Who am I?

Last weekend I went to Jakarta for a ladies' retreat.  Five MAF women attended, and three people came from the US to bless us:  the speaker, Linda, and her friends Flora and Bob.  Flora gave us all new hairstyles and "Grampa" Bob babysat Zoe.  We recieved gift bags with presents from Linda, Flora, their supporters, and a lovely "underground" group of women from Linda's church.  I felt so special to be included and thought of!

The theme of Linda's sessions was identity.  Who are we really?  If I define myself based upon my roles (mine include: wife, mother, friend, daughter, overseas worker, language learner) then I will feel empty because I will not always be good at all of these roles and my roles will change over time.  Reflecting on this feels very applicable right now as I adjust to being a new mother.  Being a mother is wonderful, scary, a huge privilege...but it is not the core of who I am.  I am simply God's daughter.  And He is molding me to be more like Jesus (patient, loving, truthful, brave, etc).  And I am loved no matter how well or badly I perform my roles.  This is encouraging and freeing for me!  :)

In Jakarta we also did fun stuff, like eat yummy food at Chili's and go shopping at the Grand mall.  I took a few photos!

"Grampa" Bob with Zoe.  She loved him!

At Chili's

These candles were made just a few miles from my parents' house in MA!

Zoe shopping.

In the Grand Indonesia mall I watched a fountain/light show.  They played the song "New York New York".  Sorry the picture is blurry.

This is where I want to visit next time I'm in Jakarta...a cafe designed around the worlds' yummiest ice cream bars!

Zoe's stroller was used to carry all our bags from shopping!  Don't worry, we took Zoe out first.

This was a very different feeling retreat than the ones I've been on before, which were usually in remote wooded locations.  But maybe for women living overseas, often in remote locations, going to the big city was a good change.  I really enjoyed talking over life with the other women!  It was great to talk to those who have already finished language school and could share that their year of language school was very hard, but they survived it and are doing well at their assigned places to serve.  It is difficult for me to imagine completing language school and moving to Papua where Daniel can fly airplanes into the jungle...but I know that time goes by quickly and we will be there before we know it!

Speaking of time flying, Zoe will be 2 months old in 2 days!  Wow!  She's nice and big, approx. 12 pounds and 25 inches.

I hope that you have opportunities to be encouraged by others and to take time away from your normal life!  I hope that you know how valuable and special you are.