so sweet to my girls! The WMU lavished us with all kinds of treats that we could pick from so we came away with handmade pillow cases for the girls, velveeta, a card game and...pencils with erasers!!! LOL All treasures!!

Thanks also to the anonymous donor who gave some money for us to take a little vacation this year. We had to come a few days early because of meeting the kids from camp, and then stayed a couple of days after the meeting. It is truly a blessing to get out of our city for a while, catch our breath and get some family fun and B*blical refreshment in such a place of beauty.

However, while there we received the sad news that one of our teammates, the Whitakers, would not be returning to the field. That was tough to swallow, I wept through the sermon the morning I found out, I'm sure the speaker must've thought I was really moved by the Sp*rit, but I was grieving. They have since returned and packed up their house and now reside in the States...they are missed here for sure.

More posts are coming, I promise. Although things won't be too adventurous this month since it is R*m*dan and that brings a different atmosphere here. People are a little less friendly to us foreigners and their is constant teaching over the loudspeakers at the m*sques. Pray for us during this time, it is a hard month to go through.

Thank you for your continued pr*yers, they truly mean the world to us. Hugs and blessings to you all!!
Enjoy the slide show..you can just click on the arrows and got through the pics at your own pace!

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The Cure for A Love of Shopping

2011-05-16T23:37:00.012+07:00

This particular weekend the mall event theme was "Vegetarianism". So they had people dressed as Chicken Little, Nemo, a cow, a strawberry, and a carrot walking around carrying signs that said, "Be greens". LOL

We went clothes shopping the other night. In the past those words would have come out of my mouth with much enthusiasm and excitement. Today......here.......they are said in the same tone that you would say that you got a flu shot. I am not kidding. Nix the excitable tone and enthusiasm. You are just stating that you did something necessary but not necessarily enjoyable. Let's just say for someone who has never had headaches, I always have a headache when I leave the malls here. Always. Why you ask? Let me explain mall shopping here to you.

First, you arrive to the mall and if it is the weekend you are guaranteed there will be some spectacular event being held in the center, maybe a fashion show, a battle of the Asian pop bands (talk about a photo op, man was I sorry my camera died) or some other reason they can have for blasting music at mind numbing levels. For a relatively quiet people, they like really loud music. Really. Loud. Music. I am not kidding.

At the mall you have the larger department store option (only one, the same one, in all the malls) or the smaller chain stores and independent shops. When you enter you are literally rocked back on your heels at how loud their music is playing. I am not kidding. In many of the stores tonight we could not hear each other, even though we were shouting. I am not kidding. The next issue with the loud music is that it is American music...more often than not it is the worst kind of American music. There are no filters on the language. In fact, I heard more of the worst kinds of curse words (at concert level decibels) tonight than I have heard since my days as a sailor (okay...I have never been a sailor, but you get the idea) This happened while we were in all variety of stores, even a little teeny bopper Claire's type store. Yikes, it was bad, every song was raunchy, and with it blasting the hair off your scalp there are no missing the words! UGH!! The sad thing was, that I was painfully aware that this was my culture that they were welcoming into their culture. For all the talk, there is a definite "wanna be" aspect over here. I hate that this is what they take from our part of the planet. It was a bit heart breaking.

Next, you enter a store to shop and quickly realize that there are 10 employees for every one customer. I am not kidding. They are blocking the aisles, many times they don't move, you have to maneuver around them. Once you stop to look at something, or express minor interest, someone is by your side. By your side means standing in your personal space looking you eye to eye saying "Silikan" (like..."Please look") and they don't leave you. They. Don't. Leave. You. As you rummage through a rack they immediately straighten everything you touch as soon as your fingers leave it. I am not kidding. Coming from someone who once worked retail....I would have been fired for doing what they do! I try to smile and adjust but many times I just end up leaving because it drives me crazy. I am very much a shopper who just wants to look and decide and I will ask you if I need help, and I was an employee who offered that same freedom to my customers. Their approach is so opposite of that, that I really have to make myself shop over here, and only do it when necessary. And since all my children eat and therefore feel like they have to grow, it has become something I can no longer put off.

Lastly, a word on skinny jeans. Are you ready......."Just say no." It is that simple, really. It use to apply to Drugs but now it applies to skinny jeans too! Are they still popular in the States? The reason I ask is because I think I now live in "skinny jean heaven". I am not kidding. All skinny jeans come here when they die. I. Do. Not. Like. Skinny. Jeans. There, I said it. I think they don't look good on or flatter anyone. If you are skinny your legs look like twigs and if you are big you look like you are trying too hard to be skinny. I am not kidding. Oh my, I have so much to say about skinny jeans here, especially in this context, but for fear of offending I will hold my tongue...er pen, as it were. I mention this because shopping for jeans here is a zoo trying to find jeans that are not skinny, be it for male or female. Ugh, all I need is for Marshall to wear jeans that make him look like he has a muffin top oozing out the top with a smashed bottom and then have two skis (feet) protruding from the bottom hem. How's that for a mental picture!! LOL

*Disclaimer: If you own and love to wear skinny jeans, I still love you and promise to pray for you to see the error of your ways and repent from this fashion disaster! LOL

So there you have it. My shopping nightmare in a not so small nutshell. I'll leave you with this little incident ~ I left the boys in the men's department to go look with the girls, as I made my way back to the boys I was searching to see which section they were in. A man stops me and says, "Justin Beiber is over there." When I look in the direction he is pointing, I see Marshall. As I laugh and say thank you the man smiles and walks away. I am not kidding. :)

Happy 2nd Anniversary!!

2011-05-02T22:01:00.024+07:00

Today marks our 2 year anniversary in Macchiato.

What a journey these 2 years have been. I have done things and seen things I never imagined that I would do or see. I have learned to do without many things I thought I needed and I have found ways to make up for the things I need but don't have.

You know the scr*pture were it talks about "....no man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the CEO's service"? Well, that can be a struggle can't it? I mean do we ever long to go back to the life we knew? Sometimes. Do we ever feel like this is too hard and long to return home? I am sure each of us have at some point. But I wouldn't change it, I am where I should be. After all, we need to take the good and the bad and express gratefulness for both because we know there is a purpose.

This post is a look back over the past two years, but not in a longing for the past look back. Not that we haven't longed because we have, we just try and make sure that if we long, we make our longings short. (Wow, is it just me or did I just sound like a Steven Tyler quote?) LOL Do you know what I'm saying? If we sat around here longing for the way things were or dwelt on what we use to do or have, then we would miss out on the joy of the here and now. We would miss the blessings and privileges of what we are here to do. So we persevere not by avoiding any felt hardships, but in spite of them, because of the ultimate end, bringing glory to the CEO. After all didn't someone say it's not about us?

So enjoy this look back, what a ride it has been!

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Selamat Hari Paskah or Happy Easter

2011-04-25T16:18:00.012+07:00

The girls were in the Easter Choir at the Int'l service, they "signed" the chorus to "I Can Only
Imagine". They had so much fun learning to do that!

Easter is kind of weird over here. Of course Easter is Easter wherever you are because of it's meaning and all that the Son did for us on our behalf, but there are no visual cues at all, and that makes it seem different. I guess being removed from all the commercialism of our Holidays has really been tricky because that coupled with no seasonal change, and it never quite "feels" like what it is suppose to feel like. It sneaks up on you. Does that makes sense? Maybe you just have to experience it to know what I am talking about. I mean how many times do we complain about the over commercialization of our holidays, yet when all that is removed it really is odd. Not bad, but definitely different.

We had a great week leading up to Easter with a couple of activities with the Interational ch*rch youth group, a Good Friday service with the Nationals, and then we attended both a National and an International service on Sunday. Wow, it was packed but fun! I don't have pics from the National services as my camera is now picking and choosing which days to operate (bummer), but I was able to get some shots from this weekend with my phone and by using Marshall's camera.

On the flip side, it was very disheartening to see so many people go on as though the day was just another day. So many went about their daily rituals hoping to earn the favor of that which can never be earned only received after believing. Please continue to lift up that the CEO will open their blind eyes! I never feel more the like the minority than on a day like this.

Hope you enjoy the photos. I can't believe how big the kids have gotten in the almost two years that we been here! Remember: You can click on each picture to enlarge it!

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Pink It Is!! Our house..What were you thinking? :)

2011-04-06T19:38:00.008+07:00

The new paint job!

The last three weeks we have had workers at our house. This time it was the painters, who also happen to be the roofers, the plumbers, and the furniture repairmen. What can I say, they are just a talented group of guys! We were so happy to be able to have the house painted, it was definitely the ugly child on the street. Since house colors run the gamut here from two shades of purple to zebra striped pink and black (fortunately they finally painted over that one!) we had the dubious task of deciding on a color. Now, let me just say, I was an art major. Color is important to me. Barry, however, is not an "artist" per say but I think if he had nurtured his talent while he was younger, he could have been, he definitely knows what he does and does not like and is really creative. That being said...deciding on a color was interesting to say the least. I have an ability to "see" what I want to achieve in my mind and can work towards it. Barry is great at putting things together, when he can see the pieces, and build from that point.

Yep, abstract and concrete, that is us........on many levels!! :)

As we began to talk about painting the exterior, admittedly, I was very ambiguous. Not having or stating much of an opinion at all. The sad fact of the matter is that I am use to everything being dirty and gray over here. Our streets, our cars, our stores, our clothes (not dirty but certainly sun-bleached). So I was kind of feeling that it didn't matter because in a matter of time the paint would fade or have rust streaks running down it and so I was resigned to the fact that "whatever" was fine. Barry on the other hand noting my disconnect from this project began to form in his mind a way to make this house beautiful for me. (He's sweet like that!) He likes color and I like color so he was mulling it over trying to "piece it together".

Enter the tile.

We have been blessed/cursed (depending how you look at it) with pink tile on the front posts of our house. These pink tiled posts are accented with a lovely shade of maroon which then extends to maroon tile on our large front porch. So as you can see this presents a bit of a problem. You can choose to ignore the pink tile, like I did in my kitchen and painted it yellow even though those same pink tiles make up my counter tops. Or you can try to figure out a way to work with the tile, he decided on the latter and was thinking of painting the house pink with white accents, very Bahama-ish!

Really, I was okay with that, and said so, until the day came to buy the paint.

On a whim I got on the Sherwin-Williams website and found that they have a super cool program that lets you download any picture and "mask" it off to try different paint colors. So fun, and the options are limitless! So I immediately went to work on cooking up all kinds of options for us. That is when things got a little..uh...interesting. I will spare you the details, let's just say that we ended up having to create our own pink color as theirs all had a purple or peach tone (no thanks), and there was no blood shed invloved! There might have been a smirk or two but its all fuzzy now! (Pretty sure that is from the heat+smoke+paint fume mixtures.)

LOL Actually, it wasn't that bad and both of us are completely pleased with our compromise.

Update on things a few other things:

Kids are all doing great! For those of you who have been lifting up the boys and their need for friends their own age, the CEO has answered in a big way and they are so happy.

Barry is doing great healthwise and will head to Singapore for his check up in May. We are hoping to make a 21st anniversary trip out of it so that should be fun, please pray he can get off all medication.

The little boy, "D", who is very sick at the orphanage is responding well to his medication, yay!!

There are still so many things here that need your attention, please remember us and talk to the CEO on our behalf, and on behalf of these beautiful people. We love you guys!!

Roofers Going Nuts, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

2011-03-25T12:02:00.014+07:00

Due to several panels of our roof flying off with every rainstorm lately, which created a number of mind boggling leaks in our home, we have had our roof replaced. As much as I have appreciated getting that done I am so thankful that the constant 8-5 hammering and prying off of tin is over! made for some very interesting school days trying to teach over the noise and distraction. It was so funny, when they torn the old panels off, you could see sunlight coming through all of the seams where the ceiling meets the walls! Off course some places were like that after the panels flew off but when it was a whole room it looked really funky!

Off with the old...

.....on with the new!

At one point Campbell asked why there were chunks of concrete falling off the roof. I went out to check and they were having to knock off some concrete where it had been added and overlapped some of the panels they were trying to replace! Craziness!

Here is a sobering picture, imagine if this were your family's only means of transportation, it was for one of our roofers. That seat is a piece of wood.

Here is a little album of our fun with the roofers after a hot, long day of work! Oh, and guess what they wanted to drink? A cold glass of tea or water? No, they drank coffee on their breaks! I mean they are working on a tin roof in Equator heat and they are drinking coffee!!

The photo album moves fast so you may want to pause it on the bottom and flip through the pics on your own, you can also click on the pics to make them larger! Have fun!

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Homeschool Conference......or "Freezing My Tail Off in Macchiato"

2011-03-18T08:49:00.012+07:00

Notice our new airport that is being built! "Folgers" is hosting the "Macchiato" Games in 2012 so we are getting lots of new upgrades. That is also why we are getting our new bridge.

Last week found the kids and I embarking on our first flight without Barry. We flew from "Folgers" (our city) to "Starbucks" (the capitol city on another island) and made it, surprisingly well and without any hitches. Of course the night before we were without electricity, had leaks all over the house from a major rainstorm, and had our water pump go completely out, but flying out the next day....other than an hour delay, not a problem! Life is never dull here that is for sure!

Foreign homeschooling moms from all over this country, and a couple of neighboring ones, gathered at Taman Safari for testing and encouragement. It was well worth the effort to get there as it was a great time of deepening friendships for us as well as our kids. We were completely spoiled by a team of 20 from Virginia and Swift Creek BC. If any of you are reading this...THANK YOU!!! There were daily prizes for kids and moms. Items like 6 packs of DP, Twizzlers, Cereals, Pop-Tarts, pecans, etc were given freely and made it that much more fun for everyone. Not to mention that at our mom meetings we were given homeschool catalogs and other magazines (a real treat over here!). Also, they brought each of us a $15.00 gift of our choice (we got a game) and had some curriculum catalogs on CD for us, some of which were not even in print yet in the US! How great is that? While the kids did testing and had other fun classes, we had enrichment classes and small group meetings.

The Safari resort was BEAUTIFUL, if you ever get a chance to stay in a rainforest I highly recommend it! However, sadly to say, the resort itself was not very accommodating and began charging us left and right for all kinds of crazy things, so that was a bit disappointing. Is it really too much to ask that even though the cabin usually sleeps six, and since we paid for two extra mattresses, shouldn't we get two extra bottles of water and two extra towels too? Seriously?!

Also, people let me tell you.....it was COLD there! Coming from someone who lives in constant 90-100+ heat with very little AC action, it was a shock to our system. There was no AC/heat in our cabins of course, but we were unprepared for sleeping and being out in the rainy 50-60 degree temps! Thankfully, we had our sarongs to wrap around us. Fortunately, as always when we get together, there is a swap table and I was able to get the girls a pair of jeans and a couple of long sleeved shirts! I have to say, it was a nice change though, and we just tried to enjoy it, but let's just say there was no swimming for us! :)

Every year they try to give the kids a chance to improve upon their public speaking skills and this year was no different. The kids were given an assignment to write a paper, prepare a speech about their choice of safari animal, and complete two projects dealing with their animal. My kids had a lot of fun with this project and I was thankful for the "push" to get me out of my rut. Anyone else like me and sometimes tends to put off doing some fun projects?

The kids had an absolute blast! The students performed a mini musical and participated in an Amazing Race which was so much fun, but glaringly showed me that I am getting older. (lol) Several families took out time to go through the actual Safari, which made me a little nervous because things are not always the safest over here! ( Mom, ignore that last sentence!) I was cautioned to pass on the tiger/wild animal petting zoo, but those who did it all survived :), we just didn't have time!!

When Friday rolled around we had to have our luggage loaded at 5am to take the 6am bus to the airport, which was three hours away in "Starbucks", even though our flight didn't leave until 4:30pm! Talk about a long day! When the Coordinator and the volunteers arrived to prepare for us it took them 18 hours and 7 hours respectively to get to to the Safari from the airport!! Can you believe that? Apparently the President of Macchiato was coming through and they closed all of the roads to let him pass, and since traffic is always a huge mess here, it made it even worse! So that is why we left so early, you just never know what you will experience and we had to leave plenty of time because some people flew out around noon.

We are so grateful for this opportunity and that our company sees the value in giving us encouragement and support. Thanks again for all of you who give to support this great organization. Helping families thrive helps all of us to be able to accomplish the bigger "task" at hand!

Enjoy the slide show!

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I Hope Ordering a "Venti" Will Never Be the Same For You

2011-02-18T21:21:00.010+07:00

They had these pre-packaged meals a the grocery store, ya know, in case you want to make a soup or salad with 8 macaroni noodles! Lol

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I know I have been keeping you all up to date on Barry's condition, he is doing much better by the way, and really, that has consumed us for the past month, but there is so much more going on here. Unfortunately I am unable to give you many details but if you read this just right I think you will get the picture that I am going to try to paint for you.

I fully believe that what is going on with Barry is not separate from other things that are happening on the island, especially since the ringing in of the new year brought a new focus on our work and the large task at hand. Someone wants us distracted. You see,the CEO has been working and we are seeing it, not in our city so much, but all around us there have been people who have become part of the workforce and joined the CEO. Of course this does not happen without it's own difficult challenges, it's messy. Very messy. Nonetheless He is moving and people are responding. How I wish I could share stories with you, many are enduring all kinds of "lay offs and cutbacks" because of it, yet are standing firm and being vocal about these business opportunities to others. Things that have been non-existent and unheard of on this island are happening right now!

I tell you this because more then ever we (us and our co-workers) need to be supported by those of you who will lift us and the work here up, we need you and are dependent upon your end doing your part. It's crucial.

Since I am homeschooling all four kids right now my time out among the locals is more limited, however I have found that it really takes very little effort to meet people and many times there are those who seek you out. Coincidence? I think not. For example, today we went to one of my favorite grocery stores that carries some imported goods and as I was about to check out, a lady who by all outward appearances is not like-minded, stopped and talked to the kids as they waited for me to grab one last Snickers....I mean item. :) As I approached she introduced herself and told me about herself and said she would love to exchange numbers and meet with me sometime because she teaches English and since there are no tourists in our town it was hard for her to know if she was still pronouncing her English correctly. I was excited and eagerly gave her my number saying that I would love to meet with her.

Now hear me on this, yes I know the language but to have any deep meaningful conversations in this language is still difficult for me, and is in fact one of my major frustrations. My conversations seem to stick at surface level because of my lack of understanding the different words used here that we were not taught in school, and just overall lack of experience. So to be approached by someone who can speak English and the opportunity that this gives me is beyond exciting to me. She even told me before she left that she saw us in the mall and we seemed friendly so she followed us to the store and bought items while she waited to meet us, then she insisted she check out right before us so she could buy the kids some candy to leave with them! How sweet is that?

Hello?

I may seem like I'm one egg roll short of a pu pu platter sometimes, but even I can see this was an appointment that I was meant to have! So please lift up that we can develop this budding friendship and that as I share Truth, it will fall on ears that can hear. I will call her "Venti", so you have a name that you can use when you talk to the CEO about her. Woohoo!! Makes me want to bust out a rendition of "Days of Elijah"!!

Pics..Next Best Thing to Being There :)

2011-02-16T07:29:00.013+07:00

This is what Sara and I saw when we pulled into the Mall.....um.....can you even imagine being that guy? The boards have pieces attached so it doesn't roll off, but the board itself is not attached to the ladder chains. He did have a rope attached to him but...YIKES!! Wish I could have seen how he got there or got down!

This was written on the report after they ran a test on Barry's heart when he was in the hospital here in Folgers.....I felt so relieved after reading it! Not! Seriously...."probably normal"! Lol

So we have no Krispy Kreme and no Dunkin Donuts here, but we have JCO which is a nice alternative...except for some of the flavors. I took as many pics of the names as I could before the man asked me to stop...oops! :) The Mona Pisa is a lovely tomato, cheese, and chicken donut.....who's hungry? :) I'm sure Leonardo would love to try his namesake! Lol

These are a hit with my kids, I just eat a plain glazed, or "glazee" as they are called here, and laugh at the names!

Is it any wonder between constantly hearing and seeing two languages and seeing signs like this that TCK's (Third Culture Kids) have a hard time spelling correctly?

When our husbands were gone Sara and I took the kids to the game place at the mall. They had a blast!!

This was hysterical to watch......

And so was Campbell and Baileys attempt at dancing!! Lol

Katrina brought us Team Color Peanut m&m's (OU of course!), so Haddon licks the red one
and then rubs the color under each eye and says, "Look Mom, I just put the football make up on!" I'm sure those big tough guys would appreciate her calling it that! :)

Lastly, here is my "Ramona", who desperately wants to be more like "Beezus". When she came out for school dressed like that Marshall quoted from the movie, "My mom lets me pick out my own clothes", to which the other girls replies, "We can tell!" Always keeps us laughing!

More posts coming down the pipeline, just been in a weird non-writing mood lately, I have started and stopped several, just don't want to force it, it's better when it flows naturally! :) Hope you all are surviving winter while we still stay in the never ending heat and humidity...sure would've liked to have had some of your snow!

Hello, My Name is Joe.....

2011-01-30T11:04:00.010+07:00

....I have a wife, three kids, and I work in a button factory. One day my boss came to me and said, "Joe, are you busy?", I said "No." He said, "Push this button with you right hand" (repeat) "Push this button with your left hand!" (repeat) "Push this button with you right foot!" And so the ditty goes until all your hands, feet, and head are constantly moving! It's very similar to the "Father Abraham song. Then it concludes with the boss asking one more time if he is busy and Joe yells out an emphatic, "Yes!" If you were part of a youth group in the 80's or early 90's you probably have participated in this game.

So you are wondering, "Justine, what is your point?" Here is my point: This song/game comes to mind every time I start driving our manual transmission vehicle! It's ridiculous!

I know, I know, some of you are thinking to yourselves how wonderful a standard is if you are on rocky terrain or driving on some form of uncharted territory. But am I doing that? No. I just want to get out once in a while and go to the store buy a few groceries. I have no intentions of busting out in a four wheel drive! (I have no idea if that made sense I am basically just pulling out vocabulary that I have heard regarding driving!) LOL

Anyway, I remember when I used to sit in the driver's seat, press the brake, put it into gear and go...ahhhhh, those were the days! What do I do now? I have to think about every single step I take. What gear is it in? Am I pressing hard enough on the clutch? Am I giving it enough gas while I release the clutch? Am I pressing the clutch when I break? Am I on a hill? What do I need to do now? Am I in the right gear? Why won't this gear shift go where I want it to? And so on, you get the picture! Both legs and both hands are needed and I end up feeling like one big back spasm as I try to do this and maneuver through an ocean of vehicles, most of which are motorcycles that are turning with me, in front of me, and beside me at any given moment! Sheesh, it's enough to make this girl yell, "Yes!"

(Well, that lost some of the drama in trying to fit it in with my earlier story about Joe, but suffice it to say that I want to yell, "STOP!")

And mind you I have not even done all of this with other people in the car, especially those of the shorter variety that follow me everywhere I go! (Although one of those is already taller than me, you get the picture!) :) On top of all this I have one big fear....

The parking garage. (I tremor even now as I type this!) :)

Or most parking lots here in general. Do you know why? Because everywhere you park, you have to back in! Back in? Yes, back in, and if you try to just pull into the spot, one of the gazillion parking attendants will force you to "mundur".....yep, that's the world for "back in". That's the word that strikes fear in my heart. Have they seen me back in in a standard? Don't they want to live? Yikes, just writing this make me feel like I need to go in search of Calgon, which would be in vain because I would have to drive the standard, back in to my parking spot, and then the store wouldn't carry it anyway! What's a girl to do?

Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly thankful that our company has provided a vehicle for our use, there are others here who are not so fortunate. However, I just have to go on record and say (and I realize this statement can be polarizing because manual transmissions have die hard fans) that I cannot ever imagine choosing a standard over an automatic.....ever. Unless of course I lived in the Yukon or out in the jungle. (Where Barry sometimes has to go, but that ruins my whole theory so ignore that and just think of my plight!) Did I mention I have no power steering either? Yes, this is one big ball of fun, driving a standard, no power steering, driving on the "wrong" side of the road and shifting with my left hand. Wheeeeeeeee...it's like a carnival ride!

Well, enough about me and my current crisis. On a positive note, Barry came home yesterday! Yay!! Out of the past 25 days he has spent 17 of those in the hospital here and in Singapore. He has received a total of 34 shots in his stomach. Needless to say he was ready to come home. For those of you not on FB, they kept him in the hospital in Singapore for 9 days, until they got his blood adjusted to the right level. His blood clot should be absorbed into his body eventually. He still has leg pain which they said could last for 3 months to a year or two. And while he has been dying to go back to Singapore since he lived there 22 years ago, this was not necessarily how he wanted to do it! The CEO has been so good to us and he has received such good care which has made all the difference. Just being able to communicate how you feel, and to be able to completely understand what the Dr. is saying made a huge difference. He said while he was in the hospital here in Folgers that he would get nauseous just trying to focus and understand what they were saying. Poor guy, he has been through a lot. We can never say thank you enough for those of you who lifted him up, it has made all the difference, and we are really grateful! Our whole family was encouraged by your notes, messages, emails, and skype calls.

The kids and I did well being on our own. That is not to say that it has been without its bumps, but overall we managed and are all still breathing! :) Thanks to Sara, Steve and Joy, I have been able to go where I needed to and get groceries, get the kids out to play at the mall, and have some interaction with adults! I started to teach myself to drive, changed the propane tank by myself (those of you who know about my dealings with electricity, don't cringe, it all turned out okay!) and handled all of the household affairs and paid all of the monthly bills. (You have to pay in person here.)

So I welcomed my husband home with a huge hug and a kiss! I told him how much I loved him and appreciated all that he does for us and how very thankful I am that this did not turn anymore serious and that we love him more than ever. I told him that he is a treasured gift from the CEO and I am proud to be his wife, then with a grin ever so sweet I turned the car keys over to him and said that while I appreciate the oppurtunity to learn to drive, I will only be driving when it is absolutely necessary! LOL

Welcome Back Clotter

2011-01-09T21:35:00.006+07:00

This is his bed, and for those of you who asked, yes it was too short, and no he did not wear a hospital gown, just his own gym shorts and tees! :)

One of the many snacks given through out the day. It deceptively looks like a "Jello Jiggler", but it's not!! Though it was a clever "Bear" shape!! :)

Okay so the post title is a stretch, but it was the best I could come up with in a state of exhaustion!! (Barry says I should be ashamed!! LOL)

So for those of you not on FB and for those who are but haven't heard the "rest of the story" as Paul Harvey use to say, I am going to tell you about the past week which actually starts in November. When we were at our training in the capital city for those two weeks, Barry was not feeling well, and one of the things that was bothering him was his calf muscle (we thought). But it went away and so we moved on.

Which brings us to last week around New Years Eve he was experiencing quite a bit of pain in his leg and then we started noticing that is was swollen and felt like his muscle was knotted. So I begin Googling symptoms and of course you always get the extreme answers online so I proceeded with caution but we started fearing it may be a clot. Then his leg felt hot to the touch and was turning redder than the other so we knew we definitely had a problem. I emailed the company Dr. who lives in a nearby country and asked his opinion,it was the same as what we were suspecting and he told us to have it checked out locally since we have a decent, fairly new hospital here.

The next day Barry went to the ER and they told him it was a muscle strain. He said he was sure that it was more than that so they finally agreed to do a blood test. After the blood test they immediately wanted to admit him for a vascular problem. Later a specialist confirmed he had DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis), a clot. As Barry likes to say, "Once we told them the diagnosis, they've done a great job treating me!" HA! So honestly, I was not keen on him receiving treatment here, it is not the norm, but with a clot, flying to Singapore didn't really seem to be an option and the treatment they suggested was what we were told they would do if he were in the States. The weirdest thing here is that the Dr comes and makes his rounds around 11pm to 1am!! So half of the time Barry was either in pain or in a sleepy state while trying to decipher what the doctor, who doesn't speak English, is saying. Therefore it has been a little tricky for me to get information.

Overall, they have done a decent job with him, here are a few funny examples of questions we asked and the answers we got:

1. Can you give him something for the nausea? Well, he needs to be eating and drinking his milk. You aren't eating. Did you drink your milk earlier? You need to drink milk. (MILK?! Seriously? Who drinks milk when they are nauseous? And if you don't like American hospital food, can you imagine what the hospital food is like over here!! YIKES! I kept bringing food up from home, he has rarely eaten it but it was there if he wanted it.)

2. He is having really bad headaches, can you give him something for it? Well, he is having headaches because his pillows are too high, better to use a flat pillow. (So after sleeping on his flat little mattress with his flat little pillow and taking the medicine which I am assuming gives headaches as a side effect, I brought him his pillows from home so he could be more comfortable, which they did not approve of....pretty sure the pillows were not the cause of the headaches!)

Anyway, that gives you a little run down of my life lately. The kids really miss their daddy and have been camping out in my room each night, which even though I am exhausted, has been fun. They have done really good staying at home with our helper and sometimes by themselves, even cleaning up a major leak that we had in our bedroom. They had it all cleaned up by the time I got home!! Loved that!

On an end note I have learned through this that I am pretty unprepared for an emergency here. I will be coming up with an action plan this week that will leave me more assured of what steps to take in different cases, just in case, because this week I have been reminded that we are "not in Kansas anymore Toto!" It has all been a bit daunting to do this in a second language, when we have never needed this type of vocabulary before. Fortunately our teammates have really helped us to understand and get things done when they are up at the hospital, that has been a huge blessing. Also, since I am not driving yet, they have taken time out of their day to take me back an forth from the hospital every single day even though they are very busy themselves. (We have a major island wide conference for the nationals here this week!) I can never repay them for how they have given of themselves for us!! We are blessed!!

There truly are not words for the gratitude that we feel in our hearts for your love and prayers! You have covered my husband, myself, my children, and the doctors in prayer and we can definitely tell! God has been so good to us and has walked us through a very stressful time. I have been so encouraged reading your little notes and messages on FB, emails, and skype calls! I have the best friends!! We have felt the love you sent our way!!

Stayed tuned next week when we hear Barry say ,"Ooh, ooh, ooh!!" (Sorry, just running with the whole Welcome Back Kotter theme!! Please tell me you remember Horschach? :)

It's Called Christmas..

2011-01-04T11:05:00.007+07:00

Well, Christmas 2010 has come and gone. The decorations are put away and the music is back to the normal variety. Katrina has come and gone and despite being called a hurricane, we are left off better because of her visit...no disasters here (unless you count those cookie bars I made that turned out terrible because of the nasty chocolate I bought here! LOL) I have WAY to many pictures due to all of the activities that went on here but narrowed this down to Katrina's visit through Christmas. But stay tuned, more posts are coming!! :)

Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas wherever in the world you are!

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The Gift That Keeps on Being Given....(huh?)

2010-12-26T00:08:00.005+07:00

About 12 years ago or so, a tradition was birthed in our family. It involves fruitcake. I am not a fan of fruitcake for several reasons, one being that I'm not a big fan of "chunks in my stuff". At least that is how I phrase it! :) And well, we all know that fruitcake is full of chunks! Ewwwww!

Anyway, I use to wear a pin on my coat that said, "Get revenge...give fruitcake!", just for the laughs and reactions it got. Now, admittedly, I can't remember the details of how this all started but for about twelve years now my nephew, Kyle Johnson, and I have been giving each other fruitcake, every Christmas. It gets better.......not just giving fruitcake, but giving THE SAME fruitcake to each other, trading off year after year! We have gotten very creative over the years as to how we give it so as to throw each other off at times, but you can bet that that fruitcake is going to show up sometime during Christmas day...count on it! (By the way, we did have to replace it once about 8 years ago because it got ruined but other than that, it has remained the same one.....it's like a Twinkie, that thing, it just won't die!! It's one of those that was bought at a local gas station, made by Hostess!! LOL)

Well, last year I spent my first Christmas in Macchiato and in the midst of lamenting a Christmas far from my family I had forgotten about the fruitcake. But Kyle didn't. It was his turn. So imagine my surprise when I opened a box of gifts sent from home, and the minute my hand touched the little brick I knew exactly what it was and laughed....and cried!!

That being said, this year it's my turn to give the fruitcake. However, Macchiato's heat and ant infiltration proved to be too much for the little Hostess fruitcake and I had to throw it away after many attempts to try to save it.

But.........all is not lost, and the same fruitcake shall be given, just this time creatively, through the Internet!

Merry Christmas Kyle!! Lucky for you I took a picture before it got sent to fruitcake heaven!

Enjoy!! We love and miss you all!!

Bieber Fever in Macchiato..."Aaack!!"

2010-12-20T18:03:00.002+07:00

First let me say that until they called Marshall, "Justin Bieber", we had no idea who he was and had to Google the name to find out. Since that first time, he has patiently (ok, sometimes not so patiently) posed for pictures as countless girls have asked to take their picture with him. CEO only knows how many FB pages his picture has been posted on.....much to his dismay! LOL

They are so funny how they pose with him!

He never knows how to stand!

They are very specific though about how they want the photo taken!

So for now he endures Bieber Fever, and is ready for the fad to pass, so that he no longer hears, "Baby...baby....baby....ohhhhh" whenever the kids in the neighborhood walk by the house! Some day, this will be funny to him. :)

2010-12-13T07:18:00.012+07:00

Barry and Dito

Dito is a precious little 4 year old boy who lives with his parents who run the orphanage at "Maxwell's House". This young couple have three adopted boys on top of running an orphanage with 13 children of various ages. The family is like-minded and the father also leads a group there at the orphanage. They have been very faithful and have trained all the children raising them to love the CEO.

Dito is their middle child. He has been sick, on and off, all of his short life. When we came for our vision trip in February and first met him, he was the sickest child I had ever seen that was not in a hospital. He couldn't eat or drink, just laying down with no energy. Right after that they began treatment for TB and he began to improve. However, lately they have discovered that he is very sick, his disease is life-threatening. I am asking that you pray for him daily and ask the he be healed and that his body will respond to the medicine. We were there yesterday and he never came out and his mother said he still can't keep anything in him. As you can imagine, his parents are devastated and while clinging to their f*ith, they are trying to accept this news. I hurt for them. They are wonderful people with hearts of gold and they are hurting so much right now. Please join us in lifting up "R", "Y" and Dito. They need a peace that passes understanding and strength to face the days ahead.

I asked her yesterday if I could share their story so that people around the world could lift them up and it was wonderful to see the smile it brought to her face. They are tired, emotionally drained, and concerned for their son. If you are like-minded they are your family too, please remember them!!

*I wrote this a week ago and for some reason, it didn't post. Since then he has begun to drink some suppliments that he is keeping down.

TSA?

2010-12-07T15:49:00.000+07:00

A true Michigan fan? Don't you love the colors!! This has absolutely nothing to do with the post, just a little football humor! :)

With all the talk lately about TSA and all of their new "patting down" and "super sonic x-ray thing-a-ma-jig" policies, I thought I'd let you know that as we were leaving the capitol city a week and a half ago, it happened to me! I'm not sure what Macchiato's version of TSA is called but as we went through the third set of security tables/scanners/door-way metal detectors the thing went off as I passed through. Now, mind you, it didn't go off the first two security checks and you want to know why? Because I'm a seasoned traveler. I have learned, sometimes the hard way, what belts, jewelry, and other things set them off and I am extremely cautious to avoid wearing them when I fly because, a) It is not worth the hassle and, b) when you have six people to move through security you do whatever you can to make it go smoothly! :) At least we don't have to remove our shoes in the airports overseas! With four kids, that's a blessing, although mine are finally old enough to all tie there own shoes it was always loads of fun when I had to do it for a couple of them!!

Anyway....back to the story....so I walk through the metal detector and I am not lying, before I even knew or could register what was going on this lady is patting all over me! I mean she was quick, I had barely stepped through the thing when she started! There was no asking, no informing, just instant hands all over me! So as I walk away a bit shell shocked I said, "Barry, they just patted me down!" to which he replied, "They did me too!" (Of course they probably couldn't start at the top with him! LOL) I told you all of that because I get a little behind in the news over here, and when I got back I saw some articles on the whole TSA issue and I thought I'd share my experience with all of you, I know, you can thank me later! :)

Not sure what the best solution is, I want my plane to be safe, but I also don't want anyone to be humiliated or taken advantage of, and just so you know, we didn't complain, it really was done professionally, well minus the whole tell you what needs to happen part! We didn't feel singled out, and I noticed that they did it to almost all of the adults who passed through. No, I didn't stay and watch. Because we were talking about what had just happened, we missed our gate which came immediately after that check point, so we had to turn around and come back! Trust me, you are enough of a freak show being six white people on the domestic side, walking all the way back after missing your gate is really fun....at least for those watching! :)

Well, this brings me to the other night. We were sitting around the dinner table laughing, when all of the sudden we hear someone bellowing at our front door. Bellowing. It was loud. It was so loud in fact, that everyone immediately got quiet as we tried to figure out what/who it was! Barry gets up from his seat and goes to the door while Marshall and Campbell peek around the corner to see who it is, well, it's a neighbor of ours. He is a friendly man, I call him an old man, Barry says that he is probably close to his age but has just had a hard life, missing most of his teeth and mostly gray haired. He tells us that his mother passed away and he needed money for something or another. This is a common occurrence, not with him but with many people, usually daily, we just have to see how we are led as to what we do. But I mention this guy because of how the kids described who was at the door to me. They said, "Oh, it's our neighbor who patted dad down when he first met him!" I cracked up because I had totally forgot about "the incident"! We had just moved in when this guy comes walking by wearing the traditional sarong and hat, literally shuffling as he doesn't walk well, and he starts a conversation with Barry. So as they are making introductions I am watching from the porch and I see this man reach out and starting at Barry's shoulders, he takes both hands and pats Barry's body all the way down to about his thighs!! What?! I couldn't wait to ask Barry what he said or why he did that! So when Barry came back I am laughing my head off because Barry didn't have a clue as to why that man did it as he said, "Oh, an American!"

Who knows maybe he secretly wants to work for TSA or maybe he is retired from Macchiato's version and old habits die hard! Just another day in our crazy life!

Flipper? I Think Not!!

2010-12-05T17:08:00.005+07:00

I have a dear friend who has been giving us some extra money so that when we go to Bali we can do something a little extra for fun. You know, something crazy! This friend likes to enjoy vacations like I do, full speed ahead. Our philosophy is that you never know if you will be back there again so you need to enjoy it to it's fullest! (This is much to Barry's chagrin, because he wants to kick back and relax, I mean really? On vacation? Boring!:) ) This is one of the many ways they and I are kindred souls. So last year we went on a boat ride to another island, toured it and went snorkeling. This year I found out that for a decent price we could swim with dolphins! I don't know about you, but I have always wanted to swim with dolphins! I mean, who doesn't love dolphins right? They are the gentle giants of the ocean. Sweet, mild mannered, and loved by the masses, especially since the show Flipper forever immortalized them as the darling of the sea. Remember how helpful he was? How fun and kind? Yes, I realize I am showing my age and some of you have never seen Flipper but surely you've heard of it!! I mean to top it all off...I have a secret, I do a mean impersonation of a dolphin. Now before you have mental images of me bouncing a ball on my nose or jumping through hoops in the water.....what I mean is their sound..er...voice...squeal? Whatever you call it, I can imitate it as a rare few of you have actually heard. (Rereading this I am going to be sorry that I posted that!)

Well...I hate to burst your bubble but not all dolphins are Flipper, and I have proof.

And as a little confession here, I am still holding a grudge. I mean, I was the one who picked this little excursion for the family. I set it all up and got everyone pumped up on how exciting this adventure was going to be, despite the three hour cab ride to the hotel on the other side of Bali,(minor detail) this was a once in a lifetime adventure we were embarking on! What's not to be excited about?

I just want to add that the photo was taken days later after we arrived home, initially it was nearly pure black! Let's just say I am glad it was me and not one of my sweet children who were not so convinced this was a good idea but lovingly trusted their mother in their innocence! :) Otherwise I might be writing this up from jail after serving up some dolphin stew! (Just for the record...I would have had Barry do it, no way would I get back in the water with "Damian"!) LOL Seriously, there was no running..er..swimming start he just barely moved, ducked under water and took that so called "bottle nose" and rammed my thigh then resumed position as if nothing happened, he never moved again until I sat on the edge and put my feet in (like the trainer told me to...stupid trainer) and then he went after my feet! Oh, and one last thing, Barry was actually the first one in but the dolphin didn't move, so the trainer tells us that I should go first because they respond better to women, guess I should have had him clarify "respond".

We actually did end up having a great time so all was not lost. But take a little advice and next time you think about swimming with the dolphins, or sticking your children in with the dolphins.....they ain't all like Flipper!

Personalize your own photo album

Bali 2010...(just a tad bit late!)

2010-12-05T11:39:00.007+07:00

Once again we had a fabulous time in Bali this past summer! I didn't take nearly as many pics this year, just too busy I guess! We had a wonderful jam-packed week of meetings and w*rsh*ip with a group from Arkansas. They also put on the "Saddleridge Ranch" VBS for the kids and did Youth Group for the teens. All in all everyone had a blast! Everyone thought his would be our last year in Bali due to budget cuts but thanks to the Arkansas "B" Convention we will be back next year! Yay!!

This year we flew to Bali early and then met the boys there as they flew in with the rest of the campers from Camp Miki. Their camp is always the week before our meetings. It was so weird leaving on a plane without them! But everyone made it there safely and the kids had a blast at camp. Next year Campbell will be old enough to go and she is SO excited!

It was a little bittersweet this past summer because many of our friends from training were here for short term and they will be going home in January 2011. They truly have become family to us and they will be greatly missed. I can't even imagine going to our meetings next year and not seeing so many of them! Sniff....sniff.....such is our life now, full of hello's and sadly, good-bye's!! :(

After our meetings we moved hotels by a better swimming beach and stayed where we did last year and enjoyed a week of vacation at the beach. Niiiice!

Again, boys wanted to surf but the only day we could have there were monstrously strong waves and we didn't want to risk it, in cases like those, we'll stick to boogie boards! We saw friends that we had made the previous year who sold stuff on the beach and one guy found us several sand dollars, the kids loved that! We have quite the shell collection now.

Enjoy a peek into our lives!!

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Lovin' Me Some Woodstock

2010-12-05T10:45:00.001+07:00

Before you start thinking of long haired hippies on drug trips and rock and roll, let me clarify, this is FBC Woodstock, GA. The foreign women from our island were invited to a Ladies Retreat on Batam Island (off the coast of Singapore),hosted by FBC Woodstock, GA. They sent 7 women and paid for everything except for our airfare. Hotel, food, conference, speaker, prizes, crafts, gifts, EVERYTHING was provided by them for us! What a blessing!! The paintings they brought were started by a legally blind woman and then she gave us instructions and sent paint supplies so that we could finish them! Too cool! I think they will not know this side of heaven how great it was for all of us to have a getaway together and then to be spoiled on top of it! Here is a little taste of our retreat!

This free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

It's a Ladder? Who knew?

2010-11-24T15:14:00.003+07:00

So...it's the day before Thanksgiving, I need to get a few things so we run to the store. I get back anxious to start my preparations for the festivities at our house tomorrow. When we return, the repairman has come to fix Marshall's AC which has been leaking, normally this would be a good thing, bu as I walk into my kitchen something, like my ISLAND, is missing!!

Logically, it was the best thing to use as a ladder for the repairman!! LOL Are you kidding me? Can you ever imagine such a thing happening in the US? On the upside he put paper over it before he stood on it!! Wow...again, I couldn't make this stuff up, it's hysterical!!

Well, Happy Thanksgiving.....personally I am grateful for the repairman....his choice of ladder, not so much!! :)

Remembering a Life Well Lived

2010-11-12T22:29:00.011+07:00

Please pray for Katie and Jeremiah Uskert, Ben's funeral is Saturday (8pm Fri. OK time)

You can read about what happened here.

We enjoyed many hours of language school, afternoons at the pool, and hanging out at the coffee shop together.

He will be missed by so many, and even though we only knew him a short time, our lives were impacted by his love and generous spirit!

Praying also as the name of the Son is proclaimed at the funeral in an area known for being closed to it!

Completely Random Thoughts

2010-11-04T18:19:00.008+07:00

This marks the day that I learned to ALWAYS put on my seat belt! Yes, that is a Macchiato motocycle police officer. I always wore them in the States but here I was not so consistent, I guess because we never seem to go over 25 miles an hour! My sweet husband paid the fine to the officer and off we went......yikes.....that was intimidating!

I have so many things to blog about and yet I seem to be falling further and further behind. Seems like life is busy happening and I can't keep up! So since I am not really in the mindset to delve into any one topic I am listing a few random topics that I wanted to let you know about!

I never told you all why I ended up not going private with the blog. I found that it would severely limit the number of people who could read it, and in the end when weighing the pros and cons I decided to leave it open for now. I have however, saved all of your email addresses in case I ever need to close it.
I have noticed since I have moved to this location that I am having trouble speaking my thoughts clearly. I have never stuttered before but am now finding that there are times when I cannot get the words out or the words come out differently than what I think I said. Weird I know, could be culture shock/stress or just a senior moment, I guess time will tell. Here is an example: We were watching a movie and Campbell says, "What did he say?", and in my head I replied with the correct phrase, "You need to learn to play the tambourine." but what came out was, "You need to learn to use a submarine!" What?! Where did that come from? Well....if you know my family, you can imagine the laughter that bellowed throughout our home at that!! On second thought, my mom might call this payback! :) I know this is a silly mistake but this is just one example of many on top of sometimes not being able to start a conversation without stuttering.....yes, in English!
I now have a "closed friend". It's true. I have a text message to prove it! One night an elderly man showed up at my door. He was dressed nice and had a file full of papers and asked if I could help him with these since they needed to be filled out in English. I agreed to help and asked him to come in and we corrected the crazy English. This man can speak English and knew that the answers on the questionnaire that someone else wrote were not correct but he didn't know how to correct it. Anyway, we have had several meetings relating to paperwork for his company and he sent me a text saying that he can see Barry and I becoming his "closed friends". That made me smile!
I have begun a study of the Manual with "J" and several other national women who are like-minded. They are beautiful women inside and out and I am looking forward to getting to know them better and improving my language in this area.
We leave in three days to the capital city for two weeks of training. The kids excited to be staying during the weekdays with some friends of ours who we were in training with at the farm, "P" and "J", and then with us on the weekends. Everyone is also excited because they will get to see other friends who live there and also get treats like Chili's and Krispy Kreme!
As of today we have completed half of our term! Wow!
We have now completed James 1-2:18 in our memorization! I and all four kids are doing great and can quote them smoothly and yet it seems to have created a bit of sp*r*tual warfare. I think someone doesn't like them learning the basics of living out their faith! For the first time in their lives they started fighting with each other daily, it was crazy! We confronted them about how what we are doing is not liked and that we need to lift up that we stand firm and do what is right. The last several days have been better. The CEO is faithful! Please continue to talk to the CEO on our behalf!

Well, I am going to close this with a few snapshots from a recent trip to the grocery store...too bad I can't post the smell with it!! :)

Live eels! This is what they use for a relay game during there festivities, kids carry them from one bucket to another......fun for the family! Barry likes picking them up....they have plastic bags you can put on your hands and pick out your own...uh...thanks!

"Skates".....some type of sting ray type animal.....yum...it's what's for dinner! :/

Last week this was full of whole chickens, when I approached it this time I was shocked to find it full of this.....these are squid.....not chickens!! Yikes!!

Last but not least, remember to keep talking to the CEO as the death tolls continue to rise from the tsunami and the volcano, there are many survivors displaced and suffering!!

Then and Now

2010-10-29T12:51:00.017+07:00

THEN: Only 4 months ago my kids were camping in the area and we were taking pictures of it's beauty and admiring the tufts of smoke coming out of the top, it seemed so pretty.....back then.

Notice the volcano on the banner, it represents Mt. Merapi

The volcano in the background

.......NOW:

I thought these last two shots looked like very similar areas. So very sad.

Just in case you did not see this on my FB page, here is part of an article that was written after the first three eruptions. I wanted you to get a picture of the belief system so prevalent in Macchiato:

"Among the dead from Tuesday's eruption was an 83-year-old man named Maridjan, who was entrusted by a late king from the nearby city of Yogyakarta to watch over the mountain's unpredictable spirits. He had refused to leave his house high on its slopes.
The discovery Wednesday of his ash-covered body, reportedly found in a position of Isl*mic prayer, kneeling face-down on the floor, rattled residents who for years joined his ceremonies to appease the rumbling giant by throwing rice, clothes and chickens into the crater.
Many people paid tribute to Maridjan on Facebook and Twitter.
"I'm more afraid than ever," said Prapto Wiyono, a 60-year-old farmer from the mountain village of Pangukrejo. "Who's going to tell us what's going on with Merapi?"
(aolnews)
Beliefs/Guardian
Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, the stakes are high - Souls of men.
PRAY.

Cheers

2010-10-14T18:55:00.008+07:00

Yes, that's her...it really is Justine! Oh, sorry you must be talking about the other lady, yes that really is Kirstie Alley! This is an old shot, about 4 years ago. Back when Barry was working part-time for United Airlines we were able to travel quite a bit and often in first class, and one time she and I were seat-mates in first class on a flight from LAX to Oklahoma City. Crazy huh? She was super sweet and very talkative, shared her magazines with me and chatted about her children and redecorating her home. However there is also one other thing that she did and that is why this picture is included in this post.

She gave me a bottle of vodka. You know the little bottles that they have on the airplanes? Well, she had gone to the restroom and when she came back she asked for two bottles. When the overly eager male flight attendant obliged while winking at me (what was that for?), she handed one to me and said, "When you get off this plane, wash your kids hands with this, it is a great disinfectant and planes are just so nasty!" then she followed that by saying, "I used to always keep it around my house for disinfecting until I noticed it kept coming up empty, I guess it's not a great thing to have in your house when your housekeeper is an alcoholic!" (insert laughter here) So here I am, holding my bottle of um.....disinfectant and trying not to bust out laughing because this whole scenario is just crazy! I mean right off the bat it's a bit awkward. Like when you sit down, I obviously know who she is, she obviously knows I know who she is, and yet how do you break the ice? "So how's Ted Danson?", "Been to Boston lately?", "How about that talking baby movie, that Travolta is something, huh?", "Wow, some guts you have, going on Oprah in just a bikini!" Uh-no, those were not going to work. And I wasn't even going to touch on the subject of Jenny Craig lest she suggest it for me! So, what jewel of a conversation opener did I come up with? Well, fortunately she began the conversation first, so to fill in the gap and to express interest I mentioned that I saw Nate Berkus remodel her kitchen on Oprah! (Don't judge me, I am a sucker for any kind of makeover show! LOL) Anyway, since that time that little bottle has stayed tucked back in a corner of a cabinet at my mom's house as a funny memento of that trip.

Now, come with me to 2010 when I live in a country where the groceries I want are not always available. One of them being vanilla. You know, you need vanilla for a lot of yummy foods and it is disheartening when you cannot find it. So one day while lamenting my lack of vanilla-ness. Several of the ladies here mentioned that they make their own! What? Who knew? So what do I need? And the answer was, some vanilla beans and a bottle of....you guessed it, vodka! So they tell me that they usually buy the vodka in the capitol city or in Bali and that you can also find the vanilla beans in Bali. So that was my plan, next year from Bali I would bring home the goods and become a vanilla connoisseur! However while I was on my Ladies retreat (blog coming soon on that one) we were waiting to fly from Batam to our island when we noticed they have chocolate! Not just any chocolate, but Hershey's, Snickers, M&M's etc. So while stopping to buy some....what?....It was for the kids, of course :) "J" noticed that they had duty free vodka so she would be able to make her vanilla! So she asked if I wanted to get some and I mentioned that I didn't have any vanilla beans to which "L" piped up and said she had plenty to share! So off I went to buy my bottle of vodka....and it felt weird! Just saying! I hesitated to blog on this for fear of judgement but I figure everyone uses vanilla and it is all made out of the same stuff so..... Here are some pictures of the process:

Well, at least it wasn't in a brown paper bag!

Getting ready to mix the concoction

You have to slice the vanilla beans longways and then make slits cross ways then open it up a bit, and on a side note if any of you do this, the vanilla beans take up more space than you think and so as I put the beans in the vodka spilled over, so you might want to pour a little out...please don't drink it!

Last step, you place the vanilla beans into the vodka and let it sit in a dark place for a few weeks and wallah (how do you spell that anyway?), you have vanilla!

This is it on week two, and as you can see it is turning into vanilla, yay!!

So the next time you go to Wal-Mart, Crest or visit Mexico (which is by far some of the best vanilla in the world) and buy your vanilla...be thankful!!

What Was I Thinking?

2010-10-11T10:02:00.005+07:00

I LOVE Fall. That being said, it is ridiculous how much of my fall decorating items I did not bring over here. I mean very little. My mom sent me some things last Fall so that helps but I really am lacking in this area. So going through "Fall" in a country that has no Fall, therefore, no Fall decorations, has been a little depressing.

Okay, remember when I said that I couldn't believe some of the stuff I packed in our crate and why I didn't pack others? Here is a most vivid example of how I was NOT thinking when I went through this process. Did I pack my beautiful set of resin pumpkins that had words from the Manual about giving thanks carved into them? No. I am moving into a M*sl*m country so I pack the Precious Moments turkey that is holding a sign to "Eat Ham"!! Seriously? I couldn't make this stuff up people!! If you don't laugh you will cry.....and it is pretty funny in a sad pathetic kind of way!! LOL

Camp Rock...lahoma!!

2010-10-03T16:35:00.003+07:00

This is proof that the whole world is celebrating OU's victory over UT today!! Or at least it is proof of what happens when Barry leads an English (ESL) Class the day after OU's victory over UT!! Is it merely a coincidence that their national flag is red and white? I think not!! Someday we will talk them into putting a Schooner in the middle of it!! LOL

Doesn't that just crack you up? They were so funny learning how to do the "hook 'em horns" upside down!

While a friend of our goes to the States for 6 months we offered to teach his English class, so once a month we will meet in our home and discuss America, teach idioms, customs, and things of that nature. The only rule the class has is that you can ONLY speak English, so needless to say, this is right up my alley! LOL Talking and making sense without having to calculate every word is just so....freeing!! Of course I realize that for them this is more of a struggle, we have switched places, and boy am I far more patient with people learning to speak English now!! No more giggles at mis-steps, well.....okay, a few giggles at mis-steps but you get my point!! :) I love that we had to explain "GO OU", they didn't understand what the "Go" was for!! Gotta love and embrace the differences in languages!! Lots of laughs were had here today and I loved every minute of it!! BOOMER SOONER!!

Water: The Ugly

2010-10-02T12:09:00.003+07:00

(If you haven't started with "Water: the Good", you may want to begin at that post)

Well, these pictures are hard to look at, no wonder most of these homes and businesses have very little that seems nice or clean. Can you even imagine having to deal with this in your home or work on a regular basis? Life here is so hard for them, it just breaks your heart.

This was the street leading to the Whitaker home the night of the flooding!

Four days later when Barry was taking me to the Sanders before I flew to my retreat, it had poured all night long and into the morning when we were to leave...I think the geese should have been a sign of what was to come!

As we turned from our house and approached the main road we began to see what we were going to have to drive through! All of these homes and businesses had been flooded out previously also!

Notice the old ladder, they had placed several of these markers in the road to warn drivers of large holes.
Just so very sad to see, there were no wet vacs to be used here, you just have to wait for the water to go down, with rainy season just starting I think this is only the beginning for them!

This is a carpenter's shop by our home.

Another local business, I think they do wood and iron works!

Here is a type of mini-mart (Called a "warung" *wah-roong*) almost every home has something to sell. Poor little girl, but she was sure having fun!

A local car wash business

Continue your talks to the CEO that they will experience and know their One True Hope!!

Water: The Bad.....

2010-10-02T11:39:00.003+07:00

(Might want to start with "Water: The Good" if you haven't read it yet)

Later that evening after supper we had a horrendous rain storm. I can't remember if I told you this already or not, but it rains harder here than I have ever seen in my life and that night it felt like our house was underneath Niagara Falls. It was loud and constant for about 2 hours.

After it had stopped we got a text from the Sanders asking if we had flooded because all three of the other family's homes in our city had! Well, thankfully we had no flooding but we began to seek out how we could help the others and decided to go to the Whitakers home and pick up their little girls to spend the night. They are another new family who moved just after us, and they had been told that the house didn't flood...oops! And the Sanders have lived here ten years and this is only the second time that they have been flooded, it was awful! The third home had a wet vac which helped keep their flood to a minimum thank goodness. Here are a few pics of the Whitakers home, they were able to borrow the wet vac and that helped tremendously, while the Sanders spent all night sweeping their water out! Please have conversations that ask for the flood waters to be held back from them! As you will see, the devastation was not limited to them:

This was a large wet vac and D emptied it out about ten times in the hour we were there and we were still standing in ankle deep water! Notice how dirty that water is...ugh!

Their kitchen where you can see some of the debris that flooded in with the water. They had been out getting groceries and came home to find this! There rugs, flip flops and the girls inflatable chairs were floating all around! Can you imagine?

Those little girls are pretty tough and much to their parents chagrin were all about having a blast in new home/bathtub they had! too cute!!

Four very happy little girls ready to settle in for the night...RIGHT! They were all so keyed up they played for a while even though it was almost midnight when we got them together, but they sure had fun!

Water: The Good.....

2010-10-02T10:27:00.008+07:00

So a week ago last Friday, we went over to the Sander's home to help S clean out his water tank. This is something that their children did when they were smaller and so he asked if the boys might be willing to help him.....not only were they willing, they were thrilled to be asked! And as you might note from the pics, we had one little girl who was really wishing she was in the middle of it, literally! :) So the water was stopped and then mostly drained with some left in so they could scrub the gunk off the insides. It took a couple of hours but they got it done and S said they did a great job, he even paid them 50,000 rp ($5) for it! The boys were so excited!

Campbell watching while S gave the boys instructions.

Haddon wanted no part of that whole tank business but slowly came to work on overcoming her fear of dogs, looks like she made a new friend in Rocky!

Campbell, who used to be deathly afraid of dogs was quite content patting Red! She has come a LONG way! Tiny dogs used to send her screaming in terror!

Hudson in and Marshall waiting his turn!

In goes Marshall, he is now a good 3-4 inches taller than me...who told him he could do that?

S took this shot for me, two boys in a tank ready to scrub! Isn't that hysterical?

Scrubbing away on the inside of the tank!

Hudson, taking a breather and Campbell getting as close to the action as she can!

Emptying buckets of water out of the tank, as they cleaned!

Two tired boys, finished, drenched, and happy to help out a family who have become so dear to our hearts!! The CEO has been so good to us by giving us such loving people to be with while we are away from our own family!!

Feasting and Fasting

2010-09-14T16:29:00.015+07:00

Our helper's husband came to our home to lead us to their house, he is on the motorcycle. You can see the many people that were out to go visiting.

Leading up to their home which is connected to the main house owned by the husbands family.

Campbell and Barry

Justine and Haddon

Notice how we change positions, we were trying to make room for them, only to be told that they had already eaten and all the spaces were for us!

Her husband and son, sitting in the hall

Finally seated correctly, and served yummy "Soto Ayam". A tasty chicken and rice soup

Once again...giants in the land!! Now all of the sudden you understand why there are munchkin doors in my home!! We are not of average height....and I have never been considered tall until now! :)

Wearing the traditional hat.....

..and just for fun.....Barry wearing the traditional hat! LOL Everyone got a good laugh out of this!!

I have been making a list of things that I think you might find interesting that I can blog about here. But before I delve into some other topics I thought I would give you a run down of the last month, which has been R*m*d*n. It was a little different this year than last year mainly because our location is closer to the area which is home to the most radical form of Isl*m in this country. Therefore, the c*ll of pr*y*r was LOUDER, longer, and more often. The spirit of friendliness was less from strangers, and EVERY restaurant was shut down until about 5:30pm because of the fasting from sun-up to sundown.

So to break it down in more practical terms, first of all for us it meant listening to and being subjected to constant chanting, singing, and teachings which are done over the loudspeakers of every m*sq**. Now remember that by law there must be a m*sq** within walking distance for every person, so in our surrounding area you can hear at least four strongly and then many others faintly and none of them are doing the same thing. One is chanting, one is singing, one is teaching....etc. It made for a lot of noise and we played praise music loud and late into the night many days!

Secondly, it also meant that if we were out we could not stop and get a drink, no water, no coke, no coffee, nothing...nada. You see, when they fast during this month, they don't even drink, and the most devout will not even swallow their saliva and therefore will spit all day which accounts for the people in the mall that we saw spitting on the floor...yes...don't reread that part you read it correctly the first time! They do however have rather large breakfasts and large nice meals in the evenings....don't even think about going out to eat in the evenings, you will wait in very long lines!! :) Come sundown.....they are ready!

Thirdly, you felt "it". You felt the weight of what was going on around you, sometimes it was palpable, like you could touch it, it felt heavy. You saw people seeking, striving, suffering, and working for that which is freely given but not understood by them. You wanted to say...."Here, let me show you Life!" "It is not something to be earned!" "You have a free gift, believe and receive!" yet in many ways the door was not open to hear what could have been said. But many were and are seeking, so there is always hope!

At the end of this month of fasting is their largest holiday, Id*l F*tr*. They open their homes and invite family and friends and/or go to visit their families. This is also where they ask and extend forgiveness to those around them. What is kind of funny is that the actual translation of what they say is something to the effect of "I am sorry I was born", now, that is not what the phrase means, but I thought it was funny the first time I translated it literally word for word! The phrase when said all together means to ask forgiveness for any wrong doings intentionally or unintentionally, emotionally and physically. Also, one of the reasons they need the 13th month salary is because this is their time to give gifts and feed everyone who visits. Seriously, our town became like Penn Square Mall at Christmas time! For the entire month traffic is horrible and every place, except restaurants, are crowded!

We were privileged to be invited into several homes of those celebrating this holiday. One of them was our helper, who graciously served us a feast, that I knew she could ill afford. Since she cooks our lunch she knows which Macchiato food is the kids favorite and made it for them as well as had Coca-cola and lots of treats and cookies for them to try....all while she, her husband and 2 yr. old son sat in the hallway having already eaten so they could honor us by serving us at their table! Talk about making you feel awkward! Don't get me wrong, I knew they were honoring us and that was extremely thoughtful but I also knew what it took for them to take in and feed a family of six and to give them such honor....I was touched deeply by their generosity. Then we went to several other homes who also graciously served us Cokes and snacks, things they rarely buy for themselves and they too seated us while they sat on the floor. Wow, I know some of it may be done in misguided motivation but you can't help but be moved in your heart for these people! Please remember them in your conversations to the CEO!

A Trip to Maxwell's House

2010-09-04T16:05:00.007+07:00

This is the beautiful drive from the farm to the orphanage in Maxwell's House where Barry spoke last Sunday.

Giving thanks before the service started which was all lead by children at the home! We loved it!

Adorable kids everywhere being cute and silly! They were pretty shy but we hope to overcome that in the days ahead!

Barry teaching

This is the part where they started singing Justin Beiber's, "Baby....baby......baby...Ohhhh!" It was so funny! Seems right now that is the song we hear most from people. They keep telling us that our boys look like him! It's a total crack up!

We had a great time Sunday at the orphanage. Barry is doing so well at teaching in our new language, I am so proud of him. It really is hard to know how to communicate truths from the Manual sometimes because the way we would say it is not always how they would say it. So you really have to know cultural cues or what you say will not make sense in their context.

Also this week we had a team retreat at a local hotel where we all came together and had meetings in the morning, came together for lunch, swam together all afternoon and then ate together and had fellowship in the evening, it was perfect. Since our family and another family are new to the area it was a great time of hanging out and getting to know one another a little better and to hear from the CEO and vision cast for our work.

Wow! We have 13 million coffee beans that need to be cultivated and then hopefully harvested. Seems like an overwhelming task, and that is just our coffee, there are millions of more beans all over this island/country needing the same thing! Difficult? Definitely! Hard and frustrating at times? Certainly! Impossible? I think not! The Manual is clear that all types of coffee will be harvested (wheat..coffee, just go with me people!:)) Please join us in fervent conversation that the work will be fruitful and forthcoming! There are many barriers to this work, we cannot do this alone, we need you to come along side us and join us in our appeals to the CEO!! Thanks again for your words of encouragement, they mean so much!

Starting School and Toads in the Bookshelves

2010-08-25T22:50:00.011+07:00

As you can see by the following photos we have begun our homeschooling. Believe it or not they were begging to start, I think we were all ready for some sort of normal schedule since the move and this has given us a chance to do that and also spend some great time together doing read alouds and all the other fun stuff we can pack into our day.

It has been an interesting week as we prepared for school some of the highlights were: twice I found toads in our schoolroom bookshelf (lovely I know, apparently they would like to be educated too, sorry...not gonna happen!), chased down a very fast large spider in my bathroom (seriously, the dude has eight legs, is it too much to ask that he trips so I can stomp him to death?!), spotted a three foot long Monitor Lizard in my backyard (always exciting, he must have been just passing through, didn't even stay long enough for me to get a pic!) and found a cockroach and a cecak in my cupboards! Yikes! That alone is enough to send me to the loony bin, here's a great idea...let's start homeschooling! I do love homeschooling though, not to say that we don't have our days when I desire the long yellow bus or the short one for that matter to come and take the children away :), but most days it's fun and I enjoy watching them grow and learn with me guiding them.

This year we have taken on a task that I tried to do two years ago but we had so much going on in our life it was just impossible to focus on, and that is to memorize the book of James. That's right, all 108 verses! I started not to tell you because the little voice in my head (I said voice, not voices!) said, "What if you tell and then you don't do it?", "What if you tell and you find out it's too hard and people ask you about it, what will you say?" stupid pride! But then I thought that telling you all might help keep me accountable, novel idea, I know! :) So anyway, then I thought it might be fun if some of you joined us and we could keep each other accountable. I think it sounds fun! So far we have all successfully memorized 1:1-5 in the first three days of school. We do it first thing in the morning then ask them to say it at lunch and then again at dinner or bedtime. Haddon was sure she couldn't do it but she has been the most surprising in that she is really enjoying it and has kept pace with her older siblings. If you want to join us leave a comment and let me know!

Well, I need to get to bed because we are starting school at 7am so we can beat the heat but I wanted to ask that you continue in your conversations to the CEO about us. We have a team retreat next week (one week of school and then a week off...can't beat that! :)) and we will be vision casting for this next phase. We need to hear clearly from the CEO and don't want to miss out on what he has for us!

Hope all of you are well, we really enjoy hearing from you all so please post comments and let us know what is going on with you! You also can message me on FB or email us for the new address if you would like to have it. Thanks and love you guys!

How did he get to be in 8th grade? He has a very rigorous curriculum this year, can't wait to see how the CEO will use it to shape him!

In a couple of months Hudson will be 12 years old!! The fact that he is in 6th grade is crazy!!

And don't even get me started on Campbell, in the 3rd grade and almost 9 years old, where did my little chubby cheeked baby go?

And then there is Haddon. Little Miss 2nd grade and 7 years old! She definitely keeps school interesting, especially when she quotes he verses in her "detective" voice! I'll have to catch that on video!

These are just for fun. When we took our friends to that airport we all got a good laugh out of these English bloopers.

I know...the boys need a haircut! I think they are both ready to go shorter...stay tuned, you never know what they'll end up with at one of these barbers!! LOL

Hari ini Bapak Barry Berkhotbah dalam Bahasanya Baru

2010-08-16T09:11:00.008+07:00

Or...Today Barry Gave a S*rm*n in His New Language. And according to my very biased opinion, he did a great job! I was very proud of him! Here is a sampling, sorry that the sound quality isn't better but hey, most of you wouldn't be able to understand it anyway, right? :)

The Crate Adventure

2010-08-15T19:11:00.005+07:00

The guy talking is one of the gang members who is trying making his case for why we need to pay him double for one crate what we paid for a full truck load. You see, this month is R*m*d*n and for them that is their major holiday season. It is also the month of "the 13th salary". According to their law, you must pay all of your employees an extra months salary this month. Your gardener, house helper, trash man, etc. receives an extra salary. This also helps them to be able to afford the many feasts and gift giving that goes on at this time. I think he was trying to pull that on us. We really didn't consider them employees or hired help if you know what I mean!

The driver, by Barry, was explaining that this was only one crate, not a whole truck load. They didn't want to hear any of it, their minds were made up. Barry kept negotiating and told them what we paid for a whole truck load before and what our friends had paid a week earlier. I left to go in the house because it was very frustrating. They wouldn't let the drivers undo our crate until they were paid. All in all their were 25 men there, after the negotiating several left but many stayed to unload the crate. Uhh..thanks! In the end we ended up paying around $35 US for their "protection".

They were standing in our crate unloading it from the top, then they asked if anything was breakable! After they got it half empty they pulled the side off and unloaded from the front. I only had a couple of small things break and I am pretty sure it was from them standing on the boxes because everything overall was in really good condition. I didn't want any of them in our home so we just had them place everything on our porch.

After the crate was unloaded into our yard (we wanted to keep the wood) they all came and shook all of our hands and said thank you!! What a crack up!

I sure would like to know how that money gets divided! There are so many of them and who do you trust to give it out equally? I have been told by several people that the gangs actually have a letter from the police stating that they have the right to do this! Go fig! Crazy!

Here we have some very happy kids who were glad to see toys, personal items, and bedspreads, etc. that had been packed up 20 months ago!

Run DMV

2010-08-07T15:13:00.010+07:00

While I am sitting here anxiously awaiting the arrival of my crate...and it's thugs, sorry, it's uhmm..."protectors", I thought I would write a post about our experience at getting a driver's license.

Before we left to come over here we went to AAA and got International Driver's Licenses which are only good for one year. So basically for the last 3 months we have been driving without a valid license which may be similar to many other people here, but that is besides the point! :) Anyway after being here for about a week a date was set aside for us to go with a national helper to get our driver's license.

Now, I was a little nervous about this but many people had said that the whole process was nothing, they may ask a couple of questions, but it was no big deal. No driving test or written test was required. Whew...that's a relief!! So on a sunny, bright, and particularly hot day we drove to their version of the DMV, and if it is any consolation the lines are just as long here as they are in the States!

Fortunately these were new facilities which had a nice covered outdoor seating area. So we sit for a long time while our friend is handling all of the paperwork when all of the sudden Barry says, "Justine, go, they just called your name." I am pretty sure I didn't hear my name but okay, "Where do I go?" So they nudge me toward the policemen sitting at the table with the microphone. With my paper in hand I somewhat sheepishly walk up to them and say that my name was called, so they point to a door. Feeling very out of place I walk through the door and see a table with four policeman with computers and digital cameras on tripods. Everyone looks up at me but nobody says anything. So I smile and stand there like a dork. People get up and go to another room but nobody says a word to me. Finally an officer asks me to sit down, I tell him my name was called, he asks by who, and I say the officer out front. He asks me to move over to the next chair, so I do. Then they flip through a bunch of papers and ask me to sit in the next chair over, so I do that again while other people are occupying my previous seats and getting their licences. Then I look up and another person is waiting for my seat so they ask me to go back out into the waiting area. Now, I am not normally easily intimidated but this was not a comfortable situation, not because they were mean, but because I really couldn't understand them and they would talk and laugh amongst themselves and whether it was about me or not, of course I felt like it was!!

So I go back outside and tell Barry and our friend that they told me to come back out, so our friend goes in there to see what was going on, apparently my name wasn't called or got called out of order. Lovely! Glad I had that little cultural experience to add to my already overloaded file! :)

Not longer after that, both mine and Barry's names were called so we walk in and there is a man standing there and he looks at our cards and sees that we are numbers 61 and 62 and shows us that he is 63 and lets us get in front of him, niiiice! So I sit down get photographed and fingerprinted and they tell me to go to the next room. By this time Barry was already done so I was anxious to find out what was going to happen in the next room. And can I tell you that my jaw literally dropped and hit the floor as I entered and saw a room full of computer screens and there is Barry with headphones on.....TAKING A TEST!! Panic....try to make my self invisible again, which never works, think quick on my feet, but there is nothing to do but move toward the policeman who is showing me where I can sit to take my test. GULP!!

Now, I have to say that you have to click only one of two things, "salah", wrong or "benar", right. However, in my hazy thoughts I cannot process what it is asking me while it shows me little video pictures of cartoon streets and cars! The first five questions I get wrong!! Wrong people!!

Here is the deal, first of all, as far as I can tell, there are no road rules here. There are no speed limits. I have never seen a cop pull anyone over for anything other than to check license of motorcycle drivers. People never stay in marked lanes and will turn in front of you or on all sides of you for that matter! I figure that as long as you don't hurt anyone then whatever you want to do you can! Everyday I see cars and motorcycles driving the wrong way on a road, what in the world can this test be about? Once, it actually had a picture of a truck loaded like the one that brought our furniture in and asked if this was right or wrong, of course I put "right" because those trucks are everywhere...and I got the question WRONG!! The officer said it was packed too high! Seriously?!

I look over at Barry and can tell he is having trouble understanding it too, it was about that time that the officers started walking around and then one stood beside me and one stood beside Barry, and what did they do? They started giving us the answers!! Yep, you heard me! They would give us about two or three answers then walk away, come back and give us a few more!! What a riot!! By this time I was learning to listen to the color of the car they were wanting me to answer about and I had begun getting them right on my own. But I really couldn't believe they helped us so much....and we didn't have to pay them! LOL And in case you wondered, I never saw them help the nationals who were taking their tests!

So in the end we passed, shocker I know, and were awarded our official Macchiato driver's license. Now, if I can just conquer the stick shift, I'll really be going places!!

Last but not least I have a short video clip of us driving in "Folgers". It will give you a taste of driving in Macchiato. If you turn it up you can hear Barry trying to make funny commentary!! LOL Oops! He just came by and read this...he said he wasn't "trying" to make funny commentary but was "successfully" making funny commentary. I say let's let the people be the judge!

Turning a House into a Home

2010-07-30T08:14:00.013+07:00

Here are some pics of the "Skittles" house! We have now been in the house for four days and we are really enjoying it. So far so good!!

A banana tree in our backyard! We also have a palm tree with coconuts and a rambutan tree

Kids/Guests bathroom

The Master Bedroom

Marshall's room

Dining room

Dinning room entry into kitchen and living room

School room, like a screened in porch area....formerly a garage

Kitchen, complete with doors to Munchkin Land!! :)

Storage room off of kitchen, I saw Barry talking to our pembantu in here and had to take a picture....hysterical!!

Master bath, it too has a Munchkin door, Barry has to be careful in the middle of the night!

I love this view! From the kitchen/living room doorway looking into the dinning room

Another favorite! Our living room

Front door and "tamu" room, where we receive guests

Girls Bedroom

Hudson's room

"Can't" Never Did Do Anything

2010-07-24T08:37:00.009+07:00

I heard these words all the time growing up from my parents, especially out of the mouth of my father *sigh* I miss him. But the other day as we were attempting to put together 5 beds that were in pieces and non too clearly marked, I found myself holding about 30 screws with an end that looked like a bubble with 4 small holes in them......and of course, I have no allen wrenches! :) So anyway here I am trying to figure what I can do to get these together because the last thing I want to do is go in search of a tool that I have no idea where to find or what it is called!

Then I remember that I put my handy dandy Home Depot Multi-Head Screwdriver in my purse and one of it's interchangeable heads is a tool that just might fit! So as I am putting the screws in (in case you are wondering where Barry was, he was having to hold the bed together while I placed the screws!) Marshall comes in and says, "Hey, I thought you couldn't put them together because you didn't have the right tool?" And then the next words out of my mouth were, "I remembered my screwdriver, sometimes you just always need to look for ways that you CAN, and stop looking for ways you CAN'T.", then lo and behold I remembered my father's words which I then repeated to my children, who then told me that was not good grammar!! :) Funny kids. Their favorite phrase to say during school is, "You know, I ain't got no grammar." to which Barry and I always reply, "Yes you do, you have two "grammar's" just no "grandpers"!" I know, we are dorks, but that is what makes our life so fun!

Okay, back to the topic at hand. As we are facing this new challenge in our life and the challenge of the work before us, the CEO reminded me that I need to keep that attitude in all my tasks, whether it is intentionally meeting new people, struggling with my new language, learning to cook with the ingredients I can find, homeschooling my children, enduring the heat, etc.

How many times a day does that happen? You know, when you are disciplining or instructing your kids on something and immediately you hear that same message being sent directly to your own heart in it's own personal application? YIKES, I hate that! Well, not really "hate" per se, but usually at the time I am not wanting to focus on my own actions!! And if for some reason you all are scratching your head saying, "That never happens to me, what is she talking about?" Don't tell me about it. I choose to believe that I am not a "lone, lonely, loner" in this!! (to quote Sid the Sloth, he totally cracks me up!)

Anyway.......I suppose that is the challenge which is set before all of us: Always look for ways you can, stop looking for ways that you can't! Of course this is written by the girl who became her husbands s*rmon illustration on how things need to be used for the purpose for which they were created, (all because I used a hockey puck to hammer nails in our first apartment) hey, it was what I had on hand and it got the job done, of course that puck never quite looked the same after that.....maybe he has a point! :) Lucky for me, this time the screwdriver saved the day and is none worse the wear.......well, at least that's my story and I am sticking to it! :)

The Fun of Paying "Protection" Fees

2010-07-22T22:15:00.010+07:00

We were warned that around the edge of the city sits members of gangs who follow trucks in and then "strongly suggest" that you should pay them for protecting your things. Nice of them isn't it, all that protection and all...just so thoughtful! :/ Anyway since our items arrived at night we thought that would be in our favor and it might be missed by the gangs, but in the morning we found out the truck didn't go on to our house that night but stayed in town so of course when the truck arrived, so did our "protectors".

This pic shows Barry and our team member who came to help us sort out the amount we would pay for their "help". All in all we paid about $30 and then they all left but one, which I wasn't really crazy about but eventually he left also. I kept taking the items from him so that he wouldn't go into the house! We ended up with several pieces of wood furniture broken and bad rope burns on our sofa due to the fact that they never wrapped anything and obviously did not use a closed container. We literally spent hours on the phone to the men in charge but of course no one would accept responsibility. They increased our moving fees by almost $300 so we were trying to get them to knock that off in exchange for the damaged items but in the end we just ate it.

There are so many more details to this but suffice it to say that it wasn't at all like we expected but it did arrive and after we get some things fixed and clean up some others we'll be in good shape.

Not really sure why this moving guy was running in front of the truck, but this is how it arrived at 7 in the morning.

Notice the small crowd gathering on the right, they are the gang members. Always lots to learn here and again I just keep remembering The Pineapple Story, it has really helped keep me focused. If you have never read the book, here is a link to the actual man sharing his story. It's about an hour long but worth your time. I just clicked "download" and I was able to listen to it with no delays. I have no idea what else is on that site but was happy to find this available.

See, I am getting caught up, still lots to share and I have slightly gotten out of order but that just keeps it exciting right? :)

Movers and Shakers....literally

2010-07-22T21:24:00.004+07:00

Picked the kids up from their last Day Camp at the International School and Marshall had to ride in the back with the boxes!

So....this is the truck that showed up to move our things to another city three hours away where reportedly all the furniture would be wrapped and packed for shipping in a closed container. I was not feeling confident at this point as this truck was suppose to be a closed container also. Let's just say things did not go according to plan and the workers were very rough with our things, then demanded a tip before they left, and really, how are you not going to tip them when they are about to drive off with everything you own? Wow..this was a real different experience!

It's funny when I think of all the times I saw trucks like these around the island and always wondered what they were carrying, never dreaming that my furniture would be one of those loads someday!

"So they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly, Hills that is......." Seriously, all we needed was a rocking chair on top!! LOL My native friend asked if this was how we moved in America and laughed as I searched for words to respond!

It rained after they left....Murphy's Law....and I realized that I had to just let it go, that it was all out of my control at this point. We couldn't afford the $5000 fee of the professional movers so we went with what we could find. It really was an act of faith, I had to come to the point where you say it is only "things" and trust it to the CEO to protect and provide. Now we just hoped and prayed that not only would it arrive safely...but that it would arrive at all. We had things in writing from everyone involved about responsibility for lost or damaged goods but in the end we knew we would have little or no recourse if something were to happen to it, we were at their mercy. What a learning experience this has been!

The "Official" Language Evaluation Result (or "How I Got My Water Buffalo")

2010-07-22T06:53:00.007+07:00

Water Buffalo envy. You may have never heard of it, but I had it! Yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but the ugly truth is still the truth. Here is a little background, in our group after you complete your 9 unit language course and successfully reach a "level 5", you receive a Water Buffalo. They are great, they can help you plough your fields of rice, carry all of your heavy objects, etc.......okay, okay, it's not a real water buffalo, just a carved one! :)

Why, you ask? Because Water Buffalo's represent perseverance through hard work which they liken to us completing a hard year of language learning. They actually give a carved statue and a certificate that states we have been inducted into the "Royal Order of the Water Buffalo".

*Side note: Due to budget cuts they were not able to actually give the carved Water Buffalo's this year but still gave out the certificates.

So, if you read my last post you know that I was given some very discouraging news from my tester right before we left for Bali. As much as I wanted to reach the appropriate language level, I also did not want to have to remain in my seat while all of the other language students, including Barry, received theirs! Note to self: learn how to make myself invisible! Yikes! I was mortified at the thought! So with fear and trembling I carried my interview CD to Bali and handed it over to be given to an official native evaluator...GULP.....and waited!

That being said, I was encouraged by several friends and colleagues, you know who you are, to wait for the official result especially since I had finished language school with a good final score. So, are you ready to hear the official result?

I PASSED!! :) And to make everything a little sweeter, they called out my name first because my sweet friend "B" knew that I was dying to know the results!! It ended up being a lot of fun as I was so relieved to have the official answer come back favorably and also becasue I had so many other people there rejoicing with me!

I hope my admission of coveting a Water Buffalo doesn't make you think less of me, I am obviously a work in progress and as much as I would like to think I am above such silliness and sin, the facts are the facts and the CEO is constantly needing to prune and tweak me to form me more into who I was created to be, I sure don't make it easy on Him! Recently I began rereading "The Shadow of the Almighty" (the Jim Elliot biography) and was reminded that, "Anyone who puts his hand to the plough and then looks behind him is useless to the CEO". That is a very vivid mental image as we all know that the plough will veer of course whenever the person steering it looks back........OUCH! I needed that word now more than ever with all of these new changes we are dealing with, so excuse me while I log off of here and go repent for my recent longing of Pop-Secret Movie Theater Butter microwave popcorn!! :) As you can see...we need you to continue to lift us up!

I decided to pick up where I left off.....but more posts are coming, keep checking in! Love y'all!

Reaching Level 5

2010-06-17T13:05:00.002+07:00

Well.....I would say I gave it the "'Ole college try", but the truth of the matter is that I gave it a much better try than I think I ever did in college, but I just couldn't pull it off. Our company likes us to be at level 5 after we finish a year of language school, then we test every year after that until we reach level 7 at that time we no longer are required to test unless we just want to know for our own personal goals. Now, I haven't had my official results given to me but the language tester felt that Barry was above a level 5 but I was not yet at a level 5.

I am so happy for Barry and so very proud of him, really he amazes me.....but am completely bummed for myself! Definitely disappointed. If any one of you knew me in High School then you know that studying wasn't one of my strong points! I made decent grades but I have never been super motivated academically. (Don't you dare tell those four precious kids I home school about that!) LOL....okay.....they already know...I've confessed....I've already talked about how I want better for them, blah, blah, blah.....!! :) But this time, at this Language School, I did my dead level best. I studied, I conversed with strangers and interviewed them about their culture, I wrote papers, watched films, listened to the radio, took private tutoring, etc. So to do all that and not pass a level five is more than a little frustrating.

On the other hand, we have Barry. My precious academically over-achieving husband, the man is smart! Again, if you knew me in High School you might find it humorous to know that I married a Valedictorian, this is funny because I am pretty sure our valedictorians didn't even know my name and I'm pretty sure I couldn't even pronounce theirs!! (Although after a year of living in Asia, I probably could now!) :) Several of you all have asked how Barry was doing with language school, well...just guess how the H.S. class valedictorian, Oklahoma University President's Leadership Class member, Honor Roll in seminary and invited member of a special Theological Honors Fraternity did? If after reading all that you think he did great, then you are correct! He says that learning Spanish, Hebrew and Greek helped him with this language, so I shouldn't be so hard on myself! But come on...7th grade Spanish should have helped me out too, right? :)

Normally, all of his academic achievements are celebrated with much praise and without jealousy, this is his thing, he's great at it, go for it! But this time, I have to admit a twinge of jealousy. Fortunately for me the CEO says he uses the simple minded and the weak to show He is strong! I have always liked that he put that in the Manual, this gives hope to everyone! How much greater is the work done through us when it's even more obviously Him and not us and our talents. I know that each of us are bestowed certain gifts and abilities, and I know my worth or what can be done through me is not tied to this test and for that I am grateful.

So rejoice with Barry, he has worked hard, did a great job, put in a lot of hard work and used his talents wisely. He is certainly ready for what he has been called to do. Please keep lifting us up that we constantly rely on the CEO for strength and that we never stop being learners! Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go pack for Bali and not dwell on this any longer!! :)

Visiting an attraction....and Being the Attraction

2010-06-11T19:33:00.008+07:00

We had a fantastic time visiting this temple, it is quite an impressive structure for it's size alone.....and even more impressive when you realize that they built this without any major machinery to help! That is quite a feat! That being said, it is also an incredibly sad structure in that you realize men built this and came there trying to reach a "status", a certain "level" so that they might have eternal life or at best come back to do it right the next time. These things are such a reminder of the lostness of man, and their feeble attempts to reach "perfection" or heaven. Because we can look at this and think of it as ancient, but we must never loose sight of the fact that this belief is not dead. It continues on to this day and millions of people follow it.

Again, it was really cool to see something so old. I remember when Oklahoma was celebrating it's 100th birthday of Statehood, and that seemed so old until that same year we traveled to Jamestown, VA for it's 400th birthday and there was a huge impressive monument that was placed there for it's 300th birthday...the same time in which Oklahoma was just becoming a State!! It has a way of putting it in perspective. So to see something built around 800 AD was crazy!

We also became the attraction at the attraction! People came to us in droves to have their picture taken with us, it was a very interesting experience and can do wonders for your self-esteem! LOL It does get old after a while but the kids did good and kept smiling! It was killer hot that day also so to stand there with sweat poring off of you and these people squeezing up to you as if they were a relative or something can be kind of awkward but, we survived and had some great conversations with a lot of people. One kid came up to me and said. "Are you from New Zealand?" I replied, "No, I am American" while laughing to myself because maybe Europe, Australia or America , as people have guessed before, but it was so random to guess New Zealand of all places!! What? Do I look like a "Kiwi"? :)

Oh....and in case you wondered....volcanic stone is very unforgiving and hard! When you see the pic with a stone box looking thing ( a trash can, I guess) at the foot of the stairs, I tripped over that as I turned for another pic and scraped my shin to shreds!! OUCH! Most pain I've had in a long time, pretty sure I bruised it to the bone! Of course being surrounded by all these students I kept a smile, and of coursed laughed like I always do when I am in major pain! (someday I will ask why He made me that way, I laugh when I am happy, I laugh when I am nervous, and when I am hurt....so weird!) I didn't go all the way down but that thing did not budge! So embarrassing!

Well, gotta run, we take the boys to camp in the morning, please lift them up to the CEO!! Enjoy the slideshow and please use it to talk to the CEO about it's followers!!!

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Maybe for the Next Super Bowl....?

2010-06-10T23:33:00.010+07:00

Okay...seriously? Could he be any more adorable? This was the photographer at the temple (you know, like a "Party Pic" guy) and we became fast friends. He spoke fairly good English and was very proud of the fact that he knew some of our history (think George Washington) and that he could sing our National Anthem! Now, I know what you are thinking....sure he is your friend, he just wants to take your picture and make money!! Well, I am sure that was true, but as we began our trek up to the top we were stopped by a group of students who were doing a 2 week intensive English class and so we allowed them to be our guide. Our little photographer friend patiently waited as we conversed with the students and seemingly became the main attraction as we were consistently mobbed for photo opps by others who were visiting the temple. He stayed with us shooting 3 pics as we made our way to the top. When we met up with him later, he told us that we were not like most Westerners, we were kinder than most! Not to pat ourselves on the back, but hearing that was like music to our ears....because that is what we want! We want to be different, it totally opens up the door to tell them WHY we are different! Ya' gotta love how things turn out sometimes!

Pic #1 - Before we enter the temple grounds.....

Pic #2 - After we enter and climb up to the entrance..those ladies on the sides are two of about 20 that took their picture with us before we go any farther!

Pic #3 - Only about 5 steps from the very top! The steep steps up and the insanely hot temp seemed bearable because we were so involved in talking with the students.....niiice!

More pics to come but we had a fun day visiting this 8th century temple and being reminded of why the CEO called us to come here in the first place!

Is that made of.......WOOD? (Remember Joey and his Gopher on Full House)

2010-06-06T17:54:00.009+07:00

Our dining room buffet

The girls dresser

Our dining room hutch (with very limited cabinet space and no closets you really have to create your storage)

Master bedroom bedside nightstand

Vanity desk and stool

In April when we ordered our furniture we were surprised that they said it would take two months to complete because we had been told that it could be done in a month. So we settled on the date of June 10th for completion. As we were talking to people about or time frame of moving and packing our furniture up several people said it would be very likely that the furniture would not be completed on time....this made us worry about how we were going to get moved with all our stuff and still be able to check that it was done right, etc.

To our great relief we received a call on Saturday that our furniture was done and could they send it to us on Sunday. But in trying to cover all of our bases we decided that it would be easier for us to drive the three hours to the coastal city and inspect it ourselves before they brought it down here. That way if there was a problem we could just ask them to fix it and it would still be at their shop, this would also give us a chance to talk to them about the cost of them shipping it to "Folgers" for us. Boy...are we glad we did that!

Here is what has been happening, before we moved here the policy was that we could buy furniture here and the company would ship it for us. Everyone told us that this was the best way since you could get furniture so much cheaper over here, so we only packed a small crate and saved the rest of our crate money for making purchases over here. However, then the country and in turn our company have had to deal with lack of funds and so we were now told we would be responsible for moving our own things. This required some creative reworking of our plans but was still do-able.

It is very tricky to find businesses or services that you need over here because there are no Yellow Pages, most businesses have no website, and you just have to find out about things by searching on your own or asking others, simply "word of mouth". I had heard from others who have recently moved from here what they paid and it was costing around $2500 (US) for a move to one of the farthest islands, so when I called our company to ask about the company that they used to use when they shipped our things, that company was no longer, but they had the contact info for the representative who used to work there and now worked for another moving company. Well. to make a long story short they quoted me over $5000 (US) for a 20ft container!! FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS....are you kidding me? Yikes!! Granted, they did everything for you but still, come on, what am I...Bill Gates?!

So then we met with the Post Office since we heard that they would also move us, and we were quoted the price of approximately $1400 (US). Now we are getting somewhere. But while we were at the furniture store the man said for $40 he would send a truck to get our things at the house, and put them with our things from his store, wrapped, and would ship his 20ft container for $650 (US)......wow!! That was great news! And since we were very pleased with his work and how it had been wrapped we got everything in writing but we feel really good about this and how the CEO has provided once again for us!

We still have our stove to buy and are going to wait on mattresses until we get to Folgers to ensure we have enough room in our container but so far things are lining up great!

We have a busy few weeks coming up, we are going to take a day trip to Borobudur, a 4th century temple and go to Barry's eye exam this Thursday, take the boys to Camp MIKI on Sunday, have our company language evaluation on Thursday, leave for Bali with the girls on Friday and then meet the boys there when they fly in with the other campers from our company on Saturday! We will have a week of meetings and then some vacation time at the end. I am ready to go and to not think about moving for a few days!

After we come back on July 1st we will load up our shipping container and then fly out on the 5th, if all goes according to plan!

Please lift up our Language Evaluation for the company which is June 17th! We need to make a "5" to pass it!! Thank you so much, the CEO has really been answering them and we are just so blessed and grateful!!

KIDZANIA

2010-06-06T17:14:00.007+07:00

While in the Capitol for processing paperwork, we were hoping to meet up with friends from language School who have already moved (do you remember Haddon's classmate Ollie?), unfortunately Ollie got sick and they were unable to come see us. But thankfully, he is better now. We did want to do something fun for the kids and so we took them to "KIDZANIA". It says it is for 4-16 year olds and while it was a little young for Marshall, they all found something fun to do that they enjoyed. By the way, all of our paperwork went smoothly which is an answered conversation because this has not always been the case lately. In fact it has become quite an issue, but we are good to go for another year! Yay!

So what is KIDZANIA, you ask? Well, it is a 7,500 square foot theme park for kids where they get to be the adult. You check in and pay at an airport counter where you are given a wrist band and a check for $50 (Kidzos). Upon entering, you go to the bank to cash your check, then you need to get your driver's license but before you can do that, you must go get a physical (eye exam). They literally have to pay $10 for this and then wait in the waiting room, have their exam and then leave to go wait at the DMV to get their license, which cost $20! By this time they have little money left and so they must go find a job and work to earn more money so they can do other activities. You can be Policemen, Firemen, Dentists, Doctors, Construction workers, factory workers, beauticians, cashiers, etc! Every job has a uniform and takes about 20 minutes. After you earn money then you can pay to be the customer at one of these businesses, it is really fun! The parents can't do any of it, it is just for the kids, and when the kids have earned at least $30 they can go to the bank and open up an account to get a debit card which works in four ATM's placed around the complex!

Needless to say, they had a blast! I don't have as many pics of the boys since they left to go get jobs together as Pilots, Construction workers, Pizza makers, etc! Later that evening we went to have dinner at the home of one of our friends from training. It was a fantastic time of great food (roast beef - my fave!), playing Skipbo and she even made a cake to celebrate all of our birthdays from the last year!! Too fun! Thanks J and P!! :) Well, enjoy the slideshow.....

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A Little Piece of America

2010-05-28T00:21:00.006+07:00

This is traffic in the capitol...CRAZY, bumper to bumper all the time! It took us an hour to an hour and a half to get anywhere!

A sight for sore eyes!! Seriously, I teared up a little when I saw that it looked just like the ones from home! Isn't that silly? But I couldn't help myself, the tiled tables the pictures on the wall (you know the queen of the chili cook off in the convertible?) and toilet paper and paper towels in the bathroom! It was just so nice to see it!! Even the flooring and light fixtures were the same. Which proves it is the little things I guess!

Not sure why I look like I have a turtle in this pic with an exceptionally long neck!! :P We we so happy to be there! They even had "free" refills! (of course the drinks were $2.50 US so not sure how free that was, but no one here has refills!) Also the Coke recipe was the American kind not the Asian kind...pretty sure we got our money's worth in Coke alone! :)

Portions were huge and tasted very close to home! The Queso was a little different and the Chili on the cheese fries but overall everyone was very pleased with their food and that we had enough to eat our fill and take home leftovers!

Fajitas and Chicked fried steak were the orders of choice!

Happy for the chance to eat there...

....and way to full to try to jump again for the picture!! LOL!!

I know it can be silly that food can mean so much, but it is a strange thing when you no longer have what you are used to. We of course have learned to eat other things but we have found that the food here does not seem to be as varied and therefore we crave different tastes that are just hard to come by over here. So when you have the chance to taste something familiar and "homey" it really is a great blessing!

Travel Day

2010-05-24T21:57:00.004+07:00

Eagle eyed children spotted this one!! Even blurred you can tell what it is!! Yum!! We will have to go there too!!

So we waited 45 minutes for a taxi that then called to cancel, couldn't make it he said! So...no Chili's tonight. We'll try again tomorrow! :( So we "had it our way" at Burger King.....well, okay...we had it someones way, just not ours, since they didn't get the order right but it was still yummy!

A beautiful array of fish heads in the grocery store! LOL!!

While picking up some food to make for breakfast, Marshall found a lovely package of Quail eggs!

A: I thought this was a cute way to sell eggs! B: They must have never heard the term, "Don't put all your eggs into one basket." :)

Life Lately....the End of a Great School Year

2010-05-23T14:36:00.003+07:00

Hopefully this won't take too long to download, it's a compilation of the last month or so of activities and events that the kids experienced. Enjoy!

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20th Anniversary Edition

2010-05-19T08:36:00.018+07:00

20 years? How did it get to be 20 years? I know what you are thinking, "She is too young to be married twenty years!" Well, not really since I married when I was ten!! (Ha) Okay, not really, I really am old enough to be married 20 years! Let's look back at how it all began....flashback with me to 1986:

ME: I have just graduated high school and my best friend, Brent, invites me to his church to get involved in helping with the student ministry. I LOVE it, I had just recently changed my life long plan and decided not to attend the Dallas Art Institute as I felt called to do work for the CEO instead. The same week after that gut wrenching decision I was asked to join the staff of FSBCDC. It was my dream job! Great times!

BARRY: Having graduated in '85 from OU with degree in finance and recently accepting the Son, Barry is working at a bank but feels the CEO is calling him to do more. We meet through my best friend at Falls Creek. Nothing special, I thought he was cute, he began dating one of my friends, then he signed up to do a 2 year term as a J-man in Singapore so off he goes!

1989:

ME: I am the secretary/intern at First Southern Baptist Church, Del City for the Youth and College Department. I receive a phone call in the Spring, I answer, "Youth and College, this is Justine..." and the voice on the other end says, "Justine? Justine Marshall? You sound so grown up!" (I know who it is now) and reply, "I was grown up before you left!" (he says I said that while wagging my head...I don't think so!) FSBCDC has asked him to come back and be College and Career minister when he returns, which means I will be his secretary (the plot thickens!).

BARRY: In June he returns to the States in time for Starlite Crusade and I am out of town. When I get back, we meet again for the first time in two years. There is definitely a difference, a spark, something has changed.

ME: The office takes me out to Olive Garden for my birthday on July 2, Barry is the only one who brought a gift (a Bible Dictionary...he knew I would love it, he has always been a romantic!!) . This is my first serious clue that he is interested. On July 14th we have our first date to see The Dead Poets Society. Two days later, he informs me he has to make some big decisions about his future.....do I want to be included in those plans? I know what this means and literally can't speak for some time, lots to ponder. Of course, he then says that he has a call on his life and I need to understand it's possible implications for us and our future. I say I will talk to the CEO about it. (18 years later that call came to fruition). By September I have my wedding dress, we are making furniture purchases and have bought a dog (a beautiful golden lab named Pharaoh).

DECEMBER 23, 1989: After having asked for my parent's blessing and permission to marry me while I was away on a service trip to Mexico in August, Barry takes me out to The Eagles Nest, OKc's only revolving restaurant (on one of the coldest days ever, it's on record!) and I know where this is headed when I notice there are flowers and candy waiting at our table. (I once told my mom that I would never marry, instead I wanted to travel around the country with she and dad in an RV! My mom said, "What if a boy brings you flowers", "Nope", I said. So she asked, "What if he brings you flowers AND candy?". Well, now that was a horse of a different color....of course I'd say yes!) So after a beautiful dinner and a three point proposal (if you know Barry......that is SO him , and SO hysterical!) that was absolutely sweet and heart felt, we became engaged. When I said yes the staff came by to congratulate us and offered us complimentary champagne. We politely declined so they suggested coffee, we said yes.....and they charged us for it! LOL!

MAY 19, 1990: Everything is set up perfectly, my sister has felt a little under the weather but feels like she will be fine, that morning Barry snuck up to my window to visit me after he and the groomsmen played basketball, all is great! We have so much music at our wedding sung by a great friend, Bill Brown, that one of our friends said they didn't know there was going to be a wedding at this Bill Brown concert! But he wrote them and they were SO beautiful, how could I narrow it down? Lynn Bullock performed the ceremony, the attendants and groomsmen enter, time for the aisle runner...which starts to roll back down First Southern's sloped aisles, Jon Elliff and Bill Grady race to catch it and bring it back! Ceremony begins beautifully...until I hear a loud "rushing" sound. I am thinking, oh no they didn't...the maintenance and sounds guys at the church has teased that they would turn the baptistry's waters on that overflowed into a moat around the stage area. But I then realize it is just heavy rain...breathe, relax. So we continue on, it's all beautiful, just as I imagined until Lynn asks for the ring from the Best Man, Tim Pruitt. As Lynn turns, Tim is no longer there! So we all turn to see were Tim went and discover what he had been watching and was trying to avoid, my middle sister Jennifer is fainting and is leaning into my older sister and Maid of Honor, Jacquie and is about to fall to the ground! He quickly seats her on a pew on the stage and returns to hand the ring over. HYSTERICAL! Then as Lynn is talking about the significance of the ring, lighting strikes and the electricity goes out for about 5 seconds.....SERIOUSLY? You can't plan stuff like this! Anyway, we finally are pronounced man and wife and make our way to the Waterford Hotel. Only we can't get there because the roads are all flooded and the police have blocked them off. Plan B: Wait at a nearby Denny's until the police open the road!

So as you can see, we really started things off with a bang! But I loved it, I married the man of my dreams, it was fun and memorable and something many people still talk and laugh about!

To be continued........

Happy One Year Anniversary

2010-05-04T21:48:00.007+07:00

One year = 365 days = 8760 hours = 525600 minutes. This represents the time we have spent in our host country, Macchiato. Inspired by blogs of friends who are experiencing the same thing as me (same-same...but different). I have decided to list a few things that I loved about this year.

I have met some of the most amazing people. They have been friendly, warm, and hospitable, but most of all patient and helpful as we learn to use their language.

I get to eat amazing watermelon and pineapple all year round, and I like that when we eat local food our whole family can eat for under $10.00 US, sometimes less than that.

I love the tropics, the palm trees, coconuts, the beach, the bamboo, and the rice fields.

I love how I can see the strangest things every time I go outside, seriously!

I love when my kids speak in their new language, or ask for electric translators for their birthday. I really like being able to communicate in a second language, there is something really fun about it.

I loved our school (the Pelatihs......not so much the work) and the kids school, we have been truly blessed by the people in both places. Our kids have been loved well by the staff.

I like the Koinonia coffee shop which many times has served as my oasis, a little taste of normal.

I like when the neighborhood kids stop and call out for my kids to come play.

I love having a cook and a cleaner. They surely saved my sanity during this time in language school....I will miss them and felt really good when they told us they will miss us and wished we weren't moving so far away so that they could still work for us!

I love how the CEO has seen us through this past year and made his care for us evident in more ways than I can count.

We have been happy, sad, angry, joyful, homesick, frustrated, excited, stressed, patient and impatient, lovable and unlovable and everything else in between. We have felt certain this is where we should be and then sat down and thought what in the world are we doing here! It's a good thing we don't run our lives by our emotions or somebody would be coming to lock us up and throw away the key! :) Yet we are always provided for, literally every time we need the strength to continue, it comes. Every time we realize we have failed, we are offered forgiveness. Every time we feel we have a right to something we are gently, or not so gently, reminded that we gave up your rights and are filled with peace. I could go on and on but you get the picture. We go by faith not by feelings.

Don't get me wrong, this hasn't been a "kumbaya let's hold hands and skip around the park" adventure, we have experienced many things that have threatened to steal our peace. On the other hand this has been the adventure of a lifetime and I can't imagine not having experienced all that we have as a family, it has been life changing in a very positive way. We have not only survived but in many ways thrived and are coming out of this first year a little wiser, a little more humbled, a little more aware of what we are called to do and a real commitment to do it.

And this is the part where I say thank you, because so much of how well we have done and the peace we experienced came from the part you played by talking to the CEO about us and caring for us by sending emails of encouragement, Facebook messages, Skype calls and sending packages. You truly are a blessing to our family. Well.....Mazel tov....here is to another year which means another move, another island, new work and back to homeschooling!!

Our Week in Snapshots

2010-04-30T11:02:00.006+07:00

After the second night of the school play "Peter Pan" in which Marshall played the Lost Boy "Nibs". Here he is with other performers, unfortunately he changed immediately after the performance but you can still see the wild hair! :)

A very proud little sister, showing you her brothers name in the program!

Haddon has been studying the Rain forest...so they made one in their classroom. Too cute! One day we were standing upstairs in a store when she looked out the window and said, " Huh, I can see the canopy and a little of the emergent." Crazy kid!

Just in case you were worried that she had lost some of that personality.....she hasn't, notice the scarf on her neck! LOL!

Sometimes I wish my eyes could act as a camera, I see so many unbelievable things on the road here daily but it all passes so quickly you don't have time to get pictures, but here is a fun one right outside my drive. This is mild compared to one where two men were on a motorcycle carrying two 20ft long bamboo poles driving through town! Crazy!

On our street, a man has his drive repaired so they mix the cement by hand on the spot.

This is how they dry rice. I am unsure of the whole process but wherever there are large rice fields they also have these huge concrete pads to spread the rice out on. For smaller farms they spread them out on tarps in their yard. So....if you ever wonder why you can have tiny rocks in your rice......now you know!

Big Change-Blog Going Private

2010-04-28T18:42:00.002+07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been my desire to keep this blog open access, however at this time I feel it is in our best interest to go private. What this means is that now, if you would like to read this blog you must send me your email address so that I can send you an invitation. After accepting the invitation you will then log into the blog to read it. I hope you won't find this an inconvenience and will still keep us with us through the blog.

If you are currently a "follower", it will keep you as one in name only, you still will not have access without receiving an invitation, which kind of stinks, but that is Blogger policy, again just send me your email. I know some of you have already sent me your addresses and I am adding them as I get them in, thank you! I just wanted to give those of you not a FB a chance to send in your email address also.

Also, since the death of the laptop we lost all email addresses that were on it, so this is also a good way for me to get those back! :) Feel free to send them to us at pacrim6@gmail.com or you can contact me through Facebook.

Thanks for understanding, your friendship, comments to us, and comments to the CEO on our behalf mean so much....you will never truly know!

Furniture Frenzy

2010-04-28T12:39:00.005+07:00

After months of planning, searching online, and making my list of wants, needs, and things that are practical. We have made most of our major purchases for our move. Everything, except for our appliances, was custom built. The price we got was amazing compared to what those items would have cost in the US, by the end, I was pleased by the result of all our bargaining. Our tutor started us off and when the final order was made the builder came down even more......it just never hurts to ask! :) Now, we'll just wait and see if it all turns out like it is suppose to!

After we ordered the furniture the man started giving us free items, it was bizarre and kind of cool. Like this hand carved Rhino!

And these hand carved elephants!

We purchased this carving, not sure where it will go but the colors were so pretty, I saw them painting it the first time we came for estimates, it looks completely different from that time because of the process he put it through, the colors are brighter than the photo shows.

He also gave us the bottom two trunks for free! Yay, I think the larger one will go at the foot of our bed! I think after the inch of dust is removed, I'll like it even more! LOL!! But I know better than to look a gift rhino...er...gift horse, in the mouth! :)

This is what the inside of the furniture factory/store looked like. It is wide open daily so when I first came everything was covered in dust, this was an improvement. :)

They cleaned up the animals and coated them in wax before packing them up for us to take.

From another large city we ordered our sectional sofa. When we went to look at the Tamu set that our friend were selling we saw they had the sofa we were wanting. Theirs had already sold but they gave us the name of the store where it was made with all the measurements! That was such a blessing! We all love it! But...I was not expecting it to arrive like this....I thought they were pretty bold bringing it like that during rainy season to a town an hour away! But they made it, and not a scratch was on it! No complaints!

So...here it is! Let's just say that the fabric selection was limited, and the first pillow fabric that we picked with polka dots ( and was ADORABLE) was no longer available! So we decided to add color, they zip right off so we can change when we want to. Our dining room chairs are five different colors so we just got colors like those. Barry calls them our traffic light pillows! LOL!

This was taken at the Laura Ashley furniture factory here in our town. Funny, but when I see Laura Ashley furniture I never pictured it starting out like this in the middle of a Macchiato jungle! It was an eye-opener! They make $1.50 US for an 8 hour day! YIKES!

This is our Tamu (guest) Set. A family in our company is having to move to another country due to an illness and they sold this to us. Typical homes here have a small room in the front of the house when you first enter and it is customary to have a set like this to receive your guests.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour, it was a ton of fun picking stuff out as well as a ton of stress but it is done and hopefully the rest of the wood pieces (beds, dressers, table, chairs, desks) will turn out just as great!

Please lift us up as we approach our one year anniversary, we have a small glitch with our visa renewal, hopefully we can fly to the capital city in a month or so to sign our new one! I don't have the time to tell you all of the issues we have been faced with lately, but due to a delay in receiving our wood furniture it looks like we won't be moving until after our meeting in Bali which is around the end of June. Never a dull moment around here! And I am really tired of making decisions let me tell you, it's been a stressful month but I think we just need to resign ourselves to the fact that it is what it is.....and keep moving forward! :)

More Random Pics

2010-04-18T11:40:00.001+07:00

The boys (I love these guys) at one of our favorite restaurants! Can't believe how much they have grown!

Miss Haddie Beth cannot wait to get her hands on a piece of Peanut Butter pie with Reeses on top that was at our Easter dinner with the dorm!

Apparently, the whole school went for a walk today! They were so funny waving to us as we drove up to our school.

A tired Haddie lounging on a Saturday morning after Campbell brought her breakfast to her.

Spring Soccer has begun and this season they got cute new uniforms!

Go Eagles!! Campbell has really enjoyed learning the game!

Hudson got a snazzy goalie jersey, I wasn't sure I would ever get him out of it, he is very proud of it!

He is a really good goalie, not bad for a kid who didn't want to play soccer when we first moved here!

Haddon having fun with Campbell! They are so funny together!

HAM!! Man, were we excited to hear that they found a place here to buy it! It was tasty cooked with fresh pineapple!

Easter Egg Hunt after services at the International Gathering

Baskets are in the crate (not sure really) and I forgot bags...but they made do!!

Easter Morning

Everybody cleaned up alright despite no water or electricity Easter Sunday!

The Day I Thought Would Never Come...

2010-04-13T23:34:00.005+07:00

....our last day of Language School. After months of laughter, tears, joy and frustration, all of them amid feelings of both failure and accomplishment we have completed all 9 Units. I have to be honest here, if you have followed me on this journey through my blog or Facebook, you know it has been a hard long road. I can think of little else in my life that I have hated as much as writing those essays for my class, not to mention giving presentations! However, I always loved the topics and information we gathered to write them. So today, the day I couldn't wait to get here, was good.........but sad in a bittersweet kind of way (huh, that was unexpected!). We have come to love our Pelatihs. Those guys and girls have a great sense of humor, an astounding amount of patience, a gift for teaching their language and a love for the CEO! After seeing them daily for about a year, they kind of become like family. They will be dearly missed.

At school your schedule can change month to month, so you never know who you will see at class or who has been moved to another time. Most of these students (American, Swiss, Dutch, Korean, Malaysian, Australian) are in the very early levels, and although we didn't know them as well, they all gathered around us today since we are leaving, and spoke to the CEO on our behalf, it was a very sweet time.

The graduating class of April 2010. This sweet family, J and C are from Korea. Barry and I were in Units 7 and 8 by ourselves, but we were joined with them for Unit 9, they will stay on this island to work.

Our "Karya Tulis", or term papers!! We turned them in on Monday so they could be read before our evaluation on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night at 10:30pm, US) They looked pretty snazzy due to our cool new laptop! :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have walked this journey with us and supported us by your petitions to the CEO, we could not have done it without you!! Now on to getting items for our home!!!! :) I will blog more, now that I have some extra time...we have lots of catching up to do!!

Not your Momma's Mathis Brothers Furniture

2010-04-03T15:32:00.006+07:00

The work room at one of the furniture makers store. Wow, not what I was expecting!

As you may know, we are currently starting the process of buying furniture and appliances for our home in "Folgers". I don't have time to go into the whole process now, but let me just say that it is quite involved. There are very few(read affordable) places around that have pre-made furniture. Usually you go to a furniture maker with a picture and measurements and they build it from scratch for you. Sounds like a dream doesn't it? Getting to pick out the wood, teak or mahogany, the size, length, height, etc. sounds wonderful....until you go to the place and they want every single measurement like how long should the arms be on the chair (really?), the measurement from the back to the front of the chair seat, etc. Then you sit for three hours while they figure out the price only for you to realize it is all more than you can afford. Frustrating!! We did get some other bids that were in our range but yikes, how do you really know what you will end up with? It was a little overwhelming the first day but I have been able to take a step back and make a better affordable plan for our family and am at peace with whatever happens.

Anyway, it has been an experience to say the least. Not sure what we will end up with but I am learning some things like a) make sure you tell them to make the drawers go all the way back or they will make them short to save wood, b) clarify the size, if you are getting a vanity but want the drawers on either side wider, make sure to tell them to widen the seating area or they will make the drawers wider but you won"t be able to fit into the area where you are suppose to be sitting, same for a desk. Ya' know, those are kind of important details.

I wasn't sure what to think when I asked one furniture maker if he dried his wood long enough so that it wouldn't split, he assured me that all I would have to do is get wood filler and put it into the crack...thanks, really, but not the answer I was looking for there buddy! :)

I hope to write more later but we are crazy busy in this last week of school, speaking in chapel, giving a presentation, writing our term paper, and finishing reading a novel for class! After that, our final evaluation and we are done!! Please lift us up during this time that we would finish well! Homesickness has been strong here lately for several of us, not sure if it is because of the impending move or what but emotions are running a little high around here please ask for peace and comfort during these times! Thank you for being a lifeline to us!! We love you guys!

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T16:08:00.004+07:00

May you and your families know the love of the CEO!

Thoughts I've Thunk :)

2010-03-22T20:09:00.006+07:00

So.......who wants chicken today? Anybody want to buy some chicken?

This lady was pretty busy today as she sold fresh cut chicken out in front of her home. My pembantu buys my chicken and I have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about it! LOL!

This man pulls this cart around all day collecting trash to take to the dump, not easy labor. He is also stopping to buy some of the chicken.

Unused "dokars", horse carts and stalls in her yard, evidence of a hard, poverty stricken life.

Her mother waits just inside the door. I see faces without hope or joy everyday. Please lift up that they hear and respond to the Truth so that someday they can experience joy and peace, not as the world gives, but like that which will never end and can never be taken away!

As we near the end of our time here in this city, I am filled with all kinds of emotions. Thrilled to be finishing language school, sad over leaving my helpers whom I love, nervousness over learning a new city and people again, wondering the best way to homeschool and cook over here. We will miss our ch*rch, our neighbors, our Pelatihs, all people we have grown to love and are a part of our daily lives. This is a short list, trust me. I also feel a little overwhelmed with buying all of my furniture and appliances then finding a reputable and affordable means of shipping them to the other island....let's call this new island/new city, "Folgers" for now! :)

I wonder what it will be like without the support of the International Community from the kids school, and how the kids will handle the move and are no longer surrounded with English speaking friends. I know that we will eventually adjust, but I think there will definitely be a period of adjustment for all of us. In many ways this city has been a "half way house" for us. Still moved to "Macchiato" and experienced mind numbing changes, but also surrounded by many like-minded people too. Which will not be the case in Folgers.

On the other hand I am excited about moving to Folgers and beginning our assignment, meeting up with our team members, and setting up our home and having a somewhat more stable set up. Just lots to ponder.

Please lift up that we find great deals on our furniture and appliances, that shipping them would go smoothly and that we can avoid having our things being hassled by gangs wanting payments for "protection" and things of that nature. Nothing really seems to be simple over here and one task always seems to create another. Hopefully we can take everything in stride and not get stressed by it.

Thinking about furniture, it is amazing how I can be in the midst of such poverty and still sometimes feel as though certain things are my right to have. Isn't that crazy? I don't know how to explain it. I want a certain type of furniture or appliance yet two houses down the lady is cooking over a brick and stone fire and sleeping on a poor excuse for a mattress on her floor! Often I want as many foreign items as I can locate over here, but try to balance that with the fact that buying a pan like that costs more than my helper makes in a week. Try to take that in...it is a life of paradox! It makes my head hurt and I truly hope it always make my heart hurt. I think the day it ceases to do that I have a problem!

Try to take in the facts of this scenario I found myself in: I set a box of "Frosties" (frosted flakes) in the trash because it was full......and I mean full, people...of ants, only to have my cook ask if I cared if she took it home to her grandchild who lives with her! Just imagine the process that you go through to understand what she is saying in your new language and then coming to the realization of what she is asking and then watch yourself stammer for a response. So you quickly respond, "Yes" because you know she really wants it or she wouldn't have asked, all the while knowing that both you and her know that you threw it away because you refuse to feed it to your own children. Just one of many instances that I find myself in on an almost daily basis. Lots to ponder.

I know I pretty much rambled here but I have lots on my mind and I just let it tumble out as it may. I am saving the stuff that makes sense for my papers in school! :) Know that we love you and are so thankful that we have you all lifting us up during the upcoming days of transition! So glad that the CEO understands me and is patient with all my shortcomings. He is faithful to complete what he has started in me!!

Fun Farm Field Trip (not the Funny Farm!) :)

2010-03-20T18:03:00.005+07:00

Here is a slideshow of the Second Grade class field trip to the farm. I misunderstood and thought we were going to a rice field farm with water buffalo, instead this was a "learning farm" with all kinds of small crops and animals for school groups. They actually had Holstein cattle which I had not seen here before! The kids had a great time and fortunately the rain held off until the end but then it dumped buckets on us, which of course the kids loved! You always run that risk when you plan outings during rainy season, there is no real pattern to the rain so it can be difficult to know the best time to do something, so they usually just adjust to whatever happens and don't sweat it! Haddon's class is going in a couple of weeks so hopefully I can go with them also. However I do feel the need to increase my pr@yer life for Campbell's teacher......she has her hands full! :)

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Just Living Life

2010-03-16T20:05:00.008+07:00

Lord, help us!! :)

We went to a restaurant and the lights went out so they brought us these little candles. The funny thing was that the lights would come back on and they would immediately come back and take the candles away only to have the lights go off again and then they would rush them back out onto our table. This happened several times.....hysterical!! Just leave them on the table!!

Since most of the cooking is done by gas, they still cook during the many...many black outs!

The only thing we couldn't get is our special fruit drinks because they use a blender.

Our food finally arrived fresh and tasty as ever, they are obviously use to dealing with the electrical issues.

Exercise uniforms! Classes walk or run through our neighborhood! They are so cute and very friendly!

Hudson trying dried squid from a Korean friends lunch. What? The kid who won't eat mac 'n cheese is eating squid? Okay, so he spit it out, but he gets an "A" for trying! :)

Campbell before a class play on "Alexander Goes Down Under".

The kids walking through a receiving line at one of my favorite Pelatihs wedding! They are the couple in the middle.

Marshall greeting family members at the wedding.....looking too grown up!

More little exercisers! I feel sorry for them having to wear all that in this heat!

This was taken at the wedding of our Pembantu's son. We took the gingerbread boy from my niece Abby's class in Oklahoma. They were probably thinking, "You crazy Americans!"

Our Pembantu (cook) is helping Campbell and Hudson decide on a snack. They have really tried to eat all of the new foods that they are served, sometimes better than I do!

Some of our little visitors! You don't have to speak each others language to play Barbie!! :)

And so the things on the stick are........

2010-03-15T21:33:00.003+07:00

Hard-boiled dove eggs!!! Five on each skewer.

And since I am a child of the 80's all I can think of is that song by The artist formally known as Prince (?!?), "When Doves Cry". I know, it's ridiculous and totally random but that was my first thought when I found out what they were. Poor little doves! :)

Okay now you guys were pretty funny with your suggestions. I think some of you guys have read one too many "m" books and have wild imaginations!! I find it interesting that they are an olive/charcoal gray color and not white like a chicken egg. But the yolk is still yellow. We had people guessing everything from "calf fries" or "mountain oysters" to olives and even excrement!! Yikes!! I have not had the dove eggs but Barry and a couple of the kids say they taste just like regular eggs, but Campbell thinks they taste gritty....ewwww!

Chicken and Rice Soup with a Soda on the Side

2010-03-05T06:29:00.006+07:00

The narrow road to Soto Kesambi (soe-toe kuh-sahm-bee), of course it is like most roads here. I am still shocked more cars don't scrape each other, somehow everyone manges to do fine!

Items that you can request, fried chicken, Tempe, and that steak looking stuff is the cooked congealed blood that I posted about earlier.

When you are finished you walk back to the kitchen and she adds everything up by chalk on her work table.

Close up of their sign

The restaurant, it is nice and clean.

They bring the food out and you only pay for what you eat. The plate in front is Tempe (soy bean type of fried cake) and garlic potato patties.

This is "soto" a yummy chicken and rice soup with bean sprouts, fried onions and usually some little crispy chips. This is often eaten for breakfast over here.

You will have to guess what this is.......and I will post the answer tomorrow!! Care to take a guess? Leave a comment and whoever is correct gets the good feeling of knowing they were right! :) (For those of you in Macchiato....don't give the answer away!!)

Barry and I went for breakfast after we took the kids to school on our last holiday off. Awwwww!

Hope you enjoyed this little tour, just another taste of our life on this side of the world! Lots of new foods, places and adventures to be had! Don't forget to make your guess about what is on the sticks!!