Cupcakes

*Whew* It's been a busy week!

Yesterday's Amazing Race:
- 25 kids
- 7 teams
- 16 clues to find
- 2 hours of fun!
From Charis to the new SPRING house office, teams ran to find the
next clue. They rode bikes up the hill to our friends house, and
even came to my kitchen for tacos! They took quizzes and made
projects, competed on the field and spun around dizzy bat. It was
tons of work to organize, but tons of fun for the kids and everyone
who helped. After an ice cream party with sprinkles, crushed Oreos,
Reese's magic shell and Hershey's Chocolate syrup, we were all
exhausted. It definitely paid off to be able to make it happen with
the Kaembas before they head home.

Today's Day at the Pool/ Swim-a-thon:
37 people
9 swimmers, including Laurie, Emily and Emily - 3 jr. high girls from
WIS. They brought so much life to the ending hours of our day.
3 hours of swimming
2 giant trays of brownies made by Faythe!!
389 total laps!!!!
4 portraits
14 caricatures
And tons of snacks for the swimmers! Here are a few of the
delicious, chocolate cupcakes that Lelly and I decorated!

72 Roses

Tonight we celebrated Faythe's birthday!!!

We went to their house at 7. Rose petals covered the entry floor.
Candles lit around the tables. And then 72 red, long-stem roses
awaited her on the center table.

I had the pleasure of helping Paul purchase her musical card a couple
weeks ago. She didn't even see us "scheming."

She said she feels more alive at 72 than at 50. She's really
enjoying life. She's really good and passionate about meeting
teachers up the river and training them. Wow, I'm so lucky to have
really gotten to know her through my time here. Happy Birthday, Faythe!

Merry Christmas!

So Kaylor and Donny filled up my first stocking ever with an Arema (Malang's soccer team) shirt!  We ate chocolate chip pancakes and opened gifts at my house!  It was so fun to get letters and pictures from home!!!! Then we headed over to Faythe and Paul's house where, in a 5-hour power outage, we enjoyed candle light, games of Battleship and Phase 10, and an absolutely delicious brunch of quiche, turkey sandwiches, egg/potato salad, baked apples, and a gift exchange of something old, something new, something handmade and something sweet!  

surrender vs. volunteer

Once you've surrendered, how much more can you give? If you
volunteer, you can keep giving.

41: Fellow inmates, now fellow believers

Parties!
Dec. 15 - Polehan kids Christmas party! Then a Cookie Decorating
Party at Brenda's
Dec. 18 - Decorations and invitations for the annual teacher & staff
Christmas party. Theme: Gingerbread Houses!
Dec. 22 - Party at Kaylor and Donny's
Dec. 25 - Christmas Brunch at Faythe and Paul's

Travel update
Moved to the new house, but the Internet has been down.
Leaving at 3 a.m. to visit an orphanage in Kalimantan. Returning
December 12.