Our Street- Not in Kansas Anymore!

Hi friends-
So I'm realizing that we have been here for over three months and while we are now used to all the different sights, sounds and happenings around us, we have yet to share them with you!

The other day I was listening to the sound of one of the food vendors coming down our street and was struck by how quiet our street was in the States- only a few cars every now and then- no mosques or public places like the little warungs (like a corner store run out of someone's home) certainly never any fried rice or chicken soup vendors on a motorcycle stopping by to sell us lunch.  So I thought I should go out and capture some of the sights on our street.  To start you off, here is our street in the States-

 Sorry- our only picture was from our last snowstorm in NC!

Compared with our street now-

 

Our neighbors' clothes dryer-yep, this is normal!

The warung (store) out of another neighbor's home

This mosque at five doors down is only the second closest (the closest is two doors down the other direction!)
- one of the five we hear when the call to prayer goes off.

Every Friday afternoon all the men and boys go to the mosque

One of the more lightly loaded restaurants-on-wheels

The local bus "angkot" that goes by our house...you too can ride it for the small fee of $0.20 and as always any chickens you bring are free!

Those are just a few of the different sights from our new street- not including what truly makes Indonesia spectacular- the people!  That's a whole 'nother blog post.

Catching up

Hi friends-
This, dear ones, is a catch up post...

So- Easter has come and gone, here are a few pics from our first major holiday in Indonesia!

We have been doing some of the Sunday school lessons from our church in Charlotte, a plus side of living in Indonesia- no construction paper palm branches!  Fun to teach Ethan the story of Palm Sunday and wave real branches (granted they were banana leaves, but just as effective!) as we reenacted the Triumphal Entry.

Never mind Ellie's quest for freedom! :D

We have several family traditions that survived the move, we dyed Easter eggs together...

Ethan debates what color to do next & Ellie's vital role behind him... ;D

The finished product!

 It was interesting to learn that a few traditions are the same here and in the States- our church had an Easter egg hunt which was really really fun.  Jon's family always did this growing up so he took his "Dad duty" of egg hiding very seriously!  Unfortunately, in the excitement of getting to the egg hunt, Ethan completely wiped out as he was running, hence the teary face.  After some comforting and coaxing we managed to convince E that his leg was not going to fall off and to keep looking for eggs- so he was pitifully limping, whimpering, then excitedly proclaiming, "There's an egg!" every time.  Ahh, the joys...

We managed to put together an Easter basket for Ethan- the 'grass' is green construction paper cut into strips and crumpled and stuffed in a banana basket.  We picked up a little candy here and raided our stash of toys we brought to give throughout this year. E was thrilled!

We have now wrapped up Unit 2 (of 9) of language school and this week began Unit 3!  I can't believe it!  It's pretty amazing how much we are able to communicate at this point-Jon often acts as a translator for some of the other families who arrived after us.  We are still learning new words and how the Indonesian language works, but we are also beginning to really dive into understanding the culture as part of our language learning.  Good stuff!  I know there's more to say and fill you in on but Indonesian verbs are calling my name, asking to be translated... homework- here I come!

It only took 3 1/2 years...

I'm sorry, friends, that we have been silent for so long.  We are finding our rhythm here in Indonesia and in some ways it seems like there's not a lot to say- what we considered victories 6 weeks ago now feels like "just another day at the office."  Still, there is rarely a dull moment between language learning, Ethan, well, just being three, Ellie becoming more and more mobile and the logistics of living in the tropics.

We have been having trouble with our washing machine for a few weeks now and whenever it would drain the water would end up all over the kitchen floor.  Our short term solution was to use towels or rags to soak it up, but early last week Jon and our friend Pak (Mr.) Deni began working on a real solution. 
 I'll set the scene- it was early afternoon and Ethan had been in our room "taking a nap."  Our room is across from the bathroom which is next to our washing machine.  As Jon and Deni worked together on the drain issue, Deni happened to glance around the corner into the bathroom.  Wide-eyed he looked back at Jon, "Siapa?!" (Who is that?!)  Jon and I looked at each other perplexed- "Who?" "Di sana!" (There!)  We both looked around the corner and, finding no one in sight, asked, "Di mana?" (Where?)  Deni looked again, he didn't see anyone either.  Going into the bathroom, we still didn't see anyone- finally I looked in the tiny (seriously maybe 6 inches wide) space between our shelf and the wall- there, peeking out at me was this-

 

Turns out Ethan wasn't actually taking a nap- he was discovering the wonders of Mommy's makeup bag.  Don't know if you can see it on his shirt but he'd also made a nice pile of mineral powder on the floor.  This is mascara- "I saw how you do it Mommy and I did it, too!" 

So this is how I look like this when I wear mascara?!  

Thankfully it wasn't waterproof, after 3 washes of the face it was mostly gone although he did still look like an emo kid for a few days as the residual mascara (gotta hand it to him, he got it on his eyelashes!) took a while to come all the way off.  

Quite frankly, I'm amazed it's taken him this long.  I fully expected an incident like this when he was 2- I got an extra  year and a half out of that!  There was lots of laughter all around, after all this only happens once- or maybe twice, right?  Here's hoping anyway- that's my only mascara! :D

Bebek, Bebek, Angsa....

So yesterday I took the liberty of scrubbing my sidewalk. Not because it isn't pretty, or because I needed something to do, but because after years of wet season, then dry season, then wet season again it has become a traitorous 4x4 piece of concrete to walk across covered with layers upon layers of moss.  NOBODY does this in Indonesia, the law of the jungle is to let the jungle take back whatever it wants. 

Numerous people walked or rode by and snapped their necks around to see the crazy foreigner with his children's bath tub out on the front driveway on his hands and knees scrubbing....of all things the ground.  Indonesians have a word for crazy, "gila" and I may have earned it on Saturday.  But as I sat there scrubbing, exchanging pleasantries and explaining to the occasional passer-by what and why I was doing what I was doing, I was interrupted by two children who stood and waited for me to look up at them.  I took a deep breath composing myself to explain, now to children, that I wasn't crazy and I just didn't want anyone to slip and fall on the moss.  As I looked up at them they said something to me that I completely missed.  As I asked them to repeat what they said, one of the children blurted out:  "DUKUH, in Yard".  I then quickly realized that they were asking permission to go collect the little sweet fruits that had fallen from the tree into our back yard and eat it.  "Sure!"  I replied, and was astonished as eight other children laying in wait came running out from behind a banana tree. 

Eating after the harvest

I quickly put away my baby bath and scrub brush to go manage the situation taking place in my back yard.  By the time I emptied the bath, rinsed my hands off and went to the back I counted no less than 23 kids scavenging the dukuh that had missed the basket in the course of being harvested by our back neighbors climbing in the oak-sized dukuh tree and fallen on the green ground of our back yard.  After they picked all the fruit off the ground they quickly realized that the "Foreigners" had grass to play in.   I never realized that beyond the perimeter of our back yard lies ground, not for playing but for working, harvesting, and surviving.  Riddled with the castoffs of bamboo used for building and trees used for nourishment the backyards of most Indonesians isn't suited for children.  Here no one has space for silly things like grass for playing....well-except for the foreigners who don't know what good ground is for.   And so as the silly foreigners we are, we opened up our back yard to children who rarely get to play on such amenities as grass for an afternoon of tag, wrestling, "goat" back riding and my personal favorite.... Bebek, Bebek, Angsa (Duck, Duck, Goose). 

What a blessing to be able to provide -even just for an afternoon- a playground, in the most literal sense of the word, for our neighborhood kids!

Bebek, Bebek, Angsa

Playing "Goat Rides"

Enjoying Dukuh!

The Wrestling Ring

Juxtaposition

Today is the perfect picture of this strange juxtaposition, this in-between place where I am mentally these days…

Sitting in class this morning, repeating questions in Indonesian that last week I wouldn’t have understood, I felt twinges of homesickness creeping in.  Feeling teary, I kept going- trying to cover it up (I am, after all, the only girl in my class).  Thinking about my mom, my best friend, the fact that Ethan can’t be there to celebrate his best friend’s birthday this week, the emotion threatened to push through the wall I was trying to keep in place.  For the moment I shook myself out of it, telling myself I could “go there” later but right now I needed to concentrate on learning Indonesian.

Immediately after school today, we had plans to go over to another MAF family’s house for lunch, right across from the playgroup Ethan goes to all week while we’re in school.  We enjoyed our time together, eating a new Indonesian dish we hadn’t tried before.  Then it was time to head home to beat the afternoon rain we could see coming.  I sat on the scooter as far back on the seat as I could, with Ellie in her Baby Bjorn, Jon drove, Ethan stood in the footwell and off we went.  As we drove, the wind on my face was refreshing, I watched the banana trees and bamboo whip by and I could feel myself relaxing (yes, even with all of us on a scooter!) thinking, “I can’t believe it’s only been a month! It’s starting to feel a little like home!”  And the remarkable thing is-it is!

 Of course, I still miss home, but things that a month ago felt foreign, unfamiliar and occasionally a little frightening now seem normal, even comfortable.  Yes, I miss home- a lot- but I am seeing God’s goodness and provision, His fingerprints and good gifts to our family as we learn to serve Him here.  Everything from the very basic- cooler weather the last few days with a nice breeze- to the kind that makes this mama’s heart so grateful- the precious gift of friends here for Ethan, to the hard to believe- the ability to hear and begin to understand the language we’d never heard before we came.  We’ve come a long way in 5 weeks.  I know this time frame, 6 weeks in or so, is when the homesickness really starts to kick in and I’m sure I will have days I’m so ready to hop on a plane, but not today. Today I am thankful the Lord is helping us settle in, build relationships with friends and neighbors, enabling us to learn and stumble through a conversation in Indonesian and for now, making Indonesia home.

The Learning Curve

One month into being in Indonesia and I am amazed at what we've picked up since we've been here, and I'm not just talking language!  Thankfully, we have really enjoyed being here, with a few bumps in the road as to be expected, and there are quite a few things here that have been a pleasant surprise.  For instance...

Our second day here as I was walking through our neighborhood with Ellie I noticed our neighbor/landlord had banana trees growing in his front yard.  How did I notice, you ask?  Well, check this out-

Yeah, I never knew that bananas grew in a long spiral with a flower at the bottom of the banana "stem"- this stem was probably 6 or 7 feet long!  Pretty amazing, I guess I always pictured them more like coconuts- in bunches at the top of the tree.

Since our mode of transportation has been primarily our own two feet (THAT's an adjustment!) some friends showed us how to ride the angkot (pronounced "ong-coat") into town to do basic errands like grocery shopping.  Now- the angkot is probably the most common form of public transportation here- kind of a cross between a cab and a bus.  Basically, it is an old school minivan that the back seats have been out of and replaced with benches along the walls, allowing the driver to fit as many people as are willing/able to ride- even to the point of someone standing in the doorway and holding on to a handle as you drive down the road. I'll try to get a picture sometime this week.  They do have a preplanned route and assigned numbers, but I believe they are all individual business owners.  I really enjoy riding the angkot- it gives me the freedom to do what I need to do and is always a fun experience trying to have a conversation with my fellow passengers, especially when I have Elliana along!

Along the same lines as the angkot is shopping.  Now, dear ones, let me just tell you- I yearn for the day I could just hop in the car (cargo space! no real walking required! *sigh*) and zip off to Wal-Mart or Target or any local grocery store for everything on my list...  Not so here-you go to the pasar (market) to buy fruits, vegetables, meat or rice (or flour, but it tends to have bugs if you buy it there); you choose from one of the little tiny stores along the road or brave the slightly claustrophobic indoor pasar to buy shoes of questionable quality (Ethan's lasted a walloping 3 days!); you go to a kind of catch all store to buy your snack foods (in the States, basically anything not around the edges of your grocery store- flour, crackers, cereal, peanut butter, etc.); another variety of tiny stores (aka- "toko") for tupperware/storage containers because I have yet to see ziploc bags.... You get the picture.  I am not a huge shopper, I would much rather "hunt" for what is on my list- in, out and done- here that's not really an option.  So far, I'm enjoying the experience, just exploring and seeing what is available, learning how to ask for help or what the price is, although I'm sure in a few months I will have insane cravings for the sheer simplicity of a trip to Wal-Mart or Target- need it, get it, home within an hour or less.

Ok, I could go on, but I need to go get some groceries for this weekend- and I need our helper to show me how to choose chicken at the pasar...  Not gonna lie- kind of dreading this one, but it needs to be done!  Here we go.... Happy Friday, friends!  And just for fun- here are the kiddos enjoying each other last Saturday morning...

Update- Pasar was a success! We went early in the morning when everything was still fresh, a nice breeze was blowing and 2 kilos of chicken (filleted while I waited) are now tucked in our freezer!

Home again...Home again...

The Neighborhood

Barely co-hearent I wiped the sleep from my eyes.  I rolled over to look at my family all crammed into one bed slowly recovering from the effects of 30 hrs travel, half-way around the world.  If only Jules Verne could have lived to see the day his classic work have become a joke in modern day transportation.  Suddenly it hit, what had we done?  We were no longer home, and the reality of that statement has been evident ever since. ….

Three days after landing in Jakarta we jumped on yet another airplane to head off into central Java where the language school is, and our residence for the next year or so.   We landed at a small one conveyor belted airport where if you didn’t claim your luggage off of it, it became a log jam as your luggage stacked up on the end and backed up the belt to everyone else’s cegrin.  Don’t ask me how I know I just do.  

This last airplane ride became the beginning of a chapter in my history that I don’t think I will ever recover from.  After a short van ride through some of the most impoverished areas that I have ever seen, we entered onto a jungle road that was completely shaded from the sun by some of the tallest bamboo and banana trees.   Because of the dense forest foliage there are entire areas covered by dense moss because the sun just cannot reach through the grasp of the jungle.  I sat in amazement to pass through such deep jungle only to be surprised when the brakes of the van came to an amazing halt in very short order.  My only thought was that we had stopped for one of the million motor bikes that covered the road, but no I was quickly informed that we were “here”, wherever here was.  With a sight bit of confusion I quickly realized that just outside of the jungle sat a village of houses, one of which was ours.  Home again I thought, even though home has become a bit ambiguous.

Our Home

 From that day forward I have begun to have the utmost respect and admiration for the pioneer missionaries who didn’t have any of the amenities that people now have  arranged for them.  To look back at some of the great missionary stories of long ago, I don’t know how they did it.  No airplane, no internet, no phone, no contact to home, nothing.   Armed with only the passion and inspiration that God has placed on their lives, they ventured out into an unknown that is indescribable with words and is only duly justified through the experience of one’s own endeavor.   Wow. 

We have entered into one of the most difficult experiences of our lives, but have also uncovered one of the greatest honors as we have begun to learn a bit about Indonesians, their language,  and the stories that shape who this incredibly open and loving people are.

This week we started language school after a mixed week house preparation.  Sadly, our house was not quite ready for us to live in and the effects of the jungle had started to take over this house that hadn’t been lived in for a little while.  It is amazing to see how quickly the jungle tries to take over in a very short order, and how if left unattended how quickly rainy season can diminish a house.  Needless to say we had quite a few things to do to begin to make this home.

Language School

I want to apologize for not keeping you all up to date but we have realized that internet connectivity at our house leaves something to be desired and we are praying for a solution that would allow us to be more connected.  Please pray along with us, I know it sounds trite but internet is a way of life, and without it things can become very difficult here quickly. 

Language school has been great and Amy has taken to it like I have never seen her take to anything before.  It is almost as if she is a walking dictionary, and after only hearing a word a few times it is written into her memory for later recall.  It will be a challenge to be in class with her..  Overachiever, and her overly competitive husband.  Right now for these first three units we are in language school for four hours a day, from 8-12 and have been blessed to have E in the daily play group while we study away.   We all come home to a wonderful home cooked meal that our house helper has prepared and then work on homework by taking the kids out into the community and brutally butchering what little Indonesian we know with our neighbors and those we know around us.

Learning Language requires coffee no matter what continent your on.

 Sadly I must cut this short as I don’t know if our bandwidth can handle me being online this long, so we will have to say goodbye for now.  Thankyou so much for your prayers they are greatly appreciated and extremely desired right now.  We have so much to say so….stay tuned.  

Learning the Neighborhood

What a ride....

The journey continues

Like every good book has a selection of chapters that adds to its allure, so does our journey to Indonesia.  Up until this point we have been praying, planning, and working towards getting to Indonesia.  The culmination of this manifested itself just 24 short hours ago as our family stepped on plane bound for the great unknown...or at least the unknown to us.  With the weeks prior being a great blur between my brother's wedding, packing, commissioning services, bitersweet goodbyes, and more packing, we were relieved to step onto the Boeing 777 for a calm, relaxing, 27 hr flight.  A great leisure time we were assured, especially with two kids right?  

Leaning Tower of Necessity

Sadly as everything seemed to go all sideways as our departure drew closer.  I cannot say that there were not times that Amy and I didn't look at each other with total dismay.  Starting with packing, consolidating and loading 16 different bags culminating in 3 plastic totes, 3 hockey bags, 1 body sized bag, a suitcase, backpacks, computer bags, 2 car seats, 1 stroller, purse, diaper bag, and nursing pump.  I do believe we got everything and the kitchen sink.  Thankfully some of our friends chipped in to help load this mess and with the use of one industrial sized aircraft scale, we were weighed in.  Shortly into our packing we also got the car that we were borrowing stuck in the mud and had to winch it out of the hollows of North Carolina, only to find that the door was no longer latching.  Great way to thank the generosity of the owner by breaking his car that he had loaned you just after we sold him ours.  So into repair mode we went, only to find that the part for repair was through the roof expensive and had to be ordered with a delivery date the day before we left.  Needless to say that wasn't going to stop us so onward we pressed.  All the way to the airport loaded for bear with all of the necessities that we needed, and WITH the infamous 17lbs jumper that was lamented over for those of you who were in on the discussion. 


After feeling a bit like the Clampett family with all their earthly possessions tied to the side of their wagon we deposited most of the burden behind the ticket counter and into the underbelly of our trusty air wagon.  Now onto security screenings, the thing that everyone loves about our modern transportation system.  With nearly eight carry bags/ personal items, a stroller, 10 lbs of E's infamous medication, and a car seat lets just say that we made a spectacle of ourselves as we spread our belongings from one end of the security screening line the the other, only to be heavily questioned as to why my baby stroller tested positive for explosives!  Yes, that's right EXPLOSIVES!  I guess it was thought that maybe we packed indiscreet amounts of C4 in our baby stroller of all places.  After a thorough questioning and a not to friendly encounter with the TSA man and his rubber gloves, we were released with our stroller, a warning, and the knowledge to never again grease the folding joints and moving parts with WD40.  Apparently it registers as a certain class of explosive; who'd have known that, obviously I didn't. 

Sadly to say, the encounter with the nice man with the rubber gloves size-ably bit into our time reserve and we were the last to board the airplane, children in tow, bags in hands, arms, legs and any other appendage that you could strap, tape, or drag something with.  In all my years of racing I had gleaned on thing when it comes to air transportation, NEVER BE THE LAST ONE ON.  Especially if you have 8 bags that you are trying to fit into the micro bins above your head on a small commuter jet.  Lets just say that of the 8 bags only 5 made it on board with us, and Oh yes we were THAT family that everyone just shook their disapproving heads at.

Once we landed in JFK and we now had the mission of going back through security to claim our checked bags and then again back to security for a second time only to find out that our bags were not only to big, but to heavy to be considered carry ons.  Thankfully, although we lost a brownie mix in the interaction, I was relieved to pay any price to not have to haul all of those bags once again through the security lines.  And since we had managed to get the bags to JFK we only had to pay half the price to ship the extras on to Jakarta and on we went to Dubai.  If only I had had the energy to find and use the camera we would have been one hot mess of a picture at this point.

TWELVE hours after leaving JFK we landed in Dubai.   I would love to say that we saw the great wonders of the luxurious city but after leaving the US in January most of our time in Dubai was spent as quick change artists changing out of the winter duds and into something more suited for the desert.  Dubai was nice but we were relieved to jump on the next plane for another climate controlled NINE hour stint to Jakarta.  Sadly two of Amy's favorite outfits for the little one were lost in the making of this film as we had not accounted for shedding the layers of winter clothes and where to carry them so lets just say that Goodwill missed out on a great donation in Dubai, besides what's the point of taking sweaters to the tropics?

10:30 PM (Jakarta time) we landed slightly worse for wear, complete with the mountains of luggage, tired, but anxiously awaiting the new beginnings that the screech of the tires signaled as they came to a stop nearly 10,000 miles away from what we have called home.  Today we spent the day catching up on sleep, each other, and sitting on the curb with E watching all the motorbikes fly by......

God has been faithful, even in the trying events of our journey, even in the bursting of our water heater that was rupturing in Charlotte as we crossed the Atlantic (another time, another space, lets just say it was ironic).  He has been faithful to complete what He started for little boy who made a commitment to Him nearly 13 years ago in the back yard of a missionary family in Perry Hall, Maryland.  So now we find ourselves surrounded by a sea of difference and separated by a barrier of words, looking forward to what He has next. Thank you all for walking this journey with us and lifting us up as we go forward for His great glory.  

Our Indonesian Guest house while in Jakarta

First Indonesian Breakfast....Fried Rice!

Watching all the strange new cars go by.....

We haven't fallen of the planet, just moving to the other side of it...

Hello dear ones-

Whew!  It has been a LONG time since we updated here.  I'm sorry we have so severely fallen off the blogging bandwagon- I'm hoping to catch you up without blathering on and on.  So- in a nutshell here's what we've been up to since last time:

Thanksgiving party at Ethan's school then a trip to Baltimore for Thanksgiving with family

Home again and Ethan's last day of school in the States

A crate shower thrown by friends to prepare us for Indonesia

A trip to the Raleigh area for Jon's sister's graduation from college- Congrats Alex!!

Christmas back in Charlotte with my family- my sister was able to come home from Scotland for a few weeks and join in our chaos, as we madly packed to move out of our house.  It was so good to see her again before we left.  As she said- every day was a bonus!

Then another trip to Baltimore for our commissioning service by our Baltimore church (no pictures unfortunately!)

Jon's brother's wedding, E was the ring bearer- Congratulations Doug & Mollie!!

Back to Charlotte just in time to move out of our house, sell our car, pack our crates, have Ellie's dedication and our commissioning at our Charlotte home church and time with family and friends before we leave this weekend!

So...that's what we've been up to the last 8 weeks or so.  We are so excited, it's hard to believe that this time next week we will finally be in Indonesia!  Woo-hoo!! We are looking forward to seeing what God has for us there.  We really appreciate all of you who have made it possible for us to go- thank you! Will you be praying for us this week as we wrap things up here in the States and make this transition?  Jon and I both long to finish well here and start well there.  If we don't get to see you, please know we love you, appreciate all you do and will miss you fiercely! 

We have heard it takes a few weeks to get Internet up and running once we're there so there will probably be blog silence for a bit. We'll post as soon as we can!  So...until next time-from Indonesia- God bless!

Burning up Engines...

The Pratt and Whitney PT6A engine-the engine of MAF's fleet in Papua!

So we have been a bit silent lately.  It's not for lack of creativity, nor lack of things to do....in fact it has been quite the opposite.  Nearly three weeks after Ellie's birth, I headed off to the Northwest to catch some refresher training time at Spokane Turbine Center, and caught the added bonus of the flu!  The object of my time out there was to prep me for operation and use of the Pratt and Whitney PT6 engine found both on the MAF Kodiaks and Caravans.  The method was the "sponge concept".  Fill up with as much information as possible, pray that none of it seeps out in the next 14 months, then just like a sponge there's bound to be something left to eek out when it's needed.  Pumping up with knowledge they did, but sadly my first 3 days there- the flu "squeezed" some of it out.

Imagine this thing spinning around at 38,000 RPM-it would make a great juicer!

The training itself was good but it was the simulations and the engine operation that were the highlight of the trip. My dialog with the instructors sounded something like this:

Master check, ignition check, starter engaged....positive engine speed....initializing fuel...., watching engine speed and temperature. 

Jon do you see that light?

What light, oh the Red one in the corner?

Yep.

I see it....wait it says "Fire".

That's right you are on fire!

Thankfully I was able to simulate a quick escape without any real bodily harm done, (minus my hurt pride for not realizing that I was blazing).  That's what training is for, right?  I burned up at least three engines in different situations at what would have been $275k per rebuild. I spent a lot of simulated money!  It is amazing to me to see how "fragile" these engines can be, but if you do it right they are a remarkable machine. These are the tools we have to use, bringing  hope and encouragement to remote and isolated people.

Perplexed that this little wheel costs around $70-85k.  Handle with care!

It was really amazing to see the Lord's provision during this time. While I was away from home studying, burning up engines and recovering from the flu, my poor wife was left with home with the kids.  To add to that she came down with the strep throat and both kids had colds.  We are so thankful for you who stepped up to the plate with meals and child care so that Amy could rest and I could continue our last bit of training before leaving the country in 10 weeks!  We are all healthy now and looking forward to some good holiday cooking and shopping.  We're trying to soak it all in- the last few weeks will certainly fly. 

Spokane Turbine Center class, made up of mostly MAF people we will be serving with in Indonesia!