Flight to Wamena

This last week we had the opportunity to go to Wamena, which is where we will be living in November.  It is just short of a mile high in the mountains and has no roads in or out.  Everything there is flown in.  We had our first MAF flight as a family which Gracie thoroughly enjoyed.

Rather than writing a bunch, the pictures will tell a good story of our trip.  We are so excited to finally have a place to lay roots and call home.

Although Gracie may appear to be scared or yawning she was absolutely excited.

Gracie looked outside for most of the two flights pointing out all the clouds to us.

This is us taking off out of Wamena which is a pretty big airport.  Not huge, but big enough to sneak in a 737.  People have houses on the airport so when the kids get a chance they love to stand behind the planes and feel the the prop wash.

Below here are some pictures of Gracie and dad stretching there legs at a village strip by the name of Kobakma.  We stopped there on the way back from Wamena.  Gracie loved exploring...

"Wow this runway looks steep I wonder if dad will chase me down it."

"I'm going to casually walk down it and see what I can find" Gracie said to herself. 

"Ok time to hold dad's hand Gracie"

After Gracie tried making a run for it...

No!  You caught me again dad!

On base in Wamena

En route from Wamena

Gracie standing in front of our house in Wamena.

Mom and Gracie in Kobakma

The in flight drink service only made its way up front.  

Final MAF Papua Kodiak Pod Installation!

Dad and Gracie on Father's Day

Well it has taken a while but as of two Fridays ago MAF Papua has pods on all the Kodiaks.  Three were put on here in Sentani and I was able to be a part of two of them.  Something unique about this last pod install is it was the original Kodiak to have a pod.  Quest used it for certifying the pod with the FAA, but was then taken off so all the paperwork could go through.  Interestingly enough the pod that was on it before is on a Kodiak down the road here in Sentani with a different organization.

Having a pod on it before, there were some things about this install that made it a little easier, but on the other hand there was some reverse engineering that had to take place.  Overall it was a great experience as a mechanic as I continue to knock the rust off my skills after being out of the shop for two and a half years.

Here is another picture from the nose bowl fabrication process which was also shown in our last prayer letter.  Here I was getting ready to make it line up with the holes that were already drilled from the last pod install. 

There were several parts that needed paint, so I had some practice sharpening my painting skills.  

During a pod install it goes on and off the plane about 3 times.  Here is a picture of the pod waiting for its final install.

Here the pod is installed and waiting its return to service flight after almost 3 months on the ground.  It made the flight and everything checked out!


Enough airplane stuff Will how is the family?  Well here is a little taste of the last couple weeks...

This picture is of a bat Gracie and Nan found on the playground here on base.  The neighbor likes to shoot them at night with a bb gun for food.  This one got hit but took refuge under the covering of the playground and later fell in the morning just in time for morning play time.  Since it was still warm the yard worker took it home for food.  Everyone asks why Nan didn't take it and I tell them it's because she didn't have a recipe for bat.

This made me so happy.  We have several rats that keep us company in our ceiling here so I am always trying to lower the population.  This is one of them on a "lem tikus" board which is basically sticky cardboard.  Once the rat gets on they cannot get off.  I come along, fold it up, and dispose.  Pretty slick.  

This is a typical scene of what Gracie looks like when I walk back to the playground directly after work.  Nan says, "ok she's all yours I am going inside to start dinner."  Then she usually goes to the dry sand or pets one of the many golden retrievers on base.  Let's just say there is a certain satisfaction in being showered and in the air conditioning at the end of the day.

This past week we were assigned to Wamena and will be moving there in November.  It is up in the mountains and more central in Papua.  We will be visiting there this week and will post some pictures of our future house, etc soon.  

Goodbye Salatiga hello Papua!

It has been a long road.  Although we were really glad to be done with language school we were also sad to leave our friends there.  We are thankful for the relationships we started and continue to have there.

Our dear friends Pak Bambang and Ibu Santi...yes and Pak Bambang does have a Blazers shirt on...awesome  Great times at our last meal together in Salatiga.

Here are a couple family self portraits in front of our Salatiga house, which surprisingly only took about 10 minutes

We initially arrived here in Papua about the second week of March, Will worked for three weeks and then we all hopped on another plane back to Jakarta, which if you are not familiar with Indonesian geography its like taking a plane ride across the U.S.  It has been a couple weeks now after getting back from there and we are also sorting out our belongings that have come from both language school and America.  Mom is happy because she has her kitchen tools and dad is happy because he has his tools for work.

Although, we are still living in the same country as when we were in language school it is like a different country.  We are thankful for the MAF community here to help us adjust.  Many people here we already knew before arriving which was great, especially for Gracie.

A week or so ago we had the pleasure to go up the mountain to General MacArthurs lookout spot when WWII was going on. Tons of history there.  There are several WWII planes in Lake Sentani that guys see when they go scuba diving.  Its crazy all the untouched planes that are down there.  Makes me want to get my dive on (Will). Anyways,  no words for how beautiful it was.  Great to overlook the Sentani airport!

Up the mountain in Sentani Papua

We have been away from internet for a while except for our phones so we are going to start being a little better about keeping everyone up to date with pictures etc.  We are still trying to get in a rhythm as we await our final assignment.

Will just finished helping to get a pod on a Kodiak.  Good news it stayed on for the test flight ;)  We will get some of those pictures soon for everyone to see what it is I (Will) do here on the other side of the world.

Thank you so much to everyone for all your support through this process.  Transition is tough, and with a 1.5 year old it is even harder so thank you everyone for your prayers!

America For Christmas!

A week ago we returned to Indonesia after a three week vacation in the U.S. for Christmas.  With less than 7 weeks until we move to Papua, we are in pack it up and move mode.  There are tons of logistics to work out before we go including packing up our household goods to be shipped in only 3 weeks.  However, we had such an awesome time in the America that we wanted to share some pictures from our trip.  We are so thankful to family and friends who made it possible for us to come home for a bit!  We also very thankful to everyone who made our stay one to remember.

This was a new thing for Gracie.  Although Gracie was in a car seat for almost 6 months before coming to Indonesia it was still very foreign to her being so restrained.  The car seat turned into a sleep machine for Gracie and entertainment for mom and dad.  A moment we will not forget...when we asked Gracie if she was ready to "go" she went and got the Ergo so she could strap in for the motorcycle.  Then dad educated Gracie on how cold she would be if we all went for a ride.  

This was the scene New Year's Eve.  Being old 31 year olds we thought we could pull up an East Coast New Years so we could go to bed early.  Well, when we finally got it going this popped up.  WHAT?!?!  This moment was quite ironic considering how we lose internet from wind and rain in Indonesia frequently.  I guess now when we lose it we can think about it happening in the U.S. too.

Gracie loves all animals, but dogs are extremely interesting to her.  She had a lot of good times with "Lulu."

Dad took a picture of Gracie and this caution sign as we were heading back to Indonesia. The question we had was "Can any parent really get far enough away in the bathroom from the child that they could fall?"

Great times!  Gracie not quite sure where mom got the baby from.

This really says it all.  Gracie is constantly on the go...

...except when she is sleeping.  Hey mom and dad your 2 seats are so spacious!

Gracie sleeping in the Tokyo airport on an 11 hour layover and the worst 8 hour flight of mom and dad's life.

We got to let Gracie be with family a lot so we got some good date time in.  It was a beautiful thing.

First plane to board on our journey to America.  Smoke in the cabin!!!  Ha!  Actually it was just a broken A/C.  When we first boarded it was so thick we lost each other.  I loved the reaction of the locals though not batting an eye.  Just a bit different than the U.S.

Gracie was so happy on our trip...actually we all were.

Yep, this was in the Jakarta airport, although Indonesia is over 90% muslim.  We looked really hard for something this big with the word Christmas on it in the US...nothing.

Not much to say except we agree and PF Chang's was really good.

Not in the US but thought we would share this moment.  Gracie's first flower from a boy.

We got a little snow while in the Pac NW.  If you look hard you can see it in this picture.

Here is a picture of Nan's side of the family.  We are so thankful that they could fly out from the other side of the U.S. to see us.  We had a blast.

Sibuk Sekali (Very Busy) & our Gracie Jane...

Our lives have been busy to say the least! We are about to "naik" or move up to Unit 6 of 9 in language school. We currently have a 1 year old (Sweet Gracie Jane) who desires to go EVERYWHERE by herself! And she is busy opening doors for conversations with the Indonesians who surround us on a daily basis. Her contagious laughter, funny faces and cheesy smile she wears (each time she sees a camera) makes us smile no matter how hard the day has been! Here are a few pictures of our baby girl who is loved by and loves everyone she meets...

Hanging with Mommy!

Dancing with Mommy! 

Gracie with her Pembantu, Ibu Agnes (Her babysitter while we are in school) 

Gracie and Ibu Santi

Our silly girl & her Mango mustache 

Gracie Jane making a new friend

"I don't want the cupcake! It is scary!!!" - Gracie Jane

Helping Daddy fix the chair

Thank you everyone for the love, prayers and continued support! We could not be here without each of you. 

Blessings,
Will, Nan and Gracie Jane

Fuel leak!

Recently the fuel valve on our motorcycle sprang a leak which gave me (Will) the opportunity to take it in to the local repair shop (or bengkel). Now you are probably wondering why I don't just fix it myself. Well, the main reason is because all my tools are in the US waiting to be shipped to Papua, also by going to the bengkel I get to practice my bahasa and learn new techniques for maintenance. When I go it is more about the cultural experience than the end result.




The morning after the bike started leaking badly I went to the bengkel. Upon arriving the mechanic (montir) told me that it would be no problem to fix and it would take about 45 minutes. Although skeptical I proceeded to watch him defuel the bike and take off the broken fuel valve. He left with the part to go buy a new one. After a few minutes he returned telling me he could not find the part. I said ok no problem. I go to Semarang (big city) on Friday so I will just pick one up then.




This is when the fun began. Knowing how maintenance here in Indonesia is different from the US I waited with great anticipation for how he was going to put the fuel valve back on as a temporary fix.




He began to superglue the part back on and to make sure it was sealed he took his lit cigarette which made an ash/glue compound. Perfect. Lets put fuel back in and check for leaks. Yep leaks all over. If only you could have seen my surprised face. I had a sealant back home which I used to get my bike there for repair so I went and got that. When I returned, part of his cigarette filter had made its way into the ash/glue "seal."




When it was all said and done we de/refueled two times and didn't fix anything. But like I said before going to the bengkel was not about the end result of the bike. I got some good language practice and was able to continue building relationship with my Indonesian friends.




Just this last week Nan and I were reflecting on how thankful we are for our motorcycle and just how far we have come since coming here. It really is a luxury to get on a motorcycle and go wherever we need and not have to wait for anyone. Going to the city takes us about 20 minutes with Gracie, but before with public transportation (angkot) it took close to 3 hours. At the same time we are thankful for the times riding the angkot because we appreciate what we have so much more as well as get the opportunity to learn this culture a little better. That being said, we have learned a ton about Indonesian culture because we ride a motorcycle. To grasp this concept you really need to come and experience Indonesia for yourself.

Hati hati! (Be careful in Bahasa)

This picture was taken during the first leak check. Notice anything out of place? Take note of the puddle of fuel on the ground as well as my buddy's cigarette in his left hand. No big deal except it was lit with about a half inch of ash waiting to drop. His daughter is looking on "helping" dad.

Time for Lebaran!

Right now we are at the beginning of "Lebaran."  It is the season to celebrate the end of Ramadan and all the fasting which has been going on for about a month now.  Because of Lebaran we get a few days off school.  It is quite a relief from the week and a half we have had in Unit 4.  The first three units of language school focused on talking and listening whereas now we are focusing more on reading and writing.  Our day now consists of only two hours of class, but for homework we ask questions to Indonesian friends and then write a one page essay in bahasa about what we learned.  When class time comes, we do a presentation telling the class about the paper.

Gracie helping celebrate the completion of Unit 3

To balance school, time with Gracie, and everything else is sometimes a huge task, but we seem to have gotten into a rhythm with going to class together again and leaving Gracie home with our new babysitter.  We are very thankful for all of your prayers as we have adjusted to this season of life.

Yummy!

We have had some hard nights recently with sleep due to Gracie teething.  She currently has six teeth and more on the way.  This picture is a perfect example of how Gracie spends her time when she is not crawling all over our house.  Although we have many chew toys for her, Gracie obviously thinks this wood table works much better.

If you follow us on Facebook we put up a picture last week about the dozen eggs we found in our back yard.  Apparently, these chicken eggs are relatively expensive here so we were thankful to have them.  After deciding our stomachs are not quite strong enough for them yet we gave them away, but maybe next time we will eat them ;)

It is pretty common for locals to climb 50 foot coconut trees here to get the coconuts that are ready to eat.  I never would have thought but when the coconuts hit the ground they shake our whole house so now when the shaking begins we take Gracie outside or to the window for a little entertainment.  She loves watching...and so do mom and dad.  No ropes or shoes.  It is really a non event and normal here but interesting for those curious about how life is here.

While talking about coconuts it is important if you come here to remember that the word for them is kelapa...not kepala.  Kepala is head.  Sometimes I get these mixed up.  Still even now I have to think before I speak.  I would not want to ask someone here if it is normal to cut heads out of the trees without ropes.  Or what isle the shredded head is on.  Yeah, its all part of learning the language.  Good times.

All clear buddy!  Come on down!

We took this picture only because we had the camera out and the opportunity presented itself when these kids were jumping the fence.  What this picture does not capture is the kid on the bottom "helping" was trying to pull the kid's pants down as he was coming down.  Yet another activity less than 40 yards away from our back door.