The van-bike

The family vehicle/ mini-van looks a lot different in this country. It looks remarkably like a small motorcycle. We've seen families of 5 on one. It's pretty extraordinary how people get from point a to point b. (Any momma's absolutely freaking out thinking about your 9 month old hanging out like this? Or grandmas for that matter? hehe) I could never imagine our nephew Jayden not being secured with the 4 buckles in his "consumer reports approved, fireman recommended," carseat in the back of the four door car.

Wow. Nothing like this sweet family to make me realize how much we have. We read the story about a man who built bigger barns to fit all his stuff this past week. Are we building bigger barns or are we giving away our resources?

Who put shaopei in the freezer?

We had a great volunteer team come from OK and one funny thing they did while they were here was to strategically hide their extra copies of passport photos all over our house. I've found one in in a power outlet, the light box, the freezer, the trashcan, the bathroom wall, in between pages of books, in cabinets, and I'm told there are still more to come. It's been hilarious to find little faces smiling at us in the least expected places.

"Vols"

Volunteers, they rock our faces

They give away their time

They could be doing other things

Like saving up their dimes,

working on their education,

Vacations by the beach,

Hanging out with friends all summer

instead they came to reach.

They worked and taught and loved a lot

especially the food

they drove becaks on crowded streets

with a good attitude

the sweat just poured from 8 to 5

as they did their work

they culture exchanged and exchanged

they used a spoon instead of a fork.

The moment we hated the most

like the end of a great vacation

taking them to the place we had dreaded

the airport, the destination.

Saying goodbye and wishing well

i meant every sentence

when i said that i hope to see you again

in may of two thousand elevence.

So this is a jackfruit...

Who knew fruit grew from the actual trunk?

Josh Squared drive becaks

What a cozy ride!

When I first saw this picture I thought surely that the boys had set up the accident and took the picture just for kicks. But in actuality, he most-definitely crashed the becak and one of our volunteers ended up on the ground. You can see how concerned our Indonesian friend was about Andrew's well-being. Yes, he is laughing his head off.

Yup, I just scrolled up and laughed once again. Every time. Never fails!

Happy 4th of July!

Luwak for dinner

We had a wonderful few days in the mountains of Bali. One of our stops was at a Kopi Bubuk warung (a special kind of coffee resto-type)

As we were leaving, we spotted this young man with a gun leaving the restaurant on a mission to kill- something. So.... Josh being the curious one he is, followed him with the camera. This is what be brought back up the steep mountain. It's a luwak and they're actually very famous for their choice of coffee beans. They eat the "best beans" and then yes, after they've been eaten, some poor soul chooses those beans from the luwak waste and the coffee sells for about $8 bucks a cup. DELISH!

But this Luwak was just going to be dinner! :) They're good to eat, according to this handsome Indonesian man. I love the picture Josh got!

Day at the Beach! That lighthouse is no Cape Hatteras!