Flowers and rain week

 Monday, February 22, 2021

It's a pretty quiet day at work. I don't have an early call so W comes to the office with me. Before we walk, we record next Sunday's talk. Since we trade off preparing the talks, this one is written by W. I add some applications but it's less work for me.

It's cold all day - but not as cool as the weekend, when the sun hardly came out from behind the clouds. As soon as there's sunshine, the air heats up. Inside the house, there's a gardenia surprise. I popped a blooming branch into a glass of water and put it in a planter. This morning, there are two flowers so the whole house smells sweet. So much better than artificial air fresheners!

All week we're doing an online conference to replace the in-person get-together at an exotic location. I can tell you, it's not the same thing! In the evening, the special speaker is Os Guinness, a writer and scholar. It's like sitting in a good college course so of course I enjoy it.

The orchids are blooming. This one, fragrant pink on drooping woody stems, can be easily overlooked. It hangs from the guava tree beside the porch.

This one is a recent gift from a friend, also fragrant. It is gorgeous on the porch - looks almost like a flying insect up close.

And there's one more blooming right now, a white that hasn't bloomed before.

Tuesday

We do our regular 2-mile loop and then I go home to piece the back of a quilt. The strips have been sitting in my home office - enough already. Time to put that border on and pin it. Sumi helps me place safety pins through the backing, cotton batting, and quilt top. I roll it up for Gum to bring to the office later. I'll quilt during online meetings to keep my brain focused.

It would have been so much easier with a pattern. Instead, I cut picture squares from two different orange batik pieces and put strips around them. That would have been ok, except the motives are different sizes. Well, the top is not perfectly even so it's going to be a beast to quilt. I lay it out on the office table.

I'm working in the office before 8:30 but walk home for lunch and spot dozens of these 5" blossoms, fallen from the trees along the street. God is lavish with beauty. Look at the yellow ruffles!

Here are two good reasons to go home for lunch today: the first is the lettuce wraps made of hoisin sauce, fried rice, and papaya leaves/flowers. I roll a Yanto Organics leaf around the innards and sigh with pleasure. Soooo good. I make one for each of the helpers, who are eating plain rice and papaya. "Not bad," they say. They're always shocked by what I combine.

Second, there are freshly baked pretzel rolls, German style. They're still warm. Yum.

Tonight is a coaching session for the beta online course: the Re Imagined Vision Board. Let's see what we learn and what else needs to be added. It's a visual reminder of alignment with what I'm called to do.

This morning, I add the word "art" to my vision board along with a funny quote: "You have to be odd to be #1." Makes me smile. Oh oh, I've written over the shapes that looked like cyclists. Gone, people! No matter.

When you look at the page, do you see a right or left eye? Or can you imagine both? I smeared 3 stamp pads around blank paper and then filled in one shape with a pupil and eye.

I paste on a clear envelope. I add a few shapes in it, including a miniature origami pinwheel. It partially covers up "Art." However, creating flows above and under everything we do, so the word doesn't have to be visible. Art happens.

Good News is the central and grounding concept of my life. With a few more quotes, I'm almost done. The little envelope beside health is labeled "how"; team - "who"; lead - "what"; rest - "when".  I'll fill the envelopes as I go.

Wednesday

There's no time to play today. The periodic "brain rests" of making drain away stress and create head space for what's coming. Today I spend the morning crushing through papers and to-do lists. In the afternoon, there's an online team meeting between two conference seminars.

One seminar is on "Better Together," which aligns with Who Not How, the Hyatt LeaderBook for March. Every month, I enjoy the LeaderBook selection, reading and reflecting on leadership concepts - but this one strikes a special chord of memory.

Why? I remember my dad paying someone to do things at the house. When I asked why he didn't do that himself (painting?), he answered, "Why should I spend myself on something I'm not good at, when I can earn 5X the amount in an hour at something that's easy for me?" He was ahead of his time.

It's not just about money, but about investing ones self in what God has called and gifted us for. Someone else might be great at what is hard for you or enjoy something you're not interested in doing. My brain spins into recruitment mode.

A counselor responds that he's willing to do an initial meetings. A peer contacts me: would I mentor them? I ask if they will mentor me as well - reciprocal mentoring? Sure, because we're "Better Together" indeed. As usual, God has set me up for the next step before I know it's coming.

Thursday

It's walking day again. "Bring a raincoat," Veronica warns us. What good advice. We start through the rice fields. The trails wind between paddies, with mountains on all sides. The fields are terraced, cut into the hillsides.

W steps aside to let someone pass him on the path - and lands in the watery pool where the rice is planted. Ugh. Wet muddy feet. (Which doesn't matter later when we're soaked from head to foot.) My hat flies off my head and into the water. Kiki snags it with a long walking stick.

And then we're into jungle. Banana leaves, towering bamboo, pines, and trees shelter us..

Someone has split 3" bamboo to channel a strong flow of clean mountain water, ready for hand-washing.

This is a typical hut, housing a restaurant or shop along the trail. The roof is thatched, the posts are bamboo, and the sides are strips of bark.

The dogs love to climb. They run further up the path to a shelter above the path. For every 5 km we walk, they probably run 15-20. It's good exercise for them each week.

We hire a guide for the day to make sure we find a new lookout over the waterfall we usually hike to. There it is in the distance. You can see the whole vista from this chair, whose 8' legs brace it on the edge of a cliff. It's hard to get perspective from these pics, but we are literally at a drop-off, high above the ground without rails or guards. I perch for a picture anyway.

Or you can climb even higher to a 5' wide viewing platform with no sides on it. If you fall off, you'll tumble 30-50 feet down the hill until a tree catches you. You're assumed to be smart enough not to harm yourself, whether you are a child or adult.

This part of the trail is newly carved into the hillside overlooking jungle and rice paddies.

There's bamboo 60' tall (Waldemar stands with Angie for scale). It's great building material, 6" thick and light enough for 2 men to carry.

The path winds between newly-built eating or resting shelters. On a rainy day without other tourists, we don't have to compete for trail space.

Only one lady is cooking today, midway to our destination. Pauline orders a meal for 7. "It will be enough, I think, to taste everything."

When we return, the chef is ready. We take off our shoes and sit cross-legged around the feast, which most of us eat by hand. Herbed coconut rice (nasi liwet), fried tofu, raw tree leaves and steamed watercress from the fields, sambal (peppery hot sauce), stinky beans, and salted fish (pic below) ... so delicious (I skip the fish). And we are stuffed.

There's a squatting toilet at the back. No paper, just a dipper with water to rinse off yourself. Foreigners often have a hard time standing back up. Do this often enough and your calves and thighs become strong as you push yourself upright. It's no joke for some, though.

To get to the toilet, you walk through another shelter where 3 men are boiling palm sap  See the fire in the ground and the hole over it where the wok rests?

They pour the boiled liquid into little bamboo rounds. As the syrup cools, they pop the little cylinders of sweetness into leaf wrappings. The man gives me a sample. Two 6-packs of palm sugar straight from the fields cost $1.75US. Our helper uses it in all kinds of foods - so we buy four leaves. We'll share it.

On the last 2 km, the wind picks up and brings the rain. It's been drizzling on and off, but this is the real thing.

The trail is under water in places but we slosh through. No wonder everything is verdant!

My thin poncho flaps in the wind. There's a hole in the back but no matter - the seams leak water as well. We are soaked but happy after an hour in the deluge. The water is warm, after all.

Our shoes are so full of water that they overflow onto the mats as we step into the car. Even Gypsy, often reluctant to jump into the back of the car, hops right in. The dogs lay in wet heaps behind the backseat.

Read more:

*O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your might! Deuteronomy 3:24

*I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ Isaiah 7:8

*So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Coriinthians 5:20

*God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

Moravian Prayer: Creator of the universe, you opened the windows to heaven and we have begun to see. Let us continue to see, ever more clearly, your glory, your love, and your will. Be our vision still.

Dear Lord, we are here for your glory, to tell others about you and to care for them. Give us the courage to do your will. Guide us and protect us. Amen.

Flow week: a change of seasons that moves benches, pillows, and more

Two Sundays have flown by. Normally, Sunday afternoons and evening are quiet for us, after we host morning meetings online.

We have escaped the snow just in time. Our grandkids send a picture of their igloo at the base of their Washington driveway. So much snow. I listen to a snowy playlist and am content.

At our house in Indonesia, all is lush and green.

I bring in a bouquet of hydrangeas from the garden.

The fruits in season are avocados and rambutan - each curious hairy-looking ball in the cluster has a slippery "eyeball" inside. You can't eat the peel or seed. The white flesh tastes like a combination of grape and cherry. I'm always happy when they show up in the markets.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

It's Ash Wednesday. We start the readings for the 40 days before Easter. If you want to join us, click here.

We have lunch with Jorge and Caron, work with people in transition through the Free and Safe Indonesia charity. Their reach includes teens re-entering society from juvenile detention, care for kids, and programs for female prisoners. It's amazing to see how much of an impact they are having. (Find out more here: it's a worthy cause; as their work expands, they could use your financial help.)

We buy groceries downtown. As usual, the sidewalks nicely laid last year are already iffy. "Watch your feet!" as we wind between cars and trucks parked on, across, and around the walk.

On the way home, we pause in traffic to let a pickup merge in front of us; a young man stands on the bags of whatever they're hauling. Good thing the speed is 10-20mph and not faster.

Monday to Friday, I'm in a vision board (beta) class online. We're supposed to imagine goals we'd like to reach in the next 3 years. It's hard to be other than abstract on such a long timeline. One day, I scribble in my little notebook during a session: healthy team, health habits for me, better sleep... 

Thursday

We're on a forest walk this week, our first outing into the mountains since returning to Bandung 2 weeks ago. Part of the trail is experimental, new to us all. We turn onto a little overgrown path that appears and disappears but winds steadily upward. Elevation and steep hill - my heart pounds as we climb. We are all relieved that there are no snakes along the way. As usual, the dogs run ahead and chase off wildlife.

We walk past a recently uncovered war fort in the mountains. A tribute pillar stands in the field atop the concrete and stone caves below.

Gypsy bravely does his own tour of a bamboo bridge to a lookout over the valley. It might hold doggies and Indonesians (typically lighter and smaller than we foreigners) but we don't risk it.

We step aside as a grass-cutter takes his haul down the mountain on his motorcycle. We often pass older people carrying these loads on their backs. The 4-5' tall grass feeds livestock or is sold to those with sheep, goats, or cows.

2 new restaurants opened last week at the entry to our neighborhood. (Like we needed more options!) Baby Dutch serves a tenderloin with gravy sprouts, and the egg crust. It's a delicious $4.50 meal. There are many savory and sweet options. Before the week is out, we try a few more ($3 for spinach and cream, or chicken Alfredo). They're served piping hotin little cast iron pans. (Hot! Wow, people - you never get hot food at restaurants here.)

The other spot is a gelato place (Vilo) that has great ice cream but high prices. It's cute - we'll see if it it lasts. Along the street, these beautiful blue berries may be inedible but they are eye-catching as they fall from the 10-meter trees. I wonder if they'd be good for dyeing wool or paper. No, I don't need more to do.

The fence in our neighborhood is leaning. Apparently tree roots are pushing it aside. We wonder how long it will stay upright ...

All day long, people sweep the leaves that fall onto the pavement, yards, and houses. This collection looks like a typical autumn in the USA. But we have summer and more summer - with a continual dropping of leaves day and night. When it rains, there's even more natural litter.

We pick up a little handmade stand for our entry at the second-hand store beside the new restaurants. 

We send off the old pleather sofas and chairs with the helpers. They were falling apart with the fabric peeling off arms and seats. These 3 solid (used) benches fit perfectly on the porch in their place. I may have to recover them - or paint the white wicker brown ... 

I'm still playing with the layout. Better above or below? Help - your input pls.

We won't refill the two fishbowls until we decide. There's too much risk of breaking the glass if we move them when full. The fish scooped from the neighbor's pond swim in endless loops around the aquarium plants that thrive on the shady porch.

Inside, it feels like a change of season is due, too, though it's still season #1 (rainy). Season #2 (dry) is a few months off. With a change from reds and blue pillows to pink covers and a different tablecloth, we go from intense colors for Christmas >Valentines's Day -

to a softer palette. We'll swap the red slipcover out for cream soon. I feel an "itch" toward a completely lighter look. Without contrasts in seasonal weather, we make our own shifts.

Sunday

Our pizza guests couldn't make it last night so we make a variety of homemade pizzas today. We send a few pizzas around to neighbors. (Who says you can't be hospitable during Covid, though we can't have guests swarm the house as we used to.)

W's perfected pizza crust and his trusty pizza oven gets used nearly every week.

This week's Sunday talk is unusual - we have 5 readers of excerpts from the book of Job, a righteous and wealthy man who lost everything but his confidence in God. (If you want to watch the story, it starts about 19:00 in.)

When I see on video how straggly my hair is getting, I change my mind about letting it grow through March. Snip snip: 5 minutes and 2" off, I walk out of the bathroom with a good haircut. I think that "vision board" class sent me on a creative twirl.

Read more:

*My Lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Genesis 18:3

*Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. Psalm 25:8

*Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. Psalm 102:25

*Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. Psalm 117 NIV

*Jesus Christ will also strengthen you to the end. 1 Corinthians 1:8

Moravian Prayer: Lord, you created everything by the work of your hands, including each of us. We pray that we see your handiwork in all that we observe, and we give thanks to you for your divine work.

Who are we that you are mindful of us? Loving God, we give you thanks that through your unending mercy and faithfulness, no one is forgotten and all are precious in your sight. May we trust in you and in your son as we go through the days of our life. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Chinese New Year despite cough coughs

"Pandemics historically last 2 years."

That means we're about halfway through to post-Covid? Waaaaa. I'm tired. How about you? #IrinaBlok creates funny cartoons about where we are now.

I usually don't like spam posts but recently have laughed aloud at many of them. Cleverness seems to pop up along with boredom. Perhaps this is God's gift of time to reset our families, our work, and our priorities.

For many young families, home schooling has taken over the 3-4 hours (between parents) that the commute used to steal. At least it is time you have with the kids. Now you know why you drove your mother crazy, right? And you love every person who agrees to be a teacher and take your kids during the day? (Thought so.)

We wear masks everywhere, especially with many strangers in Bandung for Chinese New Year this week. My reflex is "cough cough." When we're walking the neighborhood and no one is in sight, I and pull one side open to get more air.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

It's our first breakfast date in months. We walk over to Nara, but they don't have some of our favorite things. The substitutes are good, too. For the rest of the day, I'm in the office. Between interviews and calls, the day flies by.

Like always, my energy is low in the afternoon. It's the first team meeting we've had in a while, so seeing everyone together makes me happy. There's a full list of things to consider, especially since Lent starts in a week.

I'm catching up here and there, dropping things, and picking them up at the last minute. Sorry everyone who has to scramble ... My brain hasn't completely wrapped about Bandung time. Our sleep is better but not quite there yet.

Jet lag is a beast, esp when you're offset by 15 hours. Going somewhere is fine. Coming back is harder. Fortunately, the night-light is working again in the living room. W has replaced the wiring where the rats had chewed through the electric cords. 

I get up for peppermint tea sometimes, mid-night, and the warm liquid is soothing, especially if I don't see roaches or lizards or ants while I'm in the kitchen. The kitchen lizard has grown while we've been gone but his scooting across the floor between cabinets is the same.

---

Leftovers are a great base for what my nose wants me to eat. Pasta, olive oil drizzled on walnuts, papaya leaves/flowers, and spices. One more time.

"What's a nose-chef?" you may ask. Those of us who cook "by the skin of our nose" are often spontaneous cooks. We choose ingredients after smelling or thinking about the smell of a main component in a dish. (In my case today, it was the papaya leaves, a strong, bitter savory flavor.)

Then, we look around the kitchen for the other parts of the dish. Spices, vegetables, starches, meats, and herbs are chosen according to what smells like it may rhyme in taste. It's easy to hit a new combination of amazing taste this way. The only problem is that the recipes, made and eaten in a flash, are hard to replicate.

We do need some supplies so head to a big mall. It's empty. Many walkways have no one in them. Many shops have no one - or one or two people in them, besides a skeleton staff. Even the parking garage has only one exit: there's simply not enough traffic to hire more exit-booth cashiers.

I'm surprised to see one of the books I read in December, translated into Indonesian. If they'd had all 3 in the series, I would purchase them. Or, if they had other books by Moyes, I'd consider it. She makes me reflect on the world as she weaves a lyric spell with her words and chapters.

Two letters dated in December arrive by postal courier, a guy on a motorcycle who drops mail at the gate. There's so little mail here that the post office hires drivers when they have enough to deliver.

Thursday

My neck has been cricked while sleeping. Ouch, says the shoulder and neck. Good thing we're not hiking yet. We have to acclimate to the elevation and the mountains before we tackle walking in the hills. Some friends send a feast! for tomorrow's holiday. Josie Josie, we miss you in this year of social distancing.

The mastermind of women in leadership roles meets monthly. Today one of the links we circulate is a finger labyrinth, used for prayer and meditation. I print out a 12-part labyrinth pattern based on one from an old European cathedral. Then I dip string in rubber cement (nope you can't buy it here - I brought it along.) And finally, I coat the paper and align the string to make finger pathways. By day's end, it's no longer sticky. I'll try it tomorrow.

Labyrinths became popular in early Church history as a place for meditation and prayer. Going in one direction, weaving in a set pattern, set the mind free to focus on God. More recently, like many other good things, this tool has been adopted and adapted by other religions as well.

Ruth sends ribs that taste fantastic. I don't have to cook today, even better.

Because she's an artist as well as a chef, there is a mini-bouquet of roses and rosemary tied to the food packet. Beautiful. And the food is enak sekali (very tasty).

W finds the envelope of small maple leaves we brought from our Seattle home for Ruth. We'll get it to her soon.

The helpers have baked bread today, so that makes its way around the neighborhood. Dr H us sends a gelled rice cake, while Claudia shares Josh's favorite passion fruit custard. I won't be cooking tomorrow, that's for sure.

Friday, Chinese New Year

What a happy celebration for the families who can get together. Many are caught at home by travel restrictions. The holiday is as big for Chinese descendants around the world as Christmas is for Christians and Ramadan is for Muslims. So not meeting is a big deal.

It's also DrH's birthday, which she gets to spend with her family. For a Chinese-Indonesian, what a special blessing to have both celebrations on the same day! She's busy and productive, so her daughters bring flowers and buy her the cutest birthday cake, representing, "Oma, always working."

Lunch is amazing. I print a picture of Josie and her mom, an extraordinary cook, and tape the picture to a dining chair while we have lunch. They're with us in spirit anyway. We send Josie's family a quick snap of Melvina joining us. 

They've sent huge portions, probably meant for 5-6 people. We ask our houseguest to join us.

We finish with the pudding and sweet rice cakes (dodol). "This kind is only made for Chinese celebrations," we're told.

There's so much food that we have leftovers from lunch ... 

... AND supper. The traditional pancakes, meats, noodles, ground peanuts, cassava "glue" and other treats take ages to prepare. Because Josie's mom used to cater food, it's a level of excellence and tastes that we can't get elsewhere. We enjoy it all.

Saturday

Oh oh, what a short night for me. I'm up and ready to go at 2:30am. After a while, I give up and plow through my email, reading, and devotions. I stay in bed until 5:30. Then I explore the fridge for delicious leftovers. While W is on a call, I eat breakfast on the porch. (Snap peas, sweet papayas from the neighbor's tree, and the last of the papaya leaves/flowers, along with sausage we brought from Canada).

Those who lead a faith community know the prep that requires. Besides calls and appointments, we deliver a talk each weekend. W and I alternate writing those presentations, which helps us be more thoughtful and studious about them. W was excited about this week's topic so he'll speak alone tomorrow. (Whew, that clears some headspace for me to lead a board meeting after the regular BICOnline meeting.)

Next week, our topic is Job and his "comforters," those friends who have all the answers to his suffering. In the end, God just says, "What are they talking about? Pray for them!"

The media team works hard on next week, pasting the separate videos into conversations between Joa and his friends. Sorry, everyone - if we could, we'd record it in one go on a zoom call! With the holidays, that's not possible.

For me, writing the next weekend's talk, condensing the 42 chapters of Job into a synopsis and application, while recruiting readers for summary snippets of scripture takes a few days from last week and this. Between, I'm prepping the weekend board meeting. Somehow everything comes together in the end - hopefully that will be the case this time, too.

I brought an old bass violin bridge along as a memory of my father. It comforts me and makes me smile as I stroll though the entry.

Read more:

*All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. Psalm 145:10

*Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:7

*Each one should test their own actions. Galatians 6:4NIV

Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. Hebrews 6:7

Moravian Prayer: God of wisdom, you have instilled in us the knowledge and hope to boldly pursue your plans for us. May we keep your love and guidance ever in our minds as we follow you and lead others. 

Cultivator and Provider, work the fertile lands of our hearts to produce crops wholesome and pleasing to you. May they sustain and support those around us. In your holy name. Amen.