New normal-shmormal. Always curious and always an adventure.

Monday, August 22, 2021

After a morning of meetings, it's suddenly lunchtime. How does that happen?

I have to play catch-up this week on two projects. The first is a weekly New Normal post to a list of about 600 people. We send a picture and paragraph of something normal in Indonesia that catches this Canadian by surprise.

"You won't notice such things after a year," expats warned us when I first started snapping pictures. "Get everything you can now. Everything will seem normal to you soon." Yet even after 7 years, I'm astonished at how different cultures live, work, and interact.

Here's an example: every Indonesian recognizes the handmade wayang puppets. Indonesians traditionally have learned their fairytales and legends via puppet shows that can last from sundown through sunup. These are performed by highly skilled troubadours who sing, tap, tell jokes, play traditional instruments, and manage conversations between handfuls of puppets. It's amazing to watch.

Last night, I realized that we haven't posted a New Normal since mid-July. I put it on my checklist before falling asleep.

This afternoon, I upload 30 pictures and am determined to finish writing and scheduling them all. By supper, NN posts are done through February 2022. I admit that it is a bit weird to be looking for new normal Christmas photos in August.

A few older fish died last week. Instead of going to the pet store to replace them, I take a net and wander over to the neighbor's pond. "Sure take what you want," he says. Their 4 outdoor ponds are filled with a variety of freshwater tropical fish. The fish eat mosquito larvae and keep other pests at bay.

His wife sings, "Here fishy, here fishy" and snags a dozen in one scoop. I put them in the large glass vases on the porch tables. There are no heaters, no lights, and no filters. We feed the fish most days and exchange the water with filtered drinking water every week or two. That's aquarium maintenance out here.

Meanwhile inside the house, the helper bangs ice off the freezer shelves. The ancient appliance has no frost-free features so the shelves produce snow at an alarming rate. You can't even see what's in the freezer behind the sold white mass.

We have to defrost the old freezer completely every once in a while. "Before you put things back on a shelf, please group the items for each shelf on the floor and take a picture. That way we know what we have and where to find things," I instruct her.

"Yes, Mrs," she says. And sends me 2 photos. Top of the freezer (below) and the bottom shelves, nicely organized. I still have no idea what's behind the front items. At least I didn't have to do the cleaning.

Our kind neighbor sends over two complicated-to-make Indonesian meals. Unexpectedly, IbuS also baked German-style pretzel rolls. We each add one to our dinner plate.

Dr W's first treat is lontong, which is rice, diced vegetables, and chicken in a banana leaf. The roll is steamed, infusing the insides with the flavor of the leaf.

Once you strip off the wrapper, the long glistening rice layer becomes visible.

Inside - simply delicious. Well done, and thank you, Dr.W.

Tuesday

The second catch-up is shooting a video for this week plus a few more. I usually record several videos at a time and W posts one each Monday morning. I misunderstood his "there's one more" the last time I asked. Nope, there's nothing ready this Monday.

As I sit down, the beautiful glass window beside me captures my attention. I'm drawn to patterns and color. This is mind-stopping for me. Imagine ... had God made all humans blind, we would have never known what we were missing. It's worth pausing to say "thanks be to God" for his gift of vision.

The rest of the view from my seat is not too bad, either. To stay alert, I move to different locations to film and walk around the grounds between shots.

Somewhere in the middle, I complete an August journal spread. It has been a month of wild things.

In late afternoon, I join an hour of guided prayer with leaders in Norway, USA, Mali, and Vietnam. I come away energized and surprised at the creative ways God chooses to communicate with his creatures.

Supper is a feast of vegetables and tofu. I can't even describe the enak (tasty) blend of flavors inside DrW's steamed leaves, enhanced by hot sauce or sambal.

Today is also my older brother's birthday. We wait until evening (mid-day in Switzerland) to call and share blessings for his special day. In Germany and Switzerland, it's akin to cursing to anticipate a birthday wish before the actual date.

I can't get over how much he looks like Dad. Oh well, nevermind. I catch myself whispering, "Grandma?! Is that you?" sometimes when I look in the mirror. hehe

W and I facilitate a young adults meeting before we head for bed. How great to see their faces, even on an iPad. Our first question for them is, "What do you think of when you hear that we're going to talk about prayer?"

"Boring!" someone pipes up. Others comment about how tiring it is to hear the same thing over and over without experiencing much connection to God. "How do you even pray?" they ask.

W and I can guarantee that conversations with God are anything but tame.  We watch a video and use a prayer tool from the earlier session on prayer to help them listen for God's voice.

We have a good time together. Boring? No, they're a lively group.

Wednesday

We walk the neighborhood loop before W heads home for work. I unlock the BIC office, starting with a 7:00 meeting. (How have we become accustomed to the wonder of sitting across the world at our computer screens?) It's good have heart companions and trusted mentors. We laugh, exchange ideas, catch up, and pray for each other.

After 9:00, I head down the street to Nara Park for breakfast with Waldemar. We're both hungry; when you get up before 5:00, 9:30 and 10:00 feel like late morning. The Pino Terrace sandwich reminds W of a great breakfast bun. He also orders a bowl of noodles, while I choose dim sum (siu mai, steamed bok choi dumplings, and shrimp fritters).

On the way back up to the office, I spot a neighbor's helper sweeping leaves into his homemade shovel. He's attached an empty plastic oil bottle - with the base and a side cut out - to a stick. It's working well.

Green must be August's theme. I flip open a different journal and find a checkered page of watercolor squares. During the 4 morning meetings, I write an alphabet list of qualities I value. This "online focus" journal is almost full - though I haven't played in it for months.

Full from brunch, I don't bother going back home for lunch.

Thursday

We get to walk in the Chikole Forest - tall pine trees planted by the Dutch and tapped for their resin by locals.

They chip a strip of bark away and put a bowl underneath to catch the sap.

There are a lot of people on the trail today: a few walkers but mostly people working. This 4' stack of cut grass will be carried down the trail on a man's shoulders. It's for feeding livestock further down in the valley.

The dogs don't mind the view. Neither do we. They run ahead and wait for us to catch up. That helps clear snakes off the trail.

We take the long way on a new trail up to the old Dutch forts. It's up up up for over 3 km (2 miles) and back. Down is harder on the knees. But it's beautiful all the way.

The dogs hop back into the car when we're done.

After lunch at IP farms, there's a lot of fruit at little stands along the road. We bought watermelon from a little pickup truck on the way up the hills.

The local brick-maker has a tall stack waiting beside the street. Here, most homes and buildings are built of local brick and overlaid with a concrete plaster facade.

One of the reasons to hire a local driver is because cars and trucks have to pass on roads that are 1.5 lanes wide. We pull in our mirrors and try our best to squeeze past.

Sometimes there's just one lane for traffic, even on main thoroughfares. Neighborhood "guys" stop traffic at one end or the other.

There's a lot of old jeeps in a yard along our trip home.

Washing is often hung alongside traffic, too.

There's so much beauty. So much to pray for. So many people live here. We are so blessed to be part of this community.

Read more:

*O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever. Psalm 28:9

*You are God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Moravian Prayer: Lord, train us to use your strength to lift up the world to your calling. Help us to discern the light that you see in all people, that we may see your mercy throughout the world. Amen.