W and I enjoy a new experience: speaking together on Facebook Live - first time we've done it but won't be the last. Thanks to Angela and Pursuit Church Live.
The study is great - Josh and Clau are back from Brazil and the study group welcomes them. It's funny how quickly people become family when you live in another country. Mind you, Indonesian Sundas - the main people group here - are warm and instinctively smile from the heart at any friendly face.
Various groups of Indonesians and expats have become our family here ... and when someone travels or leaves, we miss them a lot. When they return, everyone is happy! People hang out on the porch for a while.
While the study group continues to visit, we head upstairs for an early lunch. The team has lots to discuss. We want an update on how Josh's dad is doing (was ill) and how their children coped with travel. They're doing fine and happy to be home here.
Even our dogs settle together. They walk on one leash quite well - with the occasional grrr as one wanders over and bumps the other. They've chosen their own prime spot on the porch and have their own food dish. At night Cocoa comes inside.
I fall into bed early. Speaking, teaching, listening, interacting. It's an intense Monday, as usual.
Tuesday
We get to talk to our good friends and get counsel on an upcoming adventure. They've just dropped off a grandson at camp - what fun. And what wisdom, which those of you who know Mel and Martha will understand.
Our young grandkids chatter with us via FaceTime as we walk the dogs. Via video, they see the neighborhood. They're fascinated by the chickens, cats, women and men in traditional Muslim gear, and other things we take for granted.
"Oma, faster, you can't let Opa and the dogs pass you! He's getting in front of you!" Kinsey feels a bit competitive. Since I have the phone and she's talking to me, I can't let anyone get ahead of us. haha
Date day! We head up to Rumah Doa (house of prayer), a retreat center for the rest of the morning. On the way home, we have lunch (Korean barbecue) at Wonjo.
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| The dogs jump into the car and curl up immediately, then go for a walk with the driver while we pray. |
Now we have to cover the remaining cage every evening. We don't really like cats - but our neighbors tolerate our dogs and never complain, so it's a fair exchange.
During our afternoon work, we enjoy a mini-Magnum. The creamy ice-cream and the crisp chocolate surround - these minis are my favorite treat to cap off a meal.
In the evening, Youth Alpha connects with teens - what a joyful sound their laughter and discussion provide. Scott and Sarah are excellent mentors and the teens love them.
Wednesday
We had planned to have movie night, but another meeting comes up - and so we postpone it. W and I still mentor couples and leaders. In the morning, I have a conference call to someone finding their place in ministry. The internet makes the exchange possible across the ocean. It's always exciting to hear the desire to serve. The complications come because humans are involved, right?
We snap a shot of a woman taking her daughter to school. She hops on a GoJek (motorcycle taxi) with her baby in arms. She smiles at us as we take her picture, typical of the warmth and friendliness of the Sundanese.
Thursday
I wake about 4am, with many thoughts rushing through my prayers. We have breakfast at Miss Bee with Josh and Claudia. Once Josh gets his coffee, he's full of good ideas for the next steps of life and work.
We have a sad chore later in the morning, emptying Sandy's kitchen. They've fully repatriated to Canada and the house is nearly empty. Terry flew off this morning, but Reza takes us to their old place. We pack up what can be useful to us and to other several households with very little housewares.
It's time to put things in my own suitcase. I revise notes for teaching next week. Guests drop by and I sort house chores and assignments for helper in coming weeks while I'm away. It's a long busy day and an early night. When W goes to the study, I crash into bed. I'm asleep by 7:30pm. Musta needed that!
Friday
We're up at 3. It's my Mom's birthday - what a sweet gift from the Lord she has been to me and our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM (actually "yesterday" her time, but was too early to call her when I fell asleep last night.) We are so grateful that she is in good health and still working away at life. She's also an indispensable part of our prayer team.
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| A photo from last year's visit |
W spends a few hours in the airport. We walk (2 miles) in the new terminal, eat, and catch up. I buy a bagel and tuck it in my carry-on. (It comes in handy at 11pm, on the road to Baguio.)
As a ministry team and couple, W and I treasure these precious hours before goodbye. He heads into Jakarta to re-register our car. By the time they get home, it's after 5pm, about the time I fly in to Manilla (6pm local).
The Jakarta airport lounge fills with a tour group, about 80? people going to Medina on a haj. That is one of 5 obligations of "good" Muslims. They're friendly and talk and smile while we eat breakfast.
While Waldemar gets right to sleep at home in Indonesia, I'm in the car on the way north. It takes 4 hours to leave the outskirts of Manilla - weaving in and out of traffic, constant honking and changing of lanes, a little noisier and more aggressive than Jakarta, but the same process.
I lay down in the back seat after a few hours and fall asleep to loud pop music and the jerking of tires over gaps in concrete roads under us. I totally miss the hairpin turns up into the mountains. Don't mind that at all.
The driver wakes me and hefts my suitcase of books down the stairs at 12:15am. It's a groggy walk to the room - good thing for smartphone flashlights: it's a brownout so the campus is quiet and dark. Perfect for sleeping. I plug my phone (5% charged) into the computer (98% charged) and hope we'll have electricity in the morning.
Saturday
All the lights above my head are on when I wake at 5:30 so I might as well get up. We must have power again. (I didn't know what lights would be on or off last night, so I took my chances.) I'll nap later. There's breakfast on the sideboard (bread, peanut butter, fruit, water - ) but no knife so I'll wait until noon to eat.
By 6 or 7, the sun is coming up over the beautiful hills below us. This mountaintop is something else. It's going to be a walk then a working day. God is good! And after writing, it's almost noon. Time for that walk. I have to acclimate to the altitude of +5000 feet, about the same as Denver.
Read more:
*Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12 NIV
*The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. Deuteronomy 23:5
*If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
Moravian Prayer: Faithful God, help us to plant seeds that will grow big and strong towards you. Help us to speak the words you lay on our hearts and use our hands to do your work. Amen.
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