Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A Few Days at the Beach


We have a new appreciation for those who have the discipline to update blogs or journals daily or even weekly for that matter.  Blessings to all of you who have a gift for communication.  Please continue to be an inspiration to everyone.  For those of you who have difficulty maintaining contact with people in far away places, may God bless us with new gifts and nurture what we have been given. 

During our first six months in Indonesia we didn't venture too far from Salatiga.  Salatiga is basically located in the middle of the island of Java.  Java is home to Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta and 130 million of Indonesia's 242 million people.  This gives the island of Java a population density of roughly 1000 people per square kilometer.  In farming terms, this is roughly 1000 people per half section of land.  Living in the city we feel the population density.  So, during our Christmas break we wanted to see a bit more of Java and be reminded that we do in fact live on an island. 
After celebrating Christmas in Salatiga, we headed to Pacitan, a city located on the south coast of Java.  We spent our time at Happy Bay Beach (HBB).  We had a great time relaxing and playing with friends.  The kids had a great time learning to boogie board that first evening.  The next day we couldn't get them out of the water.  None of us realized how potent the sun is at the equator, and we were all a bit pink by the end of the day despite multiple applications of 60 SPF sunscreen.  Quintin and Abby were in the most pain.  In fact Quin spent the rest of the time recouperating in the hotel room. 

Abby didn't let the burn stop her, but it did slow her down.  During our stay in Patican, our family discovered a new "love"...Boogie Boarding.  According to Zach "At least there is one good thing about living in Indonesia...the Beach!"  Jeff & I even tried to boogie board, I have to admit it is quite a feeling to catch the "perfect" wave.  Missing in these pictures is our camera woman, Dana, who braved crashing waves with the camera raised high in one hand.  Also missing is Quintin, who despite his mother's best efforts eluded the camera by staying out in the deeper water.
Having visited the ocean only a few times previously, our trip to Pacitan was both restful and full of new and interesting sights.  We look forward to visiting more of God's creation here in Indonesia.  If you are willing to come to Salatiga we promise to take you with us.  Blessings. 

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