Happy birthday and a movie

Another week speeds by.

Red and White: Independence Day

Tuesday, August 18
It's Independence Day -  Year #70 for Indonesia. Bridget invites us over for African and Indian food, cooked by her and Sumathi.

Oh yum! The food and company are wonderful. Ibu Ingrid prays healing over Kirsten - W and I chime in with heartfelt agreement. God is able to ease her suffering and heal her body.

Wednesday
Happy Birthday to you, dear daughter! We take Kirsten for lunch. She wants to go shopping so what better place than Pasar Baru (new market), with floors of shops and vendors. Except that the goods are more appropriate for traditional religious women with many children and an Indonesian home.

Kirsten finds a cute batik dress. After 2 hours in the market, we're exhausted and ready to go home.

I cook until company comes in the evening for movie night. I did most of the set-up and prep with Kirsten in the morning. 

We have about 20 guests at any given time. Some come late from work or have to leave early. Most stay all evening. Many of them bring drinks or food to share. 

Our driver picked up a cake during the day, a huge square of frosting and three layers of cake. We also have Nanaimo bars, freshly baked last night. They're a hit.

Thursday
A walk. We get a bit lost in the forest but eventually wander into the end parking lot. We go 4.5 miles  up and down and around in 3 hours. W checks his phone apps: we're almost a mile above sea level at the highest point.

We are utterly dusty from the grit kicked up during the dry season. Our shoes often scuff up 1-3" of fine silt. The motorbikes that go by dig deep trenches in the paths and throw dirt into the air.

A fine concrete bridge, poured over bamboo stalks

W's GPS gets us back on track, even when we abandon the long looping path to clamber down through abandoned terraces on the mountainside to get to the path below.

Lunch is at the Mandarin, which sounds grand but is a well-known hole-in-the-wall diner with good (and cheap) fare.

We're home in time to host a study at our place. The group is small - but the discussion of Ruth 3 is interesting.

Friday
Every day, I'm trying to acquire some language. It's slow going but with the conversational approach and the words we've learned this last year, there's some progress. Finally.

A one-minute computer doodle. Distractions welcome!

My big chore is to complete and send 2 syllabi to an institution in Singapore. We'll teach there soon. The days may be boring for Kirsten but they're full for us.

Lucky for her, Sharen (a friend she met Wednesday) comes by on her motorcycle. The women go together to a few "younger" shops and K comes home with a few goodies.

Our version of "fall" trees: 20' of radiant orange blossoms

Saturday
Kirsten and I join Paula and David on a shopping trip to Borma. Imagine a messy Walmart and Target rolled into one. I point out the open metal stairwell in one section: there's a loose barrier at the top of the stairwell but a wandering child or teen could easily brush past it. Here, people aren't looking for trouble. No one goes near it.

K finds a few DVDs while we stock up on groceries. When we get home, Ibu A has lunch almost ready - noodles, vegetables, and sausage dish ... with rice on the side, of course. I slice cabbage, jicama, cucumbers, and carrots into a bowl and toss with vinegar, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Good.

Then it's time for language studies. By the time we're done, it's nearly 5pm. I heat up leftovers; W is on a walk and eats before coming home around 7. K and I watch a Korean drama together.

What a weepy tale. I count how many characters cry: 30% of the main characters show up without crying in this episode. Yikes. I can't quite lose myself in the film and story - it's acting, after all. I am fascinated by all those tears. How can one make yourself cry?

Read more:
*The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. Lamentations 3:25 ESV

*God knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. Daniel 2:22 ESV

*Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. 1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV

*Indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:3 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Dear God, we praise you that your light shines in darkness of any kind. As Christ loved all, may we love all. May our witness be to his extraordinary love for the stranger and the neighbor, the friend and the foe alike.

God of grace, God of glory, your delight is our joy. Our delight is to be loved by you. Open wide our hearts to receive your goodness in our lives. Amen.