This and the other

Dear Ones,

Here it is October 1 and just now i am writing an update. We have been back in Salatiga for 2 months and time seems to have flown by. What have the Armstrongs been upto in the past 2 months....well let's see....

Luke: He is now in 9th grade and seems to be focusing on school a bit better this school year. The kid's schedule ast school is different everyday and so that has taken some getting used to but Luke for the most part has been doing a great job of getting his work turned in and things like that. His biology class recently made a huge cell model. Partners had to make parts of the cell and then students took their cell part and went inside the plastic tent/bubble thing that was the cell membrane. The students all did an excellent job and i am sure it was a great way for them to really learn the cell in an upclose way. He is also playing soccer and is on the Varsity team--but sometimes plays on the JV team as well. We have a great team this year and they are really enjoying their new coach, Greg Copeland. They got new uniforms made and didn't have them done in the blue/white/yellow school colors but in red after some of the guys' favorite soccer team. :) He plays defense and i am always amazed at how fast he really can run and get to the ball. He must get his speed from his dad.

The Cell project

Some soccer pics

Annaliese: Anna has made the adjustment back to life in Indonesia pretty smoothly. I have to say it has been wonderful to have my "si kecil" (little one) back around again...she just adds so much to our family and to daily life. She is working hard in school and continues to amaze me at her ability to balance so many things at one time. She has a pretty heavy class load, plus she is taking Arabic through an on-line class (thanks to all of you that bought earrings to help pay for that). She also helps organize her class-at the recent student sponsored 3 on 3 basketball tournament she helped organize the snack shop for her class. The Juniors put on the Junior-Senior banquet every year and so since she is a junior this year, her class will have to earn money in order to pay for the banquet for the Seniors. They have some different things planned and hopefully will be able to work together again on those projects. She still struggles with headaches on a daily basis but the pain is a lot less with meds she is taking now (thanks Dr. Turner) and if she is careful to get enough sleep and rest. She has started exercising some (weights and walking) and that seems to help as well. Thanks for praying for her.

Josh and Anna & Anna working the snack shop :)

Picnic in Kopeng-Anna with Hazel and with Mari

Nick: Nick has been busy since we returned but that is not anything new. After a week of getting settled back in Indonesia, he was off to Aceh to check on how things were going up there. He always comes back from these trips a bit tired but recharged because of getting to see the things that God is doing through the work there. Seeing houses built and crops growing and people thriving definitely makes all the traveling back and forth worthwhile. He also recently took a trip to Thailand to meet with the Asia Management Team. He also had a chance to see our friends, Carrie and Steve Durham. It was great for him to have a weekend with them and to catch up on what they are doing in Thailand. One neat thing that happened this past month was Nick speaking at our school chapel. Annaliese is on Chapel Team and asked her Dad to speak about what it means to think beyond ourselves. Of course this was a great honor for him to be asked by his daughter.

Nick with his iPhone on our picnic...Laura & Nick at a Laura's former secretary's wedding

So i guess that leaves me. School has been going okay...it is not without its ups and downs but we have a great staff and a great group of students. We have about 70 kids now and many of them are new. That is definitely one of the changing things about our school is the amount of students transferring in and out. Since there is now a language school Salatiga, we have families that come in for one year for language and then they leave to other parts of Indonesia. We definitely have to get better at dealing with students who are new to the school but also new to the country.

Yesterday was the last day of the fasting month. I have to say that every year we go through Ramadan and then the two days of Idul Fitri i am always thankful for when it is over. Sometimes i am amazed at how our Muslim neighbors and friends are able to keep up the fast for a whole month. It has been so hot and dry recently and it just seems like it would be so hard. I found out last week that one of the cleaners at the elementary, who is 7 months pregnant, has been fasting. Usually pregnant women do not have to fast but she said that they doctor told her as long as she felt strong, it was okay for her to fast. I was pretty upset to hear that but thankfully she has been okay and i hope the baby will be fine too. I also forget that this is the time of year where they go and clean up the graves of deceased family members until i was driving by a graveyard yesterday. I was with a friend and she asked what was going on there...and thus i was reminded of this other practice during this time of year. They go and clean up the graves of loved ones and also pay respects. I am not sure if this is normal Islamic practice or some of the Javanese culture that has crept in over the years. We will most likely go and visit our Muslim neighbors tomorrow...it is always good to see our neighbors but we come away pretty full as you are expected to drink tea and eat snacks at every house. :)

I almost forgot...i wanted to post some things about Indonesian Independence way back in August. This year Nick and i went to our little neighborhood celebration. It usually isn't so bad but as i walked up to where they were holding the celebration, Ibu Siti told me that i had to get on the scale. I, being a normal American, was appalled to think that i had to get on a scale and weigh in, but being that i am in a different culture, i decided i better just do it. So i hopped on the scale and they wrote down my weight. About an hour later prizes were given for the "heaviest" and "lightest" woman at the celebration. I was neither, for which i am eternally grateful. How EMBARASSING!!! Nick did have to get up and dance and he did a great Balinese/Javanese Dance. Oh this turned out to be a much more exciting Independence Day Celebration than we had ever anticipated.

Nick doing his Javanese dance and the Heaviest and Lightest ladies!