Something New for MAF

So when you want to fly with MAF in Banda Aceh, you will now be able to check in at our own counter within the airport!! For those of you who have ever flown with us anywhere else in the world, this is something that you will NOT see. We were so shocked and humored by this, I just had to laugh and then I quickly grabbed my camera so that I could share it with you.

This is Max, one of our national staff members, at our check-in counter in Banda Aceh. Next to us are the check-in counters for AirAsia, Firefly, Garuda Airlines and others. MAF has made it to the "big leagues" now. :-)

A picture of the airport here in Banda Aceh.

PK-MAN, MAF's Caravan in Aceh. This is the plane we flew in when we went to visit the Meulaboh base.

Look What I Found Today

As I was reading through my email this morning, I came across one that I have newly subscribed to and was truly blessed by the author and what she had to share. It has to do with meeting expectations that we put on ourselves. This is something that I struggle with a lot. I wake up in the morning and plan out my day knowing what I love to do and I knowing what I need to do. Trying to find a balance between those two things and not burning myself out is a daily struggle for me. What seems to exacerbate it for me, is looking at my "neighbor" and seeing how he or she seems to have it all together and can accomplish it all and still be able to smile at the end of the day.

I know that many of us face this everyday and so I thought I would share this link with you. Enjoy!

http://www.incourage.me/2009/08/courage-to-be-you.html

A New Look and A New Life

Welcome to our new blog! After much thinking about it, I decided to keep the name "The Unruh Trek" but to change our main photo so that it is appropriate to the area we are serving in. The picture I have chosen (for now) is a photo taken above the coastline of Banda Aceh. This is a beautiful part of Indonesia and I love that the mountains run right into the coastline of the ocean. Just a few kilometers off of the northern coast, there is an island where everyone goes to for vacations and there is world-class diving and snorkeling. We are looking forward to heading out there when the boys come home for Christmas break.

The Aceh province is located on the northern tip of Sumatra. In earlier days, it was a perfectly situated spot in the middle of the Malacca Straights where East met West and vice versa. This area has been heavily influenced by India, the middle east, Malaysia, and Holland. This has also been an area that has a long history of conflict.

Since the tsunami happened (end of 2004), it dramatically changed not only the physical appearance of this province but also brought much healing to this land. It was at a great price but many of the people will tell you that things are much better now. The tsunami opened up this province to the world, something that would never have happened before. So many people and international organizations have invested a lot of money and much time and effort to help rebuild this area and the people's lives here.

MAF arrived here a few days after the tsunami hit. As you may recall, Stan and his chief pilot, Peter Spahr, were the first pilots to come. A base was established down on the coast in Meulaboh and eventually permanent staff were assigned there. Now that the region has been rebuilt and the Acehnese are back on their own feet, most of the foreigners have left and we have seen the need to make a change ourselves.

Our first main job is to move the team and all assets up here to Banda Aceh from Meulaboh. We are also in the process of contracting the use of a large storage facility out at the airport to be used as a hangar/office for us. We are discussing with the governor's office several possibilities of flying to certain villages through out this province that do not have other good transportation options. We have finally found a house for ourselves but cannot move in until the first of September. So as you can see, we have been quite busy since arriving here but we are very happy and can see so much potential for ministry in this area.

Please pray for us as we work with our team members in making this huge transition. Pray that all the different things we are presently working on will come together and that the Lord will bless our efforts. We are excited about being here and pray for the success of this program.

A New Trek For Us

Well, you've probably heard by now that MAF's Nepal project has not worked out. Due to various reasons, it was decided to close down the Nepal program. This means that our "trek" in Nepal has come to an end; however, God has another one planned for us.

After much prayer and weighing through our options, we have decided to move back to Indonesia but this time to a different island. We spent almost 11 years serving in Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. We will be moving to a town called Banda Aceh; located on the northern most tip of the island of Sumatra. As you may recall, this is one of the places that the tsunamis hit the worst.

Stan will take the position of Program Manager. Ben and Nathan will return to Dalat International School in Penang, Malaysia; however, this time it is only a 30 minute "hop" over to visit them. David will remain at home with Stan and I and I will homeschool him.

We are all very excited about this new "trek" that the Lord has planned for us. It is disappointing for us to have to leave Nepal; especially when we see that the need here is so great. However, we don't question God; after all, he sees a much bigger picture than we can even imagine. Please pray with us as we begin packing AGAIN and make our way back to Indonesia. We depart Nepal exactly one year from when we arrived; August 1st. We will take a vacation in Thailand and then head over to Penang to drop off the two older boys. We should arrive in Aceh on August 12th.

Please keep checking back in with us here for more updates and pictures as we begin a new "trek".

What Is A "Bandh" (bunda)?

In the past, I have spoken about "bandhs" here in Nepal; however, as I was thinking about it today, I got to thinking that you may not completely understand what that really means.

Basically, a bandh is a protest. It is when a group of people, who are dissatisfied with something, come together (and many times will hire other people to come and rally with them) to protest. There are many types of bandhs that occur here. I will share 5 types of them with you. By the way, a friend of mine here was reading an article that said in the past 6 months, there have been 500 bandhs in this country!

The first type would be a simple protest on a street. This is when the police will barricade a portion of the road so that these people can "vent" their frustrations. This could be by burning tires, screaming and yelling, and throwing bricks or rocks at anyone on a bike or in a car who dares cross over that barricade. This usually will last anywhere from an hour to half a day. With this type of bandh, you can walk by and not get into trouble...usually.

The second type of closure would be a particular section of town. An announcement will go out that "tomorrow" there will be a bandh for the city of Patan (a suburb of Kathmandu that we live in). That means that all businesses will be shut down and closed up until whoever called it says it is over. This will also stop all traffic throughout that section of town. The people who are responsible for this, and their hired "helpers", will then proceed to walk through this portion of town and holler and yell, brandishing sticks and stones. Woe to anyone who has an open shop door or to the person who tries to sneak by them on a motorbike. There have been shops set on fire, looted, and ransacked during these bandhs. It is the same with cars that are parked on the side of the road.

The third type is a city-wide bandh. We have had 2 of these since we've been here. The whole of Kathmandu is completely shut down. It is actually a great time to go bike riding or to take a walk because there is absolutely no traffic ANYWHERE.

The fourth kind of bandh is when a particular group of people are upset with the government and their policies, etc. So they will go to Parliament and to other government offices and barricade the entrances. They will even padlock the doors so that no political figure can get in (or out).

The fifth kind is a district bandh. This is VERY common down in southern Nepal. A whole district will be shut down and the only way in or out is to fly. However, once you arrive in a striking district, you can almost count on having to walk from the airport to wherever you need to go. Most businesses will be shut down. These have gone on for days and even weeks at a time.

This is a very sad reality that the people of Nepal live with daily. Their faith in the justice system is completely diminished and so resort to this kind of violence. A whole generation has grown up with this, and sadly, it is the only way they know to get their way.

Please continue to pray for the people of Nepal. They are in desperate need of hope and grace!

End of the Year Events

The school year has finally come to an end for us. All of the boys had a very successful year and we are very proud of them. Of course, there were many "end of the year" events. I have shown just a few here.

David participated in a Reader Theater. He was a narrator for the famous story, "The Emperor's New Clothes". He did a great job!

Look in the very center of this "sea" of children and you will see David's blond head poking out. This was his "end of the year" assembly. They sang for us, quoted scripture, and were given awards.

Does anyone recognize this handsome, young man? This is the first tie that Ben has ever owned. Stan taught him how to tie it and he spent a LOT of time practicing for this special evening. It was the Secondary's End of the Year Celebration and Graduation at the Radisson Hotel. Ben successfully finished 9th grade and he can be very proud at how he finished!

Here is a picture of Ben and Nathan together for the special evening. Nathan really wanted a tie too but I wasn't sure where to find one that would fit him right. It turned out to be just fine because most of the middle school boys didn't wear one anyways.
Congratulations boys!!

What Would You Have Done?

Life Is Made Of Choices
Ok, so this plaque is really not what my blog is about today, but I will be giving you some choices to look through in regards to a real live incident that Stan just experienced this past week. Here is the "set-up"...

As you know, about 2 weeks ago, there was a bombing in the local Catholic Church here. Since then, security has been pretty tight. Today, there was a city-wide bandh (closure/protest) put on by a majority people group who are demanding certain rights. Everything was shut down; no taxis, buses, cars, and most businesses were closed. Nothing major has come of it; however, it does mean you stick close to home.

Now that you have a better picture of what "life" has been like here lately, you will understand Stan's dilemma a little better. While riding his bike back from language school one day, he turned off of the main road onto a back residential road just in time to be the recipient of a flying butcher knife! This knife came flying over the cement wall and hit his bike, alarming Stan, and causing him to stop suddenly. Now, what would you have done?...

a) Get back on your bike and ride away as fast as possible, pretending that nothing had happened?

b) Throw the knife back over the wall and ride away?

c) Take the knife as evidence and contact the local authorities?

d) Confront whoever it is that is behind that wall?

I probably would've done (a) but I would forever be very wary when passing by that house again. Which one did you choose? Stan chose (d)! He is a very brave man; however, it was a bit humorous because when he went into the gate, he saw a woman cowering in the shadows looking a bit frightened. Stan called on the person to come out and talk to him. A younger man came out and was super apologetic. He said that somehow his mother had managed to fling the knife over the fence and that it was totally an accident. Hmmm, makes you wonder what was going on behind that wall???!!! Anyways, Stan decided to let it go but it did shake him up a little bit especially because this happened only 2 days after the bombing. Yikes!