He's back in town - hurrah

The swing in 8' tall; the wall at least 12'

It's noisy at night. Between celebrations, prayers, and readings from the mosques and traffic, the night is seldom still. Security guards walk through the neighborhoods, banging a wooden stick on metal fenceposts to assure us they're on the watch. (As far as we know, they go back to their security post to rest between making the rounds.)

W is in Singapore for two weeks. He picks up four IKEA raincoats with reflective trim, 2 for night security and 2 for day. Recently, the rains have added their hiss on the leaves and a stead hum on the roof to the sounds of the night.

Many homes border each other: the concrete dividing wall is usually 12-20' tall. Our house shares two such walls with neighbors. The yard is edged with such a tall fence, overgrown with vines, ferns, and orchids. Some days I can hardly stand the beauty.

I remember admiring similar plants years ago in a Seattle nursery (with a $100 price tag for a medium-sized tropical fern). Here they grow. They just grow. When we first moved in, I picked up three bird's nest ferns tossed in a heap under a tree. We tucked them between the vines and staghorn ferns on the wall. They're growing like crazy, with 4-6' fronds.

Thursday, February 1, 2018
The weekly hike takes five of us through the tea plantations. The workers are bemused that we would snap pictures of their manual labor. I let the others take photos: sometimes they ask for money to pose for us.

In the early evening, we head to the study at the Bamboo Shack. We have some first-timers again tonight. Reading Exodus 35, we observe that God is pleased with a willing heart - either to give what one has or to work. Though God doesn't force us to give to him, he commands that tasks get done. When we participate, we are blessed and the community benefits.

After, instead of just dropping off our friends at their house, they invite me in to join them for Padang food. This Sumatran kind of eating, where the host/ess piles on various plates and you eat what suits you, reminds me of a buffet. (In a restaurant, you pay only for what you eat.)

Dr. Hanna's Dutch friend (since high school) is here for a short visit. She brought 2 huge boxes of food from her favorite restaurant in Jakarta, which serves genuine Padang recipes. Alice and DrH warm up 10 dishes and put them on the table at 8pm. What? We're going to eat such a huge meal at this time of night? (They haven't even put everything out: there's sooo much food.)

Oh yes, we are. It's absolutely delicious: hot and spicy, flavorful, eaten with rice to cool our tongues. Thank God for a strong stomach and DrH's good advice: "Sit up for 3 hours after eating, so that you don't get heartburn." (No problem. I read a good book until midnight since there's no one else at home.)

We chat and exchange faith stories and experiences until I walk home after 10pm. I feel safe, though the neighborhood gang tikus (little lanes) are quiet and there's no one around. I'm home in 5 minutes,  locking the gate and doors behind me.

Friday
I head downtown after 10am. A few months ago, W found two cheap Balinese paintings at a garage sale and I finally want to get them framed. A few friends make suggestions about where to get the work done. At the first shop, it costs $14 for a custom-cut wooden frame and linen matt.

Och, they are dusty! The framer says he cannot clean the paintings for me. Then he grabs an eraser and scrubs a corner. (Now we have a white spot. I guess it works!) I'll have to clean the whole picture: the art has been sitting somewhere and is marked up.

I leave the pictures at the first place, but the second shop that's been recommended is more creative. When I get home, I call the first guy, "Please do not order material. I'll send someone to pick up the paintings." Once they're clean, I'll send them to the second shop.

When I get home, I have to write. I've been asked to write two articles for an upcoming book, so I need to send in the publishing permission slips. The actual articles are due in June.

There's a party in the neighborhood. Someone is practicing bass guitar and another the flute. Keyboards, drums, and vocalists join in. Yikes, they've turned up the volume. Sound carries through the neighborhoods - it's going to be a long, loud evening. Sounds like fun. And it goes on all weekend.

Saturday
I'm meeting someone new at Starbucks down the hill. She's been referred to us by a mutual friend in another city. It's hard to leave behind community and networks, so we share our connections with those who move elsewhere.

Jen calls to ask if I can meet her later - and ends up coming to the house before noon for our 11:00 meeting. Flex time. We have tea, homemade choco lava cake, and cookies on the porch, visiting for over an hour. We hope Jen joins us a few more times before she leaves for China and university next month.

"I like coming to Westerners' houses. You always offer us something good to eat!"

Waldemar flies home from Singapore in the late afternoon. He's wrapped up two weeks of Church History with an enthusiastic group of international students. Heis tired but happy, bringing his cold with him.

Can you spot the 2.5" binatang (animal)?

Sunday
Waldemar's cold is worse and the night has been ragged. I head to church without him. We have a quiet lunch and afternoon together. It's nice to have a pause in the week.

Robin comes by for a visit, picking up a steam cleaner to lift the dirt off the tile floors in his new rental. He's a German artist and designer: we understand why he wants to walk barefoot in the house ... without blackening his foot soles.

He explains: "My helper doesn't even sweep: he just mops the floor with one bucket of water. It doesn't matter what I ask him to do." Instructions don't necessarily the routines helpers adopt around here. We understand that, too. (Our trusty old Craiglist-Seattle Roomba is set on a timer. This lifesaver automatically vacuums our tiles and rugs every day.)

Monday
We've had 3 meetings by 2:00. The driver has gone to town to pick up the pictures left at the framer and walked the yard dog. Today, lunch for the team is chicken, rice, and vegetables - again. With Monday meetings starting at 7am, I don't have time to show the helper new dishes.

W and I make a quick run to the store. We jettison our evening plans for a walk to a neighborhood cafe and stay in for a simple supper: store-made dumplings in broth. Satisfying. W is nursing his cold and is hoarse by evening. I made lava chocolate cake on Saturday when W came home, so we have two for dessert.

On the other side of the world, my extended family is meeting in British Columbia to say goodbye to my Uncle Otto, who died over a week ago. His lifelong best friend is a pastor and performs the funeral. From far away, we pray for his wife, children, and grandchildren, as well as for my mom and her remaining sibling. Life is short. A life well-lived is worth celebrating.

Tuesday
It's date day, technically our day off. First, we do an initial reading of our talk for Sunday, when we'll speak together at BIC. One of the day guards models his raincoat as we head out of the neighborhood.

Out of Africa: 1976?

Our first stop is the picture frame shop from last week. One man will replace broken frames and glass on a few paintings. The other (more creative) one will stretch and frame four pictures my mom bought in Tanzania in the 1970s. The oil paints are still fresh and look new: they've been rolled up for +45 years in her cool clean house.

There's a new mall in town. It takes a while to get there from the second frame shop. It's not too distant. Most downtown roads are winding and one-way, with limited right turns permitted. (We drive on the left here, so cross-traffic turns are to the right.) Driving is a lot farther than walking and takes at least as long.

A few old buildings remain from colonial Dutch occupation

At the food court upstairs in the mall, we each order a sandwich. (Of all the choices!) The "toasted" baguette is microwaved with meat, mushroom, and sauce inside so it's soft and ... well, not the crisp French or German taste we're craving. It fills us up and doesn't taste bad.

We walk around the Western-style construction and explore all 3 floors, but agree that we're still not - and probably never will be - "mall people" or shoppers. It's still nice to be out and about together. We share a mango drink before heading to the car.

Canned products with pork in them are rare, separated from other cans with a shelf divider.

W has seen a little grocer on his walks, so we stop to buy a few small things to support them before heading home. They have some expat goods that we might be hungry for in the future.

Foreign baby formula ("milk) and cigarettes - an unbeatable health combination behind the cashier

It's also the second day of clove-picking in our backyard for a 5-person crew of men. One is a friend of the driver. Two teens climb up 40' into the tree. The crew paid a small fee for taking the flowers/fruit. We split the money between the house and outside helpers, with the proviso that I get my own little jar of cloves for the kitchen. Done.

Cloves, fresh from the tree

They're so pretty. The helper spreads the flowers to dry upstairs in the rooftop laundry. "We need sun," she says. "The sun will dry them."

But what can you do? It's another overcast day. The guys work until 3pm and hike out of the yard with big sacks of cloves over the shoulders of the youngest.

I fall fast asleep for an afternoon nap, my first in ages. Feels so good ...

Read more:
*Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.” 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 NIV

*We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22 NIV

*May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him. Psalm 67:7 ESV

*They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock. Isaiah 48:21 ESV

*I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18-19 ESV

*Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. Revelation 22:17 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Our God, you quench our eternal thirst. You love us as your most precious creation and water is our most precious resource. May we be good stewards of both the water of the well and of your living water.

Father, may we rest in the assurance of your love as shown to us in Jesus. May we strive to emulate the selfless love of Christ Jesus. Fill us with your spirit and enflame our hearts with your love. Amen.