2015 Reflections of Gratitude

“From His fullness we all have received Grace Upon Grace” John 1:16 As I reflected on this past year, I was reminded of God’s goodness to us in so many ways.  My dear friend, Cindy, shared the above verse and it mirrored our sentiments exactly.  Much of His goodness has come in the shape and form of people!  God has surrounded us with so many warm, loving, kind-hearted generous souls who have opened their homes and hearts to us throughout our year on the road.  While I would love to list each and every one… Read More

Day 366: Time Flies…One Year Already!

Unbelievable! Today, June 16th, marks our Round the World one year anniversary! It’s difficult to believe a whole year has passed, and yet here we are in Vienna, Austria, making plans for our return.  Over the last few days, I’ve been putting together a “Year in Review” with photos and commentary, but as I progressed, I realized it would take much longer than I anticipated.  Perhaps I will save that for our return. In the meantime, as I was reflecting on the past year, I was reminded of God’s goodness to us in… Read More

Attack of the Monkeys and More – Kathryn

First of all, we went to visit a close friend. Her name is Becca. She is a teacher with her friend Kimberley in a really nice school in Indonesia. She took us to see a lot of fun things, including many markets. But to get to the markets, you have to get through the traffic.  And believe me, there’s a lot of traffic to get through in Indonesia. But once you get to those markets, it’s so fun!  All those foods and drinks and deserts! It was so fun the first night. But then I… Read More

Danny’s Indonesia

Traffic  Indonesia is a great place with lots of street food, cool malls with roller coasters in them, temples (which I don’t fancy), and markets.  Waiting to cross streets is also very frustrating because so many motorcycles are in Indonesia that every second of the day, they will be riding on the road while they can.  Some people try and fit four motorcycles in one car lane and some riders also put six people on one motorcycle!  Traffic is the most challenging thing that could ever happen when you’re in a hurry to get somewhere while… Read More

Day 239: Exploring Indonesia – Temples, High Fashion, and Sex Tourism

A Photoblog… We visited the Uluwatu Temple right at sunset.  The view was magnificent and the ocean stretched out forever.  This Hindu temple was built right into the edge of the cliff.  The setting couldn’t have been any nicer. The ocean sunset in particular was spectacular and we enjoyed watching it descend, despite the crowds.  While we could have chosen to pay exorbitant prices for the dance and fire show at sunset, we chose to separate ourselves from the crowd and just enjoy a quiet, gorgeous sunset. We’ve noticed that wherever we… Read More

Day 238: Attacked in the Sacred Monkey Forest, Indonesia

We had a blast visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest, where tons of Macaques Monkeys reside.  Before we even set foot into the forest, we were thrilled to see these playful creatures, running, jumping, swinging, and playing with each other.  But…we weren’t fooled. We had done enough research to know they could also  be somewhat sneaky (aka “little pickpockets”) as well as dangerous, scratching and biting at will. That said, we warned the children to keep everything in our vehicle and take only what they absolutely needed.  We’ve heard of people losing their… Read More

Indonesia by Mikayla

We stayed in Indonesia for nine days.  For the first six, we were in Bali.  The other three were spent in Jakarta.  In Bali, we stayed at the Sofitel hotel and in Jakarta, we were hosted by a friend of ours. While in Bali, we took a private tour for a day.  During that day, we visited several main attractions including a jewelry workshop, a wood carving store, two temples, a coffee plantation, a monkey forest, a few shops, and a seafood dinner on the beach. In Jakarta, we spent most of… Read More

Day 236: Exploring Indonesia – Bali and Ubud

Photoblog time.  In and around Bali. Ubud, the cultural center of Bali, is most known for it’s arts, crafts, and rice paddy fields.  You may also recognize it as the place Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts was filmed.  We chose to take a day trip to Ubud, as it was only an hour away from where we stayed in Bali. When we enquired at the hotel about hiring a taxi for a full day, we were told it would cost the equivalent of $100 USD.  Not bad for a full day,… Read More

Day 232: Exploring Indonesia – Food and Friends

After leaving Australia and before flying to Thailand, we headed to Indonesia.  First came Bali for six nights and then Jakarta for three more, to visit a dear friend, Becca, who used to attend our church in IL but now teaches in Jakarta.  We had so much fun exploring Indonesia together, that it took me a while to put this post together. Note photo number three!  Becca was teaching the kids about the “Shy Princes”, a plant that shrivels up with the slightest touch.  Very neat! The next set of shots are of… Read More

Halo from Indonesia

Halo, the Bahasa word for “Hello.” We stayed in Bali for six days and Jakarta for three. Indonesia’s culture is probably the most different from America’s that we’ve experienced so far, Mexico being the second. In Bali/Jakarta, you can eat very cheaply, and still be getting great quality food. For just $2.00 USD, you can get a bowl of soup, a large plate of meat (duck, pork, chicken), AND a large plate of rice. Go ahead and grab a big glass of orange juice as well for just fifty cents. You can get… Read More