Journal - June 15 - 19... Nancy

Friday, June 15

The wonderful Pastor Amy picks us up at 6:00 am and drives us to the airport. Amazingly, all our flights were on time! We flew from Knoxville to Houston where we had a long layover, Houston to Moscow – where we had an 1 ½ hour layover to switch planes –Moscow to Singapore – another 1 ½ hour layover – and then to Medan, Indonesia. We arrived in Medan at 8:00 am Sunday, June 17^th.  With the 13 hour time difference, it made for a mere 38 hour travel adventure. Yes, we are tired.

Sunday, June 17

We easily glide through immigration, thanks to our nifty 60-day visas arranged by the ELCA. Collecting our luggage was rushed and chaotic with many people in a small area, a young man with a cart grabbing our luggage and piling it high, and a rush through customs where the agent only opened one suitcase. We push through the people into the hot Indonesian morning and see familiar, smiling faces! Dean Tagor and Pina (his niece) are there to greet us. With warm handshakes and big hugs from Dean Tagor, we slice through the people and traffic toward his car in the crowded lot. The luggage guy is following, the cart hits a pot hole, our luggage falls off and is quickly re-piled. We cram our bags and bodies into Dean Tagor’s official Nommensen University Van (don’t think American size van) and head toward Siantar. Medan, the huge capital city of North Sumatra, is bustling with Sunday morning markets and shoppers. Dean Tagor knows every shortcut between Medan and Siantar, and it still is a 3-hour journey of twists, turns, and jarring bumps.

We arrive around 12:15 pm at our familiar little guest house. It looks welcoming, thought stifling hot this time of day. Dean Tagor agrees to return at 1:30 to take us to lunch, giving us time to unpack a few things and wash two days of grime off our bodies.

Dean Tagor, his wife Reina, and 11 year old daughter Esra pick us up and take us to run a few key errands: first, we go to the ATM so we can get Rupiahs, the Indonesian currency. It still amazes me that my Knoxville Jefferson Federal bank card can spit out rupiahs. With money in hand, we then stop by the mobile (cell phone) store, a small open air shop on the corner of two very busy streets. With motor bikes rushing by and horns honking, we all pack into the tiny area, get a sim card and add minutes to our phone from last year. Then, off to a delicious lunch with cold fruit juice drinks, plenty of rice, vegetables, and fish.

Jacob and his buddy Dean Tagor, with the beautiful fish waiting to be eaten. The drinks are some kind of white fruit, which the Dean said helps to burn off your fat! We won't be needing too much of that after a few weeks here!

By this time, we are so jet-lagged and exhausted, Dean Tagor drops us off back at home - it’s time to collapse. Without unloading or unpacking anything else, we crawl on top of our beds and basically pass out. We awake a few hours later to the sounds of basketballs on the court just 30-feet outside our front yard and children’s laughter. The neighbor kids play on our porch and on the stone pathway between our house and the basketball court. They are adorable, but maybe more so after we have some rest!

We slowly unpack things, drink lots of water, take a short walk and greet a few friends from last year. Then, back to bed. We are sound asleep by 9:00 pm when Anton and his family stop by. Jim jumps up to say hello – but I cannot drag my body out of bed. Of course they understand, and we set up a dinner-date with them for tomorrow. During all of this, Jacob is sound asleep and stays asleep through the entire night.

Monday, June 18

We are wide awake by 4:30 am and enjoy listening to the familiar sounds of life in Siantar: the unusual birds, the motor bikes, the roosters, the 5:00 am call of the mosque, a baby crying in the distance… We sit on the front porch and enjoy the comfortable morning temperature, read a little and begin to unpack. It is then that we realize things are missing. I’m assuming in my frantic WOW activities and rush to get out the door, I left stuff at the house in Knoxville. Then we all realize we are actually missing an entire suitcase with our: first aid kit (including Pepto-bismal and other intestinal type meds: critical!), 6-7 English textbooks we brought for our friends, Jacob’s vegetable seeds to plant, several other Bibles, goodies to share with the local children, and all my shirts.  This becomes a project for Jim and Dean Tagor to tackle! Stay tuned.

At 8:00 am we attend the worship and prayer service in the open courtyard for the incoming freshman. They will be taking their entrance exam today. The Dean says only about 80% will pass and be able to attend University.
The students all stand in straight lines during the service, and the Muslim students politely bow their heads during times of hymns and prayer. It is hot and the students must be totally stressed out, but they participate fully in the singing and prayers. At the end, we wish them Selamat Ujian (good luck on your test!) and they head to the Mensa (big, open air classroom) to take their tests.

Jacob, Jim and I greet old friends (Hormoko, Baris, Nettie, Esther, Rosinta, and others!) and then walk to the market for some simple food supplies. As we walked through the campus, it appears trashed from the weekend activities: hundreds of water cups scattered around the soccer field, food and paper trash in the lawns. But this morning, a team of University workers was methodically sweeping it all up.

A quick nap. Lunch of crackers with our contraband peanut butter, and then some time spent in the “hot spot” where we could get on the internet.

The table looked beautiful and we were ready to eat!

Dinner was a feast hosted by Ms. Kihm and her son Anton and wife Ivana, Jimmy (who just graduated senior high), Ivana’s parents, plus a cousin, a friend, a Scottish gentleman (George) and his Indonesian wife… a true international affair! The meal was a Chinese offering done only for special occasions, with special pots of water boiling over cookers in the middle of the table, and many ingredients to cook and consume. Some of the ingredients included various cabbages and greens, broccoli, shrimp, fish stomach, pig stomach, crab, tofu, and others. It was delicious (my selection didn’t include the various “stomach” items) and made for a wonderful evening.

This is the famous Mrs. Khim in the middle, with her husband to the left and youngest son (nephew?) to the right. She held this feast in the middle of their family noddle shop, with all the tables moved together and the cookers and pots in the middle.

 Tuesday, June 19

Jim and Dean Tagor made a road trip to the Medan airport to find the missing suitcase – and believe it or not – it was there! Yes, there was a lost and found. No, they didn’t have a phone or anyway of tracking it without physically showing up. So, after leaving at 5:45 am, the boys returned at 3:00 pm with the suitcase. Incredible. Jim can tell this story for a long time – the roads, the traffic, the conversation. Dean Tagor was extremely generous with his time – we can’t thank him enough.

Jacob scoops some frozen fries at the Ramayana grocery store.

Jacob and I spent the day meeting with students from the English Club and doing some shopping for basic cleaning supplies and basic food. At the local grocery store – Siantar’s version of WalMart – we found most everything we needed. However, this big store doesn’t carry any vegetables or fresh meat. That must be purchased at the market, and we don’t go to the local market without a “local” with us. Marnala is the best to shop with. Boy can she negotiate!

It’s a hot day. Even the college students from the English Club declared it “hot.” The soccer game is starting up on the campus field. It all looks so normal to us this year: no nets, big roots, students playing without shoes… they are having a blast!

An evening walk, a visit with Singhaam (our neighbor) and family, and a visit to Dean Tagor, Reina, Esra, Pina, and Marnala. Then we hopped on the microbus (our favorite) and rode down to CFC for fried chicken! All chicken is served with a cup of rice – and of course no utensils.  The microbus was just as exciting as we remembered – loud, cramped, fast, and entertaining. We came home by 9:30 and crawled into bed.