Firstly, thankful for the rain!!
It hadn’t rained here in a month and was extremely hot and humid – some schools’ water tanks were empty, and we heard that the logging roads, which is also the road to the distant villages, had become very dusty and dangerous.
Everyone was complaining of the intense heat; even I, who usually don’t mind the heat, had had a headache for the past two days.
Thankful for the wooden guesthouse we are staying in ( rather than brick and cement) and thankful that the Bible College, being close to the hills, does cool off comfortably at night, even in intense heat.
Last night it rained off and on, and the frog chorus struck up and performed through the early morning hours; a familiar relaxing background noise. We sleep well when it rains.
In the morning, Greg and I returned to the Bible College by boat from town, where we had “cha kueh” (Chinese doughnuts) and noodles for breakfast and bought some fresh favourite veggies at the market.
Shortly after we returned, the sky began to darken, then began thunder and lightening and a full afternoon of heavy cooling rain.
Lunch and afternoon visiting plans were postponed to next day; Gary, tired after teaching for 4 hours straight, and Greg, enjoying his holiday pace, had long naps.
I sat at the table and slowly prepared the vegetables to the sound of rain on the tin roof, my thoughts drifting through memories from years gone by….
Thankful for the years we spent in Lawas and the ongoing friendships….
Thankful for a gentle, non-rushed, small town Borneo pace atmosphere and culture in which to rear our boys during their early years….
Thankful for the good fresh food we could obtain here….fragrant village rice, fresh vegetables and fruits, fresh fish ( ocean and river fish) and chicken….
Thankful for the kind neighbours, shopowners, nurses, doctors, teachers, church members, our househelper, who helped us adjust, taught me how to market, keep house, prepare food and cook and generally live in this small tropical town with a curving brown river surrounded by jungle and villages….
Thankful for the neighbourhood children who came spontaneously to play with ours, and their mothers who followed up and became our good, good friends….til today….
Thankful that our NGO had given us a full year in Indonesia to learn language well enough to get started here….
Thankful for the ready smiles and welcoming attitudes, the modeling of generosity and hospitality that this culture extended to us in our early days and throughout our time here….til today….
Thankful for the mix of cultures we and our children were exposed to….the several local indigenous tribes, the Chinese culture and the Malay Muslim….
Thankful for the relationship – oriented inclusive culture; for the small restaurants in town where we enjoyed a variety of different foods and drinks, along with fellowship…so affordable….
Thankful for the Bible College and the mix of teachers and students from many Borneo tribes learning together….
Thankful for local church, indigenous tribes and Chinese, worshipping Jesus…a foretaste of the Kingdom of heaven on earth….
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9
Greg awoke hungry, and prepared papaya. I stir- fried the veggies, and we ate.
A gentle-paced, quiet rainy day – THANKFUL🙂
JenniEliz 