Email from Nichelle!

Hey!

Oh man... it's so nice to be back at the YWAM base. It was so weird coming back, and a relief too. It was kind of like coming "home" which doesn't make very much sense. But after taking bucket showers two or three times a week, you can't blame me for being excited about having a bathroom with an actual showerhead, and seperate rooms for the guys and girls instead of being together inside a church sanctuary. (that was so much fun, actually... but as much as I love our boys it's nice to be able to escape behind a closed door and be silly with the other girls...:D)
We left the villages a few days early so we've had these past few days off. It's been good to just rest and process everything that went on during the past few weeks. It's definately needed! Last night we all got to watch Hook on Doug's laptop while eating candy that was brought with us from costco! I will forever appreciate M&M's now... haha!
Is it silly that I'm craving McDonalds? In Thailand we had lunch there and it was amazing and I DON'T KNOW WHY. >_<

I am doing fine and well. We heard something about storms or earthquakes while we were in the last village (every home has a TV it seems) but I never paid much attention to it. I don't recall ever feeling an earthquake, and no one was concerned about it so ... yeah. :)
Pontianak is a bit cloudy and rainy right now, and I can hear thunder. It was like that last night too and we lost power for a bit, but honestly, that doesn't surprise me anymore as everywhere in Indonesia loses power at least once a day. (minus the busier areas...)

Healthwise I'm good, and I believe it's the same for everyone else. We're all doing well and are having a great outreach... oh I can't wait to go into full detail later! I'm trying to take lots of pictures and video. :)

So yeah... a few more days here before we go to the east side, where we'll do the DTS for a week before going back into the villages.. I believe we leave Indonesia on the 28th? And from then on we'll be in Malaysia, which is very Americanized, honestly. I think that's just six weeks left.
A month and a half seems very long but I'm realizing that it's very short. I mean... I'm comparing it to how I felt in June, when I kept thinking that there were 5 months left... time has gone by very quickly and it will continue to do so. :)

My team's amazing, our contacts are amazing, and we have been really, really blessed. We haven't backpacked anywhere yet and I was honestly expecting the villages to be a lot harder then they actually were... when it comes to living conditions that is. The last village was tough because of the strong sense of apathy there... and the pastor we were staying with was a bit... odd. It's really funny, actually. :D But yeah, the food's great and it's hot but it's not unbearable. I have my moments when I want to come home but I know I'm not ready to just yet.

I'm guessing there will be internet access while we're at the other YWAM base so I'll try to contact you again then. :)

Take care and don't stress out too much...

Nichelle

Thank you ALL for keeping Nichelle in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks also for all your kind words and comments on my Facebook page. I'm guessing not having access to the news was a blessing for her, as she probably has no idea how bad the damage is on the neighboring island of Sumatra. I'm so relieved she's okay, but I'm sure I'll continue to monitor the USGS site and keep myself worried. That's what moms do, I guess. Thank you all again -- my family appreciates your thoughts and prayers more than you can imagine. By the way, she left a comment on the blog post below and is looking forward to pumpkin pie and potato-bacon soup!