A Gift at the end of a Busy Month

I love it when God gives me exactly what I need, exactly when I need it in a very tangible way.  Let me explain.  

This month has been one of the most stressful months our family has ever experienced.  I remember looking at the calendar one day at the beginning of the month, and at the length of our to do list thinking, "There is no way we can accomplish this."  The list included:  school, sorting and packing through all our possesions, writing a 10 page paper, preparing and delivering a sermon/devotional in chapel, coaching soccer, loading a shipping container, saying goodbye to friends, etc.  

The next day Mike got sick.  Sick, like stuck-in-bed-with-a-fever-for-days-sick.  I was now left alone to try and balance everything.   

Every morning my prayer was for enough energy to make it through the day, and I know we had a lot of people praying for us back home.  We survived and by the grace of God finished everything on our to do list.

Needless to say, by the end I was drained.  When I need to be recharged, the best method for me is to go for a hike and get out into nature.  Now this is the part of the story that gets good.  One day as I was waiting to pick up Colton a lady from the International School walked by and invited me on a hike!  She said she felt God prompting her to invite me even though we hadn't really met, or gotten to know each other yet.  I love how God used somebody else to reach out to me and give me exactly what I needed!  

Of course I have to post some pictures.  A group of us girls hiked Gunung (Mt.) Andong together.  It was beautiful!

We parked by a large mosque in a small village that served as "base camp".  It was really crowded because the day we hiked was a "red letter day", which means it was a holiday and most people had the day off.

I wanted a picture before I got too sweaty from hiking.

A view of Gunung (Mt.) Merbabu, and Gunung (Mt.) Merapi (which is still active and is spitting out smoke in this picture).

The official puncak (peak).

On the island of Java you can find a warung (store) no matter where you are, selling pop mie and 3 in 1 coffee, even on the top of a mountain!

I don't know these guys, they just wanted to pose for a picture with me.  The best part of this picture is the girl on the left, look at how many clothes she has on!  It's like she was outfitted to climb Mt. Everest!

We were assured by another hiker that we could cross the ridge on top and hike down the other side of the mountain.  We trusted him and hoped we wouldn't end up in the middle of some random farmer's field (we did), but we made it back to our car without any problems.

Pine trees!

This is the biggest bamboo I have ever seen!

Walking through farmland on the way back to base camp.

Foto-foto

Yes, this blog has been silent for awhile.  To be honest I really don't know where I want to take this blog anymore... 

When times are rough and I have a million thoughts going through my head trying to process our new life here in Indonesia, or I am experiencing yet another tropical disease, I rarely have the time or energy to actually sit down and write them.  It also feels strange to post about ministry related items, because it feels as if I am "letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing" and I don't want to come off sounding self-righteous, because that is far from how I feel about myself and how I want to be.  That leaves me with the option of posting fun pictures, which leads everybody to think that I am on a cool "vacation", which is also far from the truth.  Thoughts?  Anybody?  Bueller?

For today I'll talk about a problem we tend to run into here.  Photos.  Indonesians LOVE taking pictures, selfies especially.  I love a good photo opportunity too, don't get me wrong.  Indonesians also love kids, especially our kids because they look, well, foreign.  Different.   When our family is out and about and they see our kids they usually ask to take pictures with them.  Sometimes we are asked in a very respectable way, and sometimes we are not asked in a respectable way.  Sometimes the kids are up for it and sometimes they are not.

   
Once, at the park while I was pushing Macie on the swing, a man walked over, stopped her swing and took a picture of her.  Colton has been literally chased after by a group of kids trying to get a picture with him.  Those are the times that are hard to deal with. 

Sometimes it can be a good, positive experience.  Sometimes it opens up a good opportunity for a chat and can be fun.  Sometimes people will play with the kids for awhile (and I can have an extra set of eyes watching my kids while out in public).  Macie has learned that if she walks up to a group of girls, she will soon end up sitting on their laps taking "selfies" and have candy handed to her.  She also uses this new trick at restaurants, she knows if she walks over to another table she will be invited to sit with them (and receive food).