Only 9 More Days!

Look at the lovely view of the capital city we have from our apartment this week:

Ben is teaching a class at the southern branch of the Penang seminary in  Kuala Lumpur this week, so we have picked up our suitcases and joined him. While Ben is teaching his students how to parse and conjugate in Greek, we have pounded the pavement of the capital city. The kids had fun looking around at the wares and spending some of their money for friends in North Carolina. We're all in a flurry of eating curries and durian and mangosteen and drinking coconut juice and teh tarik as we see the days slipping quickly away.

I thought we didn't know many people here in this city but yesterday after Ben preached in a local chinese church we had lunch with new friends, and dinner with other former colleagues. Tonight we'll be going out with the family of one of Ben's students. 'Such a pleasure to make new friends, even though it makes it harder to leave again.

29 days

That's how long we have left in Malaysia--29 days. Here and there I'm starting to get that panicky feeling of "how am I going to do all the things left to do?" I know it will be like that until the day we leave, and even then we will wonder how we could have done things differently. As it is we're trying to enjoy each day for what it is! Several of the kids are ready to go home yesterday, and others have made a ton of new friends and could settle in and stay longer. (Can you guess who is which?)

Ben just returned from the Capital city, Kuala Lumpur where he taught a 3 day Intermediate Greek class at a satellite school of the seminary here.  This time we stayed behind in Penang but next time (in December) we may join him and take in some KL sites. Today the kids and I went on a field trip (We've been taking an unusual amount of field trips--and why not?). We went downtown Georgetown to two of the largest Buddhist temples in Penang. Colorful, interesting, and thought-provoking. We had a discussion about Isaiah 44 and learned about Buddhism from all we saw and observed. The kids took the first few pictures:

Always remove shoes before entering....

and beware..:)

I know they don't look that excited....but we had a good day.





Mariah's downtown photography:

45 Days Left in SE Asia

I have often, during these last few months, been asked about our childrens' education. Of course it's a natural thing to wonder, since they seem to be around at various parts of the day. Many residents in our apartment building who are from various parts of the world have never heard of the concept of educating their own children. So I find my self explaining almost on a daily basis what this might mean. (They just can't imagine what our days look like). Truthfully, not every day is exciting, fun or even pleasant. Challenging, actually- or downright unpleasant. (Fellow homeschoolers, you know what I mean). We still have to study multiplication but the life experiences here are so valuable to their education. Most of all we pray for their spiritual development and that they would learn to love the Lord above all else. Obviously, I'm showing you all the fun stuff and not so much the books. Have a wonderful week!



Seeing up close how different people live.

 


We are meeting and seeing sooo many different kinds of people.

 




How do you get that delicious drink out? You just wouldn't believe how many coconuts fit on one tree. I've seen up to 30 at various stages of growth. Let's just send Brandon up the tree to find out. (It wasn't easy and it was very messy).

 

Studying astronomy with Mariah and Jaden- The project was to build Stonehenge. No playdough around so we made our own.



Building Stonehenge

Another astronomy project- order of the planets.



Meeting some of North Wake's embassadors to a neighboring country.



Trying new foods like prawns and sometimes octopus and squid and desserts we've never had before with friends from different backgrounds.

I don't think anyone's better at meeting people than Cameron.

Tropical rainstorms beside the sea= incredible to watch.

Finding and identifying creatures.



She's still at it- gymnatizing on the beach in Brunei



A Week of Life in Brunei- And 60 days left in Malaysia

It's possible I am over-using words such as "wonderful" and "fantastic" but this week in Brunei was exactly that. I enjoyed (yah, over-using "enjoy" too) it there so much really I could move there. Of course it all starts with the people- They give the word hospitality whole new meaning. I always learn so much from their giving ways and their incredible ways of making people feel at home in their country. Brunei is such a unique country, with a variety of types of people, just like in Malaysia. The country is "owned" by a king; the Sultan of Brunei who lives in a palace in Bandar Seri Begawan. This is where we spent our 7 days in Brunei. (In the city of Bandar, not in the palace). We did pass the palace a few times and (possibly) saw the Sultan driving by in his car. The Sultan and most of the population of this country are Muslim.

We spent our time there with some wonderful people whom we have come to know over the years. Ben spoke several times over the week in their church, and we also served the youth there. We did love serving there, but mostly they just spoiled us, so how could we not have a wonderful time?

On our way home from Brunei, Mariah developed a fever so we spent much of the next week homebound, homeschooling, and home-everything. We did, however, have the privilege of meeting with a family from North Wake in Wake Forest who serve in a nearby country. 

Today we took the day off to visit a waterpark about two hours from the island- Bukit Merah. The kids had a blast and tired themselves out. Thus everyone is sleeping and I have a few moments to update the blog on our happenings here. Perhaps you thought we had fallen off the end of the world- it has been a few weeks. The internet doesn't always cooperate here.  

We're thankful for another 60 days to spend here. Sixty more days to give and receive and enjoy. :) We are not staying in the same part of the island as we used to live. This has been dissapointing in some ways but a great experience in other ways. The people in the apartment building where we stay are truly international. I love that the kids are making friends with kids with names such as Muhammed and Jafal and Heung, and I get to have poolside conversations with their Moms.

Thanks for praying for us, and thanks for checking on us.

We had a wonderful time with old and new friends. We ate a lot. A lot.

Their Majesties the Merkle royal family.

We spent an hour touring the Kampung Ayer; one tenth of the population of the city lives over the water. It's beautiful yet eye-opening at the same time.

The architecture in Brunei is very worthy of touring. The largest mosques here have golden domes (real gold, that is).

77 days to go

Right now we are:

*Packing to leave for Brunei eeeeaaaarly in the morning.
*Hoping to catch a glimpse of the sultan in Brunei but it's not likely.
*Starting to miss home in America just a tiny bit.
*Finished teaching for the week; gearing up for teaching in Brunei.
*Feeling spicy dinners in the pits of our stomachs.
*Loving meeting with friends and pretending we never did leave here.
*Enjoying (secretly) driving aggresively and defensively.
*Thinking I'm not such a good blogger but hope you get the idea of what's up here.
*Really thankful for the grace of God in our every day lives.
*Overwhelmed (some days) with thankfulness, and also a little stress here and there (like living on the 10th floor of a building with four kids).

As always thanks for visiting and "living it with us" for a few moments.




You've already seen a few sunsets on this blog, but I can't help it- just look at those gorgeous colors.



This photo is for my soy-growing Dad in Canada. Out of your soybeans they make delicious desserts. (Toafu Fah)

How cool is that to sit with Malaysian friends and eat soybean desserts from my Dad's (ok, possibly from Dad's farm) farm.



Day 24

 It has been a busy week mostly of homeschooling, teaching at the seminary, and meeting up with friends old and new. It would be lovely to have a photographer follow us around so we could capture all the best moments. For now this will have to do.


The week in photos-







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When you don't have much space, you make do. Cameron and a little friend from Korea, and another one from Australia, have been playing football (soccer) in the hallway of the tenth floor. When I come out to check on him, his chest puffs up with pride as he points at me with his thumb - "That's my Mom". 'Love that little guy.

If you don't mind your lunch staring at you, this is the best deal- for RM 1 (around 30 US cents) ....Spicy coconut rice with a fishie on top. Actually very delicious. <><><><>

The kids have been keeping watch from the 10th floor for a monitor lizard, and yesterday they finally found one- "Quick! Get the camera!". Brandon managed a photo right before it dissapeared in the jungle.

Watching the rainstorm come in-This is quite an experience when you are right at the sea on the 10th floor.



Sunday in Sungai Ara



Today:
* was a day of service and meeting new people in new places.
* Ben preached on Revelation 2:1-7
* We worshipped with people from other nations.
* It rained a lot, and we swam in the rain.
* We were encouraged by the endurance of God's people who serve long and hard in often difficult circumstances.

Mariah with some of the girls her age.



These kids were doing the dishes and they needed Cam's plate so they helped him finish his noodles asian style. (The kids are used to helping younger siblings finish their food) Now Cam is not really used to being fed anymore, but he sort of enjoyed all the attention.




I know it's not fancy, but don't you just want to live here?



Coconut water; sweetened, iced, and "bungkus" (in a bag)