Happier days. Yesterday was a very long day of travel from Batu to our location here in Bali. Next time we will fly directly from Malang to Denpasar, as the trip via Surabaya added more than 4 hours to the journey. She is more relaxed and I am increasingly aware of how some of my behaviors and words upset her. I have to avoid any sense if being a 'know it all' or acting in a condescending way. She has not described me in these terms, but I am aware that these a...

Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV) Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. These are some of the attitudes that I must follow if I want the relationship to dev...

Financial Support We had an interesting day yesterday. She was grumpy with me most of the day, because I said that a one-day, uncertified strength training course in the capital city Jakarta, was not worth the expense. For the same money (including air travel and hotel) she could complete a certified personal trainer course that would benefit her when applying for immigration to Australia, and would also enable her to work as a personal trainer when needed. I wa...

Communication across cultures and across languages is always a challenge. These challenges are the focus of my professional life and so I enjoy the process of meeting these challenges. For my partner, however, these challenges are extremely frustrating and cause her to be become very angry with me. Because we communicate in Bahasa Indonesia and because we are often in Indonesia together, the problems can be more acute. She does succeed in using correct Indone...

Philippians 2:3-7 (NIV) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. [4] Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, [7] but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in...