Journal - September 13, 2008

1:05 PM – Finally got to Indy around 11:00 am on Thursday. So here’s a recap of the last few hours of our travel.
The flight from Taipei to LAX went farther north than the trip over. We crossed very near Korea and flew just south of the Aleutian Islands along Alaska’s southwest tip. Then it was down along the west coast flying over San Francisco. The landing at LAX was the smoothest I’ve experienced ever! Can you say, “Butter!”?
At the Security checkpoint in LAX they confiscated my toothpaste, shaving cream, and pocket knife. Yes, I was stupid and put my pocket knife in my carry-on bag instead of my checked bag. A pocket knife in carry-on on September 11? I guess I was more tired than I thought.
The flight from Dallas to Indy was delayed for a few minutes because of a “minor” maintenance issue. Never found out specifically what it was but I’m glad they fixed it. The flight took off as the sun was rising for the second time in less than 24 hours.
That was very weird. We took off from Taipei, Taiwan around 11:00 PM on September 10 and landed in LA at around 8:00 PM on September 10. So we landed three hours before we took off. We took off and landed in the dark, but over the Pacific Ocean we saw the sun rise and set during a trip that lasted less than 14 hours.
Anyway, the flight to Indy was beautiful. We flew over the clouds and I got some great pictures and video. As we approached the airport we flew right over the Indianapolis Speedway and I got a couple of shots from the air.
Cheryl greeted me at the airport and was very teary-eyed to see me. It was good to be home.
After traveling to New Castle and taking a shower, we went to the respective schools to pick up Emily and then Kaitlyn. Big hugs were on everyone’s agenda. I’ll post a trip wrap-up entry soon.


You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 10, 2008

Sept 10 - 1:25 pm - In the Jakarta Airport. Security took Ron's water that he just bought. They almost took his frappuccino but he stood at the security check point and drank it all.

10:20 pm Taipei time - Sitting in the food court of the Taipei Airport, waiting to board in about 20 minutes.
Flight between Jakarta and Taipei was interesting. We were delayed because a passenger had checked their bags for the plane but never made it to the gate. After confirming the passenger was absent, they had to unload his/her luggage. Finally we took off. Our flight path was farther west than coming in to Jakarta. We traveled just off the coast of Vietnam and flew past Hong Kong. The young lady next to Ron got sick and threw-up on the plane. The stewardess did not help (except for bringing a large gift bag for the sick passenger to use). Ron did most of the helping.


You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 9, 2008

8:25 am - Getting ready to leave the hotel in Yogyakarta. Going to Tom's Silver shop.
3:46 pm - Back in the Java Dorm getting ready for the trip home. I need to transfer some pictures, pack, and be ready for dinner at 6:00 pm. I'll also need to write thank you notes.
Today we saw skilled silversmiths and other craftsmen and women creating jewelry, puppets, and intricate sculptures.
After shopping at the store attached to the Tom's Silver factory/museum, we went to Malioboro street again. and did some shopping. Then we headed home.
Casey hasn’t been feeling well since last night. We offered to drive but he said he wasn't THAT sick.
We went to the school and talked with Sid (business manager?) and made final money exchanges.
On the way back to the dorm, I got stopped by several students who were glad to see me again and told me how much they loved our times of worship at the retreat.


You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 8, 2008

(written on September 9) - Monday was a busy day. We left Salatiga around 8:30 am and headed to Borobudur, an ancient Buddhists Monument. It's a manmade mountain of volcanic rock carved and shaped into 100's of Buddhas covered with bell shaped domes. Also carved into the walls of each level of this "mountain" are sculpted reliefs depicting portions of a story. Kind of like ancient comic strips carved into the side of the walls.
From the parking lot to Borobudur and from Borobudur back to the car was miserable. Peddlers and beggars more than you could count, each one trying to sell something or just beg for money. It was hard not to feel sorry for the beggars.
Leaving Borobudur, we headed to Yogyakarta. One of the funniest signs was saw I'm sure lost something in the translation. Several of the auto repair shops advertised "Cat Oven" but I'm sure it's not what it sounds like.
We shopped a little at the main shopping area in Yogyakarta called Malioboro. Sidewalk merchants set up outside of store fronts, each selling something they thought we should take home as oleh-oleh (souvenirs).
At the end of the shopping district is a department store (Mirota Batik). The prices here were competitive with the sidewalk merchants.
We ate lunch at Pizza Hut which had normal Pizza Hut food and a wide variety of other food. It was more like a blending of Pizza Hut and Big Boy.
For dinner we at a dinner theatre serving Javanese food (rice, sate, etc) and then showed a production of the Ramayana - the story about the White Monkey King. This production had live actors instead of shadow puppets. The cast included a child that was no older than 3 or 4.
That night we stayed at a little out-of-the-way hotel that looked pretty run-down from the outside. When you walked through the front door, you were in a hotel that was 4 or 5 star and could have been promoted as a honeymoon spot. Two waterfalls framed an open air restaurant. One waterfall fed a coy pond just off the lobby, and the other waterfall fed a small swimming pool. The pool was the centerpiece of an open courtyard surrounded by two stories of hotel bungalows. A very nice place.


You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 6, 2008

(written on September 7th) – Woke up to a beautiful sunrise through my balcony window. Talked with Tami Byrd and my family through Skype. My breakfast was an apple; Ron has been raving about them for days, so I finally tried one. It was pretty tasty.

The schedule at the retreat has been VERY flexible. So we’ve been a little short on time for rehearsals. The two praise bands have done great, especially with little rehearsal time. They loved worship and participated enthusiastically. Their favorite songs this week have been “Hail to the King”, “Mighty to Save”, “God of this City” and “Who Am I”.

As our meeting time began, I began to get a little queasy. I started the Ciprofloxacin and Pepto right away.

The students were sad to see the retreat come to an end. By noon I was on my way down the mountain in the Java Dorm bus. After lunch at KFC in Salatiga, I took a nap in the afternoon.

Then in the evening, we all went to Casey and Sharon’s house for supper. There we met 6 Indonesian college-agers and shared a meal of chicken and goat sate (chicken and goat on a stick), two kinds of rice, and lasagna. For desert Sharon made a chocolate chip cheesecake.

The conversation after dinner centered a lot on US politics. The students were interested in who we were going to vote for and why. We also talked a little about New Orleans, Ramadan, and the Islamic faith. It was a good conversation.


You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 7, 2008

1:05 pm – This morning I woke up at 5:00 am wanting to put the finishing touches on my message and talk to my family on Skype. The dorm was all locked up, so I had to go on battery power in my computer. This was pretty scary because my computer is old and when the battery gets too low it doesn’t warn you, it just shuts down. Anyway, it worked long enough so that Cheryl and Emily and I could talk. Kaitie was babysitting.

The church was packed today. I only recognized two songs this week; “I Give You My Heart” and “My Redeemer Lives”. Instead of a worship trio leading like last week, this week there was one man who led worship. The praise band played both weeks: drums, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard.

Before my message, I gave my copy of Shaped By God’s Heart to Pastor Mariono. I preached from Philemon verses 3 through 7a and encouraged them to use prayer to develop a passion for God and compassion for people. Casey translated and hopefully God spoke to hearts. One young man, probably 11 or 12 years old, took very extensive notes and had me autograph his notes!

After preaching, they asked me to sing, so I sang “Thank You, Lord” about Indiana, the dinosaur tree, and my thankfulness to God for His many blessings.

After eating brunch at Casey and Sharon’s we were supposed to go to a rice farm. My stomach started turning flips again so I took a nap while Ron and Tory went with Casey and the boys, Nicko and Ryan. I feel a little better now but not 100%. I’ll be going back to the church in a few minutes for the second worship seminar.

9:36 pm – Ron and Tory said they really enjoyed the rice farm. I’ll try to get pictures from them to share. This afternoon’s worship seminar was a lot of fun. People were a little bit freer in sharing, and asking questions, and joking.

After the worship seminar concluded, the church gave each of us (Ron, Tory, and myself) a gift so that we will remember Indonesia. Tory opened his tonight and it is a batik map of Indonesia and a batik placemat/coaster set. Ron and I liked the paper so much that we decided not to open ours yet.

I didn’t eat supper; my stomach was still feeling funny. But one of the Indonesian grandmothers insisted I eat one of the fried puffed rice chips. It tasted a little like rice crispys. My stomach feels basically the same. I think I just need some sleep.

You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!