Orphanage Dress Up Day

Tinkerbell

Dress up Day :

One of the fun things about going to the orphanage is coming up with new things to do with the kids. This week’s theme was "Dress Up" thanks to Brooklyn giving up some of her old dress up clothes. The little girls loved it. I also learned a few things in the process. I definitely need more plastic dress up shoes. I also need to take the big girls shopping to get new church shoes. You should have seen them trying to squish their feet into tiny little plastic shoes.

Mani/Pedi:

My thought for the older girls was doing their nails. I really should have thought that one out better. As soon as I brought the polish out they were wildly painting their nails. It was a total mess. I remembered to bring nail polish remover but I forgot the paper towel or cotton balls to use with the remover. Whoops! Of course the orphanage did not have any toilet paper so I was out of luck. Luckily, my friend Wendy had some Kleenex. Oh, well! Lesson learned. Also a pair of fingernail clippers is a must. I am definitely putting that on my next shopping list.

Naked Hair:

I had taken a bunch of old hair bows with me with the orphanage thinking I would put them in the little girls hair. I expected the younger girls to love them. I did not expect the older girls to also love them. It was fun seeing a hair bow in every girl’s hair. I am definitely going to have to go through the rest of Brooklyn's hair bows and find some more that can go to the orphanage. Brooklyn cracks me up because she always says her hair is naked if she doesn't have some kind of hair accessory in her hair. I think she was seriously relieved to find out the kids no longer had naked hair.

Story of Hope:

The more I learn about the stories that brought the kids to Insan Permata the deeper my commitment becomes to helping this orphanage. Some of the stories are down right horrific and the intentions of some of the people involved down right evil. I am so thankful for Pak Jonedy and Ibu Anna who are willing to do something about it. Learning to trust again is a huge issue for these kids for obvious reasons. It is a slow process. I am watching it happen right now with the three newest arrivals. Having new kids enter into this big family is not always easy. There are LOTS of challenges. Each child reacts differently to coming to the orphanage. Some withdraw, some become people pleasers, always trying to do the right thing so they are not sent away while others become down right difficult. There is one specific little girl that is so angry about being at the orphanage. She is loud and obnoxious. I am amazed at how patient everyone is with her. They are slowly chipping away at her protective barrier she has put around herself. I watched Ibu Anna patiently feed her lunch yesterday. She did not want to eat her vegetables and she was being quite a stinker about it. Ibu Anna never lost her cool nor got upset. I think this little one has definitely met her match. In the end the vegetables were gone as was a little piece of the wall that keeps everyone out. I got the pleasure of giving Ibu Anna a break during the vegetable match. I think the novelty of a crazy white lady making airplane noises distracted her and the vegetable were gone pretty quickly. The victory definitely goes to Ibu Anna.

Next Steps:

I haven’t had any luck getting any organizations willing to take on the kids from Insan Permata into their sponsorship program. Riau province is very corrupt and most non-profits don’t want to touch it. We are praying for guidance as we begin take the next steps in securing monthly funds for the orphanage. I know that God will provide for them. I am excited to see how this is all going to come together. I am also thankful that we get to play a little part in His plan.

Snow White

Campbell getting some love!

Trampoline Uno.

Scooter Time
Thanks Melina and Miranda!

Sydney enjoying another day at the orphanage.

Grace. What a great smile.

Playing Basketball.

This picture was taken by Grace.

I

Spiderman?

Sweet Angel Fitri.

Princess Lisa.

John getting some baby time with Samuel.

Hannah the ballerina takes a call!

Painting Finger Nails.

Wendy getting Samuel to smile!

A Night at the Theater

Brooklyn waiting for the play to start. Do you think she is having a good time?

Yesterday was the Spring Play. I am always blown away by how well these productions are done. Kindergarten and preschool put on a little mini-production prior to the play starting. It was adorable. Brooklyn loved it because all the songs had a Chinese theme and a few were actually sung in Chinese. The mini production even had a dragon and ribbon dance. Brooklyn was in heaven. She LOVES a stage. I can't wait to get her back into dance when we get back to the States.

Kade and Sydney were both in the play. Sydney was a dragon student and Kade was the classroom officer/hall monitor. They did a great job. I did not take any pictures of the big kids because the kids came out in the audience and I did not want to mess them up. Sorry about that.

I am so excited that Spring Break has finally started. I was beginning to think it would never come. It is been a couple of LONG weeks and we are ready to relax a bit. On Tuesday, we will head to Kuala Lumpur and enjoy the city till Saturday. Kuala Lumpur is such an easy place to hang out. There is lots to do and the food is amazing.

Tomorrow the plan is to go the orphanage and hang out with the kids. I love spending time there and can't wait. I need to come up with some fun new things to do. Any ideas? It is tough to plan because you never know exactly how many kids you are going to have. I am looking forward to seeing my two little buddies Hannah and Lisa. I know the transition of moving to the orphanage has been tough on Lisa. She is five and being abandon by her family has to be tough. The good news is she is not alone. Her brother and sister are also at the orphanage. They will get to stay together. I am excited for them to start settling in. I have seen some big changes in them the last few weeks and I am eager to see how all of them are doing.

Brooklyn singing a song about two tigers. One with no eyes and one with no tail.

The World's Cutest Kinder Dragon.

Brooklyn ready to leave for the play.

Brooklyn's kinder buddies.

Can you believe how tall Brooklyn is?

Sydney ready for the show.

Before and After

Living room area in the old orphanage

New living room

Girls Room at the old orphanage

Little girls room

Kitchen at old orphanage

New clean kitchen

Garage

New boys room

Grocery Shopping Expat Style

Grocery shopping is such a challenge in Indonesia. You never know what you are going to find. We have used up almost all our reserves. I began feeling like old Mother Hubbard every time I went to the cupboards to find the kids a snack. We have gone back and forth a hundred times with booking a quick shopping trip to Kuala Lumpur. We just could not find a day that would work so we ordered groceries from Jakarta. It was expensive but so worth it. Everyone was so excited when these boxes arrived.

What's your idea of the perfect Saturday?

My idea of the perfect Saturday is spending the morning with my family and my afternoon hanging out at the orphanage. I can't tell you how much my whole family loves spending time there. Today just Sydney and I went with some girls from camp. We had a blast. I played Uno, made things out blocks, drew pictures, played basketball, snuggled a little one who was not feeling well and had an overall amazing time. I tell you there is nothing better for giving you perspective then spending time with these kids. They have been such a blessing in my life. I am dreading the day we leave because I am going to miss them so much. However, I know we are going to be involved in this orphanage for a long time. There is much more work that can be done in Indonesia. I am so thankful that God has allowed us the opportunity.

John is going to have to put on a mini clinic for the neighborhood kids. These kids are crazy for the game. We need to raise the hoop to the proper height because I could almost dunk. They could not believe that I knew how to play. I tried to explain to them how to play the game of pig but it dawned on me half way through the game that this wasn't the best idea (for the neighborhood kids at least). Um...I am in a Muslim country. We will have to change the name the game to something different maybe...cat??

Wanna shoot some hoops?

Check out that hat!

Can you find Hannah and I?

Uno, the perfect game when you speak different languages. This is Grace in the black shirt!

Seri putting puzzles together.

Neighborhood kids playing with my snap cubes.

Puzzle Time with Tiffany!

Sydney teaching Lisa how to dunk! It reminds me of my brothers helping Sydney dunk. Lisa is new to the orphanage.

Sweet Hannah wasn't feeling so well today. I got lots of snuggle time with her.

Can I read in English?

How does this game work?

Night Walk

One of my favorite things to do in the evening is going for a walk. At night it gets in low 80's and occasionally there is even a breeze which makes being outside almost enjoyable. Part of the fun is you never know exactly what your going to see. A couple nights ago I saw fire flies for the first time.

It's not uncommon to see civet cats and wild pigs, and monkeys. The monkeys crack me up because they are often noisy right before they nest. I always imagine that it is the mother and father monkeys telling their kids to settle down. John and I really enjoy our evening walks. It gives us a chance to unwind and talk. They kids don't like going because you have to wear bug spray.

I am really going to miss our evening jungle walks. One of my biggest surprises was that I expected the rainforest to smell moldy but it actually smells sweet. It reminds me a of my Grandpa's hay barn. It is a clean organic smell. I am sure that sounds weird to all of you. I am going to miss the sounds. There is nothing like it.

Lovin' the camera