Greetings, friends!! This is the last post of the day–finally! We have been so horrible about keeping up the blog–we really want to do better. We’ll see how that goes!!!:) In this entry, I will tell about my last trip to Batam, Indonesia, give a general life update, and a schedule of our upcoming trip to the US!!!
I went to Batam, Indonesia two weeks ago with church to volunteer at an orphanage/children’s home there. The children at the home range from ages 5-17 and have either been abandoned by their parents or have no parents. I went with about twelve other women and children from our church in Singapore. We did a handicraft with them, ate lunch, did sudoku, and then had to leave far too soon.
Sweet kids...
These children really stole my heart. Until our church became involved, they were on carbohydrate rations–only certain children got carbohydrates on certain days. This was happening in the land of rice–I was shocked. The children were also keeping their tooth brushes in the same bucket with the brush to clean the toilet–which is an eastern toilet (hole in the ground). They need lessons in hygiene. They had no idea that this is harmful. Their home has enough electricity to power four light bulbs and has poor drainage–so poor that if it rains too much, their sewers can back up. This is an area that was rainforest until it was developed, so you can imagine how frequently that happens.
So cute!!
When we arrived (Batam is only a 45 minutes ferry ride from Singapore), we went through customs, then got on a bus and headed straight to the home. The children do everything in just a few rooms. There are thirty children and one large room that serves as a church room, classroom, dining room, playroom, etc. I don’t know where they sleep. A minister and his wife have taken in the children in hopes of giving them a better future, but the minister himself is poor. Once we got there, we did a sewing project with them (they made drawstring bags), then we had lunch, then we did sudoku. We spent only about 4 hours there and it went by so so quickly. The children were so eager to learn and to have someone teach them. I can’t wait to go back this fall–hopefully we’ll be doing some ESL lessons there. It was a very sad sad thing to see, but the children were so hopeful, it was also encouraging.
Now, on that somber note, it’s on to life updates! I have been on summer vacation from my graduate program since we went to India. I’m currently starting to do some research for my dissertation. That will start full swing in the fall. My topic is energy poverty and energy efficient ways to address it. Of course, as the term goes on, it will tweak a bit–but that’s the general idea. John has been working on a project lately that has been taking up a lot of his time. He’s working late and going in early–but his last day is next Friday–the day before he leaves for the US! He’s going back for training and is very excited about potential projects when he gets back!
We have some more big news……we’re moving!!!!! We’ll still be in Singapore, but we’re moving across the country! Our move is a grand total of 20.3 kilometers!!! We’re moving to a bigger place, closer to the MRT. We can’t wait!!! We’re moving the day after we get back from the US and the day before I start the fall semester and John starts a new project. Can you say jet lag??? Yes, we’re still insane!
As most of you probably know, we’re coming back to the US for a visit!!! Here are our schedules–if you’ll be in any of these cities at any of these times, let us know and we’ll see if we can work something out!!! We would love to see you!!!!
John:
18 July-25 July: Chicago (Job Training)
25 July-26 July: Louisville/Shelbyville (Whitney’s Wedding/Tory’s Wedding)
26 July-31 July: Chicago (Job Training)
31 July-1 August: Orlando (Stephanie’s Wedding)
1 August-2ish August: Charleston, SC (Tyner’s Wedding)
2ish August-8 August: Orlando (Family Visit)
CB:
14 July-16 July: Orlando (Family Visit/Jetlag Recovery)
16 July-17 July: Greenville (Visit Patrick/Furman/Tyner’s Bachlorette)
17 July-19 July: NYC (Tyner’s Bachlorette)
19 July-30 July: Shelbyville/Louisville (Family Visit/Whitney’s Wedding/Tory’s Wedding)
31 July-2ish August: Charleston, SC (Tyner’s Wedding)
2ish August-8 August: Orlando (Family Visit)
Then….we come back and move and resume our lives in Singapore:). Email us if you want to hang out–phone communication may be questionable!!! Thanks for reading as always!!!!!!! We’ll update soon (we hope;)!!!!!
Love,
John and CB
John and CB's Most Excellent Adventure 