Fresh Perspective

*written around September 15 I spent a fair amount of April and May ‘12 consumed with the thought of going back to America for our furlough.  I tweaked plans.  Wrote lists.  Emailed friends.  Imagined shopping.  Thought of eating.  Dreamt of romantic bed and breakfast dates with my husband.  Relished in the joy of easy cooking and driving.  Delighted in the images of fellowship with sweet friends and family. June quickly came and the boys and I were off at last.  Oh to be on American soil was delightful.  I drank in the fellowship and shopping.  Family and friends.  Long walks and drives.  Yummy familiar food.  Darron joined us 2 1 /2 weeks later and our reunion is now one of the romantic highlights of our marriage. July was filled with working on our home and snippets of many lovely encounters with friends and family.  Shopping.  Food.  Fellowship. By the third week in July a heaviness settled ove...

*This was written around the 15th of September, but was unable to be posted….due to no internet. Old news is better then no news! : )   Life is taking on a rhythm of school, school, school.  I am still drinking in the relief and joy of having Aubrey and Andrew schooled by others.  Enjoying lots of extra time with the younger two and being able to really focus on their education.  Having time to do the “fun” learning like science experiments.  Jacob, Nathaniel, and Jason loved learning how to do the “spoon trick”.  While I am not wishing these fun days of learning with Jacob and Nathaniel away, I will admit I have already daydreamed about them going to school too!   Aubrey and Andrew, though tired are really enjoying the classroom setting.  Everyday they come home and talk with me about class discussions.  Andrew loves his computer teacher and language arts teacher.  Aubrey is also enjoying his language arts teacher, but enjoys his m...

We are all surfing the web.  Reading emails that have been ignored for weeks.  Downloading a few things.  Internet right in our home.  Unbelievable.  We are rejoicing and feeling so "connected". So I imagine: keeping up with emails, more blogs, Skype, and so much more.  Yeah to improved communication. Yippeeeee...... Must feed the gang now and be "productive".  Can't sit here for hours on end!!!!  Still much unpacking and sorting to do.  Yes, we are in our new home (pictures to come).  All the family is doing great.  We have high hopes that "Speedy" (the company name) will help us stay in better touch with you all. Answered prayers.....Thanks!

Tuesday at 4 p.m we moved.  By 9:30 p.m. we crashed into beds at our new home.  Grateful. Wednesday at 7 a.m. Darron flew to Biak for 11 days.  The older boys went to school.  Those of us remaining (smile) finished moving all the little stuff, that amounts to a whole lot of stuff.  The last few days have been filled to the brim with unpacking and organizing and decorating. Yes!  Home at last.  It is beautiful.  My heart is rejoicing and nesting. We have enough evidence and hope to believe that new phone lines are coming soon.  Which (cross our fingers and saying prayers) COULD mean the possibility of fastER internet.  The process is painful.  Instead of bringing in the new phone lines and switching from old to new all in one swoop.  The old phone lines have been cut.  Equaling almost no internet on campus.  Darron has weak options in his office if one can show up here before 6:00 a.m.  Yesterday I arrived at 6...

We have been to quite a few churches in Papua (especially Darron).  One church wiggled it’s way into our hearts, even more then the others.  There is not enough sitting room inside, so each week people overflow to the outside benches.  The people are  so friendly and sincere.  Simple wooden benches sit on the concrete floor.  The people sing with enthusiasm.  It is only a 5 minute drive from our home.  Over 80 people pack inside (and just outside) each week.  Only 3 of the members own motorcycles.  Everyone else walks.    Last year we attended the big school church and even though it was nice to sing songs in English…..we didn’t feel like we were making a difference.  Here we know we can really bless them.  Going to church in Indonesia is an exercise in patience for all of us, as we strain to understand.  Sometimes it seems like it would be easier to stay home.  However, each week I pray that each of u...

I was warned that people can leave here very fast.  Like most of hear say, it’s hard to understand until it really happens and then the understanding comes to life.  Sadly our friends the Stumph’s told us that they would be leaving to go spend some time with John’s father who is fighting cancer.  Within one week they packed and flew.  Many Saturdays we hung out together, fellowshipping and worshipping together.  John’s booming laugh still resounds on our walls.  Signs of sweet Wendy are all over my house with hand sewn apron’s, and cloth coaster’s.  Their boys and ours share many memories from swimming, honor’s, long talks, games in the dark, hikes, etc. etc.  We pray that their time in the States is filled with many special memories and warmth.  Will we see them again in Papua?  Only time will tell.  But our hearts have a little void “Stumph” spot.  And we learn to cherish the friendships we have here a little closer for w...

This is the first day in Papua (Monday, September the 3rd) that I have really felt cold.  I would guess it is in the 70’s but with the rain coming down…….brrrrrr.  I was inspired to make bread for the week and pizza for supper.  The pizza was just inhaled (not sure if they even taste it….smile) when the power went out.  So out came the great windup flashlights from Uncle Jonathan.  Also the lovely scented sugar cane soy candle (intended for more romantic purposes).  The nice battery operated lantern is uncharged (what unfortunate timing).  The kitchen was still in full swing with dishes being done and a full stalk of bananas being peeled to go in the freezer for smoothies at a later time.  All twelve hands were at work.  I couldn’t help but chuckle at Aubrey inspecting the bananas by flashlight to make sure he was not putting grubs in the freezer (if bananas get too ripe they can have grubs crawling in them).  Sometimes when it is raini...

The what I thought was a “going away party” turned into a cookout and hangout at our new home.  The oven did not go. So we only moved our big pieces of furniture.  We will wait for the oven.   The word came that we were going to cook out instead.  So about 10:30 fires started being built in our yard…..by the time I arrived at 11:30 the cooking was well under way.  A great big bag of corn had been brought in.  Our neighbors and friends were using electric fans to help circulate enough air for the fires.  Children were jumping on the trampoline.  Everyone was really relaxed and happy.  Chairs were brought out and set under the tree’s.  Eating began as the cooking continued.  A massive pot of rice simmered over a low fire.  Different meats were cooked over a griddle that they were using hot coconuts at the “charcoal bricks”.  I was intrigued at the culture and creative cooking means.     When dishes of ...

We don’t begin to understand God’s timing, but sometimes I think it is sprinkled with a sense of humor.  Even if He isn’t laughing, the orchestration of events in our lives must bring Him joy as He watches the plan unfold.  Take our American home for example.  This summer we spent at least 10 if not more days of our furlough: scrubbing, painting, mulching, replacing a fan, waxing floors, trimming, re doing entrance steps, resurfacing back patio, and more.  During all this work, expense and time away from family and relaxation we decided that we really did not want to hang on to a place that we called “our haven” for 8 years.  It went on the market on a Monday.  By that Wednesday we had two offers.  There was even a bidding war (unheard of in several years, in the poor economy).  This past Friday the new owners signed the papers on our home in Ringgold, GA. This past Friday in Papua, Indonesia we began to move into our new home.  I was on my...

We were in our last few weeks of furlough in the States when I “heard” that Alce (our house helper) was staying on.  Before we had left Indonesia she had mentioned that when we returned she would be teaching at a school in a distant town.  This made us all sad.  Alce is a faithful and trustworthy friend.  I won’t forget our conversation on the day before we left, realizing how endearing she had become to me.  There is not a day in Indonesia that I don’t work hard.  Yet, on the weekends when Alce is not here…..wow, we all have to really work to make up for how she helps us.  Alce has a gift for working in a very non obtrusive way.  She is quick to laugh when the children do different things.  It is rare that I have seen her down.  This week Alce wanted to learn to make bread.  So Tuesday was lesson day.  It turned out beautiful.    Typically Alce sweeps and mops the floors each day.  Cleans the bathrooms....