The fog has lifted!

...no, I don't mean the smog over Jakarta!  The last couple of days, I was so tired, I could hardly function. It may have been the lack of caffeine and sugar from my once daily Dr. Pepper.  They have Pepsi, Coke, Sprite and Orange Fanta so I'm not going to miss out on soda altogether.  Anyway, today I was able to grab a Starbucks while grocery shopping at the mall and found the energy to scrub the bathrooms!  I really feel much better and the fact that we found Krispy Kreme donuts didn't hurt any either.  You can pretty much get anything you need here, it is just a matter of being able to get a ride.  The church has a car that we can use to get the kids to and from school and then we will share it with others, but we don't have a driver yet.  We borrowed a driver today and were able to get groceries, etc...  The grocery stores are part of these huge malls and you can push your grocery cart through the mall with you.  Very nice.  We brought Anna and George to their school today for entrance testing.  The school is beautiful and I think they will adjust well.  They both were remembering Millbrook today and all their friends back home.  It looks like they might get to start class next week and we will hope to have a driver by then.  If you want to see pictures of the school, you can look up ACS-IBS International School in Jakarta.  Shout out to my Thirty-One extra large carry all bag!  I use it to do laundry and grocery shopping and also to lug beach towels and snacks.  Loving it!  We are all getting a little testy around the apartment.  The space is small and the kids are over the "fun" of all sleeping in the same bed.  They bought us a toaster today, so that will be a nice change of pace.  The mosquitoes have been attacking while we sleep and I have bright red dots all over my face.  If it doesn't improve in our permanent apartment, I think I will get netting for my bed.  Last night we were treated to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, conducted by Dr. Tong.  Amazing!  When the full choir joined in with the four soloists and the orchestra was at its peak...oh it just resonated to the core of my being!  The kids made it through the concert without a peep and it was over two hours!  Ok, so Della was asleep for most of it, but my prayers were answered!  Dr. Tong is 72 and conducted brilliantly.  I don't know the man well, but I have seen that he is supernaturally gifted and has energy that could only come from above.  He dropped in for an unexpected visit after the concert and the kids were so happy to see him.  He is like a Grandpa to them already!  He left early this morning for a week long crusade to one of Indonesia's many islands.  A very sweet lady dropped off some native fruit for us today.  I think it is called Jampur Air.  The are about the size of a golf ball and shaped like a bell.  You peel the brown skin off and eat the segments inside.  Very crunchy and sort of sweet and kind of reminds Jim of a large chestnut.  The days are dry and the sun rises at 6am and sets at 6pm.  The sun usually doesn't get super hot as it is filtered by the smog.  Probably a good thing or we would be scorched.  Sunday's service and sermon went well and we look forward to seeing how God is going to use us here.  We met a couple from Brooklyn that now live in Bandung, a couple of hours away from Jakarta.  They have started a classical school there and we would like to try and visit sometime if we can.  I'm learning bits and pieces of Indonesian like "chair" is "kursi" and "kamar mandi" is bathroom!  Some words like "cup" are the same as in English.  Go figure!  We are off to the government offices tomorrow to get some more paperwork taken care of.  I think we are getting something called a "kitsas" which I think gives us residence opportunities like opening up a bank account, paying local prices at tourist attractions and so forth.  After our outing, I'll get started on some more laundry.  The washer is just down the hall and you hang everything to dry in a big room with a fan.  The clothes dry in a day which is great as I can usually hang two loads per day.  Anyway, I should get to bed now.  I miss everyone so much and wish I could show you everything that I'm seeing and have you experiencing it here with me.  That would be just perfect.  Love to all and prayers, too!

One week today

It is hard to believe that our first week here is over.  We have seen so much and met so many new friends!  It is Saturday morning and Jim is attending the 6:30am Chapel service for the seminary.  I guess Saturdays won't be for sleeping in!  He will then attend a meeting with Dr. Tong and many in ministry here at 8:30am.  Tomorrow, Jim will preach for the first time and we will attend the Jakarta Symphony's performance of Beethoven's Ninth.  Anna and George interview for school on Monday and will start soon after.  Hopefully, with each passing day, we will feel more and more at home.  Time to clean and do laundry and get dressed for the day.  I almost just hit the delete button thinking who is going to want to read this....but "maaf" (sorry) I will write something more interesting later.

On a trip to the mall

stories as promised

So I am up and it is 2:45am Jakarta time and Mary is sitting next to me in the dark.  I'll tell you the memorable stories leading up to our departure.
Jim decided he needed to finish his last can of fish that he had been saving instead of eating the breakfast his mom had prepared for us.  I had just put on my outfit that would have to last me through the long trip.  Della decided that she wanted a bite of fish.  As Jim reached over me with the fork, all the oily, smelly fish dropped onto my sweater and into my lap!  If you know me, you know I was not a happy camper!  Now I had to strip down and get my clothes washed and dried in one hour.  I was not going to smell like fish the entire flight!  I decided that I would look back and laugh some day.

On the car ride to Queens, Anna was expressing that she was a little scared of going on the plane.

 Della reached over and took Anna's hand and said "Don't be scared, Anna, I'll take care of you."  It was the most precious thing ever.

Yesterday, we were treated to Kidzania at the mall in Jakarta.  You buy a ticket to go into this mini town where the kids dress up like doctors, scientists, hairdressers, etc.... and are given a job to complete and get paid pretend cash.  The parents watch through the windows and I was able to have great conversations with two different families.  Many people are curious about Mary's hair and if we are in town for holiday.  One family is headed to Houston next week on a business trip!  It was great fun, but Jim ended up carrying Della for three hours as she slept on his shoulder!  We got home and the kids went straight to bed, too tired to even eat dinner.  They want to go back and try some more jobs next time.  Grocery shopping today and safari tomorrow.  We are enjoying our "honeymoon" week.  Pretty soon...work work and more work!  Trying to post pictures.

Safe and Sound

George and Anna could hardly contain themselves as we touched down in Jakarta.  What we had been talking about and preparing for was finally a reality.  I also think they were delirious on three hours of sleep.  Anna's excitement wore off as she decided that Jakarta wasn't like she had imagined.  A couple of tears and then sleep came.  The kids are all still sleeping and hopefully will for another six hours.  I awoke to someone crying and I raced into the kids room.  Everyone was still asleep and yet this constant, high-pitched chant/cry persisted.  I went to the window and was reminded that today is the start of the muslim ramadam holiday.  The mosques are in full swing loud speaker mode and fireworks are going off all night...a very pretty sight.  Tempting to wake the kids, but no.
Thank you for all the prayers!  Our flights went well and the kids were awesome.  The church is a glorious sight here, quite breathtaking in it's enormity.  I haven't explored inside, yet.  We are in temporary student housing for a couple of weeks.  I'll post pictures when I get a chance.  I actually haven't taken any yet.  Where are my picture taking neighbors from Millbrook when you need them?! I need to eat, so I close.  I have some great stories to share about our last 12 hours before leaving the states, but I'll do that next time.  Just wanted to let everyone know that we are fine and the people here are so nice and helpful.  Love to you all!

Finishing Touches

Spending today organizing and reorganizing all the luggage.  The ultimate goal is to fit as many of Jim's books into the suitcases as possible.  I have high hopes!  Looking forward to the dinner Mom is preparing for us - a roast and the best sweet summer corn in the world.  I think both are hard to come by in Indonesia.  The kids are getting excited and I'm worrying about what I might forget to do or bring.
On my drive to PA yesterday, the radio played "Give me Jesus" and it really ministered to me.  The line "you can have all this world...just give me Jesus" helped me put everything in perspective.  All the stuff we have been donating, packing, moving, etc...isn't important.  I'll survive where we live and how we live as long as I have Jesus!
30 hours left in the states...it's the final countdown!!  Please pray  :-)

Grateful

Thank you to everyone for all the encouragement and support.  The gifts and prayers have given us the ability to start on this exciting new journey.  We are also thankful to have received the information we needed to be able to secure our visas!  Jim and I will take the train to NYC tomorrow morning and apply at the Indonesian Consulate.  Please continue to pray that we would not run into any obstacles and that we can get back to the house quickly to continue packing and cleaning.  If all goes well, we will pick up the visas on our way to the airport on Thursday.  How is that for a close call?  Today is our last Sunday in Millbrook and there will be lots of hugs and tears as we say goodbye to our dear brothers and sisters at Lyall Church.  Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Wide awake and dreaming

5:00 am and thoughts are racing through my head!  This is it ... Less than a week and Jakarta becomes our new home. This must be a dream, because my reality is not close to prepared for this. My house is not empty or clean, we haven't said our goodbyes to Licorice and Brownie and to top it all off, we have to somehow get to the Indonesian Embassy and secure our visas. I guess I'm hitting the panic button and praying that it somehow works out.  In the end, it always does, just not as I've imagined. I really wanted Jim to have a few days to rest before the trip and instead we will be rushing right up to the end. The 25 hour flight will have to be his down time :)
Time for me to rest in the knowledge that the Lord holds me in the palm of His hand and is intimately involved in the details of my life!  Praise be to the Great I AM!!

Purging and Packing

The U-Haul made it to Jim's parents house in PA and our home is.....still not empty!!!  How can this be?  I really do love this purging.  It seems so freeing, but it is quite a process for which there seems no end in sight.  My mom and step dad arrived today to help with the kids and the house.  Yeah!!

We are so thankful that Licorice is going to be adopted by an awesome family from Poughkeepsie.  They have a little girl that fell in love with him and he was very well behaved during his "meet and greet."  Thank you to our neighbor, Kim, for finding this perfect family for "Lucky Licky Long."

Two weeks and counting......