Four Boys (Empat Laki Laki)

-

Bringing four boys overseas from ages 13 to 6 was perhaps risky, foolish, crazy, adventurous, and/or wise.  Who knows how this will change, mold/shape, and challenge their lives?  People have outright told us we were foolish  and others have blessed us with "that is the best thing you could do".  However, whatever the outcome, we are committed to loving and guiding these boys to the best of our ability and believe that God will lead them ultimately through all of this experience.




Currently they are all doing remarkably well.  I continue to admire their courage and adaptability.  Aubrey remains our techno man.  He has spent hours drawing up plans for the house that will be built in Papua.  Aubrey is the one that has been the most collected emotionally through the whole process.
 Andrew is most adventurous when it comes to helping me create new or familiar dishes in the kitchen.  To him this is a great release and comfort.  His humor has helped us greatly.  We have had a bit of a struggle with frying some of our electrical appliances.  So we all had a great laugh when Andrew brought Darron's little recorder to us in a frying pan.  Asking if we should fry it up too?!?













Jacob and Nathaniel have never had their hands held so much when out in public.  We are constantly having to guide them on the very busy streets and crazy side walks.  Both have been amazingly content with few toys making the most of what is around them.  They have created a slide out of the stairs.  Both talk about America and even about going "home", but they are at peace and happy.  One of their favorite things is a door that separates the university campus and the villa's.  They call it the "door into Narnia"!  : )

The last two days we have been getting out and playing with the local children.  Trying to language study with the Indonesian children is a great help.  The boys are enjoying football (soccer) and getting rid of their energy.
All the boys are very vocal about not living in the city near the language school.  They want their freedom and peace.  Interesting to see values that we have placed in them, come out very strongly! : )














Tomorrow we will start school officially.  Out will come the math books, along with serious hours of studying Bahasa Indonesian.  In general I have found that the Indonesian people do not have the same respect for home school as in America.



Please continue to pray for the boys, as they do hard things.  We are reading a book right now that I highly recommend for any teenagers called "Do Hard Things".  Wonderfully challenging and refreshing.  Thank you to each of you for reading and caring about our experiences and lives!
Blessed!

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 28, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    Frying electronics! :-) Sooo funny! Love Andrew's sense of humour!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2011 at 7:08 PM

    Andrews expression is great...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last Flight

-
Image
Bob and his daughter, Stephanie, flying on a different day in Papua . Jan and Bob It was another ordinary Wednesday in Papua.  The rain had come down all night.  Leaving the runway soggy.  6 a.m. I had finished reading my Bible and I hear Bob take off on first flight.  I think, “Wow, he is early this morning!”  Then the typical morning craziness starts in my house.  The cooking of a hot breakfast.  Packing school lunches.  Signing forms.  Arranging pick ups.  Off to school.  Exercise.  Home. Unfortunately, the freezer has frozen over so much that the door is on longer sealing.  It’s a forced, defrost the freezer day.  Out comes all the food.  Towels are laid everywhere.  Drip. Drip.  Jacob is on his 3rd day of not feeling well.  It has been a week of no routine.  No home school.  POP a video into the DVD player for Jacob and lucky little brother to watch.  I go into the office...
Read more

Change Never Happens Fast, Except Today it Did

-
Image
Today (Wednesday, Nov. 1),  Darron and Gary were leaving on an afternoon flight to the Philippines.  The nicer of our two cars had just been picked up from the repair shop ( it was an alternator this time).  They are at that stage.  Always, something falling apart.  With the mission mobile, we can’t complain.  It is 21 years old!!!!  Darron just popped down to the hanger to fill up the tires with air and I heard him pip the horn at the gate, to indicate he was read to go to the airport.  Yet, he had a different message.  The tire needed repaired…..or more probably replaced. Groan.  There is ONE thing, I disdain as a woman and that is handling car problems.  It’s hard enough to do it in your home country and a language you are fluent in.  Try doing it in a foreign country.  Also to me, it is a MANS world.  If you want to plop me in my discomfort zone, tell me I have to get the car fixed. So off we drive.  Air hiss...
Read more

Anguished Hearts

-
Image after image flashes through my mind.  I see little but “growing bigger and stronger” two and half year old Azarya coming towards me on the gravel runway.  Wanting to give me a high five and nothing warms my heart more.  Knowing that this is the little boy who drank his way back to life with goats milk.  More images of all over campus this little boy waving at me and smiling shyly, running and playing like normal children should.  Every time I saw him, I rejoiced in the second chance that Jesus had given him.  More images of being with his Mommy and Daddy and their JOY and gratefulness in Ayarya’s strength and change as he transformed before their eyes from being severely malnourished to vibrant.  Ida, his Mommy, is my closest Papua friend, and I see so many images of her and I chatting and laughing together and enjoying her new fat little baby boy, now two months old.  Despite that Ida was still morning the unexpected loss of her father and ...
Read more