How much can you squish in a 40 foot container?

The first of ten wood crates that will fill our 40 foot container. 

Crates 4-8 are full!

The last of the items to fit in crate #10.

We knew that moving back to the states was going to be an interesting process.  We had no idea how difficult the process was going to be until day #4 of packing out when the moving company informed us that we were not going to fit in our forty foot container.  You should have seen my face when John relayed the message to me.  I seriously think I might have shot fire out of my eyes.  There was no way we should not have been able to fit.  After ranting and raving for five minutes John and I finally came to the conclusion we had only one option and that was to repack.

Poor John had to relay the message to the moving company.  I think they were really surprised that John and I were not willing to pay the overage and would have been totally fine with them pulling out all 212 boxes and repacking each of them.  The moving company did not think that re-packing sounded like the best option because they magically made it fit after re-packing just five boxes.   John and I were both relieved to see the end of packing out. 

We have no idea how long it will take for our stuff to arrive in Stanwood.  I am guessing 6 to 12 weeks.   It will be fun to see all our stuff back in our house. 

Thursday all three kids participated in Rumbai's Got Talent.  They did an amazing job.  I am hoping to upload video soon.  Kade was in the grade 3/4 bubble gum skit.  Kade loves physical comedy so it was perfect for him.  Sydney performed in the middle school dance routine.  Brooklyn and Kade did an animal act.  Brooklyn was supposed to be a Sumatran Tiger but there was a communication lapse between myself and our sewing lady.  She turned her into a zebra which did not work with our skit so we turned her into the very rare Sumatran White Tiger.  I know...I know it was a stretch.  Brooklyn did a great job selling it.  She was an amazing little tiger. 

 Brooklyn the White Sumatra Tiger

Brooklyn's costume from the back!

Kade getting his hand unstuck from the bubble gum.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just in time for Mother's Day the Mega Bats are back.  They visited two years ago and we thought they would return after we left. I am so glad we did not miss them. They are the neatest things.  They are HUGE. Many have a wing span over 6 feet.  Right now they are roosting on the trees by the golf course so after church today we made the mad dash home hoping to see them leave for the night.  We got there just as the first few were taking off.

Answered Prayer

Our God is faithful.  Happy is on her way to Bible school.  On the last day, at the last possible minute, her tuition came through.  Thank you to the person who heard the call to help her out.  We are getting close to having all the kids sponsored.  Four more to go!  It takes such a load off my shoulders to knowing the program will be up and running before we leave.  I am excited to see what God has planned next for the orphanage. 

This week was quite the week.  Sorry for the lack of posts but I have been beyond busy and am pretty much exhausted by 9:00 pm. I got to babysit Samuel a few evenings this week, which was super fun. Samuel is the youngest child at the orphanage and he is absolutely ADORABLE.  He is going to be 6 months on the 18th.

The reason he was busted out of the orphanage was because he needed a medical evaluation and some TLC.  We found out he is doing really well.  He just a tiny bit behind but with some more tummy time he should catch right back up.  He such a good baby.  I could seriously just gobble him up.  Oh...Indonesia why won't you let me bring him home?? 

Tomorrow, I can sum up in one word "PACKING".  We have a lot to do.  I am feeling a bit behind so tomorrow the plan is to get most of it done. It should be a busy but productive day.  If we get a good start we are hoping to go to town and pick up the last few things on our list.  I have a hot tip on a rug that I am hoping to bring home.  I will keep my camera with me so you can see how it goes.  Wish me luck!

Getting Ready to Pack Out

I can't believe that it is already time for us to pack out.  Each night John and I do a little something to get ready.  The last few weeks have been spent taking pictures and inventorying items with a value over $100.00.  We are about 80% done with that project and all we have left our storage areas and kitchen.  I though you might enjoy a sneak peak at a few of the things coming home with us.  Most of the items have a story that go along with them.  I will have to save that for another post.

The official pack out day will May 23rd. It will take them about 4 days to completely pack us out.     The 23rd will be day the movers show up at the house and start boxing us up.  I have no idea how long it will take for our stuff to make it back to the States.  I keep teasing John that shipment will probably arrive the first week of school since we physically have to be at our house when it arrives.  

I have to admit this move is really bitter sweet.  We are excited about being home, but leaving Rumbai is harder than we ever imagined.  We are so thankful that God gave us this opportunity and are excited to see what the next adventure will be.

I love Sumatra's Jungle Sunset

New Wildlife

We now take another endangered animal off our bucket list.  Last night, John and I needed to run a missing item to Kade at a sleep over so we borrowed the school car and headed to Sawit.   On the way back we spotted huge glowing eyes in front of us.  We slowed down and discovered this little guy.  He or She is a Slow Moving Loris.  Pretty cool, huh?  The last animal on my list is a wild Tapir.  They tend to stay deep in the jungle.  I haven't heard any reports of sitting on camp lately.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.  I would love to see one before we go home in June.

8.7 Earthquake

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are fine. Please pray that there is no tsunami. We had 13 small quakes over the last two weeks and I was wondering when we would get hit with a bigger one. I think 8.7 definitely counts as a big one. We have not heard any reports of damage or deaths yet. I will update when I hear more news.

Lightning in Sumatra

Lightning and thunder are quite common in Sumatra. We thought you might enjoy a little sample of the light show we enjoy.

ISR Easter Party

Yesterday was the annual ISR Easter party. The party started at five because we had to wait for it to cool down so all the candy would not melt. :) The kids did not mind the late start because it meant that they would get to hunt for eggs in the dark. How fun is that?

Brooklyn trying to not drop her egg. I love the look on her face.

Easter Tree

Brooklyn and her buddy Teghan

The grown ups joining in on the fun!

Brooklyn and her buddy Pablo.

Water Relay - the first team to fill up the water bottle with is the winner. Sydney was a good sport because she had a lot of little kids on her team. She was pretty wet by the end of the race.

Brooklyn has on a flashing whistle because her Mom is a safety freak.

Last year I had the hardest time finding her in the dark. This year she was easy to spot.

The Easter bunny made a visit to Rumbai.

Brooklyn comparing eggs with her buddy Joel.

Meranti 107

I thought you might enjoy a quick tour of our house in Sumatra. The pictures are from Christmas but they will give you a feel for what our house is like.

Living Room

Porch

Kitchen Sitting Area

Kitchen

Living Room

Living Room looking into the Kitchen

Porch - Front Door

Kids Bathroom

Kade's Room

Sydney and Brooklyn's Room

Our Bedroom

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.