Written by . . .
My name is Betsy. I am a child of God, a professor's wife, and a mother of four. We live on the island of Java.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
--Psalm 16:5-6
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Category Archives: Indonesia
of uh-oh and a battle to the death
I was trepidatious when I opened my eyes early yesterday morning to see Alex, already in a collared shirt, grabbing his backpack. On the days he teaches at seminary, he’s gone by six. Though it’s only his second week teaching … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia, Keep Calm and Carry On
21 Comments
of the putu man and spontaneous delight of children
Hi Strangers. Anybody remember the series Starting Again: Five Dos and One Don’t in which I gave all of my free and unsolicited advice to pilgrims? Quite astoundingly, considering I was living in Europe at the time and had not yet … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia
10 Comments
of java on java
Alex: “Feel like an adventure this Saturday?” Me, instantly: “NO.” Adventure is something of which, I feel, we have enough at the minute. Alex: “It’s a coffee plantation.” Me: “I’ll pack a picnic.” There are times when I forget that we … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia
2 Comments
of sharing our slushy salt
We love having guests. We always have, I guess. We would usually rather host something than have it elsewhere. We consider a week with people to dinner is a richer and better one than a week without. I have experienced … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia, Keep House and Carry On
6 Comments
of rain falling and falling
The images coming from friends in the States this week are all white. Flocked trees and drifty rooftops, buried driveways, friends’ children with brilliantly red cheeks above their scarves standing with sleds. It’s cold, they say. Events are cancelled. Despite our … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia
6 Comments
by way of a line in the water
It’s been more challenging than I expected to start writing about Java. The difficulty is not that I can’t find anything to say. This is a place so wildly different from everywhere I have experienced before. There is so much … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia, Keep Calm and Carry On
2 Comments
unflinchingly
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly. –J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings We live in a world of explosions. Bombs, guns, and–this week in Jakarta–grenades. Somehow when the … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia, Jesus, Keep Calm and Carry On
7 Comments
leaves and hope
Transition and settling in (and resettling in) is a sub-theme in my life. Last year I wrote a series called Starting Again: Five Things To Do And One Don’t and I’ve often used this space to ponder what it is that transforms … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia, Keep House and Carry On
17 Comments
thank-full
We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday. I mean Thanksgiving was properly and duly celebrated. In the yes-it-was-the-actual-day-and-we-actually-had-a-turkey-and-put-pumpkins-on-the-table-and-filled-our-home-with-friends-and-went-around-and-said-what-we-were-thankful-for kind of way. I know I haven’t described our life here even a little bit. (Yet.) So it may be difficult to imagine just why … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesia, Keep Calm and Carry On
4 Comments
part of the main 