3 things plus one: Happy Chinese New Year to friends with a Chinese heritage

1. Be flexible. Try new things. I spray-paint dry nangka leaves from the yard.

I push them through the metal screen behind the dining table. Looks festive for Chinese New Year. We send cookies and other goodies around the city, topped with 7 gold leaves.

I have a good look at the guava bark outside the window. With a  contractor's 2" brush, I add some texture to the mural in the nook. Last year, I used markers to outline the leaves and colored it with a household sponge and acrylic paints. The plaster wall sucks up the paint. I squeeze a tube across the trunks for contrasting vines.

It needs a focal point. I find a leaf photo online to anchor the foreground. Next time I'm in the mood, I'll paint it onto the existing outline. With a stiff acrylic brush, of course.

The shelf will hide most of the mural, which is a good reason not to spend too much time on it. Until now, we propped paintings on the ledge to hide the work-in-progress.

Everything doesn't have to be great art, just as not every piece of furniture has to be expensive. Mix and match produces a harmonious and interesting backdrop for people to live in.

When I watch a movie or wait at my desk, I'll pull out 2" squares of paper and draw. Every series of Inchies has a theme or is restricted by some parameters. This set of shapes uses only 4 markers: dark and medium blue, orange, and green. As a whole, they make more sense than as individual pieces. Eventually l'll mount and frame them. There's room somewhere in the house - unless someone likes it and takes it home.

2. Appreciate what others share with you.

Early in the week, Pauline gifts us with 2 kinds of Pempek Palembang (fish cakes and sauce from Sulawesi).

We share a watch party on our porch Sunday. The takeaways are good and we take time to pray together.

Afterward, during lunch at Ethnic Resto, a 1.5' (.5 meter) chameleon suns itself in the garden beside our table.

I order beef stroganoff - which doesn't look or taste like what I'm expecting. But it's DELICIOUS on flavored rice.

Monday is the eve of Lunar/Chinese New Year (called Imlek in Indonesia). Josie send food cooked by her mom. Usually there's a crowd in and out of their house for Lunar New Year. This year they choose to bless everyone by sending feasts across the city. 

"Are you home?" Josie asks. We're expecting a small container of their family's treats. 

Instead, her mom - who loves to cook - sends paper-thin crepes, seafood, meats, noodles, vegetables, soup, garnishes, and sauces. Oh my! We open it still warm, and have a wonderful lunch. We miss your faces, family of Josie, but we love your food, too. The common way to say "Happy Lunar New Year is "Gong xi fat chai" (恭喜发财), which means "wishing you happiness and prosperity."

In the evening, we're invited to the beautiful home of Dr Hanna and Alice. The koi in their inner courtyard have grown another few inches since we were here.

Bandung florist Ibu Grandy is a sculptor. She makes wonderful arrangements for BIC - and look at what she did for New Year. She asked DrH, "Would you like some pussy willows as well?" and this is what she created. Oh wow.

The back garden is a restful place to read or relax.

Inside, all is festive, reds and golds - 

A more traditional arrangement from the flower market sits on a table.

It's a delight to enjoy traditional Chinese-Indonesian specialties in the courtyard with our friends.

3. Enjoy what others enjoy. If you don't, you'll never know what you missed.

We've eaten foods we didn't grow up with during this week, enjoying local Chinese adaptations of traditional foods.

Dr Hanna explains: "Every area has its own specialty. This is partly because most Chinese Indonesians come from 6-7 Chinese provinces and partly it's because we adapt the food available around us."

Different parts of Java (the most populated Indonesian island) have their own versions at the feast, never mind what is eaten on other islands.

This stewing beef, tripe, shrimp, mushroom, bamboo shoot, and sauce dish is their traditional family "must-have" for Lunar New Year. Alice took over the cooking 2 years ago with a recipe passed from her grandmother's kitchen to her mother's. Now she scoops the ingredients into an enormous wok.

It's a lot of work. The magic happens in the kitchen, as is usual around the world.

There's SO MUCH food, which will be shared with family and friends over two weeks of festivities.

Meanwhile, around the world the men stay out of the way and relax, waiting to eat. W enjoys the beautiful setting.

Our hosts are special friends who welcomed us to Bandung when we arrived in their neighborhood.

We finish dinner with a "peach gum" desert of sea mushrooms and healthy fruits in a sweet syrup. It's just the right touch after a big meal.

One more thing - embrace the unexpected. It will bless you more than it benefits anyone else.

We welcome Eki and his sisters for tea on the porch Monday, shortly before we leave the house. What fun to welcome him and the two beautiful young women, new to us (beyond a quick hello another time.)

I have almost nothing they can eat in the house, and they sure don't want me to make rice! Melvi helps out with IndoMie and nasi goreng. They're easy guests who don't complain. For us, it's a treat to meet them as a family of 3.

They stay the night. We have beds ready for travelers who need a safe warm place. One sister is starting in-person university classes this week. Eki and his other sister get her settled in but will head home on the bus in the morning. 

Tuesday, we have a simple breakfast of French Toast before they head out. W and I go to the office to record next week's BIC-talk.

God knows each name. We am overcome with grateful worship each time we see God's cares for others and for us. We get to share his goodness with those around us. What a blessing is that! Safe travels, you two. And we pray for a great year ahead in uni ...

Read more:

*You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:1-10

I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people. Ezekiel 37:23

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

Moravian Prayer: Merciful God, our sins are many. We turn from you and follow our own way, especially when life’s burdens weigh us down. Yet, you continue to live within us. You continue to call us by your grace to happiness. Let us ever be grateful. Amen.

Friends, new friends, and accusing stares from the dogs

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Breakfast on the porch means we have 3 pairs of accusing eyes staring at us. We have a small dog-free zone on our porch as many Indonesians are afraid of dogs. Only Bailey is allowed into the seating circle - when we invite him in, which is nearly always, let's face it. But not when we're eating. We share scraps with the dogs when they sit and wait politely. So they plunk themselves down and watch unblinkingly whenever we eat outside.

We skip our usual date at Nara restaurant because we'll be there with guests later today.

After a morning in the office, I pluck flowers, dill, and leaves from our garden and pop them into a tall vase. The vase is huge, a $14 find at a moving sale last year - which means the arrangement is almost 5' tall. Within a few hours, the dill - picked just before noon in the hot sun - perks up and stands straight.

Propped on a clay stand, the bouquet makes a good partition between the living room area and the music area. [See the little table lamp beside the flowers? It will come up later in this post. I've had my eye on it since last week.]

When Scott and Ruth arrive from Jakarta, we eat lunch at Miss Bee.

Yum. My beef fajitas are tasty.

Next door is the sister campus to their former language school in Salatiga. They meet with the administrators and say hello. Then we tour the Green Gate campus and the BIC office.

Back at the house, they ask W to scan books they need for travel. Scott cuts, Ruth separates, and W scans. I nap in our room, falling fast asleep in a heartbeat. Our late supper at Nara is delicious, too.

Thursday

It's a new walk around Lembang, the city to the north of us. One car breaks down on the way up the steep incline and the driver waits most of the day for a tow, while his passengers walk around and back down to home. No AAA here.

The rest of us skirt the ridges of mountains overlooking lush valleys dotted with villages. There are a lot of dogs along the way so ours have to be leashed between wild runs where there are no people. At one point, Cocoa and Gypsy disappear back into a little kampung (village) to chase a dog who barks at them. They return after a few whistles and a lot of shouts from the walking group.

The trail narrows with dropoffs on either side. In places, we walk between greenhouses filled with rose bushes. Lembang is a garden city, with good weather for vegetables, trees, and flowers. Farmers send their produce across Indonesia, especially to the big city of Jakarta a few hours away.

We often find a log to sit on after a particularly steep section. This one has been partly eaten out by ants, and they swarm out as soon as we bump it. Nope, not sitting here.

See the little 2-bamboo bridge across the ravine? The handrail is another piece of bamboo. Would you cross it, one foot on each bamboo pole and one hand on the rail?

The total elevation of today's walk is 25 flights of stairs; that doesn't include ups and downs. It's a hot day and we're relieved when parts of the walk are shaded by trees.

We start and end at the Mandarin Restaurant. The food is good as usual.

Scott and Ruth meet us there; we enjoy some time together before PakG takes them back to their hotel downtown.

I read a variety of magazines through our Seattle library. A letter written about my longterm friendship with the WPPRs is included in the March/April Victoria magazine. We used to get $100 for such a letter; now I'm happy with a print-copy in our Seattle mailbox.

Friday

Angela and I walk a loop around the neighorhood before I start calls from the porch at Green Gate.

Before 11, Maddie and Max come to the office. They put together 100 cardboard bricks in preparation for a BIC "Ezra-Nehemiah" talk in February. 

The BIC kids will "build a wall" while other kids read the story of the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem thousands of years ago. 

W picks up his repaired Keens from town. It's cost $7 for materials and labour to resole these favorites. We both enjoy lunch with Maddie and Max - nasi goreng (friend rice) and salad. It's a simple and common menu here. Except for the salad.

Saturday

The mornings are peaceful. The sun rises early - first light is at 5:30 and wakes me no matter what time I fall asleep.

We pick up a wall shelf. I mark out 3 possible locations. Anything we acquire has to have at least 2 places or uses. We try to shed at least as much as comes in.

I'm writing 2 talks for BIC today - so my mind needs some creative energy. Hmm, what about that beige lampshade? Is any paper left in the bag of leftover scrapbooking supplies, gifted by friends 5 years ago. I find some I like.

I drape the lampshade in pleated paper and notice afterward that it matches the room. Who knew!

As a visually-prompted creative and a follower of Jesus, I'm reminded to pray for people whose things I touch or see. I feel privileged to ask God to care for others, whatever is happening in their lives or relationships. And today I'm praying for Trudi, Garry, Ron, Lorraine, and their families, with a smile on my face and a heart of thanksgiving.

Outside, the "curtain" of plants from the 2nd floor is finally thick enough to shade our bedroom. Such passive cooling is a must in the tropics if you live without an air conditioner.

It's time to write - Saturday work, here I come. Sunday is a-coming! (The new talks are for Sundays in February of course, not for tomorrow.) Have a great weekend, everyone.

Read more:

*Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:3-4

*A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by or like a watch in the night. Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—they are like the new grass of the morning: in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.

We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 

If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.

May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90

Crepes (including recipe), people, and green everywhere

I miss the Thursday walk after being up most of the night: 11-4:15 (last clock check-in). I just couldn't sleep, despite go-tos that usually make me sleepy. Listened to Isaiah 44-66 with a few repeats. Read a novel. Lay quietly for an hour. Nada.

Oh well. Unexpected workdays are most productive because you jam them full of "what I didn't have time for." So I get lots done.

One strange thing we see this week is the truck being loaded with chairs. Three men are loading them onto a little pickup from a garage.

W takes the dogs on the walk. He comes back while I'm making pastoral calls. For the most part after he gets home, we have a quiet afternoon. I'm sleepy by 6pm and fall fast asleep, getting 10 hours of catch-up. 4am feels like mid-morning when you're rested.

Friday, January 21, 2022

Angela and I start our walk from her house. We go up and down through very narrow lanes and "main thoroughfares" like the one below. She knows all the twists and turns - we mask when there are people nearby and unmask while the wind blows in deserted stretches. It's hot and sunny. I'm happy to be wearing my hat.

The contrast between rich and poor are side by side. There's much to pray about as we walk. Provision. Protection. Help. Resources. Health. One family has patched their roof with tin a few times and is drying rice beside the ceiling tiles stacked along the lane.

Another area is brimming with plants in pots. They soften the hard concrete walls and asphalt paving. This 6" fragrant flower opens only at night. I can only imagine the scent ...

The "feathery tassel" shrub looks very happy.

We peek around the fence into a lot with a fishpond and new-kind-to-me ducks walking around.

Someone is hunting birds in a vacant lot. It has some kind of silencer at the tip. He carefully doesn't look our way so Angela can't chide him.

Typically for neighborhoods, this one has an islamic graveyard, with headstones oriented toward Mecca.

Coming into our yard, I pluck an orchid stem from along the driveway and pop it into a bud vase.

Saturday

W's at 3 meetings, which leaves me to set a pause on the week. I slept roughly again last night. Probably am burned out decision-making that never comes to pass and the constant revision of plans. You can't go forward with any certainty and I find that wearying.

Meanwhile, something has died in one of the fish pots - did a snail fall in and rot? It sure stinks and there's scum on the surface. I change as much of the water as I can, but the fish are dead. Almost no water from the city comes through the hose. While the tadpoles continue to thrive, the dead fish become fertilizer for the garden.

Sunday

After a walk, I stroll the yard. The coffee Jez planted before he moved is full of berries. Maybe W can do something with them. He's the coffee drinker at our house. Fragrant in brewing, but foul on the breath and a mess during cleanup, I'm no fan of the brown infusion.

Inside again, I make tea. And I am hungry for crepes. Our recipe is easy. I flip between two small pans to speed up the cooking process and refrigerate the extras for supper.

• Beat 4 eggs into 1.5 c milk and 1 tbsp melted butter. (1/2 tsp vanilla, optional)
• Stir 1 c flour, a pinch of salt, and 2-3 tbsp sugar in a medium-sized bowl.
• Pour the liquids over the flour and whisk until almost smooth.
• Heat a saucepan on high, add oil and/or butter, and turn heat down to medium high. Quickly swish +1/4 c batter around the pan.
• Cook until the top is no longer wet, then tip the pan upside down over a plate. [Loosen a corner of the first few crepes to help them peel easily off the pan.]
• Repeat. Next one, coming up.

W sets up breakfast dishes on the porch, which means wiping up the table before our friends arrive. It's a scurry to clean up outside, wash dishes in the kitchen, and make tea. I cut pumpkin pie and brownies onto a plate, and warm up IbuA's berry cobbler. W wants to make sure he has cobbler, so I scoop some into a plate for him. Last minute, I change out of walking clothes. 

Everything is sorted by 8:45 so we can relax. What a wonderful time with those who join us for a watch party. (That is a small group gathered to view BIC Online.) After, we share everyone's takeaways and pray together.

Brunch is nearby. Maxi's Resto is hosting a wedding. The place is full and there's a good band playing love songs.

"Are you ok with upstairs?" asks the hostess. Sure. They seat us on top of the parking lot: when Maxi's outgrew their venue, they just added another layer. It's breezy and safe to be together, spaced out on the outdoor terrace.

We share good food and conversation.

On the way back, I spot this lemongrass. Plants get chopped back in brutal fashion. With hot sun, volcanic soil, and lots of water, they grow back in no time.

In the evening, I use up the last of the nasi goring (fried rice), wrapping it inside this morning's crepes. Hits the spot with its savory taste moderated by a hint of sweet.

We harvested the first papaya from the backyard, so I cut that up. I head for the lemon tree and grab a fruit. Papaya tastes so bland - until lemon juice is squeezed over. Last minute, W sees my plate decides he wants papaya, too. (His immediate no is not always his final word.) We split the papaya already on my plate. He makes himself ramen as a main course.

Monday

The bromeliads beside the porch are hatching their tiny blooms. So lively a combination of colors. After another lousy night, they refresh my soul.

We record next week's talk in the garden as flies and bees buzz around our heads. I head for the office when we wrap up.

My office terrace view has changed from coleus plants - worm-eaten and shedding leaves like mad - to boat lily or "Moses-in-the-cradle." The green leaves are underlaid with purple. The plants multiply quickly. A few months ago, I plucked a few from a pot and stuck them beside the fading coleus. Those rooted and have taken off. They're pretty and low maintenance. (Probably considered a weed somewhere else.)

Behind my porch desk, see the empty pot? A lone stem of a coleus is all that's left after mildew, little caterpillars, and nature do their damage.

The Nicotiana seeds gleaned from the roadside sprouted and are bursting with pink and white flowers. I pluck the seeds every few mornings and put them into the pots again. Within weeks, they've generated new plants. The banana plants and blooming hedge thrive without intervention. The ruffly cypress tree was the cost of a small flower arrangement ($20?) but makes me smile every time I work out here.

We have lunch out with a friend, meeting his new wife for the first time. Back to home in mid-afternoon, it's time to work on agendas, writing, and more.

Read more:

*Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

*I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Psalm 104:33

*Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. James 5:13

Moravian Prayer: Gracious God, our days are filled with joys and sorrows. Sometimes, we may find it difficult to speak the right words, but you have given us song and music when words are insufficient. May we always sing of your goodness. Amen.