Saturday, June 18, 2022
Sidra is going home to Pakistan. She and her family drop by the porch for a goodbye. Her husband is on a military visa, along with officers from around the world. She and the children will head back tomorrow. This is the nature of overseas friendships: people come into your life, enrich it, and go home again. The networks span the world.
Sidra has been a lovely addition to our walking group, as were her kids. They'll be missed. Her husband leaves us a pewter medallion:.
"Don't forget me," Sidra says. I won't. We put the token on the memory shelves in the nook.
The kids love the dogs and had fun walking them last week.
When they leave, Gypsy is not impressed by the thunder rumbling in the distance. He finds a corner and refuses to look at us.
Kristi heads out with some international students to teach English to neighborhood youngsters. The kids learn animal names and make paper bag puppets.
Today, W's live-streaming the BIC Gathering for the first time. Ron and Faith are back for a few weeks to say goodbye and wrap up their friendships. They lived here 9 years but when the pandemic started, they were given 48 hours to leave the country. Faith has been sick most of the time back, so Ron's said their goodbyes on her behalf. We pray over them as a couple and wish them godspeed and safe travels home. They'll be missed.
This morning, Ron speaks one more time to BIC about God as Father. It's a wonderful expression of God's goodness toward the children of humanity. And his invitation is warm and inviting. Hear it here. He reminds me what a good father I had, too, though my dad's in heaven celebrating in a different way.
While the BIC kids hang out with Kristi, the teens join Sam in the BIC office. But first, every kid gives his/her dad a fun present: a multi-tool. I think I might need one of those as well!
Beside the house, the white aliums are blooming again. They have no fragrance but their glow at night is lovely.
Tuesday
It's my youngest brother's birthday in Germany. We call briefly and agree to disagree on politics. Our Dad drummed into us that family is family. Nothing trumps the love and care we have for each other. "Happy Birthday, Will!"
We celebrate Tota and Tetty's anniversary over lunch at Ethnic - good food but delightful company.
When we get home, W uploads the morning livestream online to a second venue. We stroll back to the office to pick up my computer and the bag we left there. The court is full of neighborhood kids playing soccer. How great to see a training center fully utilized by the community.
To be able to walk anytime to work is an amazing blessing. Parking spots have been created along both sides of the roads. The informal parking attendants wave cars through one-way: it's too narrow to squeeze two cars between the roughly-parked vehicles. Traffic has picked up; Jakarta is back to Bandung on the weekends and most people no longer work from home during the week. We didn't miss the traffic surges during the pandemic.
Monday
Language school from home saves us two hours of commuting and prep. So Mondays at home are a blessing. This is Kristi's last week of IEP language learning for now. I'll take a break to catch up on the words that are slipping - and then resume. We've learned enough to understand the banner along the road ...
It curses those who throw garbage at this spot. The base of the tree became a dumping ground for neighbors until that was erected.
We walk out to a cool and sunny day. Bandung is about 6o south of the equator so this week we have the shortest days of the year. Winter in Australia brings cooler temperatures (high 60s nights, low 80s days), with sun from 6-6 each day.
We buy chicken breasts and freeze them in the fridge freezer - there's not much else in there yet. So glad to have it up and running.
Wednesday
PakG finds us street snacks sold by vendors who walk between cars. The flat treat is a casava-rice blend that is crispy, light, and addictive. He bargains to $1.50 for all 4 in the bag.
Another favorite mentioned by language teachers is this favor of ice cream, which has boiled mung beans. It's actually pretty good for 35c. We buy some extras to share.
W and I make a trip downtown for supplies. This entry fascinates me: there are 8 steps up to the 2-storey elevator into the hardware store. On the other side of the stairway, you step down 8 steps to the Informa store.
So, to get to the long elevator for the ACE Hardware, you must take the stairs. To get to the Informa store on the same level as the road, you take 2 sets of stairs, one up then one down. There's a tiled landing between the staircases. Did they have flooding and need to build a dike? Did the architect change his mind partway? Very strange to us.
W and I have a late lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. Labor is cheap here: someone might earn $3-$8/day at a service job. So there are many employees. We count 7 - and still have to call someone over to take our order or bring the bill. They're chatting, not looking at the customers. They make a cursory pass every 5-10 minutes. That's common, not unusual. Customer service is not a priority.
Thursday
We walk! My first walk in weeks. We're all clean when we start.
The trail is muddy. Slippery. Refreshing.
At lunch after, Sidra's husband (still on work break), zooms us in to her. We miss her already and it's good to see her smile.
In the late afternoon, W and I walk up to #NaraPark to meet Kaleb, who's transitioning to another island and other work.
He's written a poem about his time in Bandung. How grateful we are for such young people!
The setting is beautiful. Dinner is delicious. And the company is warm. The lights are on all along the street, including at the gelato restaurant. We're not tempted. We're full!
Friday
This week, someone rehomes their new Tulip table for $35. We put it in place and confirm that it's a perfect breakfast table. "Wow, when we move, it will be a great garage sale," W says. True. But in the meantime, how useful.
After our morning walk, I head for the porch at work. It's time to make videos for the next months. After that, I take calls and study language. It's our last day and our assignment is to write about what we did yesterday - in Indonesian. Oh boy.
Earlier this week, PakG cleaned the moss at the back of the office paludarium. The moss filters the water the pump sends through the waterfall. Works great except that the back wall turns dirt-brown within a few weeks. One beta swims lazily between the rocks and plants.
I'm ready for a lazy day myself. (Wishing and dreaming)
Read more:
*For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. Psalm 22:28
*Some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want. Proverbs 11:24
*Paul said, “In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35
No comments:
Post a Comment