4 Stamps

Here's what the latest addition to my passport looks like. 4 stamps (an and out of Hong Kong and Indonesia + visa on arrival for Indonesia.

Stretched and Stretched Out

We checked out of the Surabaya (Indonesia) airport hotel at 5:30 this morning.  We flew to Hong Kong and then to Los Angeles.  After 24 hours of travel time through multiple time zones, we returned to California at 2:30 in the afternoon.  It was super great to have Garett and Danny eagerly waiting for us upon arrival. We were all looking forward to coming home.  But I think each one of us thoroughly enjoyed our time in Indonesia.  I'm excited to reconnect in a few weeks to hear and share more stories.  I hope you will join us. I have been stretched in my leadership and its responsibility and have simply enjoyed being surrounded by laughter along the way.  Sarah's dream of teaching photography in Indonesia came to life.  Rose saw shooting stars in Bali.  Michelle's passion and long-awaited vision of teaching art to kids overseas was affirmed. I can now unpack, do laundry and sleep - not curled up in a seat.  We will all enjoy our showers, our beds and the comfort of family and friends a little more than the usual tonight.  Thanks for sending us!

Bali Face

It's our final day in Bali.  We'll spend some time painting on the beach and doing projects with the kids before we leave.  We all miss the kids in Malang. I'm being stretched, but am reminded, ever so gently, of grace.  I'm really enjoying this team!  We'll be on our flight home tomorrow morning.  Thanks for remembering us - we can feel the difference!

Extrovert

We've been talking about whether people are extroverts or introverts.  Tonight, my extroversion is clear.  We had friends and their kids come over for dinner.  Super fun!  Then Kaylor, Donny, Hannah and Betsy came over with Clara, who's now 18 months old, talking and walking! They all left by 8:30 and I feel more energized than I have in the past week!  I'm sure jet lag is finally wearing off - just in time to return back to LA in a few more days. The Kaembas brought over lalapan (fried eel and chicken with cucumber, basil and sambal (chili sauce)).  It was super delicious and one thing I wanted to eat while here.  It was great and almost tastes like french fries - crispy batter really. We had a great day with the kids and here is my highlight: Michelle D. taught the kids how to play 'heads up 7 up'.  As a kid, I hated this game because I didn't always get picked.  But we taught the kids to hold up their thumbs, close their eyes and wait for their thumbs to be tapped.  If their thumb was tapped, they hid it in their fist.  When we called 'heads up 7 up', the children with 'missing thumbs' would stand up and guess who tapped their thumb! Arif choose me and I was super surprised that I guessed accurately!  When it was my turn, I choose Sheva.  He was super excited to have been chosen and even did a little sitting dance!  It was super precious!  He did guess correctly too, but seeing his sheer excitement of being chosen was simply my favorite moment of the day.  And there have been many super great moments today!   There have also been disappointing moments.  Like the moment when I realized that I didn't have the house key - and neither did my housemates.  We were only locked out for about an hour, but it was a bit self-disappointing/frustrating because I hadn't checked that I had the key prior to leaving the house, nor had I made earlier arrangements for us to get back in. Our helper was home when we left, and she locked up before we returned.  Not having a cell phone, I had to walk to a friends house, call a list of people, and finally we got ahold of someone who could get ahold of our helper (who also doesn't have a phone).  She graciously stopped by to unlock the door (in which I had broken our key just a few days ago!)  We made it into the house 2 minutes before our dinner guests arrived. And well, if anything, it gives me stories to write home about.  Enjoy!

The Tapestry of our Lives

We just spent the day with the staff of Rujak Berkah, Polehan.  We visited 2 temples, which are super fun to climb, and had lunch and dinner with them.  Personally, it was so great to be back with them! We shared stories of how each person got connected.  It's an impressive tapestry of how our lives have all come together for this week.  And tomorrow we will begin our first day at our second, creative arts camp!   Each day, our time with the kids will be 2 hours long, which will be divided into two, one-hour sessions: Session 1: K-1 Dance (Naomi and Sharon) 2 Creative Writing (Sarah, Crista, and Jennifer/Juliana) 3 Fine Art (Michelle L., Wenny/Juliana) 4-5 Engineering/Aerodynamics (Rose, Michelle D., Wenny/Juliana) Session 2: K-1 Fine Art 2 Engineering/Aerodynamics 3 Dance 4-5 Creative Writing

Camp 1: Complete

The kids: Each person on our team has found something beautiful about various kids we've been teaching.  I'm actually fascinated by this. Daniel knew my name.  (He kinda reminds me of how my older brother looked when he was a kid, or when my nephew Frankie was younger - olive skin, hair cut just above the eyes and huge brown eyes.)  Connor's favorite class was card making.  Emily helped her brother to ask for candy when he didn't receive any - and he totally didn't act like a brat when he hadn't received one.  When he did, he was gracious to receive it.  Delon and Jeffrey were 'delinquent' kids who always remembered to say, "Thank you."  And whom I apparently bonded with over bugs crawling on the ground.  And Hannah and Sam are 7-year old twins who are brilliant, polite, and can draw Power Rangers! Carmen talks like an adult.  When she took another girl's piece of ribbon, and was called on it, the first sentence we heard out of her was, "What does it matter?"   Sassy, I tell you. C: I think we all wish that we had more time to have deeper conversations to get to know these kids.  Abigail's favorite color is blue.  And the older kids all came back to pick up their canvases.  As fascinated as they all were with our classes, is probably how fascinated we are with them... The key: Today, I broke the key in the front door.  It's Saturday and there is a holiday on Monday.  I hope we can get a locksmith or the garage door key before Tuesday...

We are in Indonesia!

It's so great to be back!  Pulling into the city where I lived only a year ago, it's refreshing to return. Luggage: After arriving at LAX with an abundance of luggage, we were able to strategically repack.  With help from our family, friends and the counter clerk, we only had to pay $100 for the overage - which, for everything we brought, was a miracle! Our luggage arrived without any problems - and we were able to cram it all into the car. Arriving: We arrived at our house at 11:30 p.m.  Ibu Ririk, our house helper, left us a welcome note on the table.  We all had a great night of sleep the first night. Health: Rose got sick while we were at Hong Kong.  She picked up a virus and is slowly recovering.  (Thanks to my friend Mei, we don't have to panic.)   She's on a BRAT diet and requested the 'coin treatment' - which our helper gracously did for her.  She rested yesterday and will continue to do so today.  She's in good spirits, but  we want her to be back to 100% so that she can teach with all of the energy that she brings. Day 1: We had Koko Krunch and Honey Stars for breakfast.  I took Michelle and Sarah on a short ride on the angkot to their language class.  While I waited, I visited Charis - where the teachers were having a ping pong tournament.  It was so great to catch up with Mexi, then to take a walk and catch up with Lelly.  I gave our groupd a tour of Charis and WIS to get an idea of where we will be teaching.  They said it was impressive. We met Naomi, Melissa and Melanie yesterday.  We enjoyed a feast of Indonesian foods for lunch, though, it took over 2-1/2 hours for delivery to arrive.  There were 10 of us at our house for dinner last night.  We enjoyed lasagna and salad - a treat for our friends who live here.  We've been sharing stories of how we got here.  It seems to be very encouraging for everyone. Day 2: We've been getting used to the little creatures, chee-chucks (a.k.a. geckos) in particular. Sarah, Michelle and Naomi are in language class as I write.  They had homework and are making it a point to practice. I met baby Musa, which means Moses.  His story is similar in that there are plans for him to be adopted.  He's now 6 months old. Jennifer and Juliana are shopping for 15 more canvases for Saturday's classes then will pick up Michelle and Crista.  Melanie and Melissa are exploring Malang, including the 'big market' and nearby temples. Our household (6) will have Indonesian curry for lunch.  Our program at WIS kicks off this afternoon with card making, ballet and music classes. Tonight, we will meet the entire group for dinner at Bunga Bali, a popular, western restaurant.  We will be about 30 people!  Thers is much to soak in, all over again.  It has been really good to begin and end each day together. I'll work on getting online from our house today.  It might just be possible if I can figure out which switched control what.

All of these boxes!

This week alone, I've received 9 boxes of books and supplies to take to Indonesia.  From Indiana, Kentucky, California, I'm surrounded by such generous people! All of this has now spilled into our living room and I'm strategizing to figure out how we're going to pack all of this, plus supplies for our creative arts camp at three locations! We've ordered 50 pounds worth of supplies for our fine arts section alone.  I'm super excited about the projects Michelle has for the kids! It's hard to believe that I have one week to handle all of the final preparations, including my own eating and sleeping management.  It's easy to push aside necessities when it gets down to the wire.  They seem so normal.