Perks of living in Brunei

You still may be asking yourself, why exactly would we want to move our family to the other side of the world?  Especially since I said I'd never do that, and we hate to leave behind our extended family and friends??  Well, there are definitely some perks to living here.  Caution:  after reading the following, you may want to move here too!  :)

-Family life: Because of the school and work hours, and the proximity of everything, we will have more time to spend together as a family.

-Education: The children will attend an international school and receive an exceptional education in an environment unlike any other.

-Activites:  Through the Shell Panaga Club they offer all kinds of activities for the children (sports, swimming, karate, dance, gymnastics, music, etc.)  Everything is in one location, so there's no driving all over town in different directions to take kids to their activities!

-Outdoor living:  Although it is hot year-round here, it is also surprisingly mild quite often.  There is clean air, tropical jungles, lush forests, beaches, and all kinds of places to explore and enjoy the great outdoors.

-Peaceful and safe:  The country's full name, Brunei Darussalam, means "Abode of Peace".  It is peaceful, laid back ("no worries"), and quite safe to live here.

-Cultural experience:  BSP (Brunei Shell Petroleum) employees come from all over the world, so we will have a very multicultural/multi-national experience here.

-Opportunity to travel:  We will be able to see and experience things on this side of the world that we would NEVER be able to otherwise...  Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Hong Kong... Brunei is centrally located to all of these amazing places!

-Amah:  It is the norm to have an amah (housekeeper).  All of the homes actually have amah's quarters.  We met an amah on our preview trip here in June, and we will be hiring Rosalyn very soon!  This is perhaps my biggest perk... someone to help with the laundry and cleaning!  And a live-in babysitter so I can be free to run to the store without kids!  Of course this also means more family time, since I won't spend ALL my free time cleaning and doing laundry!!  Yay!!!

-Purpose:  Keith and I feel that we have a higher calling and purpose here.  During our marriage, we have "planted" and led adult Sunday school classes at our churches in both North Carolina and Houston.  Maybe we will be able to do the same thing for the expat community here in Brunei.  Or maybe we'll start up a home church, or Bible studies.  Since it's a Muslim country, there are not a lot of opportunities for Christians to worship.  We believe God has called us here for a purpose greater than just the "perks" mentioned above!