Let's backtrack-Traveling to Indonesia part 1

We flew out of Philly at 5:50pm on Sunday, July 4th. We had to arrive 3 hours early at the airport and check our bags in. When we got there, they told us they were going to charge a higher price on our bags then we had planned for...but God took care of that and we ended up getting a lower price than we had thought! That was cool, just another little way God was good to us! The cutest little pilot I have ever seen!

We flew to JFK, in N.Y., then had a 2 hour layover there where things got a little sticky w/ the airline. We ended up arriving at our gate just in time to board. We then had a 7 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We all got a descent amount of sleep. When we arrived in Germany, we had to get off the plane so they could clean and reload it. So we literally had to walk through the whole airport to get right back on it, lol! Then came the long flight, 12 hours. It was our day time now, their night time. We slept some more, but somehow when we woke up for the remaining 8 hours of the flight, the electronics in our small section were not working, so no movies that we had looked forward to after sleeping the flight before! We had to sit in the dark for a while while everyone else slept, but we actually were fine, reading was a chore, but Eden did amazing, so I can't complain!

We then arrived in Singapore at 6:30 am on Tuesday, where we had a 5 hour layover which we planned to get a room to shower and rest in, but we were so awake and excited that we cleaned up in the bathroom and then went exploring! Singapore airport is the nicest, cleanest airport you will ever see in your life I do believe! Even the restrooms, fanciest, cleanest airport bathrooms you will ever see(should have taken a pic of those too!lol)! We couldn't believe how nice it was! They had gardens w/ Koi ponds in them (Eden got to feed the fish their breakfast w/ the man who takes care of them), a butterfly garden, playgrounds, shopping malls and more!

We then proceeded to our last flight for the day to Jakarta, Indonesia! It was only an hour flight. We had one last airline meal, which by the way, all the meals we got were very good! They took great care of us! Now, mind you, Eden was an angel the whole trip, I couldn't believe how well she did! She had a blast, she slept, she didn't fuss or try to run all over, it was amazing! But by this point, Eden was starting to struggle. Poor little thing was getting more and more tired and whiny. However we made it before it got bad.

Airplane! She ended up loving airplanes.

We landed in Indonesia at around 3:30 pm on Tuesday and proceeded through immigration and customs. J saw a few cockroaches in the one office, on the counter, lol...glad I wasn't there. I was nervous for my 1st culture shock to use the restroom because I knew the Indonesians use a "squatty potty", but I was pleasantly surprised! There were 2 toilets and only 1 "squatty potty"!!?!? I was prepared w/ my own toilet paper and hand sanitizer in hand. We got our bags and headed to meet the New Tribes guesthouse hosts. Their names are Ken and Sue Ault and they are retired New Tribes missionaries who are filling in for the usual hosts who are home on furlough. We were their first new arrivals and it was the first time he had driven from the airport to the guesthouse which is about an hour in CRAZY traffic!!! No seat belts or car seats, and motorcycles and cars weaving in and out everywhere, poor Ken was a little stressed about the whole situation, but he drove like a pro! Eden passed out almost immediately in the arms of "Grandma" Sue (they call themselves Grandpa and Grandma, which I think is an usual mission thing, family away from family...very nice:)), but it is so hot that we laid her down on the seat next to Sue and she could sleep sprawled out in the car! She is never going to want to go in a car seat again! J was enjoying watching all the craziness on the streets. They told us there are 250 new motor bikes on the road everyday, don't know if that meant in just Jakarta or what. We made it to the guesthouse without passing out from exhaustion...it was a struggle to stay awake, even when engaged in a conversation:) They fed us and we went to bed! We all 3 woke up, wide awake at 3 am! We tried to keep Eden quiet until the rest of the house woke up at a more normal hour. To be continued in part 2...

For the post before this one, go to: http://www.ntm.org/wp/jay_stokes/

First thing we saw in the Jakarta airport

Airport parking lot

No car seat

"Grandma" Sue

Wiped out