Where in the World is East Timor?

Two of the most common questions we are asked are "Where in the world is East Timor, I've never even heard of it?" and "What will your living conditions be like?" We have been able to talk to three people that have lived there recently and this is what they report . . .

East Timor (also called Timor Leste)is located in Southeast Asia, just north of Australia, west of Papua New Guinea, directly south of the Philippines, in the Indonesian Island chain. It is a county the size of Connecticut with a population of about 1.2 million. They are a Catholic nation that declared independence from Indonesia in 1999. However, it wasn’t until 2002 that they were recognized as an independent country by the United Nations. We will be helping to rebuild a country that has been plagued by years of occupation, oppression and conflict.

We will be living in Aileu, one of the poorest districts in the country. There are eleven Maryknoll people already serving there: five nuns and six lay missioners. Their ministries include formal and informal education, a women’s literacy project, health clinics, an agricultural program, and rehabilitation for physically-disabled people. We don’t know exactly what we will be doing when we get there, but assume that the majority of our time will be spent in some type of education.

The Timorese people are kind, open to new ideas, full of energy and hope for their new nation. They are inventive with few resources yet their daily joys include music, dance and laughter.

We will be living in a duplex built by the Maryknoll Sisters. Our house will have cement walls, a corrugated tin roof and cement floor. There is an indoor toilet, running water, electricity from 6pm until midnight, and an internet connection. The real advantage we have is that we will use propane to cook. Almost all Timorese cook with wood in a grass kitchen hut separate from the rest of the house. The poorer Timorese live in houses built with bamboo or mud, a thatch roof and dirt floors.

Their simple but healthy diet is mostly rice, beans, fresh fruit and vegetables. Some of the items we can buy in the local market include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, corn, carrots, soybeans, mustard greens, water spinach, bok choy, onions, garlic, cucumbers, cassava, avocados, oranges, bananas, mango, and papaya. They have great coffee and in the mornings you can buy locally baked bread, Portuguese rolls. About an hour away in the capitol, Dili, we can shop at supermarkets getting imported foods such as soup, pasta, cookies, dried fruit, meat, eggs, and loaves of bread.

We have learned that fruits that ripen naturally on the plants taste so much better. Aren't you envious?

Angels Walking Beside Us

During these last two weeks in Tonganoxie we are able to focus on our true blessings: family and friends. We'd like to tell you about a few that have been extraordinary.

John's sister and husband have been true guardian angels. They have been supportive of our decision to leave Tonganoxie and helped us with every step we have taken in that direction. Not only have they provided food for thought as we have made plans, helped with our moving sale, provided muscle during the move, but they also have agreed to be our power of attorney and take care of financial matters and other details for us while we are gone. This isn't an easy or light commitment on their part. Words of appreciation can never begin to express our thanks. This entire adventure wouldn't be possible without their help. Thank you. May you receive many blessings for tending to business while we are tending to others.

Then there are our best friends. Early on they agreed to write a letter of recommendation attesting that our marriage could withstand living abroad in the mission field. How does the couple themselves even know that? Although they have mixed emotions and really don't want us to leave, they have also been there beside us helping make decisions and choices as we have finalized plans. They too have helped with the physical labor involved in the garage sale and move. If you ever need anyone to help stack furniture for storage in the smallest space possible, call on him!

My sister and her husband agreed to store my quilts while we are gone. She is an excellent housekeeper with a place for everything and everything is in its pace. Even before I had begun to think about quilt storage, she offered to supervise climate controlled storage of them in her home knowing how important they are to me. Our trip to take two large totes of quilts to them gave us an opportunity to have a wonderful visit and sister time.

What can I say about my fifth grade colleagues? Not only did they provide great entertainment at our retirement banquet last spring, they proved to be extremely thoughtful during the difficult days of our moving sale. We had a rough day watching our possessions being sold when they unexpectedly showed up with lunch. It was just what we needed: food, conversation, laughs and hugs. It provided a needed distraction when I had been on the edge of tears most of the day.

Have you ever moved a spinet piano? Brute strength is what you need, especially when stairs are involved. Each time we have moved, the men swear it is the last time they will ever move that piano. We had a crew of six show up to help us move the piano and other antiques. Thank you. Not only were they moving furniture, they had to work around carpet layers in the new house. It gave them a chance to be able to tell even more moving horror stories.

A husband and wife that John taught with at the old Junior High insisted on hosting an Open House for us a couple of weeks ago. They went out of their way in the midst of their own busy lives including the birth of a granddaughter, the wedding of a son and the beginning of a new school year to open their home to school personnel and church members for a great afternoon. It had been years since we had seen some of these friends. We had the gift of time to visit with those we have seen more recently, but never get the chance to chat with due to busy schedules.

Finally, there are countless people who have stopped us on the street or after Mass, emailed, phoned or written to offer words of congratulation and best wishes. We feel called to make these changes, but it hasn't always been easy. Those words of encouragement have sustained us during the hard times.

We pray for God's grace, peace and joy for each and everyone of these very special people.

Living Abroad Makes you More Creative

Katrina received her latest professional journal "Monitor on Psychology" published by the American Psychological Association last week while I was visiting. As she came across an interesting finding, she shared it with me. One of these tidbits was "Living abroad makes you more creative."

John and I have been in training for this all spring and summer! I don't know that we have been especially creative, but have definitely been learning to make changes and adjustments to our regular routine that have been established over the years.

Thanks to technology help from our daughters, we have set up a Thunderbird account. I can't explain it, but it allows us to download email when we are online, but then read and answer it off line. This should really help as we will probably not have consistent and reliable internet service in East Timor any time that we want it.

We have temporarily moved into a new house. With the generous help of family and friends, it was a smooth move. As everyone knows, there are numerous differences between your old house and a new one. Although they aren't major obstacles, it does make a difference in your daily life since one has to stop and think about what you are doing rather than operating on autopilot. We've found such changes as the shower controls, kitchen organization, closet storage space, location of light switches, and traffic routes to and from the house. Then there are the things that you are used to, but are no longer there like familiar neighbors, favorite flowers, shade trees, and furniture.

The most commonly asked question of us is "Do you miss going back to school?" We hope we don't offend anyone when the answer is, "No." We have been so busy preparing for our future that we haven't had time to even think about it.

All of these changes could be viewed as bittersweet, but it hasn't been that way at all. It has simply pointed out to us once again that we are ready to move on. A whole new adventure is awaiting us. We are stepping out on faith to a new career that is meant to be.

There have been unexpected results to the article about us in The Leaven, our archdiocesan newspaper. We have been contacted by several people in this area that either have connections to Maryknoll or East Timor. We are hoping to be able to meet with these new friends to learn more about their experiences and stories before we leave for orientation in about two weeks.

The APA finding about being creative is much more flattering than another one Katrina shared. "Women's ability to learn may become impaired shortly before menopause . . . "

First Days of Retirement

Almost everyone we've ever talked to that is retired wonders how they ever had time to work. They say they are busier than ever in retirement. That has certainly been true for us thus far.

Teachers typically begin to think about school just after the Fourth of July. Then once August begins they start trips to school spending a couple of hours here and there getting their classrooms ready. That is all done before they are ever required to return to work.

In the month of July, we have taken a family vacation with both daughters, had a garage sale, entertained visitors from Nigeria, enjoyed time in the States with Katrina, sold our house, bought a new house and the continual sorting and packing. August has been busy with Cindy spending time in Nigeria with Katrina while John remained home finishing up the rest of the packing and making the final arrangements for our imminent move. During this week when our colleagues return to school, John will finish packing, Cindy will fly home, they will sign the official retirement papers, close on both the old and new house, and finally move. I'd say we have been entirely too busy to notice that we aren't returning to our former teaching positions!

We have been working toward this move since February once we knew we had been accepted as Maryknoll Lay Missioners. It is now almost a reality. Many of our household items are gone, most of the possessions that we have decided to keep are packed, and we are ready to downsize for the next month.

In this next month we will "camp" with the bare necessities in our new home, visit family, and say goodbye to friends and coworkers. We are looking forward to seeing everyone one more time before we begin this great adventure.