Retreat and refresh

W hits "Click" and my first book is uploaded on Amazon Kindle. "What Made Them Think They Could: Vol 1." Just like that. So glad. He's had to mess with the formatting - I couldn't have figured it out but he can be a serious hacker when needed. It will show up in a few days.

Sunday, September 15, 2019
W and I speak together in the morning At long last, we are in the New Testament, after going through the OT from Beginnings (January); Abraham's family (February); the Promised Land (March); Judges - and Easter (April); Kings and Prophets (May to August) ... and now we're in the rest of the story. Today we talk about the final prophet, John the Baptist, beloved by all monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He's a relative of Jesus and announces his coming.

We head to the shuttle after the Gathering is over - and it's a long drive to Bogor and a staff retreat. We hop off and board the charter bus filled with friends in Bogor and head into the hills.

Oh wow - our bus squeezes through streets that are 1-1.5 lanes wide. There are houses, shops and little carts on each side. Pedestrians criss-cross the streets, motorcycles cut in and out, and buses somehow pass each other. Sometimes the bystanders, sitting within a foot of traffic, point and laugh as we squeeze by. (See the army trucks passing our bus, just missing the mirror?) All done with smiles and casual focus.

We've been included in a getaway with IES Jakarta, a great group of English-speakers who do relief work, work with refugees, and meet weekly. There's time to sing, play games, and just hang out. It's wonderful.

This really happened. When I look at the picture, I can't believe it. A family "car" (motorcycle) carefully negotiates the 2/3 meter (2 feet) of pavement between our bus and the edge of the street. "Hang on, baby!"

 Somehow, it works.

We have a wonderful time with our friends.

Tuesday, we're headed home by noon. W has figured out where to catch the shuttle after we get off the Jakarta charter bus. We take a Grab taxi to the shuttle terminal. Then it's a long trip with detours around traffic at a stand-still on the toll road (the freeway).

People dressed in animal costumes entertain the passengers, running between lanes of cars. Not sure what that's about, but it wouldn't get by any safety standard we know of. We're home by 8pm.

Wednesday
We have a morning meeting before date day. We get a call that one of our parents is unwell, which weighs on our hearts all day.

There was a stunning 6'X3' (2mX1m) painting at the retreat center - every part of the fishes was filled with a batik pattern. I'm still thinking about it. When I get stressed, good art soothes me. (Memory: I put a magazine page with a beautifully decorated room inside the cover of my binder when I had to be in a university course that drained me. Worked like a charm - I'd flip over to the room and sit in it for a while to unwind, then check my mind back to the classroom lecture.)

In town, we look around a bit. We need some groceries. The helper says they're running out of spice packets.

For $1.50 each, we buy some pillows for the BIC hall. The kids have loved sitting on the old stage as they listen and participate. We have movie night and other events where flexible bodies perch on them. We've used the pillows at the Gathering for the past month. It time to bring home all 20 pillows. We've missed the toss pillow, sitting on our deep-seated sofas and chairs, inside the house and on the porch.

Before we go home, we check out some fabrics for pillow slipcovers. What an assortment! Maybe I'll ask friends for their scraps. The pillows aren't very big and it would be easy to sew removable cases.

On another note, I can't figure out how women match their clothing here. There seems to be no color relationship between tops and bottoms, shoes or accessories. It's just "wear what's pretty" all on the same person. Maybe there's a secret in how the patterns go together?

Read more:
*The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

*I love you, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1 

*Elijah prayed, “Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 18:37

*And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best. Philippians 1:9-10

Moravian Prayer: Lord, you are our refuge and our strength—our salvation. May we show our gratitude and our love for you as freely and as sincerely as the one who bathed your feet with her tears.

Lord, sometimes we are distracted by earthly pain or pleasure. We ask that you turn our hearts back to you in love and worship. Help us to study your word with discernment, so that we will know what you would have us do. Amen.