Blessing upon blessing

We're homesick for Bandung. But when we get there, we will miss Seattle and our connections here.

The whirlpool laundry sink doesn't phase this grandkid.

• Kids and grandkids and parents. Yeah. That.

The other two cram in and have a waterfight in the sink

• Meeting with friends. Knowing what to do at church. We get lonesome for you.

Watching friends' children grow up

• Speaking and understanding. Language learning sometimes gives me a headache.
• Hot water from the kitchen and bath taps (ours are cold-water only in Bandung; consistent hot water in the shower also depends on water pressure through point-of-use heaters. Now you have it, now you don't.)

• Great traffic flow - even during rush hour, people stay in the lanes. (Yes, we mean it about traffic.) In Seattle, there are few pedestrians, carts, bicycles, cars, buses, horse-and-buggies, and toko-toko kaki (street vendor carts crisscrossing traffic. And no 6-10-year-olds are signaling between the hoods of the cars, directing traffic for 5c to make up for the dearth of traffic lights.

I enjoy the patterns on a friend's papasan in Springfield MO

and the grand old buildings of this railroad town

And of course, the reason I came (besides the interviews with faculty and experts) and friendships ... 

hour upon hour of library studies.

Sitting beside this fabric collage artist on the flight home

Meeting in churches and restaurants or coffee shops with people who partner in prayer and support
- thanks Pastor Peter

• We not homesick for bugs so big that you can't miss them. One day, our granddaughter screams, "Oma! A bug a bug! Oma, a bug!" and points to a little chia-seed sized dot on the table. Oh honey, if you only knew.

A friend comes over with 2 Indonesian puppets - delighted!

Discovering old board games stashed at my mother's house.

• Convenience - that USA shop or restaurant is actually at the online address. And customer service is interested in finding things for you.

Friendly staff in Chehalis / Centralia

and enormous portions of food - everywhere!

Family reunions (W's mom here)

• You can find what you want in the Seattle stores, in abundance. Crisp salad? Check. Fresh meat? Check. Canned goods. Check. A new broom. Check. An auto part. Check. The tea I like. Check.

A Sunday morning hotel breakfast shared with little wrestlers and their chaperones

• Cleanliness - when the dust blows in through every crack in the tropics, you sweep and mop every day. Here, a thorough once-a-week keeps things spick and span.

Grandkids have a sleepover at Oma and Opa's

or a picnic on the kitchen floor

or a tea party.

If you take a grandchild along when you go out, you might find a few surprises on your phone, especially

when your 5-yr-old granddaughter takes selfies with your friends ... 

We don't worry about upset stomachs, no matter where we go to eat:

• It's so quiet without Muslim calls to prayer at 3:30am. We don't miss those much. But they will remind us of our privilege of talking to God, that he hears, and that he loves us enough to answer and direct our paths.



Dinner with friends

• Wearing seasonal clothing - though wearing socks only once a week (with hiking shoes) and going barefoot in sandals is its own pleasure.

There's more that we enjoy Stateside, of course. But back home, we'll most miss the relationships, among other things here that we take for granted.

Americans lining up in orderly queues, 10 minutes before the first boarding call

Read more:

*The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. Psalm 16:6 ESV

*We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy  name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22 NIV

*But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought  and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV

*Paul wrote: God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Lord Jesus, who promised us life in abundance, open our eyes to all the resources at our disposal this day. Fill us with your generosity so that all your good gifts may be shared with joy. Amen.