We Made It!

Wow, thanks for all of your prayers! We made it to Tarakan, Indonesia. For the whole journey we could feel your prayers! The Lord gave us all such a peace and a calmness. The boys did GREAT! We are convinced they are world-travelers-in-training. Even Ryan did well. To the right is a picture of Mary Epp, Annette Welburn and I. The Epps and Welburns came to the airport to see us off. It was so nice to be sent off by them! Below is a picture of Dave and Reg Epp.






The hardest part of the journey was when we arrived in Jakarta. We had to collect our bags, get them through customs, and then transfer to the domestic terminal via a shuttle. All of this, done in Indonesia, is a bit crazy! The domestic terminal was packed, and hot, and it didn't help that I forgot to set my watch one hour back, so I thought our flight was going to leave any moment! Once we got that figured out, and our bags checked in, we began the hot process of waiting for our flight.

Once we got on there, we were all out for the count. I couldn't even keep my eyes open! And C.J. was out, even though he was being oogled and ogled by the passenger across the aisle!

The boys enjoyed making some friends on the trip. To the right is a picture of them and a friend we made in San Francisco, who traveled with us to Taiwan. The picture is in the waiting room in the airport at Taipei, Taiwan. She was going to Vietnam to visit family. Below, is Ryan enjoying talking on the phone, or pretending he is on the flight from Taipei to Jakarta.

But, it's good to be here in Tarakan. The team here is young and energetic. (I've already been referred to as an "old-timer"), and they've given us a warm welcome. It's been great to see our friends the Holstens again. They were arrived in Tarakan when we were here before, and now David is the program manager. His wife Natalie has been taking me out shopping. I tell you, coming from Idaho, it's quite a change! The driving is chaotic, you get stared at wherever you go, and people call you "bule" (boo-lay), which means foreigner. But we've already gotten to see some old friends from before. I guess eight years is a long time.

The strangest part of the journey for me was when we were flying over the jungles of Borneo, on our way to Jakarta. Just seeing the broccoli-like terrain below brought me right back to flying with Dave in the MAF 206 over scenery just like that, and I thought, "I can't believe we're back!" I've had many "weird" moments since then, when things all of a sudden became crystal clear and I had a memory. The sweetest and most heart-wrenching one happened this morning when my friend Joy picked me up and brought me to her house, which is the house we used to live in. Although it's changed since we've lived there, one memory was crystal clear. The corner in the kitchen was where we had Hannah's little table that she would sit at for hours and make crafts, color and staple things. (She loved her stapler!) Just seeing that corner brought back so many memories! That corner represents to me who Hannah is. (I say is because I'm pretty sure she's still got the same personality in heaven). She's creative and artistic and knows what she's about.

Dave got his old motorcycle back to ride, so here is a picture of he and the boys in our front yard. We love and miss all of you and look forward to hearing from you!

PRAYER POINTS: Thanks again for your prayers! Please continue to pray for us as we settle in to a new country, climate and team. and pray for Dave as he has already begun his check-out in the Caravan. There are a lot of things to learn.