MCC Team Retreat - Bali 03/08

We have just returned from an MCC retreat on the island of Bali. The goal of MCC retreats is to provide an opportunity for MCCers to get away from their assignments and build relationships with other MCCers that they might not otherwise see. In the case of MCC, there are people working in Papua, Java, and Aceh, places that are far from each other. Retreats usually have a guest speaker and in our case it was Lawrence and Shirley Yoder. Lawrence and Shirley have a long history of working in Indonesia with MCC and Lawrence has written two books on the Mennonite church in Indonesia.

We stayed in a nice hotel that caters primarily to backpackers. Our kids loved the pool and spent as much time in the pool as we allowed. While we adults were meeting, the kids had their own program. For the most part we stayed at the hotel though we did do some walking around Lovina. Two excursions were arranged, one to see dolphins and the other to see a Hindu temple set on an island in the middle of a lake, but we didn't go on either.

There was also a talent show night where Katie sang a song about peace. On our last evening there, the owners of the hotel brought in some Balinese dancers to entertain us. Katie says that the best part of the dancing was how the ladies used their eyes and face as part of the dancing. Another part of the show was two men dressed as monkeys who did a monkey dance. The children were encouraged to participate and enthusiastically chased the 'monkeys'.

A cold bug was going round the kids and Raina picked it up towards the end of the week. She is still coughing and has a fever.

We arrived early in Denpasar for our flight home so we spent a bit of time visiting Kuta Beach, the main tourist area in Bali. We didn't actually get to the beach, it was too hot, but spent our time eating lunch and walking around the shopping district.

We are back in Jogja where the rainy season lingers on. I am on a mid-term exam break and won't begin lecturing until the beginning of April. However, I have been asked to give a talk on Wednesday to a Philosophy/Theology club at the university. The invitation came just before we left for Bali so I am not quite prepared but hopefully I will have enough time over the next day or so to work something up.

Mia's birthday is also coming soon. As soon as she turns five, she can enter Kindergarten at school. Right now she goes to school Mon, Wed, and Friday in a pre-school program that is only half-day. This makes transportation very complicated. We car pool with another family who live near us. Having to make an extra trip to pick up Mia takes up a lot of my time. However, when she starts Kindergarten, she will join the schedule of the other kids. She loves school and is very much looking forward to going to school every day.

As for Katie, she now has braces. Her teeth have been coming in crooked and we wondered how it would work with our being in Indonesia. We were very fortunate to find an Indonesian orthodontist here in Jogja and Katie is now using a retainer. Hopefully in a year she will have train-tracks. The bonus is that it is much cheaper to have it done here.

Sara continues to grow. She spends her time at home playing with the helpers. She is still adjusting to all the changes and for example when we traveled to Bali, she clung to me most of the time. She is healthy and with no strangers around, she talks without stopping.

As for Lori, I will try and encourage her to write about herself. Her work responsibilities are not yet clearly defined and she continues to try and navigate the expectations people have for her. But I won't say anymore.

While we enjoyed the retreat, we also enjoy being home here in Jogja.

Phil