This email, of course, was meant to be written yesterday. But that was before all power decided to go out in our little corner of Jakarta and so here we are on Thursday. I'm sorry for any panic that might have caused [i.e., Wed. was the day of the earthquake].
Our Golden Compass moment has arrived di luar biru [out of the blue, as transliterated by E. and her MTC friends], and SisLily is already moved to Malang. It happened so quickly, all in the space of 48 hours---the phone call, the general panic, the hurried packing and planning. There is a very real chance we won't ever see each other until the very last days of our mission, and while we've long known this day would come, the surprise that accompanied it was a little unexpected. We'd prepared for this, right? Apparently not enough---waving her taxi off yesterday morning was just as traumatic as leaving you all at the MTC. Luckily we had a good hour to practice Apparating after our morning run Tuesday, and when that didn't quite work out (perhaps Less Developed Magic accompanies a Less Developed Country?) we hurriedly made up a Portkey set to send us wherever the other one was within Indonesia.
In other news, the stress of separation manifested itself in me finally giving into temptation and cuddling a small kitten on my way home last night---though really it couldn't be helped. This particular cat has been following me around for days now, along the streets close to our home, very clearly without a mother or any siblings to speak of. And there he was, crying from a corner of a the deserted play park, and there I was, secretly crying from the corners of my weak heart, and so there you go. Sister K was horrified, Sister S laughed and shook her head, and the wee little black thing shushed his mewlings and curled up in my cupped hands (yes, they are that small). And we took a few quiet minutes to mourn together before going our own separate ways, the kitten to his corner and I straight home and to the nearest hand sanitizer.
It was so worth it.
Also took all the Sisters to dinner in honor of my lovely [sic] Mother on the occasion of her birthday, which then actually turned into a farewell of sorts for Sister Lily as we'd just gotten the transfer call. Lovely FHE as well.
But Family! One month! . . . I have moments where I can stop and honestly tell myself there's nothing I'd rather be doing, that I love the country, the people, the work and the language. But those are still only moments and I need to work harder for more of them. Bear with me while I grow.
This morning, I opened to Alma 39 to begin my BoM Study, where I found a note from SisLily, directing me to Romans. It's something of a tradition with the both of us, leaving post-its in hidden places to find at random---some funny, some serious, some downright ridiculous---and she must have snuck this one in before I woke up early yesterday to see her off. Romans 8:18, it said. And I'm holding to that.
love you, miss you. so. so. much.
Elizabeth
Our Golden Compass moment has arrived di luar biru [out of the blue, as transliterated by E. and her MTC friends], and SisLily is already moved to Malang. It happened so quickly, all in the space of 48 hours---the phone call, the general panic, the hurried packing and planning. There is a very real chance we won't ever see each other until the very last days of our mission, and while we've long known this day would come, the surprise that accompanied it was a little unexpected. We'd prepared for this, right? Apparently not enough---waving her taxi off yesterday morning was just as traumatic as leaving you all at the MTC. Luckily we had a good hour to practice Apparating after our morning run Tuesday, and when that didn't quite work out (perhaps Less Developed Magic accompanies a Less Developed Country?) we hurriedly made up a Portkey set to send us wherever the other one was within Indonesia.
In other news, the stress of separation manifested itself in me finally giving into temptation and cuddling a small kitten on my way home last night---though really it couldn't be helped. This particular cat has been following me around for days now, along the streets close to our home, very clearly without a mother or any siblings to speak of. And there he was, crying from a corner of a the deserted play park, and there I was, secretly crying from the corners of my weak heart, and so there you go. Sister K was horrified, Sister S laughed and shook her head, and the wee little black thing shushed his mewlings and curled up in my cupped hands (yes, they are that small). And we took a few quiet minutes to mourn together before going our own separate ways, the kitten to his corner and I straight home and to the nearest hand sanitizer.
It was so worth it.
Also took all the Sisters to dinner in honor of my lovely [sic] Mother on the occasion of her birthday, which then actually turned into a farewell of sorts for Sister Lily as we'd just gotten the transfer call. Lovely FHE as well.
But Family! One month! . . . I have moments where I can stop and honestly tell myself there's nothing I'd rather be doing, that I love the country, the people, the work and the language. But those are still only moments and I need to work harder for more of them. Bear with me while I grow.
This morning, I opened to Alma 39 to begin my BoM Study, where I found a note from SisLily, directing me to Romans. It's something of a tradition with the both of us, leaving post-its in hidden places to find at random---some funny, some serious, some downright ridiculous---and she must have snuck this one in before I woke up early yesterday to see her off. Romans 8:18, it said. And I'm holding to that.
love you, miss you. so. so. much.
Elizabeth
1 comment:
Awww...the whole kitten story. I would have cried to and also run off to the nearest sanitizer. Happy to hear you're safe and having a good time! :)
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