Rallying around home and community

Friday, November 2, 2018

What are the chances? I put my hand into a bag of M&Ms and pull out all colors at once (and no extras). That brings a smile that tides me over a long morning at the office.

Waldemar's home - as he unpacks, his goodies and work land on almost every surface. Day by day, they get tucked into their proper place (Our study nook below. Thanks for the heads up on the warehouse tables, Robin. A perfect fit.)

W and I have a date: he's just come back after 2 1/2 weeks away. It's great to reconnect and talk, away from the house, the unpacking, and the things put on hold for a few weeks.

We have breakfast at an old (and cheap) favorite: Ethnic. The owner, who put a lap pool in the backyard of his house for his grandkids, has remodeled with a grand waterfall wall and fountain. What a pretty setting for local food. It's popular with all the neighbors and various clubs.

Even when the pop can looks global on the front (Coke Original), the back shows national details. And yes, W still likes his Coke.

Saturday

The groomers arrive - two of them work on Cocoa at once - and her body looks ok. She has a helmet head cut when she's done, but at $10 including a generous tip, she sheds 1-2" of body hair.  (I recut her head later.) Mind you, rainy season can be downright cold: 18oC (65oF) at night! Brrrr. I bundle up like the rest - blankets and sweaters are our friends.

I go to pluck brown leaves from a frangipani tree beside the porch - and ... lo and behold, two Maned Forest Lizards are draped over the shrub. They are perfectly colored to hide in plain sight: it's the first time I've ever seen those. It takes a while to identify them: they're not peoples' first guess of chameleons (curled tail) or iguanas (thicker body, shorter tail).

Community Dinners are such fun. About 40 people arrive to share supper, despite the downpour. 

The team and our friends arrive safely, setup goes smoothly, and the food is tasty. Thanks, Della!

Josh helps take the requisite number of selfies at his table.

 And Tembi knocks it out of the park with a funny story about family and what it means to belong.

One of the gals studying fashion design sketches another at her table.

Sunday
First thing, I heat 4 loaves of homebred bread for communion and wrap them in kitchen towels. We tuck the bell ("visiting is over until later!" to bring people back into their seats) and several tablecloths into the tote. We're out the gate by 7am.

Breakfast with the leadership team means a few points of business but mostly it's good to get to know each other better. We hear helpful feedback for moving ahead.

Waldemar speaks today. The community hangs out afterward for almost an hour, before having lunch at Bumi Sangkuriang and Wild Grass with friends.

Mid-afternoon, W and I have the pleasure of visiting Pascall and Yuni and meeting little Patricia for the first time.

Adorable, no?! Definitely a perfect baby.

From there, we head to Chinatown and good food at an old restaurant - Tota, Teti, and Rueben know all the eateries. Dunia Baru is a fine one. Just as Chinese restaurant owners adapt to Western tastes in the States, here they've adapted to local appetites.

Monday

It's a full and happy day. 5 meetings in a row, 7am-7:30pm ... with a few hours between in the afternoon. Online counsel from a mentor, a study, a team lunch, a fun visit with locals and expats, and pre-marriage counseling.  How we love the people we meet and serve.

Tuesday
The massage lady comes to the house and almost kills me. I was in heels for hours - over a week ago, and apparently my calves have seized up - I think she's going to rip off my little toes, bending one and then the other backward to loosen up ligaments and muscles in my foot. Nope, still have my toes and feeling much more ease.

Tembi takes us for dinner at Kampung Daun. Tomorrow is her last day in Bandung. She's been an unqualified blessing and a pleasant, undemanding, and extremely productive guest = no trouble (except our concern at her being ill last week) and helpful in every way. If every intern or team added so much to their surroundings, we'd all be fighting to have them come. Thanks be to God for you, dear Tembi. We'll miss you.

The driver points out the sacred trees along the way. "Several developers have tried to cut the tree in your neighborhood," he says. "Every one of them has died." Like in Africa, locals believe spirits inhabit the banyan trees so they are paved around, built around, and left alone.

Wednesday

It's Dinner-and-a-Movie Night tonight. We look forward to this all month. "It's the best gathering in all of Bandung," Tembi overheard an African attendee saying to another young adult. "You should join."

But first, we have a staff meeting at 9. And we have to order pizza. There's no cooking this month, saving me about 4 hours of prep. Whew.  (We have homemade desserts, though.) With so many events and travels in November, it's easier to do takeaway- and besides, it's cheaper than cooking pasta, rice, meat, salad, and side dishes.

I asked a few students at the last Community Dinner if they'd mind pizza for supper once in a while. "No, Ibu! we love pizza," they said. So pizza it is. The European students won't be excited - they prefer home cooked food once a month.)

Tembi helps set things up in the kitchen. The helpers will be here at 3pm and clean up after. Meanwhile, W and Pak Gum move furniture, set up the projector, and blow the dust off a few seats for the porch. The new table in the nook and the free seats are a huge plus - we'll move things around in the next few months to maximize seating. Tonight is a trial run ... again.

Read more:

*Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

*You, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. Psalm 92:4

*When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. Psalm 118:5-8  NIV

*Jesus said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.” Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Luke 5:24-25

*Paul wrote: I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. Ephesians 3:15-17

Moravian Prayer: God of love, may our love for you mirror your love for us. May others know us to be your disciples— through our love for our enemies and those with whom we differ—as well as for those with whom we feel affinity. 

Heal us, Jesus, whenever bodies or spirits are frail. When afflictions fill us with doubt, grant us the grace to be numbered by you among those who walk by faith and not by sight. Amen.