Richard Michael Craine, Jr

On this post, I am going to let the Craine Family speak.....

"On Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 8:45pm, Richard Michael was born into this world, after 2 hard days of labor for Erin. After 2 days, the doctors believed the baby was just too large to be delivered naturally, even though we ( Erin) tried with every ounce of energy and will power to deliver the baby naturally. We believed we were making the best decision for mommy and baby. God definitely guided that decision, as the doctors announced the baby's sex in the delivery room, I believe the exact words were "It's a boy! It's a GREAT BIG BOY!". Great big boy does little Ricky no justice. He was 21 inches long, 10 lbs. 14 oz. with a head circumference of 15 inches. Those are typical measurements for an 8 week old baby. I like to claim that he is really from my family (the Craine's) because his head is already too big for himself! (Ok stop laughing so hard at my jokes at my own expense.) The baby was healthy and mom was healthy after 2 long days of hard work, some small scares, and a lot of prayers. We thank everyone for their help, support, prayers, best wishes and text messages (20 cents each - I expect payment!) (Erin just yelled at me). We've attached some pictures of the little guy.

Mommy is still recovering and doing great. She has a few weeks where she needs to take it easy and just relax. Baby just has to keep eating ,sleeping and pooping. I really wish he would sleep more than the other 2, but sleep doesn't seem to be a favorite thing of his (so far....) Erin's mom is going to visit for this coming week to help us both out. Nothing like a little experience to help things.

We thank you all for all the prayers again, we believe you helped make everything as successful as it was through your support. After mommy and baby have time to recover and enjoy each other, we're looking forward to introducing little Ricky to everyone!

Love
Rick, Erin, and Ricky"

I am a proud pseudo-uncle. Congratulations Rick and Erin! Welcome to the world Ricky!

Great Friends with Good News

After 9 months of not seeing Erin pregnant and showing, I finally was graced to see her and I was blessed to be in Rick and Erin's home for a rainy Saturday 2 weeks ago. Above is a picture of Rick and Erin the soon to be Mom and Dad (Sorry for the bad picture of them, I forget to check to see if they were looking at my camera). Below is a picture of Erin and I, we took this picture to give the visual of how pregnant Erin actually is. The baby was over 8lbs the last time I talked to Erin and Rick. Please pray that the baby is born safely and that Erin's health continues to be blessed. Oh an of course pray for Rick too!

Mr. Ed Rogers and Ms. Elizabeth Fette are engaged and will me married at the end of May. What a powerhouse duo of bright orange and lime green! May their adventure filled, singing, and funny face posing engagement time be blessed.

About a two weeks later I was blessed to hear that Mr. Jimmy Kane and Ms. Tara Rutledge are engaged as well. I know that for sure Tara was surprised because I talked to her the night before the engagement and she had no clue. May the love and the joy they share be inspiring to all they come in contact with.

On that same of my visit to see Erin and Rick I was blessed to also see Lauren and Jake Patterson now the Patterson family because they and the world were graced with the birth of their first child Nathanael (pictured above). He was born on Monday August 11th - the feast of St. Clare - and his name is inspired from John 1:45-51. Lauren is doing well, Jake seems great, and the baby is healthy - what more can a family ask for.

What Can I say!?! I am a proud and graced friend. I share these things with you not out of boasting but out of honor. It is a gift to know such great people and to have our lives intertwine of this journey of life. We see sorrows much of the time on the news and in newspapers, so may this be a testament and a celebration of the joys! If there are any joys or prayer requests that you would like me to post, just e-mail me.

Prayers for Pete and Nancy and many Others

As some of you may or may not know my sister Nancy and my brother in law were displace with 375 other people after a devastating for to an apartment complex in Conshohocken, PA. The fire occurred on Wednesday August 13th, a little over a month ago.

The cause of the fire has been linked back to a construction worker removing steel frames with an acetylene torch which accidentally began the fire. That fire destroyed 180 units and many residents were displaced. Luckily my parents live close by so that is where Nancy and Pete went after the fire. They lost practically everything, my sister left her apartment before it caught on fire with only her car keys and the clothes on her back. I had come to find out that even her wedding ring and band were in the apartment besides everything else and that her car was damaged by the fire too.

But....there is always a hopeful side to every story. First they are both alive, no one was killed in the fire, and only 11 fire fighters were injured. On Thursday after the fire they went back to their apartment complex and received an insurance check that day as well as filed for jewelry insurance too. Pete and Nancy remembered that they had some clothes at the dry cleaner. "It felt like Christmas" Pete told me, he had a full suit and Nancy had a dress and some pants there. Also the President of Villanova University -where my sister works - offered Pete and Nancy a house use, which is usually used for professors and their families to stay it. It is close to Nancy's job and a path was made for her to go to and from work, they will probably stay there until the end of September. The President also offered to help others who were displaced too.

And by the grace of God, your prayers, and the intercession of St. Anthony, firefighters found Nancy's wedding ring and band in the their apartment!! Praise God!! Their section of the apartment building did not actually collapse so the firefighters took a chance and went up to a noted unsafe area and found the rings. They also found four frames with pictures from their wedding, a bowl from the kitchen, and some pieces of jewelry too! I originally planned to go into detail of the miraculous story that my sister told, but I have since then decided not too.

After talking to Nancy and Pete recently, it seems that the finding of the rings is more than a symbol of their love but a sign from God that everything will be okay. As closure begins so does new life and new hope for them. I ask you to offer up some prayers of thanksgiving to God and for continued acts of mercy in our at times confused and troubled world. (If you are up to watching what happened here is a link to the ABC News of Philadelphia Website: Conshohocken Fire.)

I also take this moment to ask for prayers for victims of hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and most recently Ike. Pray for those evacuated their homes to find them not there when they returned. Pray for those were homeless and had not were to evacuate from or a place to go. Pray for the volunteer workers: firemen, policemen, shelters, medical personnel, and others who who help in anyway. Pray in thanksgiving for those who were safe and for the lives of those people who were not safe. It is interesting how much water can bring forth life and joy yet also death and sorrow. I ask God to grace peace in the hearts of all touched in anyway through disasters.

God Bless and Good Night!

Last Post of the Trip to Indonesia....Singapore 2

So after about 10 days of going to a mall or shopping of some sort, I was in need of going to a church. I guess that is the friar in me, but the first chance we had to explore Singapore I hunted for the Catholic Churches in the city. To the right is a picture of the first church I found, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the Archdiocese of Singapore. To my surprise all of the services are done in English. While I was there I went into the cathedral's office and spoke with the secretaries there. I was trying to see if there were any Conventual Franciscans in Singapore, but there were only OFM friars there and their place was a bus ride and a train too far away.

After going to the Cathedral I walked two blocks to Sts. Peter and Paul. To the left is a picture of the inside of that church. I thought it was cool two big year of St. Paul banners in honor of Pope Benedict declaring this year the year of St. Paul (one on each side of the main sanctuary). Sts. Peter and Paul in addition to their main church had a pretty interesting Adoration Chapel. It is open from 8am to 9pm daily, no shoes or sandals are allowed, and there is only one pew in the room with a bunch of pillows. What made encouraged me to stop there is the fact that all these shoes were outside this building in the middle of Singapore. From what my sister told this is not an uncommon custom in Asia, to remove your shoes at a sacred place. The one pew that I mentioned is against the back wall directly across from the monstrance. Below is a picture of the chapel as well as a close up of the monstrance. It was a wonderful quite place in the middle of a pretty big city.

Next I walked another block and a half to St. Joseph's Church. The church had some interesting architecture to it. So that is why I picked a picture of the outside of it (to the left). The church felt as though you were entering a castle when I walked into to. And if you are wondering about that sky blue around the edges of everything, that is the same on the inside. Traditionally Catholics tend associate blue with Mary, but at this church blue is the color of St. Joseph. I was amazed at how many Franciscan statues and stain glass window this church had, five in total but four of them were of St. Anthony. There were three prominent statues of him scattered around the church. The last picture from my sightseeing is from Sacred Heart Church (to the right). I was blessed to make it on time for their 5:30pm Mass. The mass was in English so nothing really was really different about the liturgical worship there. I did notice that after the Memorial Acclamation (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again) half of the people stood and the other half remained kneeling.

The last three pictures are from our flight from Singapore to Los Angeles. Thankful the trip coming back to the states was shorter than going to Indonesia. To the left is a picture of Pete, Nancy, and Mike on the plane. They had the worst luck with their TV screens, every time they tried to use it the thing did not work and when they changed seats the TV screens there did not work either. If I remember correctly they $75-100 each to purchase something from the duty free shop on the plane. The sunset you see is of our arrival in Los Angeles. Though we left Singapore the evening of Friday July 11th and we arrived in Los Angeles on the evening of Friday July 11th. Going to Indonesia we lost Saturday all together, but on the trip home we were blessed to celebrate Friday twice. Well not really blessed but I am trying to positive about that Friday that never seemed to end. Here is a picture of me with my hoody on! I know it is summer but on planes it is cold so a bundle up in my hoody to stay warm no matter what season it is.

Thank you! Terima Kasih! Why? For reading about my adventures to Indonesia and Singapore, hopefully next time my adventure will include you!

A New School Year

Hello Everyone!! I am sorry that it has taken me over a month to put up another post. I am back in the house of formation in San Antonio. We have 14 of us: 3 formators, 4 student friars, 3 postulants, and 3 not formation related friars with 1 one on the way. Also the school year at Oblate has begun again. For those of you who are interested, I am taking Synoptic Gospels, Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism and Confirmation, Foundations of Moral Theology, Pastoral Catechesis, History of U.S. Hispanic/Latina Christianity, and Theological Field Education (with being a member of an RCIA team as my ministry. So my plate is fuller than usually, that is part of the reason I have not written you. Well I must get back to my homework now, but I wanted to drop a little note on my blog.

PS: I hope to post something at least once week...starting now...but this one is just a precursor to the one to come tonight or tomorrow.

A Man I met in the Bus Terminal...

Today, my cousin Mareena and my brother Alex came into the city to hang out and to watch the movie Hancock. It was an interesting movie, but not one I would miss if I never saw it again. Anyway, I went with them to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan as they caught the 9:3pm bus back to Jersey. After I said goodbye to them, I was on my to the subway and saw this man would seemed out of place - even in New York - I just sensed something was up. He was mumbling something when we walked by "Spring fudjei." I asked him to repeat himself and he said "Spring Valley, Spring Valley, New Jersey." He looked Hispanic - but I did not want to assume anything.

It turns out that he was Hispanic and spoke very little English, so I said a prayer and then hoped that I could help the man. He was looking for a bus to Spring Valley, NJ and was walking around the bus terminal trying to get there. He walked over to the NJ Transit automatic ticket machines becuase he saw a bus on. I figured he had done it before, just to be on the safe I began to look at the destinations on the machine and Spring Valley was not one of them. I explained to him that this company was not the right one for him and I offered to help him find the bus company that would. Interestingly he shrugged his shoulders and said ok and he began to follow me.

I tried to ask him questions "De donde Vive?" I got "Spring Valley" and "Where is your family?" again I got "Spring Valley." So I we found an open information booth, was directed to the right bus company, and a ticket was bought. It was a little tricky to explain that the gate his bus was leaving from is 420 and it was leaving at 10:40 and that his ticket had other numbers that had no relation to the first. So we began to walk back to the same gate area where Mareena and Alex left from. In route to the gate, I realized that I formally introduced myself to this man or did I ask him is name. I said, "Me llamo Nader, Como te llama?" He had trouble prouncing my name, but eventually he got close and I said "Si!" The man informed that his name was "Francisco" I proceeded to tell him "Estoy hermano, seminarista, Franciscano." A big smile came upon his face and a sense of relive seemed to go through his body. After that any questioned I asked he responded. Essentially he is a wonderful man from Guatemala who seems to have family in Spring Valley, NJ and in Brooklyn, NY.

Upon arriving at the gate, Francisco did not believe that the bus listed at Gate 420 was going to Spring Valley becuase it had East Brunswick as a final destination. After 2 attempts to explain that he should take that bus, I called Fr. Timothy (who I live with) to help me out. He was like my life-line one-time call for help person. He was able to explain to Francisco to go in this bus. Thankfully there was a kind woman who was also going to Spring Valley who offered to make sure that Francisco got off at her stop. I also explained to Francisco to get off the bus when she does.

I took the time to share this story with you becuase I was very moved by that moment. I did not have to take my cousin and my brother to the Bus Terminal, they have done it before, but something told me I should. I could have decided not to help Francisco becuase he was a strager. I really believe that I was placed there at that exact moment from all eternity as part of God's plan. Francisco was so moved that I helped him - I was so moved that I helped him. To be able to give him comfort using my broken Spanish was an honor and a blessing. Before our goodbye I gave him some extra money, said "Adios", gave him a hug and said "Dios bendiga!"

(Forgive me for any misspellings it is almost midnight)

Adios! Dios bendiga!

Feast Day of Holy Mother St. Clare!!!

"I belong to my lover, and my lover who browses among the lilies belongs to me. Set me as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is love; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love." Song of Songs 6:2; 8:6-7 - The Reading from Evening Prayer II on the Feast of St. Clare

You maybe be wondering why there is a picture of Ss. Clare and Francis on the Feast of St. Clare. This pictured is posted because it is the same image that greets you as you enter the Monastery of the St. Clare in Chesterfield, NJ - which is where Friar Santo and I went to celebrate this Franciscan Feast. Interestingly the Poor Clares we visited are dear friends of the friars and live literally 30 minutes from my parent's house in NJ and I never knew it! But now I do and I will be in big trouble with Sr. Miriam, Sr. Clare Andre and Sr. Pat if I do not visit.

Anyway today is a special day for the Poor Clares and all who are Franciscan. It is more than just another time to celebrate the gifts of the saints, but St. Clare is a follower of Francis and a model we Franciscans should also seek to imitate along with St. Francis. May she continue to be a light for the Franciscan movement and we pray that more daughters of St. Clare may enter religious life!

Happy Feast Day to all the Poor Clares and Franciscans throughout the world!

Pray for us, holy mother Clare....Help us become worthy of the promises of Christ.

Singapore 1

From Wednesday July 9 to Friday July 11 we spent basically 2 full days and 2 nights in Singapore. During that time we did more sightseeing in Singapore than we did in the 11 days we spent in Jakarta and Bali, Indonesia. Before I get into the sightseeing fun we had I want to share with you my great love and admiration for Singapore Airlines and the Changi Airport (Singapore). To the left you can see us eating dinner on the flight from Jakarta to Singapore. The food on Singapore Airlines is great, it takes good, and it is free. Another reason why I like Singapore Airlines is because before take off you are given a warm cloth to clean your hands and wash your face. It such a great thing to do and I think it speaks a lot about that Airline. When was the last time you received a warm cloth from an Airline? I have not. Especially on my first flight on Singapore Airlines at the beginning of our trip it receiving the cloth makes you feel as though you are entering the flight attendants' home not an airline. Right from the get go you are shown hospitality and that continues throughout the flight. With the pillow, the blanket, head phones, the foot covers, the individual TVs, the food, the free drinks (both non-alcoholic and alcoholic), and the joyful attendants. Not only was the flight great, but so is the Changi Airport. From the moment you walk in the airport (above picture right) you do not feel as though you are in an airport but rather a mall or a hotel. In this picture you can see the wall is covered in plants. In the next picture (left) you can see that there is a waterfall feature in the airport too. As if the beauty present in the airport was not enough to have me admire it, the many - many - amenities at the Changi Airport. From this one directory along you can see a transit hotel, shower, hairdressing, gym, lounge, and free movie sections present in the airport. This does not include the many free internet stations, sleeping areas (with beds), duty free shops, restaurants, TVs, or smaller movie sections also present in the hotel. It seems like it would be fun to purposely plan a 10 hour layover at the Changi Airport just for the chance to experience all that is offered there.

The next two picture are ones that interest my stomach more than anything else. I am unsure how familiar many of you are with Goober, but it was something that I was pretty much obsessed with in college. It is a product of Smucker's and peanut butter alternately placed in a jar with jelly. In the states I have only seen this done with grape and strawberry jelly. While in Singapore I was amazed to find a jar of Goober with peanut butter and chocolate. What a perfect match, like a Reese's peanut butter cup in a jar! Anyway the other picture is of satay in the making. Satay is what I call Indonesian shish kebab. Chunks of meat (chicken, pork, beef, lamb) - in this picture chicken - are placed on skewers and grilled. Satay originated in Indonesia, but is popular in many Southwest Asian countries. It is often served with a spicy peanut sauce. This machine was amazing to watch and let me tell you - the satay from it was delicious to eat.

Now onto the sightseeing pictures. Another reason to like Singapore Airlines is that you boarding pass can be used to get you on a bus that will take you around Singapore for only 6 bucks. The first picture here is of the Swissotel, it is the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and from its 72 floor you get a great view of the city. The second picture is one of the pictures that I took from the top of the hotel.

Next is a picture of the Singapore Flyer, a very impressive Ferris wheel similar to the London Eye. It is 42 stories tall, with 28 air-conditioned capsules, holding up to 35 passengers, and takes 37 minutes for a complete rotation. We never went on Singapore Flyer, but I took a bunch of pictures of it and here are two of them.

Lastly from our sightseeing adventures is the Merlion: a hybrid of a lion and a fish. The lion head alludes to the fable beast that once roamed Singapore and the fish body symbolizes Singapore's origin as a flourishing seaport. This Merlion is a popular tourist attraction and is located at the mouth of the Singapore River. Below is a picture of it during the day and also one at night.

The last two pictures are ones that have a short story. In the middle of Singapore right near the above Merlion statue under a bridge was this Starbucks (left). I am convinced Starbucks is everywhere and is taking over the world. At one of the malls in Indonesia you could be at one Starbucks on the 1st floor and look down by the escalator going to the basement floor and see another Starbucks, personally I thought it was ridiculous. The other picture is of Nancy enjoying her iced coffee from Starbucks waiting in the shade at the cross walk of a traffic. She was enjoying so much until we ran to hop on the Singapore Airlines bus. Upon us about to enter the bus we realized that we could not bring our drinks on the bus and Nancy ended up throwing 3/4 of it away. What a disappoint, yet somewhat funny!

Coptic Catholic Church 2

At the request of my cousins Taunt Nadia, Maggie and Sherif I took a video of part of the Liturgy at the Coptic Catholic Church. This is at the very beginning of the Liturgy, the first that incense is used. It shows the importance of incense in Eastern Liturgy, it as if the altar and the church is being wrapped with incense - the prayers of the people of God. Also on this Sunday that I went to the Coptic Catholic Church there was a Christening - Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion. In the picture on the left, the child is being completely dunked in the baptismal font by Fr. Youseff. The following two pictures were taken after my first (and sadly my last) meeting with the youth of the Coptic Catholic Church. We discussed and reflected on the story of the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56). After reading of this Scripture passage, I played the song Behold by David Kauffman as a moment of reflection. I then told them why I picked the reading that I did. I mentioned how Francis wrote, "The rule and the life of Friars Minor is this: to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus it is from the Gospels that I picked a Scripture passage. For those of you who do not know, if I had to pick any Scripture passage that portrays my vocation story it would be this one, when Mary meets Elizabeth. Why? Because it is a relational story between two people. Mary is the bearer of Christ to Elizabeth, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, and Mary rejoices. Many times in my life I have been Elizabeth and been visited by countless Marys who bore Christ in them and in turn the faith in me was awaken. "How does it happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Though I am not visited by the Mother of God herself, I am visited by people who bring that same spirit. In turn I have been Mary to many Elizabeths too. And "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." Throughout the discussion of the youth group many people spoke about trusting and believe, thus to close the group I played the song Trust, Surrender, Believe, Receive a Catholic University praise and worship classic. I was very saddened when the night was over, I finally was able to make a personal and intimate connection with youth and it was the last time I will see them before I leave.

Indonesia Part 4

Are you sick about hearing about Indonesia yet? Do not worry this is the last post about Indonesia, the following three will be from our visit to Singapore. Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the wonderful drivers and maids that graciously made Indonesia feel like home to me: Parmi, Mian, Kosim, Ronny, Tarsi and Xaiful (pronounced Shy-ful). They were the first ones to greet us in the morning and the last to say goodnight in the evening. You can call them help, servants, or staff, but they were more than that. They became our friends, are members of the family, and particularly for me great witnesses to the meaning of love. To the right is a picture of two of the drivers Xaiful and Ronny. The amount of joy they brought into my day - at times when I wanted to be back in the states - is immeasurable. Thank you whether you ever read this or not!

This next picture is of a supermarket - Carrefour - that we went. As you can see no one is holding on to the shopping cart and it not crashing into Renata, Nancy and Pete. That is because at this supermarket the wheels of the cart get stuck in the grooves of the belt on the escalator and it does not move. Call me cheesy, but I thought it was cool. At this supermarket I bought coffee for the friars in Brooklyn and in San Antonio. One of the two coffee types I purchased is called Kopi Luwak. Kopi Luwak is a coffee produced by the Luwak - a relative of the mongoose and slightly larger than the average household cat - which is common in Indonesia and many south east Asian countries. Normally coffee cherries are hand picked and the flesh of the berry is removed a machine - in the case of the Luwak - the coffee cherry is eaten, the flesh is removed through digestion in it's stomach, and the beans are collected after they have passed out if the Luwak. Why on earth would one drink coffee passed through an animal? Essential two reasons: because the Luwak has a keen sense of smell it only selects the very best ripe coffee cherries to eat - better than humans - and because as the means pass through the digestive system of the Luwak, acids in their stomach permeate the been and leach out some of the proteins responsible for bitter coffee. If you want to learn more about it check out these two sites: Animal Coffee and The Taste of Kopi Luwak. Happy reading. On a more lighter not to the left is what I call the "Indonesian Tamale" it looks like a Spanish Tamale but is wrapped in a banana leaf instead of corn husks. And oddly enough the taste like my mother's stuffed peppers.

Here are some more interesting pictures from two of the other malls we went to - Senayan City and Plaza Senayan . The first is of a very tiny escalator in front of the one malls. Isn't that ridiculous! It is funny, the escalator is for 5 step! The next escalator was inside of the mall and this picture is taken in honor of my brother Alex (he has done some cool artwork with high heels).

Above is a picture from Plaza Senayan where there was a National Lego Building Competition. It was pretty cool to see the work of our youth in something constructive and imaginative.

The next of pictures are probably from one the most memorable if not this most memorable parts of the trip, it was from the evening that Opa came home for the hospital. On his way home from the hospital he had one request a Burger King Whopper with Cheese! This was his one food wish after eating "healthy" hospital food for over a week. And of course his children gave him what he desired and being the gentlemen that Pete and I are we decided to order Burger King as well - we did not want Opa to eat it alone! While he ate his burger the rest of the family had BM (I cannot remember the place's real name), basically Indonesian fast food. - On the left is the picture of Opa after his first bit or so. Check out the Don King hair do, the fresh hospital band, his thumbs up and lastly the joy on his face. - On the right is the group picture that was taken at the dinner table - from left to right - Pete, Sue (Pete's sister), Om Ricky (Uncle), Tante Natalie (Aunt), Mrs. Lee (Pete's mom), Opa (Grandfather), Tante Heidi (Aunt), Oma (Grandmother), Nancy (my sister), Renata (Pete's Cousin), and Mike (Pete's brother) - I was the photographer.

Here is a picture of Pete driving in Indonesia, I do not think I mentioned this before but they drive on the left side of the road there. It was Pete's first time driving in Indonesia not to mention on the left side of the road. As you already know we survived the drive! Speaking of driving, on the way to the airport, we saw the Indonesian Idol bus drive by. Yes people are crazed about Indonesian Idol in Indonesia as we are about American Idol here. One of our drivers said that on of the country's favorite contestants is the guys who play the guitar on the streets. It is very cool how the love of music transcends all cultures. Lastly from my pictures of Indonesia is 100 Awakening Sign. I am unsure what actually happened 100 years ago there, but I liked it because of the Visit Indonesia part. So let me know if you are every visiting there, I can put you in contact with one of the host hospitable families I have ever met.

Indonesia Part 3

Here is a classic picture from my trip to Indonesia. Why you may wonder? Because Pete and I have this uncanny ability to put on a shirt that either matches or looks like the other person's shirt. This day Pete and I both put on red shirts. It was also one of the days were I changed my shirt color and he keep his. It is uncanny! This past Christmas he came over my parent's house wearing a red sweater and I asked him if he borrowed that sweater from me. Pete said "No!" I then went into my room and put on the same exact sweater, it turns out that the Christmas that I was at the Novitiate my mom gave both of us the same sweater as a gift.

Next you will see pictures of another mall we went too, this one is called Grand Indonesia and rightly so because it has eleven stories to it. Here is a picture of the mall from above and one from below. This mall was very interesting. It not only had a ferris wheel, a carousal, and other boardwalk rides, but it also had a huge play area and stage for children. At one point we were watching the show and the "Peanut, Peanut Butter and Jelly" song with a skit was done. If I remember how to upload videos again I will, but no promises. This mall also had something very interesting that caught me way off guard. I was walking around and Pete and Nancy told me to look down and then I saw a manhole from the NYC sewer system. There was also a subway car from NY in the mall with subway noises too. For a minute I wondered if I was in NY or Indonesia. Also from NY was the Rockefeller Center Statue of Atlas with a fountain and music too. And if that was not enough their were Broadway themed restaurants and posters. As we turned the corner there was also a section on Japan too. Here is an image of that.

The next two pictures are dedicated to Mike my brother-in-law's brother. One is of him with this huge Hulk statue in the Mall. As you can see it is so big that it is taller than one floor and extends past the second floor. The second picture is from a Puma shirt that Mike purchased. First, the shirt has a picture of an Island on the front of it but no one knew which Island it is. Mike thought it was of Indonesia, but it was not. Second, the shirt had this hilarious tag to it. As you can see "Wash this when Dirty"...duh! It was funny to me that the company would take the time to put something so obvious to me on it.

The next picture is from what could have been a great tour of the city. Once we got on the horses we realized that this was not so. First, the horses looked so malnourished and when you get into the cart it feels as though it is going to flip over. Second we were expecting to see Jakarta's National Monument - Monas- which essentially looks like the Washington Monument in DC with a flame on top. In reality we never saw the full monument except part of it through the trees. To the right is a picture of Monas that I took from the horses, it was the closest we got it the whole trip. The horse ride was definitely one of my sister's least favorite moments of the trip. The next two pictures are of two other sights in Jakarta. The one on the left the Permuda Statue - also known as the Pizza Man according to my Internet searches. I personally have called him the Fire Man. On the right is a picture of the welcome statue in front of the Grant Hyatt Hotel - a main hotel in Jakarta - we joked that is actually to welcome Pete and Nancy as a married couple.

Lastly here is a picture to express our time with Opa. The day we arrived in Indonesia Opa was sent to hospital. By the time this day came about Pete and I had caught a cold - thus we were not allowed to go into Opa's Room. We did not want to make him sicker or weaker that he was already. While we were waiting outside of Opa's room Pete and I decided to pray Evening Prayer together in the hallway. It was a one of the most memorable moments of the trip. As we were praying Nancy came to the door and asked us to pray louder because Opa could here us. It was such a gift to pray there and to pray for him. Also while we were praying a lady from the room across the hall asked if we were Christian and if we would pray for her daughter? After explaining to her that we did not want to pray in her daughter's room as to get her sick we prayed in the hallway with the Mom and the daughter's husband. This moment made me realize the power that prayer can have and how it can inspire others to pray.