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.

Something New

This evening it came, delivered from the back of a little Honda truck.  Daniel signed the paperwork and handed over all the cash, and we now have my long-awaited scooter parked inside our front room (to prevent theft).  In truth, I was hoping it would take longer to order it because since arriving in Indonesia 6 months ago I have been delaying learning to drive here.  Not only do they drive on the left side of the road, but the traffic patterns are rather different than back home.  And with used cars very expensive (buying a car is like buying a house here), scooters are the main mode of transportation. 

Daniel wants me to be able to drive here.  In fact, he went looking and found the cutest scooter on the market and told me that I could have one if I would like it.  Honda Scoopys are small and retro-looking.  And they come in 5 colors.  I doubt I will every buy a new car (even in the US), but, since Scoopys are very new and used ones are not available, I got to pick out the color of my new scooter.  I chose bright and cheerful red.  What do you think?

My Scoopy beside Daniel's motorcycle.  You can see the delivery truck in the background.

Sitting with the kick stand down :)

Only 0.7km on this bike so far!

Oh, and my Scoopy doesn't have any license plates yet so I guess I get to put off practicing driving it for a little bit longer...

Beginnings

I have been meaning to start a blog for several months now.  The problem, really, is getting started.  Other people's blogs interest me, make me cry or laugh.  I have ideas that I would like to share, but none of them seems right for a first blog post. What is worth writing about to start out?

There are many beginnings in my life right now: beginning to live in a new place, learning a new language, being pregnant and giving birth for the first time--becoming a mother.  Almost everything feels new!

Yet, at the same time, it's amazing how quickly we adapt to a new place.  When we took Zoe to Jakarta to visit the American embassy and turn in her passport paperwork, I just wanted to go home.  Home to Salatiga, to the house I'm living in for a year during language school.  And looking out my windows at banana trees, red-and-white flags, and my neighbors' homes is so familiar.  Only understanding part of the conversations around me also feels fine, now.  Yes, I can communicate much better than I could when I arrived here in March, but I do not really mind that I sometimes do not know what people are saying.  And even my little Zoe, who is still very new, is growing so quickly! 

So, to honor what feels like the most significant beginning that I am a part of right now, my daughter Zoe's birth and life, I will share some pictures of her in her first day of life and current pictures!

July 15, 2011

 

August 22, 2011

 

I hope you enjoy these pictures!  What beginnings do you have in your life right now?  How do you suggest starting a blog?  :)

-Joy