Fresh Perspective

How lovely it is to get a gift from a friend locally.  It’s also delightful to get  a present in the mail from America.  But there is a place that I am still just shocked and amazed to get presents from and that’s the jungle.  I mean…..the remote jungle.  No stores.  Nothing but tribal people and their traditional homes.  And yet……gifts keep coming. I have received: peppermint flavoring (American brand) from the jungle along with  a book to read, tea spoons, gift cards, meaningful notes, and the latest…… Christmas fudge.  Unbelievable.  I am ALWAYS so humbled by these gifts.  And by the people who send them.  We are blessed to know two families that live in this remote location in Papua.  They are the Elliot’s and the Lee’s.  The Elliot’s stayed in our home this summer while we were in America.  They are totally dedicated to bringing the gospel to this remote tribe and have already been working there for 8 year...

I thought it would be fun to feature some of the people that we are getting to know.  It is very common in the mission community to have people over for a meal.  Perhaps that is one of the criteria to being a missionary wife, “Can she cook?”  Yet, even for those who don’t (and there are a few x-pat women here who don’t), they train others too and still host people in their homes.  It is a very rich experience to break bread with some of the most humble people that walk this planet.  People who are sold out to “loosing much” to follow God’s calling in their lives.  It is the foolishness of the gospel and we heard the foolishness repeated listening to Amy and Roger several weeks ago at our table.  Jacob and Nathaniel are very good friends with their two boys, Daniel and Ryan.  The family had just returned to Sentani after spending 6 months at their remote interior tribal location.  To get to their tribe, they have to ride on a mission plane an...

Aubrey’s soccer team Andrew’s soccer team One of the many incredible flower arrangements that my house helper blesses me with. Middle School Banquet….a rare moment to see these boys dressed up. A baby fruit bat. flashback…..where does time go?!  I always loved this photo.  The Boyd brothers at work!

In the home school circles there are posters, tee shirts, and bumper stickers that say “I looked at the village and I don’t like what I see”.  Roll back 4 or 5 years and I was all thumbs up about that statement.  Fast forward to now and I know that I can’t raise these kids alone.  Especially here in the mission field when Darron is gone for long stents at a time. The beauty in all this…..is here I look at the village (no it is not without it’s flaws) and it is an amazing village. One of the beautiful thing about missionaries in general is their marriages are intact and they tend to be on the higher standard side of life values (I say that with caution).  The village people are more then happy to lend a hand.  We have been incredibly blessed by one lady.  Her name is Leta.  We have called her everything from Mrs. K……s, to Aunt Leta (almost all x-patriot women, the children address as “Aunt ______”) and have now settled on Oma.  Last year Oma spent...

Oh we fight.  We fight hard.  We fight long.  What do we fight about and who are we?  We are mom’s living in a 3rd world, ‘missionaries’, who want a break!!!!! : )  Heidi, my friend and neighbor,and I try every couple of months to slip away and do a big shopping trip.  This is not shopping for clothes and nick knacks to fill our home.  Nope, it is simply shopping for food.  And maybe a few household appliances.  Sometimes it is nice to break away from our local town, and see stores that have a few more items or imported goods.  Always to have a friend to share the day, makes it more fun and memorable.  Our first time to do this, Heidi was dealing with one of her son’s being quite ill.  This last time, I was having child care difficulties for Jacob and Nathaniel.  The dear lady (she is another soon to come blog) who was scheduled to watch them, had to go to immigration last minute.  To understand the last minute ness...

Our home has delightful gifts from friends tucked all over it.  Each gift readily brings that person to my mind, when I truly stop and see it.  Today as I was resting on our bed, in the sweltering heat of the day, my eyes fell on a lovely tea cup sitting on my dresser.  Today was a day where I stopped and reflected about that lovely cup and the beautiful friend who gave it to me.  The tea cup came with an attached “prophecy”, so I want to share the fulfillment of that “word”.   Debbie and I met when we were both well with child.  Her first.  My fourth.  I’m not sure if it was our pregnant hormones, or our life circles, but we became friends quickly.  Her wit, her beauty, her sincerity, our babies who were born only weeks apart, her honesty,and her wisdom were just a few of the qualities that drew me to Debbie.   There was a kindred ness that is still present to this day.  As the years clicked by, we almost always saw each oth...

Darron is often asked to preach “locally” when he is home.  Many invitations he turns down, because there are so many.  However, the family is getting more ready and open to venturing to new places with Darron.  So on this Saturday, we were up bright and early.  Pot luck food stowed in the cooler.  Along with our own plates and utensils (because that is how it is done).  We followed Pastor Desmond and his family and 4 seminary students who were riding in a “taxi” (like our multi passenger vans, with row bench seats).  Our destination was Abe, about a 45 minute drive.  The occasion, was a 15 year celebration.  The church was tucked smack in the middle of a neighborhood.  There was not one parking space, but that is ok…..because most people don’t come in cars.  We loved the mounted fans that blew strongly on us, 2nd row from the back!  A large cake was up front, it looked delicious.  A candle ceremony took place where for a...

Since moving to Indonesia, I have developed a love hate relationship with Christmas music.  It is hard to put into words the feelings that arise within this expatriate at the little stands that are built all over the town, and rural areas that blare and I mean BLARE Christmas music for at least 4 weeks.  We hear it all, secular, Christian, pop, traditional, English, Indonesian and it is the loudness that makes it mostly obnoxious.  So hearing “use to be” favorites, played in this manner lends to this love hate attitude.  Another emotion that Christmas music drums up in me, is nostalgia.  “I’ll be home for Christmas”, seems like a lie……but then it gets to the truth, “If only in my dreams.”  Sigh.  Nostalgic to the core.  Yet, music does help to get one in the spirit……as putting up the tree in hot humid weather seems out of place.  And holiday baking, is simply not holiday baking without some good Christmas music to set the atmosphere.  A...