Much has happened in the last month! Amber is now 21 weeks along and both she and baby are doing well. For the last few weeks this baby has been moving and grooving almost constantly. Not surprisingly, we found out at our last appointment that we are having a boy!
COVID continues to run rampant here, leading to an extension of the lock down that started this June. The death toll continues to rise, and it is obviously having a severe negative impact on the economy. We also experienced the impacts of the Delta variant in our own home. On Idul Addha (an important Mslm holiday) Jake's friend "Ahmad" came over and they had important, fruitful discussions about hypocrisy and how to truly seek righteousness. A few days later "Ahmad" started showing COVID symptoms, but we both felt fine so we assumed it didn't spread. Unfortunately the day before Jake's trip to Sulawesi he went to get a COVID test and to his surprise it came back positive - even though he was already vaccinated. He hurriedly cancelled his trip and we began quarantining in separate bedrooms. Four days later, Amber started showing symptoms as well. Though we weren't nearly as sick as many people who get COVID, it still took us about two weeks to fully recover.
News quickly spread in our community that we had COVID, so each morning and evening our doorbell rang and we'd find food, coconut water, freshly harvested ginger, and "jamu" (a ginger turmeric drink) waiting for us on a chair outside. As always, we are amazed by this beautiful community-oriented culture and are so thankful to live in a place where people are quick to help in times of need!
Here are few additional updates:
Now that nearly everyone has already had COVID, the girls feel comfortable meeting in person again for "The Gathering" . The last time we gathered together we had a mini "gender reveal" party and it was a joy to all be together again and celebrate! The girls can't wait to become "aunties". At the party the girls shared stories about the different birth experiences of their mother (once while home alone, and another time in a car with someone she didn't know very well!), and they also shared more details about their experiences while fleeing from the war a few years ago.
This month Amber finished her Master's in Education - Culturally Responsive Teaching through UNWSP. She learned so much over the last couple years and is excited to continue to put this knowledge into practice. Her Capstone project was focused on the meeting the needs of SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education). This topic has great relevance both here as she works primarily with refugees, but in the States as well.
Amber's English teaching is still being held online, but she is hoping to start teaching in person again next week if class sizes remain small.
Jake rescheduled his trip to Sulawesi for this week to continue his research project on the Loka Pere banana.
Jake continues to be busy designing waste management systems to ensure the new factory will comply with new environmental regulations.
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