For Indonesia. . .

I am very blessed and grateful that I got to grow up on a beautiful island called Sulawesi. We went there when I was three and so I got to enjoy a childhood that many do not. I lived in a village called Tondano for the first four years and then Manado. This Island is part of the archipelago islands of Indonesia. I consider myself so lucky that I got to have this experience. Warm weather all the time, beautiful beaches, palm trees, blue mountains in the distance. I've written on this blog before what Indonesia, my second home means to me. It is the place where I feel most at home, where the food and language seem to speak to my soul. I've often heard people call certain places God's country, well to me Indonesia is God's country. You notice it first when you step off the plane and your skin is damp with the humidity, it will catch in your throat and take your breath away. To most it might seem stiffing, to me it's familiar, it's home. Then there is the food, the fruit that makes all other fruit seem boring. It was a simple life, a wonderful life. I am so grateful I had those years there, that I got to grow up in this country. I often dream of the day that I will get to return, take my family so they can see their Mom's home. Yes I dream of going back because it was such a wonderful place. For a more detailed blog about Indonesia see the entry called Homesick from June 2006. It says it all there much better than I am saying tonight. This picture is of one of my favorite moments, reading in English of course to all my friends. I loved reading, I love these kind people who love and laugh and see so much good in the world around them.