Weddings

January is a time here that is full of weddings. The Sudanese people who live around us think that if they marry in January or early February there is a special blessing from their god.
A wedding reception consists of music, dancing, food and fellowship. Of course our American weddings consist of the same things, but it so different in this culture. You have to experience it to really understand it.
We have included a few pictures to help you experience it. The man in the orange shirt is dancing a traditional dance to the music that is being played live behind him. Then we have pictures of two different sets of bride and grooms. Notice the clothes and make-up they are wearing.

Earthquake, again?!?

There was another earthquake in Indonesia early this morning. It was around 1200 miles east of where we are and deep under the sea. No reports of injuries and no tsunami. PTL
We didn't feel a thing. Thanks for checking up on us and praying for us. We do need prayers for safety from spiritual disasters and natural disasters. There are often earthquakes and volcanic activity in this area of the world, but nothing has been close to us. PTL
Please do continue to pray for those that lost everything and everyone in their families last year in Aceh. Many people are still living in tents and crops are just now starting to grow again.

Amazing Story of the Lost Wallet

After we landed from our recent trip, we caught a taxi right outside the airport. It was 10pm, and we were exhausted. We were so exhausted that we never noticed the kind of taxi we were in nor the name of the driver. Usually, we talk with the driver a little bit, but that night we were so exhausted from a long day of traveling and delays that we didn’t say a word.

About an hour after we got home, I realized my wallet was missing. The last place I saw my wallet was when I paid the taxi driver. We looked all over the house, outside the house, and through our luggage, but we could not find my wallet. We figure even if the driver found my wallet, he would never be able to locate me. He dropped us off at the top of some stairs, and there are probably hundreds of families that live near us at the bottom of the stairs. So what do we do? I traced my steps back to where we got out of the taxi, but didn’t find it.

Laura opened up a phone book and started to call random taxi companies. There were probably twenty different kinds in the phone book. One of the people she contacted recommended we go back to the airport and look for our taxi driver there. We figured that was a pretty good idea considering we didn’t have any other ideas. So, I called my friend Paul who has a morotcycle. At 11pm we rode on his motorcycle to the airport. When we got there we didn’t see any taxis. Apparently we had been the last flight of the night to come in. However, we did see one taxi parked outside a little building. We walked into that building and found two men and a radio. I told the men my problem and they said, “Well, if you got a taxi at the airport, then it was our taxi.” However, he told me I probably wouldn’t get my wallet back. I asked him to call all the taxis on the radio, but he wouldn’t do it. I’m not sure why because I didn’t understand the language well enough to understand his explanation. So, he said come back at 6am because all drivers have to report in at 6am. He said I could probably pick out my driver then. So I gave him my phone number and address.

After I got home I couldn’t sleep. So I prayed and basically gave the problem over to God. I told him that I wouldn’t worry any more about my wallet, because I know that he can bring back, or he can help me handle all the problems that could come out of losing my wallet, like canceling my credit card, getting a new drivers license from the US, getting new immigration paperwork, etc.

At 5am, the phone rang. I answered it and it was the driver that we had the night before. He said he found my wallet, and that I should come in to pick it up. So Paul and I rode down there again at 6am. I got there, looked through my wallet, and nothing was missing. The driver said since I got out of the cab he had three other customers, and he didn’t find the wallet till the third one got out.

Praise the Lord. He is always faithful to take care of our problems whether they be small or big.

This is Christmas 2005

Christmas in Aceh and New Year's day in Lombok

We had a wonderful Christmas vacation where we were able to take part in an actual MAF flight program. A few days before Christmas, we flew commercially to Medan Indonesia, and from there an MAF Cessna Caravan picked us up to take us to the tsunami hit area of Indonesia. The coolest part was that the airplane that picked us up was actually the same airplane that I flew a few times in Tennessee. So, the pilot actually let me fly the airplane. Over the course of the next week, I was able to fly a total of four hours.

Aceh is still very far away from being rebuilt. During the time we were there, we saw hundreds of destroyed homes and buildings. We also talked to many people that had lost most if not all of their family. They are rebuilding their lives, but it will be a long process. MAF hopes to be there for a few more years. It’s so cool to be able to show God’s love through practical things like helping people rebuild their communities. It is really neat to see what God is doing in that part of the world.

While we were there we also became proficient at using squatty potties and showering with a scoop of cold water. Even when your really hot and want to cool off, a cold shower is still shocking.

We left from there and went to Lombok, Indonesia for a few days of rest and relaxation. Laura and I were both able to scuba dive for the first time in our lives. We saw several large Sea Turtles, and Laura even saw a Black-tipped Reef Shark. Plus, we saw tons of all of the fish that are in the movie ‘Finding Nemo.’ It was a good time for us to be alone with each other for awhile, and get rejuvinated.

Stay tuned, in a future blog I will tell the story of my lost wallet.