Making progress

Miss Bee's, our neighborhood restaurant, open to the air

Tuesday, September 9

We get better information today at language school; two staffers take the class while our teacher has an appointment. She clears up a lot of clutter in our brains (grammar and vocab). We have learned some ... but there's sure a lot to acquire when learning from zero! Yesterday was a new week of language school. I was tired enough to stay home and rest rather than go out with W. He arrived back at 7, tired out - and then we walked to Miss Bee's for supper.

As we are walking through the neighborhood to catch a bus today, our helper's friend stops us. She asks if we are the family Bu A works for. When we say yes, we can understand enough that we know they've been friends since childhood. Bu A is cooking nasi goreng (fried rice) and chicken when we get home. She is very nice and always asks before taking things home. We think she is 45-50 years old. Her sister works in the same neighborhood and asked as soon as we moved in if we needed help. So far, what a godsend.

One interpretation of a "hamburger."
It sounded normal on the menu.
Grilled cheese bread
over meat with gravy.

We've made no progress on the house bugs. I told W I can stand it one more week; then he has to tell Dr Alfred that we're hiring an exterminator and will give him the bill. Our maid acted horrified when I showed her all the black crumbs dripping from the ceiling onto the guest beds. (The plastic wrap stays on the new mattresses and the bedding in the cabinet until the insects are cleared up). It's not that there's a big chunk of yuck left anywhere (besides accumulations on the wood windows where I haven't vacuumed; there's no sense in doing those since they're being replaced.) But it's the continual flaking off of little dots from above. 

I hear the lizards chirping as we unpack our schoolwork. Hopefully those lizzies are hard at work!

Oh... the food Bu A prepared is delicious! How can she cook so well with such awful pots? All we bought initially was a 7" non-stick saucepan for $4 and a 2-quart cheap stainless pot. And a wok. Yet not once has the food been burned or spoiled. This Friday, we plan to go to the cookware shop for decent pots and baking pans. 

Miss Bee's is famous for desserts.

Our attitude to setting up the house so it serves the Lord and ministry well: "Everything in its time and nothing in haste." Of course we bought a few plastic garbage bins and clothes hampers, and picked up the cheapest brushes and a few go-to pots upon arrival. Once we find quality goods at a reasonable price, we will buy them to last a long time. After all, we plan to spend a lot of years in Indonesia!

We need to replace the kitchen cabinets, which stink so badly that we've taken most of the doors off. (IKEA opens in Jakarta soon, and we may find some there.) Gradually W is repairing things: the toilet and sink faucets drip, the plaster is knocked off in places, and the water pressure is still enough for only one shower. Good thing he's handy and we don't have sleepover guests yet! We're scrubbing off layers of accumulated dirt, bit by bit. I told Bu A today that she and I must keep cleaning until it's done ... and then the house will belong to her and me. She gave me a thumbs up. 

The sun's out, the weather's a pleasant 80o, and we have eaten. We loved our home and work in Seattle. But we are SO grateful to be here, praying our way through the neighborhoods, making friends, and enjoying the new surroundings. 

Thank you for your kind words and prayers day after day. It eases our transition to a life-as-we-don't-yet-know-it.

Read more:

*The Lord God is my strength; he will give me the speed of a deer and bring me safely over the mountains. Habakkuk 3:19 TLB

*Here's the devotional for today's staff meeting in Jakarta. See why we love it and miss our coworkers? (And why we pray along with them each Tuesday?)

We gather together to worship God,

who, through the blood of Jesus Christ,

has freed us from the emptiness and futility of our former lives!

We have been reborn—we are now children of the living God!

Come, let’s worship the God who has set us free!

SINGING

One Thing Remains

OPENING PRAYER

God of justice, peace and righteousness come into our midst this morning.

Breathe your breath, your Spirit of prophecy, your energy,

your enlivening, your imagination on us.

Wake us up. Open our eyes. Unplug our ears

That we might hear. That we might see.

That we might grieve. That we might dream.

That we might follow the ways of your extraordinary kingdom

Amen

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

READING OF THE PSALMS

Psalm 115

1Not to us, Lord, not to us

    but to your name be the glory,

    because of your love and faithfulness.

2Why do the nations say,

    “Where is their God?”

3Our God is in heaven;

    he does whatever pleases him.

4But their idols are silver and gold,

    made by human hands.

5They have mouths, but cannot speak,

    eyes, but cannot see.

6They have ears, but cannot hear,

    noses, but cannot smell.

7They have hands, but cannot feel,

    feet, but cannot walk,

    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8Those who make them will be like them,

    and so will all who trust in them.

9All you Israelites, trust in the Lord—

    he is their help and shield.

10House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—

    he is their help and shield.

11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord—

    he is their help and shield.

12The Lord remembers us and will bless us:

    He will bless his people Israel,

    he will bless the house of Aaron,

13 he will bless those who fear the Lord—

    small and great alike.

14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,

    both you and your children.

15 May you be blessed by the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth.

16The highest heavens belong to the Lord,

    but the earth he has given to mankind.

17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,

    those who go down to the place of silence;

18 it is we who extol the Lord,

    both now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.[a]

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

NEW TESTAMENT READING

Acts 10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. 

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!