Thursday, March 13, 2008

Middle of March...

March madness is just around the corner and time is going by so quickly. Update on our family is that we are just getting through with a couple of weeks of sickness. Jalen missed one week of school due to a cough that kept him up most of the night. Kaya is sick right now with fever and a bit of a rash. No it is not Dengue Fever (we hope). Dengue fever has been going around here as well but the clinic that Kaya went to yesterday did not think that it was dengue.



I was playing basketball on Wednesday and got a thumb in the eye. Now usually this is not too bad but this time my vision has stayed just a bit blurry in one spot on that eye. It is now beginning to heal but that was a couple of days ago that it happened. One of my Indonesian buddies just about poked my eye out. He felt absolutely horrid. Then yesterday I was throwing some garbage away (which is right next to the doorway) and a student came rushing in. The door hit me on the head and made my eyes water it hit so hard. Then this morning as I am making coffee I broke the glass sugar container. Man you could not plan the way my week has been going. But today is Friday and by tomorrow everything should be fine.



We now have tentatively booked tickets to be in Saskatoon on June 5th. We are excited about seeing people again. My friends here have already asked if I am returning to Canada this summer. I try to tell them that yes I am leaving but I will return. I have really enjoyed getting to know people here.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Tournament is over...

Just a quick update here to say that this past week has been absolutely crazy and I thank you for your prayers. This past week both basketball teams that I coach have been in a tournament in Kotaraja, which is about 30 minute drive by motorbike and a 50 min drive by car. Needless to say I have been in Kotaraja everyday this week until late at night and then back to school the next morning. It has been an incredibly draining week on our family. I believe as of right now that both teams will not be playing anymore and so that is a bit of a blessing.



Jalen is also sick right now and just altogether not feeling well. Please pray for him.



Janna and Kaya continue to be the rocks in our family and I thank God again for a wife that is so understanding towards Basketball, if she did not see it in the same light weeks like this would be even more difficult.



Our tickets are now reserved for coming home this summer for a quick furlough. We are going to try to come home for a couple of months every two years and this summer is the one. We will be leaving Indonesia on June 1st and be returning to Indonesia Aug 8.

Monday, February 25, 2008

February 26...

Feb 26th sees our family thinking about some of our summer plans as we return to Canada this summer. We are really enjoying life here and feel that this is our home now. Our children are doing well and we are once again this year learning how to live and minister in a different country. We are looking forward to connecting with people while we are home this summer, the relationships are things that we miss while we are here, although we are making great connections with people out here. Hopefully in the near future I can post where we will be at what times during the summer so that we can connect with as many of you as possible.

Jalen continues to go to school and is doing much better these past few weeks in listening to his teacher the first time she says something. For a couple of weeks we were struggling with Jalen's behavior in school and just his respect level. It looks as if it is coming around and we know that this is just the beginning as he turns into a boy and then a young man. It is so encouraging seeing him reading books and doing math facts. He is doing great!

Kaya is going to preschool and doing well. She really looks forward to learning her letters. Just yesterday they learned the letter 'P' and so the teacher that day had all types of games and crafts with the letter 'P'. Neat to see her loving to learn.

Jalen and Kaya also have begun piano lessons with Janna and this is really neat to watch them practicing.

Janna is still highly involved with the planning of the preschool. She is also now teaching some piano lessons and trying to keep our house in order. She is also finding places to go for walks and is now helping once and a while with the girls basketball team here.

THis week sees me in the middle of an Indonesian Basketball tournament coaching two teams. The team here at the school and an Indonesian team. The schedule works out great that neither team play at the same time or against each other. Great times. I am also encouraged because the athletic director at our school is returning which means that hopefully I can give this job back to him as he returns here in about one month.

God Bless. That is a short glimpse into our lives this Feb 26

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Another Week

Another week has gone by and we are beginning to settle into a routine again after the OE experience. This past week my body just let down and I have been sick for a little while as I try to recover from running on Adrenaline for 2 weeks. Please continue to pray for health of the family. Thanks

Last night we had one last Team Awesome party (that was the name of our OE group), so 9 students came to our house for supper and a time of games. The kids (Jalen Kaya) love when this type of stuff happens, and they get WAAAYYYY over tired until they are weeping messes. Our group really did bond out in the jungle and so it was neat for Janna to see the people that I had spent two weeks with. We had a good time sharing stories, sharing life issues, jumping on the tramp, and then of course playing games. I was blessed with a really neat group this year.

We are beginning to think about and try to plan for our summer furlough this summer. As the weeks fly by it draws closer and closer and I think that this weekend we just realized that it is coming up and we had better get a more concrete idea about what we are doing this summer. God has blessed us again and right now we have appointments for the kids in Singapore to see the same eye specialist that we saw this past year. So we will be heading through Singapore on the way home. I am also trying to get an appointment in Singapore for my knee that continues to cause me some pain. I think that is all for now. GOD BLESS