Who Are You~ who who, who who

This is a question that is going around and around in my mind..... who are we?  One thing we know for sure, we are a child of the KING, we are bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus and that will never change and is where our security lies.

But that put aside, who are we?  How much of who we are results from our environment?  This is really the question at this moment, how much of how we feel, what we think and what we do is environment based. 

Not really a nature vs. nurture question  as we have been well nurtured by our incredible loving families and we are forever grateful for that.   More of a hmmm..... city vs country?  House vs condo?  Car vs taxi?  Freedom vs the perception of not so much freedom?

I don't know.  I know that when I am home in my home in WI.  I never wonder what I should do, I am never bored, I have a list a mile long of things both chores and fun to do.  When I am in my condo here in Singapore I am frequently bored and am wondering what to do, where how and if I should go somewhere. 

It is an interesting situation as I don't think I am a different person here, but yet I feel totally different sort of lost?  sort of.... well bored really.  I know that sounds bad as I am in this land of great diversity and opportunity and I do love that, I love interacting with all the different people and cultures, learning about them and who they are.  The question is still in my mind.... who are YOU? 

I am not sure that there is an answer really but it is intriguing to think about why is it so very different?

On Top Of The World

Well on top of the ship at least.  THE ship, the one we have taken numerous pictures of since our arrival in Singapore.

You can not miss it really, The Marina Bay Sands Resort, it soars 57 stories above Singapore.

Our boys were blessed to be able to attend a youth retreat in Malaysia this weekend.  We just happened to have "rewards money" from our credit card, that combined with the fact that Scott and I have had very little time together recently we booked a room on the ship. 

Our room was in tower one, the tower to the far right of the ship when you look at this picture on the 46th floor!  Yes our ears popped on the way up.

We had a great room.

With an amazing bathroom

and a stunning view, both day

and night

We honestly wanted to just relax and reconnect, no alarms, no demands, no agenda for just one day.

 When you have a room booked you get to go to the top of the ship, that is 57 stories above ground, there is a park up there with a pool that runs the whole length of the ship.

Hold on tight so you don't go over the edge!  Of course there is a level below that pool that you can not see but really it is a little freaky as it looks like you could just go right on over the edge and fall off the ship.

On the other side of the ship is some walk ways, with some great overlooks on the city

a few hot tubs and a couple of spots with two chairs facing the harbor, this is where we decided to sit and watch the night fall across the sky.

The shipping lane with all those cargo ships waiting their turn to go into the harbor sure is pretty at night.

As the sun came up Sunday morning we were fast asleep, in fact we did indeed sleep in, ahhh.  One last cup of relaxing coffee and it was time to check out.

On a side note, it is the second week of Chinese New Year this week so the stage was brilliantly decorated

and the little garbage sweeping ships were busy at work keeping Singapore clean, fresh and enjoyable for all who visit. 

Speaking of visit we would love to have you if you can come.

Sumatra Day 3

It really is a cool experience for us to be able to be in Indonesia visiting our family and our friends with Scott's mom and aunt who are visiting us in Singapore from the U.S. 

As we awoke this morning it was a beautiful day at our hotel, here is the outside of our hotel

and around the back there was a deck with tables and chairs by each room, a perfect place to enjoy a morning breeze and a cup of coffee, well really it was Nescafe, but the caffine was welcomed and it does have coffee flavor.

Today we get to experience an Indonesian wedding reception, our family and friends who live here have weddings that they are invited to on a very regular basis, think like three times a month!  It is an honor for us to be invited to this extremely intimate cultural experience and we are told it is an honor to the bride and groom that we would attend.

In Indonesia the "wedding" the promises made to one another, actually take place between the groom and the brides father, the bride is not even present.  There is a ceremony with the bride and groom on Saturdays but they technically are already married at that point.  Sunday is the party, the reception, this is what we were privledged to attend.

It was in a big building with tons of people present!  When you walked in, each guest was handed a fan,

good thing too as the room was crowded with no air conditioning and lots and lots of people.

Even the bride needed her fan.

The bride and groom stand on a stage, a very beautiful and elaborate stage, to greet their guest,

 there is no mingleing and the bride is not to smile as she is now leaving her family so even though she may be happy that she is getting married she must show sadness that she is moving out of her parents home.

One of the decorations on the stage was this tower.

We were told that once a year the city has a festivle and there are many of these towers that are made, the towers are floated out to the sea to ensure that the city will maintain health that year.  One year the city did not hold the festival and some kind of outbreak occured, so now every year they float the towers.  Having a tower at the wedding signifies wishes of good health for the bride and groom.

Like any wedding in America, there was food.  A lot of food, good and very VERY spicy food.

You simply get a plate and go through the line then try to find a place to sit.....

We were able to mingle and meet some of our friends neighbors at the reception

These ladies may cover their heads on a daily basis but I tell you they take the fashion of their head scarves seriously, there were some really beautiful women at this reception.

After we ate and greeted the neighbors it was time to go up to the stage and congratulate the bride and groom, as we were the only "white" people there, the photographer immediately lined us all up for a photo.  Scott handed him our camera and he was kind enough to take the picture for us.

The wedding was just the begining of our day three in Sumatra and what a great begining it was.

 Our familly and friends planned a picnic for us at a private beach area in their city for the evening. 

We all piled into a S.U.V. and off we went to the beach.  When I say we all I mean 12 yes TWELVE of us piled into that car, here is a picture of just a few of us

As we were driving down the road to get to the beach it became clear as to why the beach was a more private beach, you need a tough vehicle to navigate the road!

We were told that there might be some wild waterbuffalo around the beach area so be aware, of course we had to sing the waterbuffalo song from veggie tales on our way, and upon our arrival we did indeed see some waterbuffalo, some BIG waterbuffalo.

They crossed over the road and headed down the beach before the rain set in.

Rain did come, it is pretty common to have rain, it is a rain forest afterall, but it only lasts a short while.

Grandma Pam loved playing with little Daniel, he was very busy and very much loved the water

speaking of loving the water a couple of other boys loved those big waves.

As always it is very important to stay hydrated in S.E. Asia

One of our familes favorites is fresh coconut water straight from the coconut, Scott learned how to break one open

and a very happy little Josiah was thankful for the job well done.

Caleb knows how it's done..... bottoms up

At the end of our time on the beach the sun was setting on our trip to Sumatra, we are so glad we went and already miss our family and friends, thank you for sharing your homes and your love with us.

The sun was also setting at our hotel.  Beautiful, God is such an amazing artist!