After many hours, and I mean many, we have finally arrived in country. And now that we are here more specifics can be made known, though wisdom and prudence are still high priorities. We arrived, today in to Jakarta, Indonesia. I am letting all of you know this so you can better pray for us and more so, pray for the Indonesian people. Specifically, those made homeless by the recent earthquake and volcanic activity. Though, we are not involved in it at all, please pray for them, and the relief efforts on their behalf. The trip here, though long, was pleasant as Singapore airlines is very focused on comfort and a pleasurable experience. If you ever go to Asia or the Pacific Rim, have no doubt, they are the best choice. After stepping of the plane, gathering all of us together and collecting our bags, we moved on to immigration, where our documents and visas were reviewed. The ease at which we all went through this process, is a definite answer to prayer, as usually it is quite cumbersome. And all of us passed through customs with the same lack of resistance as well. Then we were met by our team leader, who grew up here and we literally piled all of us and our luggage into two mini vans. And I don’t mean Dodge Caravans…I mean mini mini vans, most of us had luggage on our laps or worse. However, over here the sides are reversed and you travel on the left. To add to that, very few traffic laws are enforced and fewer still are obeyed. the drive from the airport across Jakarta was probably the most harrowing 60kmh around 30mph) drive I have ever been on. After settling in at our guest house, we took a walk to the supermarket a few blocks away. This was nearly as harrowing as the drive, except with out the reassurances of sheet metal surrounding you. We picked up some basics for breakfast, and made out way home for the night. the next day or two have little scheduled to allow for people to adjust because of jetlag. Then we begin a week of orientation to this area and its needs and characteristics. That’s about it for tonight, if anyone has any questions, just email or post them. Also, please forgive any typos, as it has been a couple of days since I have had more than catnaps.
Safe Arrival
