Later in the week, there's one final arrangement to make the room beautiful.
After I walk the dogs Tuesday morning, we head for an office meeting at 9. Tembi and Hazel help us sort out some core ideas in preparation for creating an online presence.
Then, Hazel, Tembi, and I go for lunch with Josie and Pauline, old friends. We meet at Padang Sederhana, a restaurant where every dish comes to the table - and you pay for what you eat.
They find a padan restaurant, where you choose your meal from an assortment of dishes brought to the table by a server. You pay for what you eat. I prefer to go early in the day - the food's no longer hot but fewer people have had access to the plates before you do.
We talk, laugh, and tell stories. I love those two - and always feel better after meeting with them.
And then it's off to Ciwalk to meet with Friska - I drop the gals off, make the introductions and head home to work.
At supper, it is SOOOO delicious to share the food truck's hamburgers with the Youth Alpha group. Scott and Sarah are celebrating their last evening with these young people. It's bittersweet - full of stories of their progress, hugs, and great affection between members of the group.
Wednesday
Casey, the little doggie from up the street, joined the pack overnight. She likes both of our dogs and they include her. She scoots down the road, walking between the big animals. All three of them kick up a fuss when someone comes to the gate.
We have one more meeting at the office: the social media expertise of our guests is such a benefit to us. They work through a realistic schedule and give us pointers for updating things well.
And then I send off the last part of the dissertation on which I am advising someone. That's taken 3 days of editing and thinking. It takes almost as long to edit as to write. Well, not really - but it does swallow energy and time. For a non-paying job, that's a lot of work.
Thursday
While Tembi and Hazel head for the hills with the walking group and the dogs, I tackle the stack of doctoral papers piled on my desk. The cohort was 2 months ago ... but I was waiting for one last paper so I could grade them together. It's grueling work: the second-language English takes some wading through - for 3 days.
Saturday
While the women go to an orphanage nearby, I finish the last assignments that were handed in and send off some emails to find some missing papers. (I thought that was the last - nope.)
In the afternoon, we have another Community Dinner. It's a noisy packed room; Scott does a great job of talking about what it means to be a community - that we are all needed for each other - just like a body needs all its parts and suffers when one part is injured. The community activity is defining oneself with paper and a stick figure. Some of the creations are totally amazing!
Delicious food is provided by Della.
Sunday
Snacks - oh oh. I forgot to check if someone wanted to bring them, so it's on me. I toss crackers in the tote, along with cookies - and 4 fresh-baked loaves of bread for communion. The new IKEA trays are at the bottom of the tote bag with several tablecloths, oil for prayer, and a bell to call back people after the greeting time.
During the greeting and after service, we ask people to find a friend or family members and go to one of three stations around the room. There's a loaf, a glass with grape juice, and a small bottle of oil waiting. We break off a piece of bread, dip it in juice, and celebrate together. Some pray for the sick as well, as we are learning to serve each other as a congregation.
I'm speaking about Jesus, the Lion of Judah - our protector and defender - and the Lamb of God - the one who sacrificed himself for us. The highlight for me is after I'm done: people gather around Scott and Sarah, who are repatriating back to Australia. It's wonderful to hear an Indonesian blessing before I pray in English.
When I start walking to the house at noon, there's still a good crowd hanging around. Hanna lives nearby and volunteers to help. She grabs one side of the tote and I take the other.
In the late afternoon, two young people and I take a Grab car across the city. We have a community gathering and lunch - Scott leads. Thea and her family have made a wonderful meal for all of us after baptism and some storytelling.
Monday
Meeting day starts early. For the third meeting, our team doesn't have lunch; we're going to have supper together at Dr Hanna's.
Mid-afternoon, I drop by Angela's for tea. It's lovely on the porch behind the house. I bring some goodies, but she introduces me to a new Indonesian snack.
Shops here have a few aisles of snacks - and there are a lot of snack shops, little cart vendors selling snacks, and ... well, fried snacks everywhere.
Scott and Sarah fly off home tomorrow, and it's one last chance to talk, dream, and pray together. It's a special evening, for sure. And Alice's food is delicious. (Try Raben House if you need a B&B in Bandung!)
Unrolled and ready to pack after sitting in our freezer, here is Dr H's birthday gift to Scott. Yup, the freezer is where you kill bugs so you can get the bark art into Australia!
Tuesday
The gardener comes early and I have to unlock the gate. We take the dogs for a walk. It's Tembi's first time looping the neighborhood with us. It feels like it's going to be a warm day - except that it starts to rain and cools off the morning nicely. Gypsy, incredibly afraid of thunder, hears it coming. He sneaks into the crate in our room and spends most of the day lying in it.
I need to get to Setiabudi Market, though I was just there Saturday. The chick peas have disintegrated in the bag - it's full of weevils. A nasty squirming surprise ...
And we are out of rice.
"Where does it go?" I ask the helper. She shrugs. They've gone through 5 kg of rice in 3 weeks. I need to check on how much extra rice they are cooking. That amount would take W and me a year or more to consume. I rarely eat rice, even when they make it.
This week they scrubbed the carpets and hung them over the shrubs outside to dry. The dust is a constant foe - and seeps into the house through every custom crack of every handmade door and window.
I'm done grading! Oh my, this has been a long process - with the class so long ago, I have a hard time getting into the swing of things. But I'm done - well, I'm waiting for one more person's papers but with the class behind me and the standard for papers set, it will be a breeze. One or two hours max, I hope.
Read more:
*The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever. Deuteronomy 29:29
After I walk the dogs Tuesday morning, we head for an office meeting at 9. Tembi and Hazel help us sort out some core ideas in preparation for creating an online presence.
Then, Hazel, Tembi, and I go for lunch with Josie and Pauline, old friends. We meet at Padang Sederhana, a restaurant where every dish comes to the table - and you pay for what you eat.
We talk, laugh, and tell stories. I love those two - and always feel better after meeting with them.
And then it's off to Ciwalk to meet with Friska - I drop the gals off, make the introductions and head home to work.
At supper, it is SOOOO delicious to share the food truck's hamburgers with the Youth Alpha group. Scott and Sarah are celebrating their last evening with these young people. It's bittersweet - full of stories of their progress, hugs, and great affection between members of the group.
Wednesday
Casey, the little doggie from up the street, joined the pack overnight. She likes both of our dogs and they include her. She scoots down the road, walking between the big animals. All three of them kick up a fuss when someone comes to the gate.
We have one more meeting at the office: the social media expertise of our guests is such a benefit to us. They work through a realistic schedule and give us pointers for updating things well.
And then I send off the last part of the dissertation on which I am advising someone. That's taken 3 days of editing and thinking. It takes almost as long to edit as to write. Well, not really - but it does swallow energy and time. For a non-paying job, that's a lot of work.
Thursday
While Tembi and Hazel head for the hills with the walking group and the dogs, I tackle the stack of doctoral papers piled on my desk. The cohort was 2 months ago ... but I was waiting for one last paper so I could grade them together. It's grueling work: the second-language English takes some wading through - for 3 days.
Saturday
While the women go to an orphanage nearby, I finish the last assignments that were handed in and send off some emails to find some missing papers. (I thought that was the last - nope.)
In the afternoon, we have another Community Dinner. It's a noisy packed room; Scott does a great job of talking about what it means to be a community - that we are all needed for each other - just like a body needs all its parts and suffers when one part is injured. The community activity is defining oneself with paper and a stick figure. Some of the creations are totally amazing!
It's a fun crowd (we didn't all make it into the photo, but you can see some of us.)
Delicious food is provided by Della.
And at the end, the group says goodbye to Scott and Sarah with a prayer of blessing.
No one wants to leave; I flick the lights off and on - and a few throw their hands in the air and shout, "Party!" Yes, that's the kind of laughter and interaction that we enjoy together.
Snacks - oh oh. I forgot to check if someone wanted to bring them, so it's on me. I toss crackers in the tote, along with cookies - and 4 fresh-baked loaves of bread for communion. The new IKEA trays are at the bottom of the tote bag with several tablecloths, oil for prayer, and a bell to call back people after the greeting time.
During the greeting and after service, we ask people to find a friend or family members and go to one of three stations around the room. There's a loaf, a glass with grape juice, and a small bottle of oil waiting. We break off a piece of bread, dip it in juice, and celebrate together. Some pray for the sick as well, as we are learning to serve each other as a congregation.
I'm speaking about Jesus, the Lion of Judah - our protector and defender - and the Lamb of God - the one who sacrificed himself for us. The highlight for me is after I'm done: people gather around Scott and Sarah, who are repatriating back to Australia. It's wonderful to hear an Indonesian blessing before I pray in English.
When I start walking to the house at noon, there's still a good crowd hanging around. Hanna lives nearby and volunteers to help. She grabs one side of the tote and I take the other.
In the late afternoon, two young people and I take a Grab car across the city. We have a community gathering and lunch - Scott leads. Thea and her family have made a wonderful meal for all of us after baptism and some storytelling.
We look over the city - and pray as the sun goes down for the big beautiful world around us.
Notice that the world map is centered around the Islands.
Monday
Meeting day starts early. For the third meeting, our team doesn't have lunch; we're going to have supper together at Dr Hanna's.
Mid-afternoon, I drop by Angela's for tea. It's lovely on the porch behind the house. I bring some goodies, but she introduces me to a new Indonesian snack.
Shops here have a few aisles of snacks - and there are a lot of snack shops, little cart vendors selling snacks, and ... well, fried snacks everywhere.
Scott and Sarah fly off home tomorrow, and it's one last chance to talk, dream, and pray together. It's a special evening, for sure. And Alice's food is delicious. (Try Raben House if you need a B&B in Bandung!)
Tuesday
The gardener comes early and I have to unlock the gate. We take the dogs for a walk. It's Tembi's first time looping the neighborhood with us. It feels like it's going to be a warm day - except that it starts to rain and cools off the morning nicely. Gypsy, incredibly afraid of thunder, hears it coming. He sneaks into the crate in our room and spends most of the day lying in it.
I need to get to Setiabudi Market, though I was just there Saturday. The chick peas have disintegrated in the bag - it's full of weevils. A nasty squirming surprise ...
And we are out of rice.
"Where does it go?" I ask the helper. She shrugs. They've gone through 5 kg of rice in 3 weeks. I need to check on how much extra rice they are cooking. That amount would take W and me a year or more to consume. I rarely eat rice, even when they make it.
This week they scrubbed the carpets and hung them over the shrubs outside to dry. The dust is a constant foe - and seeps into the house through every custom crack of every handmade door and window.
I'm done grading! Oh my, this has been a long process - with the class so long ago, I have a hard time getting into the swing of things. But I'm done - well, I'm waiting for one more person's papers but with the class behind me and the standard for papers set, it will be a breeze. One or two hours max, I hope.
Read more:
*The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever. Deuteronomy 29:29
*Yes, in the way of your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you. Isaiah 26:8
*The Samaritans said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.” John 4:42
*Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6
Moravian Prayers: Heavenly Father, let us know that you are near. We turn our eyes toward you and your mercy, as you teach us humility, patience and forgiveness. May your love abide in our hearts from this day forward.
Lamb of God, how blessed are we who have heard your word and know your love! We pray that, whenever we may find those less fortunate, we do what we can to share your gifts with them, and teach them to believe in you. Amen.
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