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!