Walk With Me

Just up the hill from Julene's house there is a nice loop that we walked a number of times. I must say that the beautiful plants are quite photogenic and the atmosphere of the place could get lost in the picture.

Imagine the early morning feel before it gets almost unbearably hot and humid to take a walk . . .



. . . roosters crowing . . .  a playground with rusted out play equipment . . .  laundry hanging from every porch and post . . .  skinny stray cats or dogs appearing out of nowhere . . . and, at certain given times, the not so distant sound of the mosque calling people to prayer.



Organic eggs is what you will surely get here . . .



. . . and now you know why the chicken crossed the road!  And the one with the bad hair day? It was no better on other days.



But in spite of the things we would never see at home . . . I kept a look-out for the natural beauty.

Flowers that we pay a hefty price for at home . . . grow in abundance in the wild.

This red plant, which there are many of,  always caught my eye.

One morning we took a little side path through another subdivision . . .



where we passed another vendor selling his fresh vegetables and catch of the day.

I'll finish with my favorite picture . . . a house we passed on the way told us something about the person living there . . . someone who obviously has a love for plants and creating a beautiful space with what they have.  There is something to be said about finding beauty in simple things. It brought joy to both of us.

Take Out and Delivery in Indonesia

One of the Sundays were were there, we attended a home church, where we got to meet some other ex-pat workers. After the service we ordered take out food to enjoy with the other families. 

Each meal came individually wrapped in paper . . . which, when you open it, serves as a plate.

Inside the package . . . the meal is spread on a banana leaf. The name of this meal is ayam penyet . . . ayam refers to chicken. The triangular shaped patty is a soy cake called tempe.

On top of the rice was a slice of cooked eggplant and the meal was garnished with fresh basil and cucumber. It was delicious!

On one of our the days there, we encouraged Chris and Julene to take the opportunity to go on a date while we ordered in something special with the kids.



It all looked familiar, yet different.



and it came delivered!  In this country they deliver pretty well anything . . . and usually via some kind of bike.

We took the food out to the enclosed patio . . .

and had a party on the floor!

Weekend Wrap Up

It's Easter Sunday . . . and its been a very full day! We had the privilege to attend not just one, but two wonderful services in the morning. Since it is a day of such significance to us, I feel like I should be posting something about that .  . . but I'm going to take the easy way out and just highlight some of the weekend and then it's time for a good sleep.

We left Taipei Friday just before midnight and got home before the day was over.  I guess we got our missing day back.

Shaun and Kristal picked us up at the airport and brought us home . . . 

I had to laugh when I saw what the camera captured ... how can you tell what was the most important thing for each of us to open? A funny moment I would not have known about.

Who takes pictures with a cookbook? We do.

This afternoon  the guys watched the hockey game . . . (oh . . . and they did not look this happy at the end)

While the girls checked out the cookbook . . .

There were smiles all around . . . the kids looked for Easter baskets . . . I did not get good pictures in all of the excitement . . .

but somewhere in there we had dinner too!  More than rice crispy nests with eggs and peeps, I might add. Gifts from Indonesia were opened and then everyone went home.  It was a good day!

From Taipei - Again

We left our beautiful accommodations at 5:30 this morning and are  now biding our time at the Taipei airport, waiting to board our final flight home . . . to Vancouver. It is Friday evening here and we will still be getting home on Friday evening . . . adding 15 hours to our day.

I think it's okay if I say it was very, very hard to say our goodbyes. The kids are getting older and realizing just how long the next time may be. This has brought about a whole new dimension to saying goodbye .. . because, in a way, their tears hurt more than my own. It turns out that I really have to focus on all that's positive to help them face the same feelings I have . . . feelings that threaten your whole emotional being with such emotion that your heart literally feels squeezed.

When I think about it, there have been times I have wanted to guard my heart against loving too much . . . for fear of eventually facing hurt. I think it may be a natural way of coping sometimes. But I've come to see that I would be robbing myself. As I told Tehya and Paeton, the fact that it's hard to say goodbye is a good thing. And talking about that brought some smiles.

As every mile logged takes us further away from those last repeated hugs . . . we are looking forward to the ones waiting at the other end. We are blessed. Love is a good thing . . . even though it can . . . and does . . . hurt at times.

Mango Tree Project - Done!

Chris was able to take off a few days and the men worked hard together to finish the tree house . . . whilst the women kept bringing out the water. It's hard to imagine how hot and humid it is out there. We use air-conditioning in our room for night ... set at 25 C (about 80 F) and it feels very cool compared to what's outside.

It's great to have air conditioning, but everything has to be rotated here ... a constant revolving of what power can be kept on. For example, the computer gets turned off when the oven gets turned on . . .. it would not work too well to be a Mennonite Girl Can Cook to live here. 

Okay .. so here is the side and back. This house is well ventilated.

Tehya standing in the doorway ... gives a bit of a perspective of the size. There are two stories.

The second story is just a small balcony . . . the girls have already hauled up towels for blankets and made it a bedroom.

Paet's favorite thing to do is to hang from the branches inside the house.

Their smiles make the Papa smile too.  Mission accomplished.

Mobile Market

. . . coming soon to a street near you!

In this country baskets on bikes are not just a romantic accessory . . . but a very practical necessity.

  

All kinds of other bars and shelves get added to haul things such as eggs, fish, chicken, leafy greens, vegetables, Indonesian donuts etc.
 
 
 
Every vendor has a designated neighborhood that she visits daily. This is the one that Julene has come to know in her area.

Since this vendor does not sell fruit, we headed to the banana market next.

Have you ever seen such a display of bananas? 

The Beach

Being on a small island gives you the advantage of a quick trip to the beach, no matter which direction you go.

The natural beauty found in the most unexpected places never ceases to amaze me.

The sand is soft . . .

and the only sign  of modern day development is a wave breaking wall that is still in the process of being built. It seems somewhat out of place, but it is a good thing.

Further in, along the shore, where one would almost expect a boardwalk of hotels . . .

there are houses built on stilts, ready for the incoming tides. Coconuts are being harvested in mass and taken to vendors around the city by the truck load. Some of the locals are trying out their entrepreneurial skills by setting up plastic tables and chairs and serving local dishes and drinks. 

For me this trip to the beach was as precious as any beach on Hawaii could have been . . . because it was a glimpse into the life of people who matter a lot to us.

Growth in the Mango Tree

More to come soon . . .