Advent blessings

It feels like Advent is truly here. This time of anticipation, when each day we yearn to celebrate Christ's birth, is a special time of year for me.

A November guest from the USA brought 2 packs of clear ornaments. **If you are traveling to someone who lives abroad, I'd encourage you to ask if there's something that you could bring to make their heart sing.** When she asked, I suggested clear ornaments and Kraft caramels. (Thanks, dear friend! I'm enjoying the globes every Advent day and looking forward to making homemade nut and caramel Turtles for Christmas.)

Inside each globe, I put a number and a verse. Day by day, I'm adding something "Christmas-y" before hanging it on the tree. Twinkle lights glow under the ornaments in an old IKEA tin. The light reminds me of God's love and forethought. Oh my, what kindness and perfect planning, to make it possible for God to live among us.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Waldemar has returned from Kuching, Malaysia. His +40 students were enthusiastic in the classroom as well as taking him for meals and around the city. As usual, he also explored the surroundings on his own. He comes back exclaiming about the nice people he met, and the modern amenities, clean streets, and cars that drive in their lanes.

The neighborhood masseuse calls: any chance that we would be willing to have a massage? She needs the money for the holiday this weekend.

"Oh yes, please," we say. At $15 for 2 hours, she is a lifesaver, unlocking muscles tense from travel and study. She comes to the house and works her magic.

We have a few people stop by - one for advice, another for resources, and still another wants company.

Friday
The logistics for life here are complicated. The flow is flexible because every month has multiple holidays. Births, weddings, and funerals (done within 24 hours of death) are communal events, so you can't count on someone being at their job or post.

Today is a national holiday to commemorate Muhammad's birthday. That means coming and going, that Jakartans are here a day early for the long weekend, and families are visiting each other. Many helpers have a day off so the neighborhood houses are mostly quiet.

We relish the empty house. We even have water for showers part of the day. Bliss.

Saturday
The day hurries by in a blur of activity. We are baking pastries and pumpkin pies for tomorrow and cleaning the house. Our 2 1/2-week guest has departed: the room is turned over and aired, the kitchen and fridge emptied, and the floors washed. As soon as the bedding dries on the laundry racks, it is ironed, killing whatever bugs have landed on the rooftop. Then the room is restored for the next visitor.

Last night, I drifted into sleep with the smell of my Grandma's house around me. She's been dead for decades, but the smell brings back many memories.

Ready for some artwork

It's the first time I'm using the white coverlet I brought here in my suitcase. It is so old that the fabric-covered buttons have only a few shreds of fabric left on them. The family smell lingers in this crisp, perfectly ironed damask fabric. Soft. The pure cotton is so soft from many washings. I bet my mom washed and ironed it - because some of the fragrance is from her linen closet. Clean and sweet.

The first time I'll wash the cover here, the smell may dissipate. There will probably be wrinkles because it will be completely dried by the wind on the rooftop before it is pressed by the iron. We don't have a clothes dryer and don't need one. The air whips through the clothing and bedding and takes all the moisture away.

So I inhale, drift off with happy memories, and stay fast asleep until morning.

Sunday
It's the first Sunday of Advent. I've made a 24-day outline to paint or draw this month. (Feel free to print out the photo for your own art. (If you do, I'd love to see it when you're done!) I've pulled out the finished and framed marker-medium page from Advent 2016, and hung it in my office for inspiration. The tree is up and decorated.


It's a big day for the team. 45 people are joining us today for a Thanksgiving brunch at the Bamboo Shack. Alice, who sent the invitation for us, closed the guest list but there's a healthy waiting list.

We leave the house at 8. W is driving but the traffic is surprisingly light - the back of the car is loaded with a sound system, cheese rolls and pumpkin pies, and more.

We are grateful to God for his blessings, so this is our chance to share our gratitude with others. The food is good, the program is short but well-thought out, and the table talk centers around being thankful and giving back to others.

Yay - the weather is good and nearly everyone shows up within an hour of the set time. Every member of the IESBandung team takes part: DrH welcomes everyone and prays over the food.

Claudia, who has designed the decor and managed the food service, speaks briefly about a woman who offers her son to God, in return for an end to her barrenness. (Read Hannah's fascinating story in 1 Samuel 1-3.)

Waldemar talks about the command God gives most in scripture: to be happy. It's said in various ways: "Be blessed, be joyful, abound in hope," etc.

Josue, a general go-for helper like me, adds a short summary and a closing prayer. And then the table talk starts. The room is buzzing for a few hours.

Claudia has put a quote about thankfulness at each place-setting. We write or draw something we are grateful for on a little card and use little clothespins to post them on strings hung at the entrances.

The cards make a great backdrop for the obligatory selfies (an Indonesian "must," no matter what the event.)

The best "Thank You!" card on each string gets a prize = the framed quote hung at the end of the rope. We take group pictures and are done at 2:00.

Monday
W and I are in a meeting online at 7am. At 8:30, we hear the gate bell ring.

Zelli has arrived. He's become our Monday right hand: he starts setting up the tables and chairs at 8:30 or 9am, before our large group arrives. He takes the metal wind chimes down as well. Often, a sturdy breeze whips up the valley midmorning: then the chimes ring so loudly that they drown out whoever is speaking. The bamboo chimes continue to clack as the wind arrives.

The cages for the birds stay put. The two canaries provide a trilled backdrop, singing very loudly in accompaniment to certain voices.

It's a sprint for me, trying to get things ready. The helper is volunteering at a neighborhood preschool clinic, as she does once a month. So I fill 3 big teapots with tea and put cookies and fruit bread (baked by a friend) on 3 large trays.

About noon, study participants often go off to lunch together. The IESBandung team heads upstairs to the conference table for lunch and our weekly meeting. We cherish this time together. This week, we discuss what went well yesterday and how we can improve our serve.

Tuesday
It's supposed to be our day off. Um, ok. Last week we studied two passages of scripture that happened to be about Sabbath and resting. We agreed it was a good - and a God - idea.

However, W is doing receipts and paperwork. I'm rewriting the course I'll teach next week in Bhutan. We have to buy supplies for tomorrow's movie night. Maybe we can combine the errand run with our scheduled date later in the day? Breathe. Relax. GO!

I love the fresh green of December! Rainy season brings an explosion of plant growth. There's a steady clip-clip of shears outside my office. The gardener is chopping back hedges, which have grown a foot since the last time he cut them. He finds some avocados while working in the neighbor's yard.

He already scrubbed the slippery algae off the driveway - it smelled like an aquarium cleanup for about 2 hours. He won't have time to mow the 8" lawn until next week. Hiring someone for yard work once a week is barely enough to keep the jungle at bay.

Back in the USA, home help is an unthinkable luxury. Realistically, few office workers or managers clean their own offices, public spaces, or office landscapes. Here, we live downstairs but most of our space is used for work and guest space. (Since we work from home, we don't have to rent offices or commute to town. Yay.)

Inside, the helper is busy sweeping and mopping the living room, kitchen, and porch, anticipating a sprawl of people on the floors. She fills the house with baking smells from 200 cheese balls and 2 cakes, before cooking a rice and chicken lunch for everyone. (A meal for 6 costs about $8, plus her wage.)

We drop by the local pizzeria: I'm not cooking the main meal tomorrow - we order a lot of meter-long pizzas for movie night. Tomorrow is another day.

Read more:
*Moses said, “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today. This is no trifling matter for you, but rather your very life.” Deuteronomy 32:46, 27

*See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered. Isaiah 66:17

*There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. John 1:6, 8

*Jesus said, “Be like those who are waiting for their master.” Luke 12:36

Moravian Prayer: God of revelation, make us attentive to those whom you send as heralds. May we receive their words, respond to their proclamation, and follow their admonitions, that we may find you and receive abundant life.

God of the new, teach us the ways of renewal. Grant us a new start in this season of waiting for the Christ. May we, through him, make all things new in the world you have entrusted to us. Amen.