We're dressed and in the car at 5am. The day trip to Jakarta is for biometrics and pictures for our annual visa. We feel blessed to extend our visa and this is the first time we don't have to leave the country to do it.
Happily, we are in-and-out of the visa office by 9am. We head into downtown to a friend's church. We have to update our organization, drop off a bag for a mutual friend, and pick up the earrings I left in a Vietnam hotel: Joy, one of the church staff, brought them back from her trip to Hanoi.
We're expecting to grab a breakfast quiche at the Starbucks but they're sold out. (Yes! there's a Starbucks in the highrise that houses the church office.) We love reconnecting and wish we could stay for the staff meeting ... but "all of Jakarta" will be headed to Bandung tonight for the long weekend.
Our helpers love the IKEA blanket inserts for our duvets, and they are less expensive than the usual scarf or gift I get them at the end of Ramadan. So IKEA will a quick stop before we drive home. W is very time-conscious. Let's get on the road! I agree; a short delay can mean several hours in traffic.
I start a second interview in the car, but she is in the thick of another duty. We postpone our meeting until next week and pray that her work goes well.
"We can eat on the way home." W says. A half-hour later, he is hungry.
If it were just me, I'd wait to get home and miss traffic. (Mothers learn how to defer pleasure for greater gain. haha)
We pull into a rest stop and have an indifferent A&W burger (!I know, right?), before pulling back into traffic. The ice cream cone is green. Green.
During our short stop, there have been 4 accidents on the toll road. People may be hungry and thirsty and not thinking clearly, but they're apparently driving. We will save 3 hours (so far) by taking parallel streets. The toll road completely shuts down while the accidents are processed. We're happy not to be sitting in the sun on that road.
We detour along with many other cars. We've forgotten how strange it is to have entire households sit on motorcycles (I like the side-saddle mama.)
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| Dense traffic - the squeeze |
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| of a motorcycle carrying plastic cups? |
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| Several haul a trailer with a stool, heavy goods, and a passenger or two. |
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| A family of 4 rides the family vehicle. |
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| Another mom sits sidesaddle and holds her baby. |
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| Someone is carrying his business, a food stall. |
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| Version 1. A mannequin, stool, pipes, and ? |
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| Version 2. The only reason I notice a change is a different chair and helmet. |
I call the third couple on the last leg. I am so inspired by the interviews: my article examines second- or third-career couples nearing retirement who go abroad to work in non-profits, at the same time as their peers are settling into inactivity.
We're home at 7pm, a mere +6 hours after leaving Jakarta. Not bad. (?!) Both of us get out of the car and stagger into the house. Actually, we're crabby after 12 hours in the car. We're asleep by 8, which cuts off any venting of a foul mood. Whew.
Friday
I sleep through the Muslim chants and a 4am online meeting about writing women's biographies for Wikipedia. I hope to include the women of my dissertation, who worked abroad in the early 1900s and defied cultural and religious expectations in compassionate care, education, and ministry overseas.
I'm awake before sunup at 5am. My second-hour interview is at 7. What a pleasure and JOY to talk to Lance and Rochelle. I feel so encouraged and look forward to writing the article soon. I'll have to do some academic research, of course.
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| Helpers sweep outside their workplace; that's how fallen leaves and garbage is picked up. (There are no "street sweeper" machines.) |
I ask, "Are you satisfied with your working conditions?" Yes, she says she likes it and wants to stay. I am equally glad to have her help. (Does anyone ask that here? It's a normal part of a Western job performance review.)
We couldn't do all we do without helpers, that's for sure. Sumi beams when I say how much I appreciate her help. "I thank God for you," I tell her.
Afterward, I consider how much time it takes to clean the dust that blows through unsealed windows and open doors, tackle the bugs that live and die in our cabinets and on the floors, and bake, cook, and wash dishes for everyone who stops by to visit, read scripture, pray, and study. Instead, Sumi does much of that. Our first helper, Ibu Apong, pitches in on special occasions like movie nights.
We offer a small daily raise every year as an incentive to keep our helpers. It's easier not to have to look for someone new every year or two (as some of our friends do.) Training someone who hasn't worked for foreigners takes months: no matter where we're from, expats have very different cultural expectations of "household" than do Indonesians.
Today she's working a half day. It's time to wash rugs - scrubbing them on the porch and hosing them down. Then we hang them in the sun on a laundry rack that W hoisted down from the laundry room on the roof. Within a few hours, they're dry. I remember my Iranian friend talking about doing the same thing with her mother and sisters when she lived in Tehran.
Saturday
In this blog, we can only tell you stories between other stories, to honor those we serve. So you may think all is eating and visiting or fun and games. But we love those around us so we keep the rest of the story in our hearts and theirs.
In the evening, we admire the sky above our table. The plants are uplit and glow under the darkening sky.
Sunday
In the evening, several women come over for an art date.
We paint, draw, and eat popcorn. One of the gals stays for a few extra minutes to talk and pray together. It's fun to see what they created.
At the weekend market, the little rabbits are not hopping off the table as expected. They stay in their cages or explore the table top.
At another stand, they are selling winter coats. It's 80o but you have to stay warm when the wind blows or you ride a motorcycle.
Life with Jesus if full of mystery and wonder - and strange new normals. Have a great week, everyone!
*But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Psalm 103:17-18 NIV
*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. Psalm 116:1-2 NIV
*I will satisfy the weary, and all who are faint I will replenish. Jeremiah 31:25
*And as Jesus sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples. Mark 2:15
Moravian Prayer: We exhaust ourselves with worry; we tire ourselves with scrambling for that which does not satisfy. Lord, sometimes we forget that we are nourished and refreshed by your presence and word. Send us out to a world that hungers for meaning and use us to invite others to come and join us at your table. Amen.
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