Moved In!

 We did it!  We moved into our new house.  For the past five weeks we have been living among a dense group of Barat people who use their language first and foremost everyday, and whose ancestral ways and beliefs are still very strong, even amidst the majority religion. 

At the end of January we said good bye to our brick house of four years on the east side of town and hello to our new stilted wood house on the west side of town.  Though a large truck took most of our things on a Sunday, the entire first week was used to move the remaining odds and ends that I, Erin, had not been able to pack prior to the arrival of the truck.  Thankfully the owner of the truck brought a crew of guys which provided us with sufficient man power to move everything into our new house with the fewest possible peering eyes.  Regardless, we did receive various comments about there being more stuff every time that week we brought another box on the motorcycle. 

Not much order or thought put onto the packing of the truck, which some of our furniture had the marks to show.  Thankfully all arrived safely, even the people!

We hired a mini-bus driver to haul a load of stuff a few days later.

He was very skilled at tying our bikes onto the bus, all with one length of rope.

     The Sunday prior to the move we hosted a "thankfulness" party.  I, along with a great deal of help from the neighbor ladies, made mung bean pudding again and served rice flour balls filled with palm sugar and rolled in coconut.  We found out that these parties are usually used to ask for blessings for the new item, be it a house, car, or job for example.  

Pressing coconut milk

Cooking mung bean pudding

Thankfully neighbors had the equipment needed to make a large quantity.

Ready and waiting for guests

Our first guest, a neighbor.

He proceeded to ask blessing on our house all on his own initiative.

Other friends and neighbors

Only men came to enjoy the treat in our living room.

Many kids showed up for pudding at our back door, while most women stayed at home.

Later the neighbor women that helped me took portions of the pudding around to the ladies that did not come.

Friends from our old neighbor hood came to visit later that evening.

Neighbors from our old street came that evening.

     

We decided to hold our "thankfulness" party before moving to decrease the peering eyes and potential questions.  It worked our wonderfully because we had much more floor space to accommodate a great deal of people.  Though we did not really have cleaning supplies, nor a kitchen, clean up was easier without having to work around any furniture or boxes.  Once again putting on an event like this would not have been possible for me if it had not been for the help from my neighbors.  

We spent our first night in the house after the party.  

It was quite like camping as we slept on the floor and did have a kitchen.

Moving Day
A full living room.

A kitchen waiting to be filled.

The sink faucet and drain still needed to be hooked up.

We did move into a bit of a construction zone that Sunday.  The kitchen sink had not yet been installed, trim around windows and doors needed to be finished, the bathroom needed grouting, screen doors needed to be hung, stairs needed to be stained, and two more support braces needed to be added to the house posts.  The plumber spent most of our 'moving day' installing and hooking up the kitchen faucet, while service men worked until night time installing our air conditioners brought from the old house.  Our builder used the rest of the week to finish the rest of the other details, while I grouted the bathroom.  Thankfully, now, three weeks later, unpacking is finished and the work on the house is done, aside from a few details like paint touch ups and decorating.  

Building a house has been quite an adventure.  I had often dreamed of it as building enables you to design various aspects specific to your taste and select specific details suitable for your family.  Building a home in a different culture was quite different than expected.  We acted as the 'main boss' individually hiring each type of skilled worker.  There was a wood worker who did most of the building and a mason who was responsible for the bathrooms, along with the plumber and an electrician.  We were the ones who had to coordinate these men and the uniting of each man's work.  The result of their individual work was good, until it met with the work of another skilled worker.  So the place the cement floor of the bathroom meets the wood floor of the house for example is a bit of an eye sore.  There were many other little things that turned out different than we expected, like the quality of the mudding, sanding, and paint job.  But as we consider the entire finished product, we have an incredibly wonderful house, especially since we were asking the builders to do many western things they had never done before. 

Some of my favorite aspects are the wood floors, lots of big windows, the back-side door that you can open just half at a time, lots of counter space, and our clothes line on a pulley system right next to the washing machine.  

A pretty good view out the kitchen window.

The moon one morning.

Our Kitchen

A half door, counter space and big windows!

Our clothesline, about 10feet off the ground.

Many neighbors were rather confused at first as to how we could reach the laundry.

Handy placement!

We are so thankful the building is complete and we have moved into a location so very suitable for language and culture learning.  As we hope to be here many more years and see much fruit, the hard work now truly begins.  As we continue to adjust to our surroundings I am reminded that this blessing of a house, that you so faithfully have helped see to fruition, is a gift that we are tasked to use for the ultimate eternal goal!  Please lift us up as we endeavor to do this!

Moving Time

 Welcome to our new home is Barat!

The view of our house from the dead end road on which it sits.

     As you can see, the house is not quite move in ready.  A few more cosmetic details need to be finished, such as sanding and staining the floors.  Trim and baseboards have to be installed.  Doors need to be hung, along with painting of the kitchen, bathroom and third bedroom.  Then there are a couple more major details to enable us to really live there.  The kitchen cabinets, which are finished, have to be installed and the last bit of plumbing needs to be connected.  
    When I just look around, the house really seems almost finished!  Aside from the few last details, moving time is nearly here.  We have been dreaming of, planning, and trying to execute this move for sometime now.  It will bring us into much more regular and consistent language and culture exposure.  It is also a very needy community, making it a fitting location for John's foundation work, and especially eternal work.  On the other hand it will also be a big adjustment.
     The community we will be moving into is very poor in comparison to where we live now.  The majority of the men are fishermen or laborers, like those working on our house.   Most women do not work outside the home.  Those that do sell fish, pastries, other homemade food, or incidentals.  None of our neighbors to be have running water in their homes.   The women all do their laundry by hand.  Kids are left to play, wander, and roam freely, even those as young as 2 years old.  Education is not a priority and parents do not spend much time intentionally teaching their children.  Personal property and private space is not a value in the community as we might hold.  If our builders had not hung the front door, where there are stairs, kids would just wander in and play freely with whatever they found inside the house. 
    Our different ways and values have been obvious living here in Barat, but they will be even more highlighted once we are living there within this new community.  Every time we have moved it has taken both us and the community around us time to adjust.  Thankfully our mornings and schooling of the boys there will help ease this transition.   Yet, I ask that you will all be thinking of us during this time.  Our boundaries, though they might be different than theirs, such as kids and adults alike dropping by at any hour and freely coming right into the house, or peering in windows if doors are shut, will take time for us all to learn and adjust to. 
     The actual move itself is an area of concern for us too.  We seem to average a move every few years so the actual labor of it is not too daunting.  The Barat people are very community and relationally oriented.  This results in people just hanging around and the givving of a great deal of help.  Thus, we expect many helping hands when it comes to actually moving in.  Help is a huge blessing, but what concerns us is the difference in personal property, space, and taboos.  From previous experience, we foresee many eyes examining our things as they are moved and then followed with questions about how much did that cost, or what is that, or comments about the great quantity of stuff we have.  Not to mention we will be moving a washing machine, an oven range, and individual beds and dressers for our children, none of which our neighbors have.  There have also been times when we have had people over to our current house for a meal or a visit and they freely wander around opening doors and looking around.  Thus, we find ourselves in this funny situation of wanting to avoid the uncomfortable aspects of people being around as we move, yet they are offering help which would be an immense blessing.
    The fact that this move and new home is even possible is because of the partnership of so many of you and the great blessings He has given us.  We desire wisdom, patience, thick skins, and the ability to focus on the positive as we under take this move.  Thank for lifting up this next step!

We spent an hour at the house on Sunday.

Caedmon and Evangeline under the house playing with a chicken.  

Name Calling

      People, in our home culture, often talk about how meaningful it is when someone remembers your name and uses it.  Other times words can be very meaningful when we refer to another by positive characteristics they possess, such as talented, loving, or faithful.  Living in Barat we have learned many different forms names take and words used to refer to others.  Much of what we have learned has come from being called one or the other. 

When out and about, people who we do not yet know, will often call us "White Person" in the national language, or "Mister" in English.  Men, women, teenagers, and children, from across the street, from a motorcycle, or when walking up to greet us may use either of these terms.  Yes, I, Erin frequently get called Mister (in English).  Occasionally, we may come across a middle or high school student that has learned the terms sir and mam, but mam often comes out as mom, and both are used with names. 

When meeting a person for the first time you might learn their name, but more likely you will learn their eldest child’s name and refer to them as so-and-so’s mom or dad.  I am most often referred to as Caedmon’s Mom.  If you are married but do not yet have kids, you may be called by your husband’s name, so I would be John’s Wife.  If you are fortunate enough to learn a person’s actual name, which occurs most often when exchanging phone numbers, you probably will only get their ‘nickname.’  Their nickname often is a shortened portion of their full name, but with less connection than Chris has to Christopher.  We have multiple neighbors who go by Ani because their full name ends in –ani, but each has a very different full name. 

The saddest examples of name calling we’ve seen is when children are called stupid.  Frequently when children disobey or just do something a child might do, such as knock over a glass of milk or throw their clothes on the floor, their parents may call them stupid or naughty.  When our children have cried in the company of others because we have told them no, the locals will often call them spoiled.  This is a term often used for small children that cry when told no.  Whitman recently has avoided hair cuts as long as possible because when he arrives at school with shortened hair, a nice short crew cut, the other children often call him the equivalent of 'baldy.'  

All of these words or methods of referring to people carry a great deal of culture.  We have our own personal reactions to hearing them, but we still are learning how they are really interpreted or meant by the locals that use them.  

Christmas Celebrations

We were blessed by a visit from my, Erin's, parents for Christmas.  My younger brother is also currently out of the country, serving with the US Air Force in Japan.  Instead of spending Christmas alone, we convinced my parents to meet us on another island for a tropical holiday.  

We stayed near the beach for the first few nights, then inland among rice fields.  It was a wonderful break from Barat and a blessing for all of use to spend the time with my parents.  

Whitman in a traditional hat, playing a traditional instrument.

A few festive items I brought along to decorate the second place we stayed.

Whitman and Caedmon working a couple models with Papa J.

Enjoying tadpoles in a pond.

Enjoying the pool.

It currently is raining season, so between heavy rain storms, we were out as much as possible.

Whitman and Caedmon with Grammie and Papa J

We ventured to the Monkey Forest.  This is an area of land set aside for the protection and conservation of Macau Monkeys.   

Evangeline and Caedmon

The Monkey Forest has paths to wander along through the forest.  Monkeys roam freely everywhere.  They are not afraid of all the human visitors and very bold, taking any food or bottle of water from your hand.  

While standing close to a handrail full of monkeys, John became an escape for one of two quarreling monkeys.  

A minute or two later, the monkey departed from John's shoulder.

Taking in the many statues and temples within the forest.

Caedmon was brave enough to feed a monkey.

Celebrating the BIRTHday!

Our baby is getting a little big for sink bathing.

The only snow we saw was the festive decoration in the airport.  

 One of my favorite traditions John and I started, about 8 years ago, is retelling specific times we experienced the Father's provision or grace.  I have made an ornament for each experience, which we pull out of stockings on the morning of and take turns reading the accompanying synopsis or retelling from memory.   Our ornaments range from the birth of our three children, healthy and whole, finding my wedding ring in a small grass covered stream bed, paying off $80,000 of student loans, to the grace shown to John by a game warden when he shot a deer prior to the opening weekend of hunting season.  These are just a few examples, we are blessed to have many more.  We can easily remember so many of these events, but sad to say, we often forget the small details that left us in awe.

Our season-changing tree curtain.

I hung our ornament us upon returning from our time with grandparents.  They are such a great reminder of the many blessing, though often small, we have received out of His complete grace towards us.  

While we were away, John spent much of his time trying to manage our house building over the phone.  This also included transferring money to enable the builders to buy additional supplies.  We were again blessed, in an unforeseen way, when we were able to stop, on the way to the airport, to deposit money at a bank.  This proved to be very beneficial the following day because when we tried to catch a night bus after arriving back in the big city we failed.  Every night bus returning to Barat, or the next city, was full.  We were forced to spend the night in the big city.  This turned out to be a blessing as we were able to sleep in beds, instead of the night bus, and thankfully, found a car to ride home in instead of waiting for another night bus.  On top of a more comfortable ride home, John had the money in the bank to transfer wages to the builders as they were expecting it on Wednesday, but our return had been delayed a day.  

We hope this Holiday Season finds you remembers the many ways we all have been blessed beyond measure!

Miscellaneous Happenings

The Holiday Season must be in full swing in the States.  Here in Barat, the temperature remains the same though it is rainy season, mangoes are in season, and life is progressing as normal with language study, schooling, and house building.

Mangoes on the bus I rode home from the Barat market, on their way to be sold elsewhere.

 
We were blessed to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday in the big city.  We did some house shopping and eating out!  The highlight was sharing the holiday with friends over a mostly traditional meal.  Together with friends from the States, the UK, Germany, and Australia, we enjoyed chicken instead of turkey, rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, watermelon, sparkling cider, and pumpkin pie. 

One of the many home improvement stores we visited while in the big city. 

This store had the nicest and most visible display of tile.  Other stores had to move and shuffle tiles to be looked at.

    We spent an afternoon looking for tile to be used in our new home.  This proved to be more difficult than expected.  I, Erin, already had an idea of what I wanted.  On top of my desires, the tiles on display are not always available.  Some tiles have to be ordered, others are just out of stock, while others are available but have to be fetched from a nearby storage building.  After visiting at least 10 different stores, thankfully all on the same street, and dragging along worn out children, we decided on two different tiles.  One was immediately available, but the other was in a storage building which had already closed for the evening.  Fortunately the tile was able to be sent on the next truck to Barat.

Our hotel in the big city.

Most people go crazy over seeing our kids with their lighter skin and 'big' noses.

Evangeline was quite obliging to the staff at the hotel.  

New Menu Item - Spicy Chocolate Chicken

We enjoy eating at KFC while in the big city, but the menu items are not what you find in the States.  

Here they do not serve mashed potatoes, coleslaw, nor biscuits.  The menu mostly consists of chicken, rice, and French fries.  

A New Flavor

Have you seen these at your local store? 

We can buy these and seaweed flavored Lay's at our local convenience-mart.  

We also enjoy eating at McDonalds and Pizza Hut.  They are shoe-ins for tastes from home.

Though many of the menu items at McDonalds are similar, the boys often still order chicken and rice.

Back in Barat we attended a wedding of a friend's younger brother.  Though you may not know the bride and groom, the more guests the better!

Evangeline and I

Waiting for the Bride and Groom

The ceremony takes place in the home, while the majority of guests wait in a decorated tent outside the house.  Often the ceremony can be heard through a sound system.

I have begun my traditional holiday baking. 

I aim for a different cookie each week!
So far peppermint swirls, gingerbread men, nutmeg logs, and ribbon cookies.  

We celebrated Whitman's birthday.  

Though it fell on a Friday this year, it turned out to coincide with a national holiday!

Cake in a Cone

Our version of these flower decorated cupcakes Whitman saw in a magazine.

Neighborhood kids lining up for the Piñata.  

Whitman taking a few swings.  

The roof and floor are finished!

The building on our house is coming along, never quite as fast expected though.  Thankfully this week the floor was finished and the second level to the brick bathroom (as seem in the lower left of the above picture) was started.  

The silver roof of our house is seen to the right and happens to be the tallest.

Our house sits on the right at the end of this road.

Neighbors' houses in front of our house.

One neighbor and open land behind our house.

The space under our house, seen in the above picture, will be used for activities associated with the foundation John works for.  We envision literacy programs and afterschool study times to name a couple.  

   We've also have had a few new 'animal' experiences.  It is typical for cats, dogs, chickens, and ducks to roam free throughout our neighborhood.  The cats are often given scraps and may even wander in and out of people's homes, though rather skinny and sickly looking.  Dogs are wild and very skittish.  Chickens and ducks are raised by neighbors.  They always seem to return to their cages by evening.  There was a time we considered the cats good for managing the rat population.  After a friend told us, jokingly, that the cats and rats were in cahoots, we began to wonder.  Seeing how the dogs seem to be scared away by anything, even other animals, we are not sure that there is any benefit to all the wandering animals, especially as they frequently get into our garbage.

Evangeline and Caedmon in our current front yard with a duck in the background.

   There have been many times we've heard thumping above our ceiling, in the attic space.  Until recently, we were not sure if the sound was from cats or chickens, as we've seen both on roofs.  In the boys' bedroom last week we heard the cries of newly born kittens.  They were no where to be seen outside and were definitely most easily heard in their bedroom.
   

Five Dried Fish

   Yesterday, our soon to be neighbors graciously bestowed on me a bag of dried fish.  Apparently these particular fish are in season and most people really enjoy them dried instead of fresh.  To eat these fish, they usually are soaked momentarily in water, then fried.  I forgot the soaking part and used a great deal less oil than most.  It was pretty good, but very, very salty, probably due to the lack of soaking.

Ready to be consumed, though not very appetizing to me.

This has been a brief picture of our lives recently!