putussibau and dysentery

It's what you think. We went to Putussibau, and I got dysentery. I don't think those two things are completely related, but that's the way it worked out. We went with the intention of doing some visiting of tribal villages and spending time interior with some of our friends. It turned out that Phil got to make a few very short trips while I laid in bed, too weak and in too much pain to do much more than count the boards on the ceiling.

Despite being sick, our trip was actually quite nice. We got to know our coworkers that live and serve in the frontier town of Putussibau. The Searcys took us around town, helped us find medicine for my latest adventure in gastrointestinal extravaganzas, they served us wonderful meals (all of which i WANTED to eat... some of which i was able to), and they loved on our busy little 2 year old like only good, well-seasoned grandparents are able to do.

Thank you Searcy's!

Tribal church leaders gather from surrounding tribal areas for fellowship in a simple wooden structure. Phil and Nadia listen in.

Earlier this morning, in the same simple wooden structure, there was Sunday morning church service. At least 4 tribal groups were represented there.

Phil and Dave (Searcy - our host) took an afternoon bike trip to one of the neighboring tribal villages. Here he is coming home all muddy, but happy to have gotten out.

Before they left, Dave had helpful things to show Phil about these dirt bikes... which are much trickier than one might assume, as Phil can attest.

That afternoon they visited the Embalo tribe. Phil thought it was amazing that the entire village is on stilts - including the walkways.

The river systems here are everyone's life line. Just like in our last trip post, we found here that the people's way of life is dictated largely by the waterways on which they live. Be it, rivers, swamps or ocean, there is a way to make-do.

Dave picking wild coffee flowers off the side of the road.

On a drive through another village, I spotted these school kids getting a load of the whities driving past. They were all too happy to smile and wave for me as we rumbled by.

Of course, The Two Year Old didn't miss out on a chance to find a million ways to stay busy. The Searcy's have a kitten. Need i say more?

The kitten is just young enough to tolerate Nadia's antics, and Nadia is just old enough to take it easy when she needed to. They were a playful/naughty match made in heaven.

Searcy's also raise chickens - both layers and roasters. We learned good stuff about how to do that here in the tropics from them.

Nadia wasn't too sure about getting cuddly with the chicks.

She's growing up so fast. Look at that pretty face. She gives us a run for our money though... Whew.

occupational hazards

Click on the photo below to read a little bit about some of our latest job-related stressors. It really is just all part of the job for us, but these kinds of things still fling us to our knees before the One who sent us here. Thanks for reading and for standing and kneeling with us. We miss you guys!

antics

We've likened our little Two Year Old darling to a grizzly bear cub. Ever since she was old enough and strong enough to move her body with her own power, she's been a rough and tumble little pip. There is no end to the amount of... activity she can engage in on a daily basis. We are constantly amazed. The other day, we were amazed once again. She disappeared into our bedroom. I mentally counted to three, then went to check on her. I walked in to find her with my haircutting scissors in-hand and a chunk of her hair on the floor. Of course, the easiest hair for her to reach is that part right in the very front... In the end, i gave her a "real" hair cut. She looks so different to us now!

We tried to get a good photo of the spike in front, but it was tough to really show how silly it looks. Trust us. It looks exactly like a two year old cut her own hair...

But look at this pretty face! She looks so OLD to us now! The baby in her face is receding...

And though she's full of mischievous energy, she's also got lots of helpful energy to spare. I made her a little apron for those times when she's trying to help me in the kitchen. So cute.

One teaspoon for the bowl... one for me... one in the bowl, one for me...

field trip!

Last week, we took a trip to the nearest town, a 4 hour drive northeast to the eastern shore of Indonesian Borneo. We were looking to see what village life was like for the people in that town. Though we're not planning to work up in that area, we accompanied some friends who may work up there. We even got in an afternoon at the beach!

A typical house along the side of the one main road that leads from our town to the next town up.

This photo is taken from our moving vehicle (we took a car up - not our motorbike). This little body of water is part of an elaborate gutter system that blends into the larger rivers, then eventually dumps out to sea. The people in this area make their livelihood on these waterways, fishing in them, traveling on them, bathing in them, etc.

Getting closer to the sea, the boats get bigger and more seaworthy.

Ah, the shore! This little grove of coconut trees lines the shore in one area. We stopped to take a break and get our feet wet.

It was deserted - therefore it was as restful and peaceful as it looks in the photo.

This little village makes its living off the people who come to swim and play in the water by their shore.

At our destination, there are a few hills (which is a nice change for us... our town is at sea level - the highest point in town is at the airport - elevation: 10ft). We got a chance to get to the top of one particularly tall one, and had a chance to see the outlying areas from up high. Beautiful. Also, The Two Year Old had fun on an old swing.

Check out those mini island/mountains in the background of the above photo.

Though it will not be a big deal to you, dear reader, the landscaping on this slope is a major deal to us here. We've not seen professional landscaping of any kind in over a year and a half. We were totally impressed with how well-kept this cliff overlook area was. They had even built real gazebos! That weren't falling apart!

Our friend, Pak Patrick shows Nadia some of the reefs, boats, shores and islands visible from our perch on the cliffs. She was impressed. Even for a two year old. Then again, she's impressed with everything P. Patrick says. :0)

An afternoon at the beach, watching some local boys play and splash after a long day's work.

She calls this the "tubie" :0)

Bobbing along and trying to cool off in the South China Sea. The water was as warm as bathwater. It was possible to bathe and keep sweating. But still so fun.

Say what?

Here's your token Svobodas-at-the-beach-in-their-bathing-suits photo. Didn't want to let you down. (That hill in the background is the one, on the peak of which, we took the photos above).

The end of a day of travel and exploration for us. The end of a long day of work for these folks. A beautiful sunset tucked us in for the night.

At 5:30 the next morning, the motel we stayed at had an amazingly loud, techno-music, public wake-up call. We're not sure how normal that was, but we were pretty groggy. Anyway, we ate our breakfast of complimentary fried rice, deep fried eggs, and very sweet black coffee, and were on the beach by 7am. Since the sun is up right at 5am here, the sun was already super bright and strong as we played a bit more on the beach before another day of survey and exploration. I like the above photo, even though it's very washed out, because it feels as bright and hot as it really was the moment Phil took it.

Nadia and I take a little morning walk along the shore in peace and quiet. We learned a good deal, and even managed to have fun on our field trip. We've got 3 more planned for this upcoming month, so keep your eyes peeled for more posts about our travels.

endless summer

Ah, the sweet, sweaty days of summer. Here in Borneo, that's all we get. So, we have summer all year 'round. It's hot, hazy, and humid - every day. The changes that come our way are mostly in the moisture department. It's either just a little bit damp, or flooded. But always hot. Recently, we had buckets and sheets of uncharacteristic September rains - which caused a mini-flood.

This is one of our friends, standing in our church yard's makeshift parking lot. He's waiting for me and Nadia to ford the yard, where he will help us up onto the porch of the church.

Getting ready to jump across the over flooded gutter, our friend hoists her daughter up and prepares for the leap :0). She ended up by allowing the young man on the left to carry the little one across. (That gutter she's standing next to is about 4 ft deep).

Instead of whining and muttering about ruined shoes or muddy clothes, we heard only laughing that day as we all had a nice change of pace from our normal trip to and from church. The kids played and splashed in the yard, a few adults took a spill after tripping over hidden potholes or ruts in the driveway. We all laughed at each other, watching as we each picked our way over gutters, through the yard, up and down the church steps, attempting not to drop anything or make big splashy waves. It was one of those uniting experiences that we looked at as an almost refreshing change from our norm.

Another recent event in our town was the Autumnal Equinox. On September 23rd, the sun passed straight over the equator here in our city. Here's Nadia and her teeny-tiny shadow at 10am on that day. It's hard to say that there has been much of a difference. It's always bright, it's always hot, and the sun is always close.

Through all these months and days, through the minimal and monumental changes that take place, we're happy to have each other. We have been blessed in life and love, and we are grateful.

Baby Clothes, Batik, Blankies and a Brand New Butterfly

Phil came home the other day with an early birthday present for me. He went out and bought me a brand new manual sewing machine (fresh off the conveyor belt)! We had to sell the one I had on Java, but my new one is much nicer, cleaner and newer than my old beloved Standard. The new one is a Butterfly (tailors' choice here in Indonesia). I've wasted no time in making use of it. (I even gave it a name: "Puccini". Does anyone have a guess as to why "Puccini"?).

Some of Nadia's dresses that she's outgrown had caught my eye recently, and I noticed that they matched nicely with some batik I had bought on Java.

I had been toying with the idea of making a bed spread for her since last year, so I got to work. Phil helped me with the math of designing the center (I had gotten a few ideas from some internet searching).

Yesterday, i finished her new "blankie". She's been watching as I've worked. She says, "Mama make a bankieyou?"

Starting in a few weeks i'll be teaching some local girls how to use the machine as well as some simple sewing principles. I'm excited to put Puccini to good use. So far, he's been a faithful and reliable little machine. :0)