Coach me! Coach me.

Gone, gone, gone - our guests have left and the house is temporarily quiet. What an amazing week it's been with Tyson and Amy deVries, friends from the Pacific Northwest. They are among the easiest and kindest guests we've had since living here. A special thanks to their partners, who sent them our way for their 20th anniversary!

Thursday, July 11, 2019
We've stayed over 2 nights after our Tuesday visa run to Jakarta, so that we can pick up our friends from the airport around noon. By the time we have all the luggage sorted and navigate traffic for home, it's 7:30pm. Fortunately, these guys are already experienced travelers and they take everything in stride.

Amy is sitting in the front seat as the driver weaves in and out on the toll road. She white-knuckles the hairy parts admirably. The rules of the road are inexplicable to us: we have long straightaways with a slow car in the "fast lane" ahead of us and no one to the side, but we toddle along behind it. Then, when there's lots of traffic and a tight space between cars or trucks, we squeeze through and spurt past.

We eat down the street at Miss Bee restaurant before walking home, schlepping the luggage upstairs, and falling into bed exhausted. Travel is brutal here.

Friday
It's a day to acclimate and strategize. What will the next week look like? Because it's hard to get commitments from Indonesians and expats alike, most of the planning has to be done at the last minute. We luckily have a big space available (thanks to great hosts at Green Gate) and a big house to spread out in. That helps a lot.

Saturday
It's Community Dinner night. After Tyson and Amy are out for a few hours, they join us for dinner and speak about life questions. The activity is listening and asking good questions - everyone has a good time.

Sunday
Waldemar and I speak at BIC in the morning and our guests host a workshop on coaching after. We have about 40 people stay for that; it's interesting and valuable information. After, we go for lunch at Bumi S and are happily resting by 2:30pm.

Supper is a special treat: Tota, Teti, and Ruben take us for Chinese food downtown - oh yum! The center lazy-suzan spins around delicious foods and we are stuffed when we stand up.

"You have to see the wayang," says Ibu Teti. A row of about 100 historical puppets lines up in the hotel lobby. "These are all the characters for our fairy tales," she explains. WOW - costumes, colors, animal and human characters. I've never seen anything like it.

Monday
W leads the study while I keep working. I can hear that people are engaged and there's a lot of discussion. Aska has brought the fantastic risoles that are a regular treat.

The non-profit team stays behind when others leave - we meet upstairs as we used to. Ibu Sumi prepares lunch for us and the chicken, rice, and vegetables are on the table when we're ready to eat.

Tyson is speaking at an English-learning event. He does a great job, according to W. Amy and I stay home and get caught up for the week ahead.

Tuesday
How about a dragon-fruit-colored smoothie with our oatmeal for breakfast?

Today is the first day of two days of coaching classes. Amy, assisted by Tyson, is a great communicator. The words she uses are simple and her illustrations cross culture easily. (We never take that for granted!) People really enjoy the sessions.

Early in the morning, I rummage through the fridge and freezer, before writing down a menu for our helpers to cook. They cook at our place and deliver the food at noon (for about 30) to Green Gate. It's delicious - teriyaki sausages, rice, vegetables, salad. We're back to class until after 3pm. (Some of the attendees are below. I don't get W photos this week: I have no capacity to remember to ask for them.)

All week long, Sanny takes care of details in the office and at the venue. Thanks, man. "Let's order pizza," I tell him after Tuesday's sessions. But he protests; he dislikes what we can afford, so I think aloud, should it be this or that? "Sandwiches would be easy, right?" (I don't have the capacity to argue. I'll just get the food ready.)

In the evening, I write out the menu for tomorrow. I take another look at the directions and start cooking the most complicated things - easy for me but hard to explain. W goes off to an organization's 70th anniversary dinner without me: I'm still cooking.

I boil 24 eggs, thaw a big veal roast, and mix all the sauces. By 7:30pm, I'm ready for bed.

Wednesday
I'm up early, making sure the directions make sense for the helper (the one today is not usually the cook.)

Oh forget it. It seems too complicated and it will take multi-tasking to get it done. From yesterday's potful of hard-boiled eggs, I make deviled egg filling. I shred the thawed roast into hot bbq sauce, make pasta, and mix up a salad of apples, steamed cauliflower and broccoli, almonds, a homemade dressing; for good measure, I toss in the leftover greens from yesterday.

At 7:15am, the others walk up the street to Pino Teras ($1 breakfasts) and order for me. I clean up the kitchen, slide everything into the fridge, and erase my complicated instructions on the whiteboard. I leave a short note: "Bake 4 loaves. Bring them and the 2 loaves from yesterday, the broccoli salad, the egg filling, and the bbq meat by 11:30." I slide into my restaurant seat as breakfast arrives.

We're at Green Gate just after 8am. There's a coaching hour before Amy and Tyson teach a full day. Lunch is tasty and non-traditional for Indonesians. It was a lot of extra work for me. Next time, we'll just order pizza (which would have cost about the same).

W prints out attendance certificates for the students who want them - it can be a big deal to have a paper saying you were at a class or seminar. We toss a ball at the end to share takeaways around the circle.

A student hands them two lengths of batik. Dr Hanna calls her tailor to see if she can make a shirt and blouse for them. (She does - and delivers the beautifully-fitted lined garments on Sunday afternoon!)

We have a nice supper at home - it takes no time to whip up something for 4 people. Then we rest.

Thursday
"We like hiking," say our friends. So we take them up into the hills above the city. The walking leader drives almost to the top so we can start the walk about 1 km below the saddle ridge called Gunung Batu (stone mountain). Someone's planted a flag and put up a few touristy statues since we were last here.

We climb up a few narrow paths between sharp drop-offs to the fields on either side. Our standard poodle Cocoa leaps down the steep 8-10 foot inclines a few times to the fields below and effortlessly clambers up to the trail. She's an athlete. We need walking sticks for balance as we climb up the steep trail to the top.

Once on the ridge, we can see Lembang on one side and Bandung on the other. It's a stunning view.

To descend, we poke our walking sticks into the deep cracks on the path, our shoes slipping downward on dry clay. We tramp across a meadow, push through the forest, and walk beside orchards filled with lemonade lemons. It's a short walk today (1.5 hours) but it's warm at times. Our guests are fantastic - they don't complain. All of us are happy to call the drivers to get us before the final steep hill that goes up to the restaurant.

Our lunch seats are on a cliffside. The city spreads below us, deep valleys cradling old villages. We order pizza and drinks and relax. (Though they do another personal coaching session in the evening.)

Friday
First thing in the morning, Tyson and Amy coach individuals on the team. Amy and I get a ride to the city - first to the souvenir shop for tablecloths, then to lunch. After, we stop at Baltos (a local mall filled with little shops on 3 floors) to buy 2 batik dresses for her daughter ($7.50 for both). I am drawn to an original batik fabric picture of a sassy lady. I can't decide whether to pay $5 for it. ("Is that too much?") Later I regret leaving it behind. Maybe I'll go back another day.

We meet the guys at Rumah Mode, an outlet super-store filled with batik and export clothing. I buy a scarf for a friend. Our last stop is at Setiabudi Supermarket. The coffee and take-home snacks on our minds are soon in our carts.

We're happy to call it a day with a good meal at Kalpa Tree. The driver drops us off and parks the car in our driveway, before heading home. After we walk the few blocks to the house (all downhill - yay!), the guys unpack the car. We're all tired and happy to sleep.

Saturday
After breakfast, W heads to town for a few meetings and the deVries do more coaching. They help me work out so many half-thought-out ideas and get clear direction: I need an assistant to help with our events and teams. What will that look like? They also advise me on leadership and offer conflict-resolution skills. I've soaked up their good help all week.

W brings back a lovely packet of green beans - I would have brought them in a baggie but our artist friend Ruth sure knows how to deliver.

It's our oldest grandchild's 8th birthday. Already! I stay up late and wake W so we can say hi to her before her special day starts. Happy birthday, Miss K.

Sunday
As usual, the bouquet in the hall is stunning. Ibu Fenny provides the flowers each week.

Our guests speak together in the morning and teach a final workshop afterward.

I chat with four gifted volunteers - would they be interesting in designing our hall when we change the layout in a few weeks? They're excited about it: few hours later, they already toss out wild, fantastical ideas beyond most people's imagination. Welcome to the new BIC design team! Can't wait to see what they come up with.

I climb the stairs to the second-floor office to wrap up the morning. The digital media team is taping next week's announcements and hanging out.

Dr Hanna gives the couple a batik scarf and tie. Ibu Ruth ties a beautiful sarong around Amy. Such generosity. Of course, I snap a few pictures.

Our team has lunch together at Bumi. We debrief on the week. Everyone agrees. The information and especially these two friends have been extraordinary gifts to us.

In the afternoon and evening, it takes W and Tyson a few hours to book the shuttle for tomorrow (Jakarta run), while Amy packs upstairs. W orders mango sticky rice delivered to the house via motorcycle. Yum - it's a wonderful final evening.

Monday
Tyson leads the study with amazing questions. His stomach is churning from the sticky rice last night.

Attendees bring along many snacks to share. It's an extravaganza of fried bananas, rose apples with spicy peanut sauce, risoles, and more. Helper Sumi says, "I think we don't need cookies today," and makes the usual pots of tea for everyone to enjoy. At the end, everyone expresses their appreciation for a great week and we take a group photo.

Tyson, Amy, Waldemar, and I ride into town. Tyson's stomach is rumbling - so he goes easy on food. The rest of us sit in a table enclosed in a massive bird cage. We eat sup rawon (candlenut soup) and nasi goreng (fried rice) and sip our tea. Then it's off to the shuttle station.

Our friends wave goodbye from the shuttle door. They are dropped at their Jakarta hotel over 5 hours later (120 miles/160 km). Yes, that's what traffic is like. In the morning, they will fly back home to America, and we're still here.

Read more:
*Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God? Psalm 71:17-19 NIV

*Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!  Psalm 130:1-2

*Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—in peace because they trust in you.  Isaiah 26:3

*Jesus spoke to the disciples, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27

*We want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end. Hebrews 6:11

Moravian Prayer: O God, we put our trust and hope in you. We cannot wait for the glorious day that we will be with you. Thank you for the peace of knowing what is to come for your children.

Lord, hear our cry. At times, we tend to walk away from you, yet know we should never stray. Guide us away from the darkness and take away our fear, that we may know that you are with us. Thank you for never forsaking us. Amen.