We've back in Indonesia!

We have arrived!

After some 24 hours of travel time, we arrived back in Indonesia. Thankfully, the trip went really well. No sickness. Few delays. No lost luggage.

We are in Balikpapan, Indonesia, at our team’s yearly conference. So, we still haven’t gotten all the way home yet. But it’s been so nice to reconnect with our fellow staff, get some good teaching, and in general, get started on our second term on the right foot, so to speak.

In some ways, I feel like we never left. We remember the language (thank goodness!). I don’t feel shocked by the traffic or the garbage everywhere or the heat. So far, anyway, we’ve just been really glad to be here. I really feel like I’m coming home.

But some things I’d forgotten about…I’d forgotten that if you buy fruit in a grocery store here, you can’t just bring it to the front register to ring up the price. You’re supposed to go to the local produce section to have them weigh it, put a price on it. And then you go buy it. And the other day, I was running outside early in the morning, before light (and glad that I’m finally in a warm enough place to run outside). But I wasn’t watching the ground closely and I fell over a 2x4 piece of wood that was in the middle of this back road. My knee, elbow and hand got a bit scraped, but I’m fine otherwise. I need to remember that roads are a bit rougher with many obstacles here…

I also keep forgetting to NOT use water from the faucet. Thankfully, I usually remember just in time to not actually drink it (or give it to my baby to drink!)

Another thing to get used to again is that everyone is so friendly, to the point that if I hear someone calling out, I need to remember that they’re trying to get my attention—even if I don’t know them. At first, I was in my own little world, not paying attention to those around me. Evan, though, who LOVES smiling at people, has really enjoyed all the attention he’s getting.

Thanks for all your prayers as we made this trip back to Indonesia!