Home sweet Indonesia

Monday, September 30, 2019
We're up early - and Sister Nora gets us to the airport for a flight to Kuala Lumpur. The back of the seat screen has a Muslim prayer for the journey.

In KL, we transfer to our second flight. No problems along the way, except for a few bumpy miles in the air. The airline food is not good. I leave the salty fish in their packet and leave the limp tomato-ed shrimp  alone.

We get back into Bandung traffic (surprisingly light) and are home before supper. We're happy to be only one hour off Kuching time; often when we travel, it's a big adjustment to return to our time zone.

Student protests are going on in the major cities. Our town of 5 million is mostly calm, but student groups and marches pop up here and there. Several key issues are at stake: students are looking ahead at the time when they will be mature participants in Indonesia. They're asking the government to preserve strong values of democracy and government accountability against bribery and corruption.

But it's quiet when we get home. W sends an invitation for this month's movie night and 70 people sign up in the first 7 minutes. I think that's a record speed. The rest go on a waiting list. There's a washed IKEA rug in my office. I decide to swap rugs - and end up changing office, entry, and our bedroom. The Roomba runs around the areas to swoosh away dirt from the old places.

I found the most beautiful tote bags, designed and woven of plastic by Sarawak tribeswomen. They're known as weavers and turn natural fibers into useful shapes. Now they also raise money for their families by repurposing plastics. Beautiful, right? Everything is perfectly made - I'm impressed by how the handles are integrated into the sides. "These handles won't pull out," said my bargain-hunting friend.

We unpack, put our gift purchases into the "next trip" suitcase, and fall sleep after 9pm.

Tuesday
Today is a big "oven" day. Ibu A bakes cookies for movie night tomorrow. Ibu S bakes bread and makes cheese balls.

I take a full tote to the office while W has a breakfast meeting at a nearby restaurant. The office is a welcoming place. Today, someone from the nearby seminar needs a snooze. The office sofa is a perfect spot.

One little plastic plant fits perfectly into the handmade basket I picked up in Malaysia (on the table). The quilt left us by a repatriating expat looks great with rattan, too, don't you think?

W has outlined the beginnings of next week's talk. After the team meeting, we share that with our team and get good feedback. We have a tradition that whoever travels should bring back snacks. Clau and Josh were in Singapore and bring BBQ chicken, while we pass out keychains and peanut cookies from Kuching.

After lunch, while I work from home, W and Pak Gum drive downtown to shop for a long list of food. (I'll be cooking most of the day tomorrow.)

The dogs are going crazy - they can't believe we're home again. They ran circles around us yesterday as we came in the gate but the hot dry weather has them flopping on the teras tiles outside my office.

Everyone feels low-key in this weather. An extended dry season is de-energizing. We have enough water pressure to dampen the flowerbeds today. But no rain falls. We got big downpours in Kuching. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet in Bandung.

In the community, the loudspeakers are going full blast. There's some kind of a celebration that requires songs and a lot of words. I love the instruments. Listen to one that is typical of Bandung here. (The young boy who is the soloist is incredible. W and I heard him play 2 years ago.)

Read more:
*Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. Psalm 55:22 

*Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Hebrews 10:35

Moravian Prayer: Lord, when we feel as though we are sinking under the weight of our burdens, how comforting and freeing it is to know that all we have to do is bring them to you, and lay them at your feet. You will sustain us. Amen.