# DAY 18 AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

I’m on the toilet when my phone starts beeping. I quickly have a look and see a notification: “Dear Rose, you reached the target of your crowd funding campaign”. I’m confused and almost fall down in the toilet (for your information I’m on a traditional Indonesian toilet, which basically means your squatting above a hole). How was this possible? When I checked this afternoon we still needed around 3500 EUR to reach our target. I walk outside and log into our GoFundMe page. One of our lovely guests that stayed with us last year (and was planning to visit us again this year) made a very generous donation to make sure we reached our target.

I’m completely speechless and wish there was a bigger word than thank you. It feels like every donation, every like, every share and every message is a wish for our happiness. And to see and feel that so many people would like us to be happy is overwhelming. I guess success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up with goals so strong that obstacles failure, and loss only acts as motivation.

The money of our crowd funding campaign will help us and our boys to survive the first 6 months where will not have an income but the world keeps on turning. To know that we don’t have to worry about our debts, salaries and other business obligations is priceless. Because of all of you we have the opportunity to completely focus on rebuilding our little paradise, support our boys and help the wonderful community of Gili Air wherever we can.

Food & friends are the best medicine

One of my favorite things to do is having dinner with friends and talk, laugh and share. Last night our good friends Jill & Jimmy came over and we had such a lovely evening together. We played Cards Against Humanity (thanks for the gift @renee) and we were laughing all night. It’s been a few days now that we didn’t felt an earthquake and every day we start to feel more relaxed. And sometimes when my mind starts wondering, the devil whispers in my ear; remember what happened the last time when you thought it was over? Fortunately these moments of anxiety are only for a quick second. We take a positive step forward every day, even our very bad days gives us the strength we need to make tomorrow a better day.

Love Rose

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