An update from Matthew Amanda:
Just an brief update on our first two weeks back...
We arrived to Jakarta on the evening of January 22 and thankfully had no trouble with entry or customs. We were not aware of it at the time, but on January 1st, the President of Indonesia announced that the widespread Covid restrictions were being brought to an official end. Because of this, we didn't need to wear masks on the flight and were not asked about our vaccination status upon entry.
We arrived to our house in Bandung late that night, and the past two weeks have been spent trying to adjust to the local time and settle in at our house. For some reason, we have had a harder time getting over jet lag this time. Our sleeping hours are still a little off, but we are getting better. This week the boys started back to their martial arts classes, and we are trying to get into a school routine. Yesterday Matt also started back to school for the semester. It's been a joy to reunite with friends here, see some familiar faces around the neighborhood, and catch up with our house helpers.
Although we had a friend staying in our home for part of our time away, it has mostly been sitting empty for the past 9 months. Our house helpers have continued to come to the house and have kept it very clean, but unfortunately a number of repairs needed attention right away. We arrived to no hot water, a water leak in one bathroom, a broken washing machine, and several holes in the ceiling, among other things. It's to be expected after such a long time away, but just takes some time to get things going again!
We have also been dealing with another round of sickness, which has been very tiring. Four of us had several days of fever, and we also had a cold going around. Everyone seems to be on the mend except for Matt, who has started feeling really unwell tonight. He is scheduled to leave tomorrow for a trip to Papua, Indonesia, along with Paul and Lane Snider and Jeff Shawver (all currently en route from the US). Please pray for their travels and that Matt's symptoms would improve so that he can join them as planned!
Thank you so much for your prayers! - Amanda
- Always praying.