Our Last Day in Tarutung.....

We went out to the farm for the last time :-(  We gathered more soil  and water for testing in Medan. 

'T' will take it back with her tonight.  We checked on the cow - she is doing much better.  Still avoids us, but is not as skinny and eats well.  The fencing looks good and the shed floor, trough and cattle chute look great.  Steve did try to explain to Turbo and Sihite the need for two gates/panels for crowding a cow into the chute.  As before, Turbo seemed to understand exactly what Steve wanted.  Time will tell :-)  Most of the workers are laid off as the fence, shed, and chute are done. 

We were only able to see Turbo and the two boys who cut grass for the cows.  Sihite will drive us to the airport tomorrow morning, so we will say goodbye to him then.

'H' left this morning for Medan after being awakened by the police calling at 6:30 am.  They were just checking to make sure we were leaving today.  'H' told them that was the plan, as that was the original plan (when I had my dates mixed up :-) ) and the one they still have.  No one gave them the corrected dates and 'H' felt it would be better to leave well enough alone.  Sure hope we get out of here tomorrow before they find out differently!!  'H' will meet us and Ron tomorrow around noon and take us to the hotel.  Then it's off to the 'feed store' for farm supplies.   I don't think I can post from there (wasn't able to on the way over, anyway), so will try from KL and/or Taiwan.  I never mentioned that 'H' is a civil engineer.  He designed the water system they use for the farm and has offered his services free to the 'governor' for the community water project.  He spent 5 years in Aceh after the tsunami, designing various building projects.  He worked very closely with Samaritan's Purse.  We have so enjoyed our week with him.  He is a fascinating man.  He speaks at least 6 languages.  Talk about a gift of tongues!!

It sure felt like home today.  SOMEONE was preparing us for our return.  There was a torrential downpour starting about 3 pm and ending about 9 pm.  The power went out about 3:30 and didn't come back on until 7:30.  Because of this, all night classes at the nursing school were cancelled.  So, we were not able to speak to the students.  Interestingly, the young lady we met over a week ago, who was supposed to come over to interview us last Sunday, the 22nd, showed up tonight to interview us.  We ran into her again this morning when we went to the store.  She never came last Sun. because she couldn't find the house.  We told her we were leaving in the morning, so she asked if she could come tonight.  We told her to come after 8 as we were scheduled to speak to the students.  She showed up at 7:10.  Our half an hour interview lasted almost 2 hours.  She is going to college to become an English teacher.  She is paying her tuition by teaching English to elementary and high school students at a private school.  She brought one of her classmates along.  So we were actually interviewed twice.  The classmate she brought along knew very little English. 

The most interesting part was when she asked if we had been to the big cross outside of Tarutung and if America had any big crosses for people to go to.  When we told her 'no' she was amazed as America is a Christian nation.  Steve then explained how being born in America does not make you a Christian and asked her if she was Batak.  She said 'yes'.  Then he asked if that made her a Christian and she said 'yes'.  This gave him the opportunity to explain that being a Christian means believeing in and following Jesus Christ.  She agreed and admitted that there probably were some Batak that were not Christian :-)

When we were done, and while she waited for her ride, I showed the crowd in the living room pictures of my kids and grandkids and pics. I had taken in Indonesia.  They seemed to really enjoy themselves.  We were invited to visit her house and to meet her parents the next time we come to Tarutung.

 I sure hope we sleep tonight - we are not looking forward to the next two days!  Thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf.

Our Sunday Lunch Ritual Continues

'H's wife flew in from Medan this morning so 'H' went to pick her up, then they went to church.  While he was gone, we walked several blocks to the bank so that we had enough money for the flight back on Tues.  Then we went to the store for more water.  While there it began to downpour.  We stood outside for 15 mins. under an awning before it let up enough for us to risk the walk.  They got back about 1 pm and we headed out for lunch.  After that 'T' ('H's wife) wanted to go to Lake Toba.  We didn't have time to do the ferry trip so we went to the top of a mountain where there is a lookout.  It was beautiful!  I took a couple of pics. and hope they turn out.  I will send one to my daughter to have her post here.  ( This is a pic taken of Lake Toba, from the plane, on the flight over...... the one from the Mt. viewpoint didn't turn out )

Next, we headed down the mountain to a fancy resort, in the middle of this poor-looking town, at the end of a winding, hole-filled road.  How anyone could find this place is amazing.  It has to be word of mouth or a previous visit.  We stopped for tea and toast.  Then we headed back up the mountain and home.  We have not seen so many water buffalo at one time as on this winding road. 

I forgot to mention yesterday that the English teacher we talked with works for the government in public works.  (Teaching English is his 'night' job.)  We talked about the water situation in the village and he told us that 55% of the Indonesian people have water.  The government is hoping to increase this to 75% in 10 years.  That seems a long time for people to wait!

Another interesting bit of info. is that 'H' is still getting daily phone calls from the police about us (sometimes several times a day!).  They want to know where we are and what we are doing.  They often ask him why we are there hoping we are being paid so they can collect their share.  They seem disappointed when he tells them we are volunteers.

A Lazy Day

Today was a lazy day.  'H' had some business in town and in the village, so we stayed here.  After he left, we walked several blocks to a store and bought some water and peanut butter :-)  After we came back, Steve took a nap while I went online looking for a company like the Gates Foundation or USAID that would consider providing a large pump for pumping water to the village.  To see the poverty, lethargy, and lack of nutrition is so hard.  To not have clean water is almost unfathomable, considering where we live.  If they were to have an adequate clean water supply, they could grow more food for their families and drink as much as they want without the worry of running out.  We know HE will provide one in HIS time, we just don't know if we are to be allowed to help.  So, we will head in that direction and see what HE does.

After a lunch of leftovers, we headed back to the store for rice.  As we were walking by the nursing school, an older gentleman stopped us.  He spoke fairly understandable English.  Turns out he is the English 'professor'.  As far as we could tell, he comes once every week or two to test the students on what English they learned since he was here last.  The test was to begin in 20 mins.  Steve had quite the chat with him.  I was surrounded by students asking questions.  "What are you doing in Tarutung?"  "How many children do you have?"  "How do you like the weather in Tarutung?"  "When will you come back?"  Sometimes I can understand them and sometimes I can't.  Sometimes they understand my answer and sometimes they don't.  One big plus was that the 'professor' told us the Indonesian term for rice.  'Paddy' means the rice directly from the farm, complete with hulls.  'Nasi' is cooked rice.  The one we needed was 'Beras', uncooked (refined!) rice.  Supposedly, he is going to invite us to speak on Mon. night.  Pray that happens and for the words to say!

'H' came back about 3 this afternoon.  He took us to a couple of shops so that I could get souveniers for the kids and grandkids.  I would think that us alone would be present enough, but as I am not sure, it is best to have a back-up!  After we got back, 'H' and I made dinner. 

We made fried fish, tempeh, greens and buffalo curds. Rice and pineapple were left from lunch.  Pita had to go to another town to report to her boss on her store sales for the week.  She sells sunglasses and reading glasses. 

That's about it!  I must either be boring or very descriptive as I have not had any questions about what I have written :-)

3 days and counting...

We leave Tarutung in 3 days.  We will be glad to get home, but are not looking forward to the 'travel'.  We will fly from Tarutung to Medan on Tues. at 10:30 am Indonesian time.  That should be 7:30 pm Monday night Pacific time. This is the 12 passenger plane I 'love'!  We will be meeting 'R' there (he is flying in just to see us off) and will spend the afternoon scoping out the 'must see' spots (if there are any :-)   ).  One place we will go is like the local feed store.  We need to find some nose snubbers, plastic gloves for checking cows. thermometers, etc....  We will spend the night, then leave around 9:40am Wed. morn (6:40 pm Tue. night Pacific time) on the flight from Medan to KL.  I don't know if I will have the ability or time to update there and/or Taiwan, but I will try. 

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday, was that the 'Turbo & fence' situation was worked out while we were up at Lake Toba.  Turbo informed the men that they could 'donate' the wood or he would not let them use 'his' road.  As this is the only way to their property, and increases it's value tremendously, they agreed.  'H' was not very happy about this way of doing business and will talk with Turbo (explaining the difference between donating and stealing)  and the other men and offer to pay for the wood.  

I will have to take a pic. of the road!  The 'governor' hired someone to come in with a large tractor/backhoe and smooth the road a little.  It is not fixed, by any means, but is sooo much better.  No huge potholes that you could lose a small car in!

This morning while the guys were getting ready to leave, 4 young kids were in the yard playing.  Soon I recognized the tune to ring-around-the-rosy, and sure enough, that's what they were doing!  Usually we do not see the 2 girls since they are in school (probably K & 1st).  There was no school today, as it is a Muslim holiday, so we are seeing a lot more kids than normal.  When Steve & 'H' were headed out of town they passed over the river and could see a fairly large crowd (about 100 people) down on the bank.  Steve could see a water buffalo and a blue tarp.  It turns out that the water buffalo was about to be sacrificed.  It's blood and offal would be sent down the river and the meat cut up for widows, orphans, and the poor among the Muslim people.

Today would have been our last chance to speak to the English class at the nursing school.  Steve is very disappointed that he didn't get a chance to 'teach'.  We trust this has been HIS plan all along and we are trying to remember that - but it is still hard to give up on an 'idea' that has been there for 4 weeks.  As expected, this trip has turned out much different than we had thought it would.  HE works in mysterious ways, and this whole adventure has been a mystery!  It actually has been the first trip we have been on where we have felt needed and used by God for the betterment of others.  Our other trips were more for us than those we thought we were 'serving'.  Just about everything we did on them could have been done by anyone.

One of the things I have been doing in the mornings while the guys are gone, is going through a book 'R' has, called, "Where There is no Doctor".  It is very good for remote areas with limited/no animal health care services.  'R' asked if we could write down things he should know and look for involving the cows.  I earmarked several pages and will now write a quick reference sheet for him.  We need to convince him to have the book with him whenever he goes to the farm.

Our cook, Pita, didn't come tonight so I got to cook dinner.  I warmed up some chicken that 'H's wife sent down, boiled some fresh green beans, fried some tempeh, and we ate the last of the rice.  Not too hard :-)  Washing all the dishes at the end was the hardest part!  I think I will bring Pita back with me - I rather enjoy having someone else make my dinner each night.  And she's a good cook besides!  The only drawback is that she doesn't speak English.  Hand signals might not always work!

I haven't had any chance to go shopping (other than for groceries), so no souveniers or gifts for my kids and grandkids or items to display for our presentation at church :-(  I will have to see if I can find anything at the airport.  

Until tomorrow!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The best made plans often go awry :-)  We woke up this morning planning on going to Lake Toba.  We would drive 3 hrs. to the resort town (that starts with a P and is really long).  From there, we would catch a ferry to the island in the middle of the lake and have lunch at the hotel there.  Then we would take the ferry back and shop a little at the souvenier shops, then 3 hrs. back home.

Well, this is what we actually did :-)  First, we had to stop at the bus station to pick up some fertilizer for 'H's citrus trees.  He has 700 trees on 3 hectors a short distance from the farm.  While trying to cut down some brush to drive to his property, he lost his glasses.  We found them after he had driven over them :-(  On the way back towards town to head out to Lake Toba, we were stopped by 5 men on 3 motorcycles.  They surrounded the pickup.  It seems that Turbo, the farm foreman, had cut down some of their trees to make the fence at the farm.  They wanted to get the police involved with Turbo and possibly 'H' in big trouble.  'H' figured out that they thought he had ordered the 'stealing', so he explained what he knew of the situation.  He told them he would talk to Turbo and figure out what was going on.  As we headed back to Tarutung, we realized we were hungry (it was noon), so we went to a restaurant for lunch.  At that point we decided that 'H' should get his glasses ordered first and talk to Turbo second.  Lake Toba could wait for another day.  Conveniently, it seems, the best place to get his glasses fixed was in his hometown, an hour away, and close to the southern(?) end of Lake Toba.  So we did get to see it a little and took a couple of pics. but no resort town and no 'fancy' lunch - which was fine. 

Unfortunately, the optician was out for the day, so he couldn't order his glasses after all.  Next up, 'H' and Steve (with me tagging along) decided to head a little further north(?) to find a small farm that raised Bali cows and fed them elephant grass.  'H' was hoping to get some grass starts to plant at the farm.  He stopped to pick up an older gentleman to help us find the way, and boy was that a good idea!  We all agreed we would still be wandering the countryside if he hadn't.  Bali cows look like a gazelle, only bigger.  The most interesting thing on the way were the traditional Batak houses.  I was not able to get a pic. of them, but 'H' has assured me he will find me one closer to Tarutung that I can get a pic. of.  Steve says they remind him of the pics. you see of what Noah's Ark looked like. 

On our way back through 'H's hometown we noticed several very large 'billboards' on the side of the road made out of flowers.  They all said the same thing.  When questioned, 'H' said the were condolences to the family of a deceased member of the community. 

And last, but by no means least, was 'H's driving.  One generally wants to be on good terms with the Creator before leaving the house, but this went beyond that!  We were often scared out of our wits and there were many 'eeks' and 'aw-w-w's' uttered.  But we survived and you get to read all about it!

Also, an update on 'K'.  She should be released soon and allowed to stay a few days at the house 'R' and kids are staying at.  They are all very excited and want to thank everyone for their prayers.

Bits of this and that, from here and there...

I am at the house and have my 'work' done, so thought I would begin this post.  Steve went to check on the progress of the chute and to help them chop the grass left over from yesterday's truckload to mix with the ground corn and sugar.  They usually mix it with rice hulls, but the pig 'farmers' have bought it all.  We will see how good he is with a machete, if they let him try!  (They had it done when he got there so he helped Sihite load rocks into the pickup for the floor of the feed shed.  Now his back hurts :-P)

One thing I forgot to mention when writing about the hospital compound is that the German missionaries who built it gave it to the Batak church, who gave it to the government in the 70's or 80's - we don't know why, but we can guess :-)  That may be when the less-than-desirable housing was built. This is pure speculation on my part - 'H' doesn't know. 

'H' went to the police dept. this morning to register us.  It was done last week by proxy (Sihite), but the paperwork was messed up.  They had us leaving before we arrived.  'H' went to verify he was our sponsor and to correct the dates, just in case an issue arises.  He also has been trying to see the secretary to the 'governor' about the road, but we found out he is in Medan.  Will have to try again tomorrow or Fri.

Another thing of note is that 'H' is quite the evangelist!  He shares everywhere!  His favorite thing to do is to go sit at the bus station and share with people who are waiting for the bus.  He left last night at 8 and didn't get back until midnight.  He stopped there twice during the day, yesterday, and 'questioned' several people both times.  He does it at the store, at the farm, even at the market.  Instead of buying all his meat from one vendor and all his vegetables or fruit from another, he will buy only one thing from several so that he can ask their 'condition' and share the Good News.  Puts us to shame!!  Oh, I forgot to mention - 'H' is 'related' to me too :-)

Last night, we heard the students singing Christmas carols from 8-9:30 pm.  It must have been like a choir practice because they sang parts of a song several times - first boys, then girls, then both.  The two we recognized were 'Drummer Boy' and 'Ode to Joy'.  If they do it again tonight, we are tempted to walk down and sit in.  'H' said it would be okay and we think it would be fun.  (They didn't sing tonight :-(  We found out that the first year students are the ones singing.)

Pita came and made dinner again - fish, tempeh, rice, buffalo milk curds, and a vegetable that looks to us like swiss chard.  She cooks it in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  The edges are wilted but the stem part is still crunchy.  We had one of Turbo's pineapples for dessert. 

We have been writing down Indonesian terms for various things.  'H' is very patient with us and spells things if I am not sure.  The letter pronunciation is the same as Spanish, which we learned several years ago.  If I can see it, I can usually pronounce it.  I have been too chicken to actually try it - other than thank you.

Until tomorrow!  We are supposed to go to Lake Toba.  We are really looking forward to that!

Tuesday

Steve & 'H' went to the farm about 9 to walk the boundary and make sure it was all marked well, and somewhat permanently.  Then 'H' will contact the local official in charge of that sort of thing to have him come out to 'survey' and give an owner's certificate.  No idea how long that will take.  I stayed 'home' to wash breakfast dishes, sweep, and boil water :-)

I decided to try and describe the road leading to the farm.  It starts out pretty good for Indonesian standards.  Too narrow for my liking, but that's my problem :-)  As we make our way out of town, passing shanties and rice paddies, we begin to wind our way up the mountain.  The road becomes even narrower.  Good thing most 'vehicles' are motorcycles!  There are a couple of literal u-turns where horns are sounded to make sure no one is coming from the other direction.  It would not be a pretty site if they were to meet at the turn.  Once we make it to the village closest to the farm, we begin to pick up passengers - generally the farm workers, but not all. What is interesting, at least to us, is that the road from the village to the farm has 3 high ranking officials living along it.  The 'governor', the secretary to the 'governor', and the police chief.  Once we get past their places, the road, as we know it, ends.  Now it is a mud track.  Twice a day the pickup drives up and down this track going out to find feed for the cows and bringing it back to throw over the fence.  (Hopefully, that will end or slow as the fences get done and the cows can be moved to different fields that have some pasture.)  At least once a day, the pickup drives the track for other purposes.  Combine that with the daily deluge, and you have a VERY muddy track with big holes - that are getting bigger.  Sometimes we slide sideways for several yards before righting and continuing.  Our boys would love it! 

Since the farm has water - and no one else around does - 'R' & 'H' are trying to swing a deal with the 'governor' to rock the road to the farm and bring electricity to it (it stops at his house) in exchange for water.  Currently, he has a water truck that is filled and kept at his house.  The goal is to convince him of the need for a larger pump that would enable water to be pumped to the village for use by those that live there and those that live on the surrounding 'farms', as well as him.  He doesn't have the authority to do much, but can present the need to higher officials under the 'community betterment' theme. Pray that comes to fruition in HIS time.  Currently, everyone catches rain water, and/or walks a steep trail to the river.  Those that use only rainwater start to lose their teeth  by 35-40 because of a lack of minerals in the water. 

Steve & 'H' came back around 1.  After a short, 20 min. siesta, we headed to the hardware store for some chain and locks for the new gates to the new pasture.  We arrived about 2 pm, chained and locked the gates, then let the cows into the new pasture.  Boy, were they happy!  I expect Sihite and the two boys that help him get feed twice each day, are happy too.  They should have a couple of days reprieve before starting that ritual again.  The next pasture should be fenced soon.  Work has begun on the cattle chute.  They didn't set the posts as Steve had instructed, but the cement was set, so we will see how it works. 

The young lady that 'H's wife had help with dinner last night, came back tonight and made us dinner.  It was so much better than a restaurant.  We even get a little vegetables! 

We bought 2 pineapples from Turbo today for our meals for the next 3-4 days.  They are so good!, and only cost us 25 cents each! 

Just got word that 'K' was moved out of ICU and was even allowed to walk to her room.  She is improving remarkably each day.

Not much to report

'K' is doing much better today.  She was sitting up in a chair and not connected to a respirator when 'R' and kids arrived this morning.  She was animated in speaking and was not laboring to breathe.  The drs. are saying she will be out of ICU tomorrow and out of the hospital Thurs. or Fri.  All Glory to the Creator of all things!

Not much happened today.  'H', the Indonesian partner, arrived at 3:30 this morning.  He woke up about 9 am and we visited until almost 11.  He is a very interesting, strong, believer.  We now have a clearer picture of the vision for the farm, the cows, and the house on the hospital compound. 

We had breakfast/lunch then went to the farm arriving a little after noon.  Tiime to check on our cow first :-)  She is doing better every day.  Next we went to the small shed to see how the cattle chute was coming along. They have the dirt prepared for a brick & cement floor.  Then we were off to look at the peanut plants.  They are about 3 in. tall and have 4-6 leaves.  A lot of growth in just a couple of days!  We took a soil sample and are hoping to be able to 'bring' it home for analysis.  After that, we went back down the trail to the river to see the source of the water supply.  We actually went all the way down this time and I took some pics. of the pump houses and the trail. 

We discussed some things with 'H' about mineral for the cows, the need to get them moved to a different pasture ASAP, and general feed issues.

We arrived back 'home' at 6 and 'H's wife was here making dinner.  It was way better than any restaurant!  I don't think I have ever described/explained the house here.  The local hospital was built in the 1920's & 30's by German missionaries.  They also built several houses for the staff that worked in the hospital.  They added the nursing academy and some dorms later (I don't know when)  It is quite a large compound.  'H' has a house here because his wife is an eye dr.  They lived here for 5 years until about 3-5 years ago when they wanted a better education for their son and moved to Medan.  His wife agreed to come down every Mon. to see patients and they were allowed to keep the house. 

Since then it has been used for ministry purposes whenever possible.  We estimate there to be 30-40 houses here.  Most are wood construction and comfortable (except for the bathrooms :-) )  A few, however, are pretty sad.  We wondered if they were added later as a need for maintenance person, school cook, canteen operator, etc... became apparent.  We actually have one in our backyard.  There is a small covered walkway from our back door to the other house.  We did not realize how close they were until 'H' opened the back window this morning.  No wonder it sounded like people camped on our back doorstep all the time - they were! 

The dorm for the nursing students is at the end of our 'road' and the academy is 2 buildings away on the other side.  They pass by several times every day - always singing.  It has been fun to hear.

That's about it.

It's a snake!!

Really it's just me and Steve.  Our 'sunburns' are coming off and boy do we look funny.  I would post a pic. but am not going to take one, ha-ha!

We just heard from 'R' and 'K' is doing much better today.  She has double pneumonia and, because of the surgery, coughing hurts a lot.  Although they want her to move around, they won't let her get out of bed yet, so 'R' and the kids are massaging her legs and back.  He says she is enjoying all the attention.  If she keeps improving, she could be home next weekend.

Being Sunday, we had no ride to the farm until 2.  I stayed 'home' and Steve went to check on the cow.  She is moving a little slower than the rest, but came up to eat and drink with the herd.  We are very relieved.  Our reputation as a 'professional' was on the line! 

Last night we decided to be brave and walk a few blocks to the restaurant that 'R' had taken us to.  They were closed :-(  Tonight, we tried again and they were still closed.  (We thought we would branch out from pb sandwiches.)   On our way back 4 teenage girls stopped us and asked if they could have their pictures taken with us.  We laughingly said we should charge them.  While waiting for our cup-o-soup to cool enough to eat, we heard what we thought was gunfire.  Looking out the window, we noticed fireworks.  I ran to get the camera - and they quit.  So no pic. of that either.

Hiss, hiss :-)

Pictures

I added 4 pictures in various posts. Be sure to look through and find them :o)