Bouquets, orchids, and broken sleep

At a local restaurant, the servers wear batik "skirts" as their uniform, whether male or female.

Two of our sons have birthdays this week. We miss them! The bouquet Ann left me blooms much of the week - so refreshing.

Wednesday
W is helping to fix the sound system at the International Church. We take Gypsy on walks most days - today he also meets the shitzu-poodle we'll dogsit while her owners are at a conference. The little dog yaps and chases Gypsy around the yard - quite hilarious as Gypsy plays and his friend thinks she's scaring him. Both are having fun and eventually stop for a sniff and to make peace.

We go out for lunch (cheaper than cooking). There's a pile of building supplies and construction rubbish alongside the parking lot. We walked since the place is newly-built in our neighborhood, but the cars are double- and triple-parked in a big driveway beside the restaurant. Mind your step!

 The tea is good: I order it hot with a glass of ice on the side. Normal iced tea is laced with too much sugar.

Thursday

We head for the hills again. Acres of vines are strung on bamboo trellises on both sides of the mountains. See the two workers below right? Everything is done by hand, from plowing, building, cultivating, and harvesting.

They've dammed a volcanic spring into "hot springs" - pretty. We have to cross a few bamboo bridges to get to the pond.

We were going to swim but dawdled on the walk and everyone is ready to have lunch instead.

At the end of the walk, we are in hydrangea fields - W gets me 10 huge blooms for $1.50. What a guy.

The evening study is well-attended and interesting. We're home about 8pm.

Friday
We take the 5am train into Jakarta for a conference. We're boarding on the track beyond the first stopped cars, so we have to walk up and through one train to get to our own. Everyone shleps their luggage up the steps. Then we either jump 3' to the ground (no stairs on the other side) or step over a 2.5' gap onto a platform on the other side and take stairs back to the ground and across to Track 4.

We see where trains go to die - piles of decommissioned rail cars are stacked along the tracks. They'd make a fun garden house or writing studio, don't you think?

Arriving at 8:30am, we walk 20 minutes from the train station to the conference center in humid 90o. W, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, is soaked with sweat. I'm wearing a cotton blazer, T-shirt, and long trousers and am just comfortable. I love this weather!

The sidewalks aren't exactly even. But at least these are wide.

I get to sit beside a dear friend - Livia - for both days of theology and hermeneutics with John H. Walton. Whenever the interpreter doesn't quite understand the meaning or agree completely, he finishes the translated sentence with a deep groan. (I've heard that sound before, when a driver or helper doesn't understand what is expected.)

We have supper with John and Oyan, a delightful time of talking about family, God, and scriptures.

Saturday
After the conference wraps up, there's a lunch with other attendees.

Across the street from the conference is a mall, a challenge to get to. We walk up and down ramps, along the fence for a block, and finally end up in the basement. There's not much in it besides food stalls and restaurants. It's decorated for Ramadan, complete with pillars, faux buildings, and printed-tile flooring. We spend a half hour walking in the air conditioning before heading back to the train station. Exercise without exertion.

 

The landscape on the trip home is breathtaking, as usual. 

We catch a taxi home late in the evening and fall into bed.

Sunday

The mosque loudspeakers start every night about 2:30 or 3:00am. The first interruption is calling people to eat before the day starts. Most Muslims won't eat or drink while the sun is up. We're not getting very deep sleep but neither is anyone else.

I'm leading the church service, so have to be there early. W comes along to check the wiring for the sound system. Voila! For the second week, we have sound in the speakers. (For a few months, there's been sound either in the monitors or speakers.) His theology class is postponed for a week because of a community potluck.

I love the Presence with us. Jesus promised to be among his followers, even if a few were together in his name. This morning, the worship leaders are energetic and full of spirit as well as the Spirit. We're not big jumpers, but some of us sway to the music or lift our hands in praise to God. Ron and Faith are going back to the States after a few months of teaching. Ron's speaking this morning on mentoring - on Jesus as our best example to follow.

I toss off my casual duds in the afternoon to dress up for a 5:00 appointment but it's a no-show. Suddenly, I have time to edit a dissertation proposal. By the time I'm done, the pages are marked up with ink so I send a note: "Don't be discouraged; all papers look this way at the first edit." It's even harder for students who write in English as their second or third language.

Monday

The morning and afternoon include online calls, meetings, and editing an academic article for a journal. At the morning meeting, the female participants cover themselves with fleecy blankets from our stash. It is COLD on the porch where we're studying: 74o (23C), and we're shivering. I take a picture of Alice, all wrapped up.

Every few minutes, a big black ant carries a white egg casing across the path of my foot. Squish. I can't believe how many are moving their eggs. And I'm not willing to let even one pass - they'll be in the house before you know it if I do. We've had a few infestations these past weeks but I'm doing my best to keep the house clear.

Well, we have an early supper at another new restaurant in the neighborhood (7 total built near us ... this year!) Everything is empty, since most people won't eat until sundown. The landscaping feels more like a resort than a neighborhood restaurant where we pay $12 for a pizza, fish and chips, and tea.

At the grocer, meat and vegetables are at least as expensive as in the USA or Canada: it costs $10-12 to cook meat, vegetables, and potatoes for two, on the rare occasions I make Western-style food. (Sometimes you just crave the taste of your own culture, between fried rice, spicy tofu, and other local cuisine.) Our friends observe that helpers aren't moving very fast: they're hungry and thirsty so we and our friends try to avoid meals at home.

Just stunning

A friend has closed her bedlinens warehouse in the city. She brings over some storage bags for me to pass along to a friend. They're zippered, made of beautiful cotton prints, and jazz up my office floor for a few days until I put them away. I know we're swamped with work when my office looks like a small tornado has blown through.

Tuesday

After a restless and noisy night, we start the day about 6am as usual. Meetings, edits, mail, bookkeeping - and W's grading an online class. It's date day so eventually we drive into town. The restaurants are half-shuttered so Muslims don't feel hungry watching other people eat.

We are looking for supplies. Along the way, we pass an all-you-can-eat-for-$5 dim sum place, tea included. The only sauce offered is sambal (spicy hot sauce) - there's no soy sauce, which I miss. But it is flavorful and cheap. We're the only ones eating in the whole place, sitting behind the curtain.

When we trimmed our guava tree a few months ago, we kept a few 8' lengths of colorful branches. I'd planned to hang native orchids on them. Today we head to the metalwork district to have a stand made. W designs it and the shop solders an angle-iron onto a heavy round metal plate. 

W and Pak Entang set it up and bolt the trunk to the base when we get home.

 I hang some orchids from it, unwinding a few roots from our trees to add to some from a local grower.

What a beautiful country. What a beautiful world. What a Good God we serve.

Read more:

*At the command of the Lord the Israelites would set out, and at the command of the Lord they would camp. Numbers 9:28

*Thus says the Lord, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; indeed, I will heal you.” 2 Kings 20:5

*Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6:3

*Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5

*Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Moravian Prayer: Lord, we give you thanks for the witness and teaching of those who came before us. We thank you for those who, in faith, walk with us now and will follow after us. Make us fearless messengers of the Good News, praying at all times for all, until all are united.

Your word is always trustworthy and true. In your mercy, drive away the discouragement that leads to apathy; restrain the rebelliousness that leads us to choose our way over yours; and provide meaningful work that will give glory to you.

Faithful God, giver and sustainer of life, in your boundless love for us, you provide the tenderest of care. Work in our hearts, calming our fears and deepening our trust, so that we may live with confidence and courage. Give us hope, that we may know that suffering and pain never have the final word. In Jesus Christ, our Savior, we pray. Amen.