April's Going Home (to Gombong)

We have planned our visit to Indonesia, to overlap

with our daughter, April, and her family, so that we can all enjoy some

family time here. We are learning about the

island of Sumatera, where Jana and Kris live.

More on that later.

April is eager to make the pilgrimage over to another island, Java, where she

and Jana and their brother, Noel, grew up.

We made this trip last year with Jana and the family.

What a thrill to find old friends, our old house, and the churches we

planted during those years.

It is now April's turn.

Together we all looked at old photos of their growing-up years and

remembered those special, fun days.

But to get to Gombong, Java, from Palembang is not easy or quick.

Johnny left with all the Luptaks on Monday evening to

fly to the island of Java, to the capitol, Jakarta, where they spent the night.

Then they rode a train for about 8 hours, to get to Gombong.

The Travelers: Shelby, Johnny (Papa), Kayla, April, Eric

Aaron, Joel, Seth, Eric

Jana and Kris' 3 boys have enjoyed Uncle Eric. He has only girls in his household

so he's enjoyed being with the boys.

After their trip to Java, Eric will fly back to Topeka, Kansas, where he is

Minister of Praise and Worship at First So. Baptist Church of Topeka.
But April and the girls will be back to the Kelley's
for another 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy the Kelley family and learn more of
their life here in Palembang.

 

At The Kelley Home, Palembang

 After all is said and done, we arrived in Palembang, Sumatera, Indonesia, about

9 PM. Eric and Kris, our two sons-in-law, met us at the airport.

The rest of the family gave us a royal greeting at Kris and Jana's home.

We talked until midnight, running on adrenalin, I'm sure.

And then everyone crashed.

The next day we could better document the arrival.

We were pleased to see the nice home the Kelleys live in. It is located in the middle of

a neighborhood, where they're surrounded by Indonesia nighbors.

Here are 5 of our 8 grandchildren.

These cousins are enjoying being together.

Jana and Kris' 3 boys are in the middle.

Our other daughter April, and her husband Eric, are the parents of our only

granddaughters, who are standing on each end.

Jana takes a few minutes to catch up on the phone with a local friend.

Eddy, their pet cat, stays close by, not wanting to miss any of the fellowship

that is going on. This is Jana's desk in their "school room" in their home,
 where she has been homeschooling the 3 boys.

With school out, this room is used for a game/work room
 during the summer.

 

From the rooftop patio of their home,

we get a good view of the neighborhood.

Getting There

Yes! We did get our bags closed, with the addition of one more bag.

We didn't have to pay overweight until we made the last part of our trip -

which was IN Indonesia, when we flew from one island to another..

 To get to Indonesia, we went through Japan, and spent the night in Tokyo.

.

We spent the night with Micah and Allison Beck in Dallas.

Micah was raised in Indonesia at the same time our 3 kids were raised there, so our families are longtime friends. Micah  took us to the airport early the next morning, and will keep our car for the month, and then pick us up at the airport when we return in mid-August.

In the airport, ready to board our plane.

We stayed in a hotel near the airport in Tokyo instead of waiting out  the 11 hours

inside the airport. Here Johnny is wearing his kimono and sipping tea,

Japanese style.

It was good to see the beautiful rice fields of Asia, once again.

This photo was taken out our hotel window.

After baths and sleep, we were ready for the last 11 hours of our trip.

ON OUR WAY....

"In-do-ne-sia, here we come.

Right back where we started from."

(to the tune of "California, Here we come")

Been singing this song as we've been trying to squeeze everything

into our alloted bags and keep them at the acceptable weight.

It's a thrill to return to the country where we began our 36 year career with

the International Mission Board.

Oh, no!  What to do?!

Ahhhh!  With a little encouragement, they WILL close!

I think we're ready to depart.

Watch for the next stages of our trip. 

BUSY DAYS

It seems we have been running from one thing to another lately.

Do you feel that way, too?

All good stuff, though!

Here's a few pictures to give you an idea:

Here is Elliott in his championship uniform for his team going to State playoffs

in Texarkana.

Carl is under Papa's truck, changing the oil!

(First customers in his oil-changing business.)

And while all these things are going on, Johnathan, having finally recovered from

being in the hospital one week, spends his time at our house

writing up his final papers for his Fusion course work to be mailed in.

Busy days, and all of them GOOD days.

SATURDAY DRIVE

It was a beautiful spring day and I had a yen to get out see some of the spring flowers. We could have made a full day of it, making a circle drive through three nearby towns. But neither Johnny nor I wanted to take that much time.

So we just drove on the country roads around Longview.

Here is what we saw:

We never tire of these East Texas roads.



The Lanceleaf Coreopsis is one of my favorite wildflowers.

Indian Paintbrush

As we drove through the countryside we came upon some goats.

I wondered if they made goat cheese there.

I'd like to get some, if so.

The striking Indian Blanket, the state flower of

Oklahoma where I was born.

Coming to the end of our drive, as we were heading home on the

busy highway, we laughed at how many wildflowers

were right there, visible for all to see.

Here was a long stretch of the Indian Blanket wildflowers.

Now, we are moving deeper into June and the hot weather.

Different flowers are beginning to bloom.

But we will remember that cool(ish) Saturday spring drive.

 

ESL PICNIC

It was a beautiful day for a picnic, and that's how we ended

our English as a Second Language spring semester.

Calixto Arce, a friend who was born in Mexico and lives in Longview with his family now, spoke to our

ESL students and their families.

He is a successful business man, dedicated Christian leader, a member of Mobberly Baptist Church.

 He gave his testimony and a great challenge

to our students to learn and use English.

We enjoyed good food and fellowship,

and gave out certificates to all the ESL students.

Now we take a break for the summer and

will begin again in September.