The other day I tried explaining the term “island fever” to one of my best friends as we drove to a reservoir.
“Island fever,” I said. “Is there a term for it in Indonesian? It’s when you’ve been in a small space for too long and need to get away.”
“You mean ‘claustrophobia’?” she asked. […]
We had only been living on this little Indonesian island for a couple of weeks, but I noticed it right away. The prolonged stares, every pair of eyes on me in the parking lot as I tried to back out of a difficult spot, people pointing me out to their friends and yelling “Hello Mister,” […]
Linda (left) and Esther.
Friends of ours, Wes and Esther Dale, live in the interior village of Mamit. They are amazing missionaries from Australia who have served in Papua for many years. So, when Dave asked if I’d like to ride along with him to Mamit, I said, “You bet!”
Esther communicates via humorous […]
Our family returned to Indonesia just three weeks ago after a nice furlough time in the United States. I’m not going to lie. It’s been a rough transition back to life in Central Borneo.
We arrived back to our city of Palangkaraya at just the wrong time—smoky season is in full swing. This is the ugliest […]
Rebecca on an MAF flight to Kampung Baru.
I’m about to enter my tenth year of life in Indonesia and it’s making me feel a bit nostalgic for those early, sweaty, confusing, exciting days when I first came here. But then I remember how far I’ve come and what I’ve learned and how I […]
“Mom, I just can’t do it!” my son Luke cried out in frustration as he handed me his notebook, Indonesian Bible verses scrawled across the page. His assignment to memorize these verses had overwhelmed him to the point of tears.
I felt his pain. Flashbacks to language school—having to memorize words that made no sense, and […]