Here come some pictures from our last days in Kupang. Saying goodbye is never a nice thing. Because of the distance it is unlikely that we will ever come back, and that makes it even sadder to say goodbye to our friends and our life here. The children say that they will come back when they become adults and can afford their own tickets 
Our last days were spent packing, cleaning and saying our goodbyes. We sold the car back
to the man we bought it from, and in whose name the car was registered as we are not allowed to legally own it ourselves. He was going to Jakarta right before we left, so he came a week before we left to pick up the car. ( He came in and talked to us a bit, gave us the agreed cash without even looking at the car and then drove off. ) Not having a car at the end was actually a real relief to us. Taking bemos to and from the school went surprisingly well.
last day on the bemo
We had told the woman who bought our house the date we were leaving many times. This woman already lives in the same neighbourhood. She came over to talk to us on the day we were leaving and told us that she was going to Jakarta. (The phrase ” I am going to Jakarta” is one that we have heard numerous times here…) We said that we were leaving at 11. She said that she wanted to talk to us one more time before we left, so she would be back at 9 or 10. Seeing that it was quarter to 9 at the time we didn’t completely understand but she said then that she would be back at 10. She never came, we picked up the children and left for the airport without her having come back. Then when we board the plane we see that she gets on the same plane and sits only 2 rows in front of us! We didn’t understand why she was so surprised to see us…So she told us that she thought we were leaving on the 11th of june, and that she had meant that she was coming back the 9th or 10th of june…What a misunderstanding
Here are some pictures of last goodbyes with some of the people who have helped make our time here in Kupang very special. People who we will always remember.
Our very good chinese friends who made our life in Kupang possible
Daniel is very happy to have his best friend from kindergarten visit. They are a very nice family who we have gotten to know and they came on our last evening with nice batik shirts for the whole family.
a last conversation with the security guard at school
The luggage is in the car, the driver is ready and the neighbours have come to say good bye
Enjoying doghnuts from the newly opened moccofactory that one of our neighbours gave us as we were leaving
Joakim met a classmate on the plane, sat next to her the whole flight and was having a great time chatting away in Inodesian.
We have arrived in heathrow, and so has all our luggage
So now we are in England and are trying to find our feet here.
We have for sure been enjoying life here, and the boys have really enjoyed all the impressive playgrounds and parks here in Ipswich.
What a feast to be able to have bread, cheese, salami and fresh milk for breakfast!
I think we can say that we are quite overwhelmed at the things God has done. We came on a Saturday. On the Sunday we found a car that we reserved. On the Monday we got insurance, paid for the car and got the car. An hour after we got the car we went for our first (and last appointment) to see a house, and were also miraculously allowed to open a bank account without proof of address. On Tuesday we put in a bid for the house, came to an agreement about the price, reserved it and started that whole process. It feels like a time of great breakthrough, but also a time of great challenges. There has been a lot of stress with practical details. Also for the first time in my life I ( Monica) am experiencing jet lag. I am writing this blog at 0340 in the morning…It also doesn’t help that the girls who stay in the apartment above us live their lives ( and wash their clothes…) in the night…All in all we are amazed at what God has done, and are very thankfull…Thank you once again for all of you who have been praying for us
Tired boys…
