Sampai Ketemu, Spokane!

Tomorrow evening we board our flight and say good-bye to Spokane for six weeks.  It's still a little surreal to think we're actually about to embark on this trip which we've been planning since last October.  All the details seem to be coming together nicely, and we are excited to just be sitting on the plane, breathing a sigh of relief that we are on our way!

We haven't even left and yet this trip has already been a faith-growing experience.  When we first made our need of travel funds known, we didn't know how the Lord would provide, but we were confident He would, as we felt strongly that this opportunity to travel to Indonesia was from Him.  We praise Him for His faithfulness, and we thank all of you who have contributed toward this trip.  All of our anticipated travel funding needs have been met, reminding us that He is in control, knows our needs, and will supply in accordance with what He knows we need.

We greatly appreciate your prayers!  Specifically, we appreciate prayers for: safety and smoothness of travel (and that Connor would be a travel trooper!), getting through customs in Indonesia, transition to a new culture and language, wisdom as we carry out our work and continue building relationships while there, and that the Lord would continue to establish our steps every step of the way and draw us into closer relationship with Him!

Thanks for your prayers!

In case you were curious (and so you can pray more specifically!), here's a rough itinerary for our upcoming travels:

Depart Spokane Sunday evening, June 30th (1 hour flight), arrive Seattle
5.5 hour layover
Depart Seattle early Monday morning, July 1st (12.5 hr flight), arrive Taipei, Taiwan
3.5 hour layover
Depart Taipei, Taiwan Tuesday morning, July 2nd (6 hr flight), arrive Jakarta, Indonesia
6.5 hour layover (drop off Kodiak aircraft windows for immediate shipment to MAF-Tarakan base)
Depart Jakarta, Indonesia Tuesday evening, July 2nd (1.5 hr flight), arrive Palangkaraya, Indonesia

We'll be in Palangkaraya for a little over a week, at the MAF base there, and then headed on to the MAF base in Tarakan.  We'll keep you all posted.  Thanks for your prayers!

Preparations

"Saya tidak mengerti bahasa Indonesia." Any guesses on the interpretation of this phrase? (Google it if you must know right now, or just keep reading...)

Two weeks from tomorrow we arrive in Indonesia for a five-week visit that has been in the works since last October. As those of you who have read our most recent newsletter are aware, we will be spending time working with pilots and mechanics with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) on the island of Borneo. Along with the myriad details we are pulling together in preparation for our travels, Jodie and I have been taking some computer-based Indonesian language lessons (thanks, Aunt Lil!) to aid us as we stumble our way through a foreign language and culture. There are a handful of absolutely essential survival phrases one should always have confidently memorized in the local vernacular before roving about in unfamiliar lands. At the top of this list, I would put "I don't understand [insert local language]." "Where is the bathroom?" would be a close second. I'll let you guess which one appears at the beginning of this post :) . It is our ambition to get well beyond both of these phrases before we depart.

Other preparations include:
- Obtain an Indonesian work visa: Check!
- Purchase electrical adapters to charge our various US electronic devices on the Indonesian power grid: Check!
- Solidify itinerary and purchase airline tickets: Check!
- Determine travel needs for an infant for 5 weeks of international travel in developing countries: Check! (I think...)
- Get an international driver's permit: Check!
- Buy "Snake Away" anti-serpent spray: Check! (Okay, not really but it would be on my wife's list if it existed...)
- Make arrangements for someone to care for our home while we are away: Check!
- Purchase luggage large enough to pack four aircraft crew door windows to replace delaminating windows in MAF aircraft: Ummm, still working on that one...
- Bust at the seams with excitement for the upcoming trip: Check!
- Cover this trip in prayer from beginning to end: Check! (with help from all of you!)

We GREATLY appreciate your prayers as we prepare for and embark on this trip. We pray that, amongst all the many preparations we are making, the Lord would be preparing us for the work He has to do in us on this trip. We also appreciate prayers for safe travels and that the Lord would orchestrate events while we're there. We'll keep you all posted on this blog. Let us know if you are praying with us for this trip, as it is a great encouragement to us and we love hearing from you all!