Rice fields and homesickness

Josh and I visited our friend's family who lives on the outskirts of our city. As we got out of the car and looked around I simply sighed.
I miss the tobacco fields and tall rows of corn more on some days then others. I imagine driving out of Holly Springs parking lot and not being able to see the highway for the corn being so tall. We've decided that one thing that makes living in this city so difficult is that simply, it is a city.

Convenience is desired and malls are wonderfully air conditioned but something about rice fields and breathing the country air is glorious. Glorious because the fields seem to go on forever and sing to the creator of the fields, of the sky, and of the heavens. It seems they sing to the One who is absolutely perfect, who deserves every beautiful song.

I thank Him for the rice fields, and as much as I wish I could be what I call home, I thank Him for bringing me here, and hope that more than just rice will satisfy the people of this land.

Indonesia Celebrated their independence on the 17th of August. These are a few ways we celebrated. Josh drove a becak (pedicab) with his friend, we joined our neighborhood in the sehat jalan (healthy walk), and we went with some friends to a small amusment park. The family sitting next to Josh are our neighbors. They're so hospitable and helpful to us! We thank God for their generosity. The picture of the alligator and shark represent the fight between water and land... Surabaya is actually both words (the words for shark and crocodile) mixed together.

We had a chance to go to Taman Safari. It was a fun time! These monkey's were GREAT! The last picture of Josh in the ball was at a local park. He was definitely the only adult trying out the game! It was quite a sight, all the Indonesian spectators laughed along with us.

Hanging out with friends

The photo of all the ladies was taken after "movie night" at EEC. We watched Mall Cop and I tell you, they laughed so hard!!! What a great night! Our friends let us borrow their Nintendo Wi and our friend Andrew and Josh enjoyed playing golf and tennis. I think Andrew even won!! The other picture was taken at Jatim Park, an event the EEC hosted. The park is about 2.5 hours from the city, up in the mountains. It was a beautiful, cool day.

Here it is in all it's glory. The Easy English Course! It's a lot bigger on the inside than it seems.

Class Party !

Class Party! My class came over and I cooked spaghetti, garlic bread, and we ate banana splits for dessert. We talked about customs during this lesson, comparing Javanese Weddings with American weddings. I was able to show them a little of our wedding video as well. The girls said "It is so romantic, I feel like I'm watching a movie in the cinema!"
It was a fun time with my wonderful class!

Our Awesome Volunteers!

We just

loved these guys!!! They came for 6 weeks and were such an encouragement to all of us. We tried to convince them to stay with all we could offer but I guess finishing college is a pretty good excuse to return to the U.S. Thanks a million to Oklahoma and Mississipi College for lending your best students!!! And thanks to these students who gave up their summer to serve others!