MIDUK'S JOURNEY: HOME SWEET HOME!

Welcome to Texas! Miduk was greeted at the airport by myself, my daughter Kasey, and my good friend Tim. Unfortunately Shelby had to be in Atlanta today (I know, bad timing, right?) so Miduk probably thought that Tim was "Daddy Shelby", haha. We waited on Miduk to get thru customs/immigrations for about an hour, and used that time wisely by giving ourselves a last minute crash course in "How to Speak Indonesian". :) So we were all prepared with various greetings and when Miduk appeared, Tim was the only one who could remember what to say! He must have said it correctly because Miduk perked up and smiled and it was obvious that he understood. He brought a suitcase, a backpack, and one crutch. Evidently the airlines couldn't find the other crutch and I wasn't about to wait around for them to do so. Linley had told me that Miduk gets around very well with one crutch, and he does! Miduk looked a bit bleary-eyed, and Kasey and I both knew exactly what he was going through. Jetlag makes you feel like your head is in a big fog, and you can't decide if you are awake or asleep. We took a few photos and loaded up the car, heading home with Miduk staring wide-eyed out the window the entire way. I would have loved to know what he was thinking! When we arrived home, our dog Sugar met him at the door with a stuffed animal for him in her mouth. She just kept circling him and licking his face and trying to give him her "baby". Miduk just smiled and smiled. He has a great smile! Not five minutes after we walked in the door, the man from Golden Year Mobility dropped in to deliver the scooter that we are renting for Miduk to use. After making sure that it was "Tracy Friendly" (since I will be the one transporting it), we encouraged Miduk to get on and take it for a ride. He was hesitant at first, but after watching Kasey try it out he gave it a try. It has 2 speeds: the tortoise speed and the hare speed. No kidding! I know he won't use it all tlhe time, he gets around pretty well, but I need for him to use it on our daily walks with Sugar. My daily routine is to take Sugar for a couple of good walks and it will be fun for Miduk to join us on the scooter. Miduk also got to meet some of our neighbors tonight, and a friend of Kasey's came by to meet him too. Pretty much it's a lot of head nodding and smiling and shaking hands with very few words spoken. Miduk is so precious! He smiles and laughs and seemed very much at ease. We relied on google translator on the laptop during dinner to try and communicate with him. It was pretty neat to type in a phrase or a question in English and have it translated into Indonesian and spoken aloud for him. By the end of dinner (he cleaned his plate!) Kasey vowed to teach him English while he is here. We unpacked his suitcase and put his clothes away. He brought 2 big bags full of Indomei, an Indonesian noodle package that looks like ramen noodles. He also brought several Indonesian books and bibles, and a coffee cup for me and some coffee from Sumatra for Shelby, and a newspaper from Jakarta. I showed him how to work his shower - I even got in and pantomimed how to hold the handicapped rails we had installed, pointed out which bottle was shampoo and which was body soap and face soap and then I left the room. I bet I waited a full 10 minutes before I heard the water running and even then it was on/off very quickly several times. He is accustomed to a bucket of water and pouring a cup of water over his head. I'm not convinced he even got in the shower but if he did it didn't even have time to warm up! I was about to call our high school neighbor boy to come over and check on Miduk and show him again how the shower worked, but then he came out so I guess he figured it out. At this point I was really wishing Shelby or Wes was home! We did video skype with Wes so that he and Miduk got to meet one another online. Linley told me earlier today that Miduk was especially afraid that Wes was going to beat him, since his older brothers at home did. If only he knew Wesley! Wesley is Mr. Fun and is so excited that Miduk is here! I bet Wes texted/called me at least ten times today in anticipation of Miduk's arrival, and has been so enthusiastic to bring him here. I wish he weren't away at college! But he plans to come home Thursday night and spend the weekend getting to know Miduk. I told Wes to smile a lot while we were skyping so Miduk would see that he was a friendly guy! haha I had borrowed some bathroom scales from my neighbor so that I could weigh Miduk. We weighed and measured him (and Kasey too so he wouldn't think I was weird) and he weighs 75 pounds! He is only 4 foot 9 inches tall. Very tiny! It's hard to believe that he is 16 years old. He looks like an American 12 year old, and probably wears a size 10 or 12 in clothing. Tomorrow I will have him try on some of the clothes that people have donated for him and see what fits and what his immediate needs are. The weather was mild today but it's supposed to get cold by the end of the week! He has a coat to wear thanks to friends and neighbors. My neighbor Pamela brought shirts over last night, and I even met my sister-in-law's friend Donna in a parking lot today in Irving so that she could bring me some clothes and shoes and jackets for Miduk. I was just overwhelmed! And another friend told me that she and her coworkers plan to "adopt" Miduk for Christmas this year! I also had an email from a man who works with a friend in my Sunday School class. This man is Indonesian himself, and offered to translate for us if needed and even gave me his cell phone number to call if we need him! It is amazing how many people want to help with Miduk and how many people have Indonesian connections! It really does take a village!