Coming, Going, and Grade 6 Exhibition

So much happens sometimes that it's hard to take a moment to reflect. When I last posted, it was a quick cut and paste from an email I received from Stephanie regarding Zoey (please continue praying for Zoey, both for proper healing AND for patience as she lies completely inactive in her hospital room). In doing so, I forgot to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom officially on this blog. So mom, Happy Birthday! I love you:)

Last week was a very difficult one for me, as one of my dearest

friends here in Indonesia moved home to the US. Jamie and her husband Sheldon left on Friday and have safely landed in their hometown. It's a bittersweet event for me in that I selfishly wish she was here so that we could continue in the wonderful friendship we've established, yet I know that for Jamie to move home to be near family is so important to her. It really is like living a military life here in Indo, as people we meet move away to either their home country or to another job elsewhere. I'm not sure that it's something that I'll get used to, but I do appreciate the time I get to spend with incredible friends like Jamie while they're here. When it comes to friends, moving from Canada was hard, and so is staying here.

Speaking of friends, we've had the privilege to have the Malcolm clan come for a visit. They come from Nanoose (we met in Courtenay years ago and they were a part of our Life Group there) to visit friends in Bali for a few weeks, and we're their "Java" part of their trip. Tomorrow they head off to Jogja and then to see the volcanos in the Mount Bromo area. Their son is 13, in between Matt and Abby, and their daughter is 6. We've had a great time cramming as much fun as we can into 5 days: Taman Safari Zoo (and the vendors along the roadside up to the area), Mangga Dua (shopping Indo style), movie theatre for $2.50 each, a community event at our school, BBQ buffet at the local hotel, and today, a visit to Malabar (traditional market) as well as to our driver's in-laws' home as well as to his own home. We've packed a little bit of everything into our visit.

This upcoming week is a huge deal for Abby. This is the week that she presents her research and processing work for her Grade Six Exhibition project. She has been studying nutrition and, more specifically, malnutrition in the Jakarta area. She and other students, mostly girls, in grade 6 who are studying the same topic have had to connect with various organizations, arrange field trips into Jakarta and do interviews with people associated some how with nutrition. Some of the organizations they met with were World Vision, WHO (World Health Organization) and Unicef. I didn't even know what those organizations WERE when I was in grade 6, except maybe Unicef because of the little boxes we'd carry around for donations at Hallowe'en, so Tris and I are thrilled for the exposure she's getting.

There's always more to write, but I'll save a bit for later.

Thanks for reading!