Tarakan "vacation"

Recently we had the opportunity to go to Tarakan on a school break.  Even though it was during vacation time from language school it gave us a chance to find out what it was actually like in Tarakan and to visit some old friends from Moody days.

We had a really good time with our friends, encouraging and being encouraged by them.  I (Tyler) got to go see the hanger and future place of work.  I was very excited to see, hear and touch airplanes after being in language school for 4 months.  The children were ecstatic to have playmates 24/7 for 5 days and it was a great time for the parents too since they played so well together.

 Aaron next to the Kodiak wheel

 Maintenance happens in the open hangar here in Tarakan.  

Too hot to do it indoors.

Aviation Gas is stored in these 50 gallon barrels

 MAF Kodiak sitting on the ramp ready to go.

 The work horse of the MAF fleet the Cessna 206. 

 The Kodiak came in for an inspection and now we get to see

 what is underneath all the cowlings.

The kids having fun running around the hangar

 Tyler and "his" future airplane.

 Jocelyn is not as excited to be next to an airplane as Tyler is.

 Playground at the small missionary school.

 The lunch room at the kids future school.

 One of the two classrooms at the school.

 The kids having lunch on the porch.

Blessed to hang with great friends!

We still have a long ways to go as we study the language here, but we are really thankful for the preview of our future home and teammates.  

Counting the losses

Mt. Merbabu, a dormant volcano near us.

Always in life there are ups and downs.  Sometimes it feels like we're just stuck in the "lowlands" without a way out.  Other times we're sailing along just fine on a beautiful path with the mountains in front of you, just waiting to be climbed and experienced.  We have surely experienced both.  However, the last month is a month where we can say that we have walked in the valley with no mountains in sight.

As some of you may know, we found out we were expecting our 4th child shortly after we returned to Indonesia.  A little over a month ago, at 4 months pregnant, we lost our precious baby boy, Micah, in a miscarriage.  Our hearts are still broken over this, and we continue to grieve and process the loss.  Here is a loss we weren't expecting, and one we still count almost every day.

We've had some other things that have challenged us physically.  We've been asking "how much do we trust God with our health, safety, and well-being when there is no 911 to call, no ER to go to, or trusted hospital around the corner?".  Counting another loss....good medical care available.

This weekend, Tyler's youngest brother gets married.  We are thrilled for him and his bride-to-be, but sad about missing out on the festivities on such an important day with family.  Counting another loss.

We've been sad a lot in the last month.  We have grieved (still grieving), felt pain, been afraid, and felt disappointment.

Even now, we continue to feel these things.  We may be in the valley for a while, but we do feel Christ walking alongside us, and, if we let Him, He carries our burdens for us.  I sometimes wish things could  be different.  I would take my baby back in a second.  But, I wouldn't change the ways God has met me in the deep, dark places. We know that the pain won't last forever.  We know that the only reason we have hope for anything on this earth is because of our hope in Christ.  We may not feel "happy" all the time, but we don't have to plaster a smile on our face.  We are called to trust the Lord, no matter what comes into our life. We continue to be challenged with just living in Indonesia and all that implies, plus raising our family while studying and doing language learning, and processing everything else.  We appreciate your encouragement, and especially your prayers.

The weather is beautiful here, and as rainy season has ended we can see the mountains that surround us.  Our path, however, is still in the valley, but maybe we'll glimpse the mountains sometime soon.  Meanwhile, we try to rest in the God's love for us, and that He is always good, always kind, and always watching over us.

Language School

Language school is keeps on "trucking" on.  Seems like we have been studying for a long time but when we count the days it really hasn't been all that long.  It has really only been a little more than three months since we started, and we are seeing a difference in our ability to grasp conversations concepts and make ourselves understood...for the most part :)

"Sediket-sediket, pelan-pelan manjadi bukit"

little by little, slowly slowly a hill is made.

 That is how our teachers keep encouraging us in our small and steady progress in grasping the Indonesian language.  One instance was when I (Tyler) was just returning home our neighbor came out to greet us and ask where I had been.  I replied with out much hesitation and explained why I was out and that I had to go out again to pick up my other son from school soon.  It kind of surprised me how easy it all came out after months of hulted words and wrong syllobus.  Now that does not mean I am fluent now.  It just means I have some good days and other bad days when all I say is:

 " Saya mau pergi de mana saya lalu selasi"

"I want to go where after I went finsih"

Then I am back to just smiling and laughing at myself.  Which is not bad, keeps me humble and the locals entertained.

Here are some pictures of IMLAC our language school:

Some students performing at an Easter celebration we had at the school.

Instead of an egg hunt we hunted for scraps of paper that had words on it and had to put them all together to complete a Bible verse.

Teams usually consisted of families

Mountains in the background and hallways light with the morning light.

Students fill the hall for morning break-time.

A good friend of Renae's.  Hot tea is a usual break-time snack here in Indonesia, even though it is around 80 degrees.

Ibu Wulan, one of our many language teachers

Our Unit 2 class all together

Ibu Maria, helping us to comprehend that mysteries of grammer.

Renae and I passing our Unit 2 exams and holding up our Unit 3 book.

We are nearing the half way point of our Unit 3 section of language school.  It seems to be going alright although there is a ton of grammar concepts right now being taught at us but we don't really get to review it in the class before we are on to the next concept.  Part of the reason for that is some students only take three units so the school is trying to get all the building blocks out there but will review them later in other units.  You can continue to lift us up in prayer as we try to master these "building" blocks coming out way.

Three is a crowd...

One is Special, two is a couple, three is a crowd and four is just right!

  

Yep, we are expecting again!  We are very excited for this new blessing to come into our life this next October.

You know all those cute pictures?  This is how it really looks and only after 20 shots do you get something that is half way useable and even then you get to edited the picture.  Love my kids and love how they are so energetic!

Been on a walk about?

No, we really haven't been on an Australian "walk about" but it does seem like we have taken a long hiatus from blogging.  Here is a little recap of last year:

 

 Fresh out from surgery in Boise ID.  The surgery took only two hours and did not have any complications.  This is me just waking up and feeling pretty good with all the drugs I was under. 

 Still freshly shaven, first time ever that I have had my leg shaved.  Oh and the incision is healing nicely, thank you for asking :)

 Now my knee is starting to look more normal.  It still took me three months after the surgery to start to walk without any assistance.  Even after that, I had to retrain myself to walk without a limp.  So thankful for physical therapy and the people that helped me get through this injury.

 

 Even with the set back in our plans we were able to spend quality time with my (Tyler's) parents as I went to PT (physical therapy)

Had a mini Schmidt family reunion for Thanksgiving and got to meet our future sister-in-law

One plus side effect of coming back to the States is we got to spend the holidays with family on both sides.  

One of Renae's good friends from Spokane.  We spent the day at our favorite orchard (Green Bluff) in Spokane and pick some apples and have pumpkin spiced lattes. 

 One last winter for a while

Saying goodbye to my parents at the airport before we headed back to Indonesia the second time.

 

 Our team in Salatiga welcomed us with open arms, it was a lot of fun to see them again. 

Back home again!  The boys were really excited to see our house again and to sleep in their own beds.

Thank you to all those that have prayed for us and have carried us through this past year as we encountered unexpected bumps and changes in plans.  God is good ALL the time and it seems I understand it even more when I am in the hard times rather than in the good times.

Around the world and back again!

The downside to being an inconsistent blogger is that when you finally get around to doing an update, it is really long because you have so much to write/post pictures about.  So, to try to avoid writing a novel, I will mostly just put pictures and include snippets of what's been happening.

But first, here is a quick outline of our journey back to the states:
*September 2-4:  Flew from Jakarta to Japan to San Fransisco to Boise
*September 5:  Doctor appointment to confirm and schedule surgery, another MRI
*Sep. 9:  Tyler's knee surgery to repair ruptured patellar tendon (thankful he didn't have a torn ACL or miniscus, but they had to drill holes through his knee to reattach the tendon)
Since then, recovery and beginning physical therapy.
Dec/Jan:  Return to Indonesia

Also, since we didn't have much time in Salatiga, we don't have a ton of pictures, but on our last day I was able to capture some pictures of where we go to language school and some other places around town.  We look forward to having much more to share once we return (in a couple months).

 Mountainview International School's playground:

Even though our kids aren't attending the international school,

it is basically the only "park", so we visited here a couple of times

 Caleb enjoying our last visit to the playground the day before 

we left Salatiga

The soccer field and dirt track at the international school,

the field you're looking at is where Tyler's knee was 

injured while playing ultimate frisbee

 BioMart is a newer little grocery store that caters to the expats (foreigners)

in town. You can even find poptarts and goldfish, for a price!!  We didn't shop 

here too often, as it can be quite pricey.  But, they sell GREAT sub sandwiches!

 The road by BioMart

 Tyler lovin' on the kids as much as he can with an injured

knee!  Building an airport, control tower, and planes

 Jocelyn's favorite thing to do is to "membantu" or help!

She is always sweeping or wiping things with kleenex or towels

 Crafts the boys made while attending preschool at Illumination.

They do really fun activities and have a great jungle gym too!

 Visiting friends at IMLAC, where we all go to language school.

This is the day we left Salatiga to begin the journey back.

 The hallway where all the classrooms are

 Where we have chapel once a week, and also serves

as a classroom

 From the other end of the hallway...the chapel is to the left

 The inside of a classroom.  Usually there are anywhere from

1 to 6 students in a class at a time.  There are 9 units total, each 

unit is about 4 weeks.  Including breaks, language school takes almost a year.

 Looking down from the walkway around the classrooms.