A week of remembrance and prayer

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Congratulations to our kids T and M, who have been married 15 years today.

This week is filled with the anticipation of celebrating Easter. It's never far from my thoughts. I can't wait to worship with the family of God this weekend.

W and I enjoy a date morning with our usual order: spicy noodles @NaraPark / #PinoTerrace. Yum. You really start craving the spices after a while. This fellow could use some heat. He carries 3 bags of ice to the kitchen.

Willy's birthday card arrives today. What a treat.

On the way, the cicadas are noisy and busy. This one has made his last flight to the street.

After a few meetings, W and I run errands. It's my first time at the Borma department store in months. I wander around and pick up basics - nails and screws we've used up, a snack, and kitchen supplies. I ignore the Magnum ice-cream bars, which are $5 each.

Indonesian currency is being updated.

Lunch is at Saka Bistro. I have Vietnamese pho.

W has gnocchi. Looks good.- I order one to taste and to go. ($4.25)

What a difference one plant can make. This one is set between sinks and mirrors in an otherwise minimal room, creating a warm ambiance.

Late in the afternoon, I mix up the pictures on my office wall. David's painting looks good in the middle.

Thursday

Hiking day! and it's sunny and hot. We pass this abandoned house with its multi-million-dollar view of the mountains, valleys, and cities below.

The hillsides, full of vegetable fields and pine forests, are many shades of green.

Once in a while I snap a picture of the group.

The first half is up and then we go downhill toward the cars.

In places, off-road jeeps have eroded 6-8' (+2 meters) of soil, which fills with water. We carefully walk on the original trails beside the ruts. Once there are tracks on either side. Once we have to balance on a half-meter (1.5 foot) trail between the gouges on either side. (Not my favorite part.)

Ascending, we pass a lady who has cut and heaped a huge wheelbarrow/cart full of 2m (6') long grass. That is sold or fed to livestock. Can you spot her under her blue cap? The cart finds its own way down in the rut; she needs to keep it from getting away.

Parts of the hike are paved roads with blooming trees on either side.

The valley view below shows the strata of pollution from Ramadan cooking fires and burning neighborhood garbages, as well as factory emissions. Up in the mountains, the air is clean and clear.

Lunch is at a favorite tourist destinations, a family acreage converted into multiple huts for eating. Even the young coconut containing juice is detailed.

W and I both order chicken meals komplet with soup and sides. Outstanding.

The table is extraordinary quiet. Our hike was a ramble with many stops, waiting for direction from the person with the map. We walked 5 miles (7 km+) in 3.5 hours ... we're worn out.

We're back from lunch about 3:00, with over 10,000 steps on our trackers. Time to shower, catch up with media, and rest. PakG heads down to the Starbucks for some coffee grounds - should help our roses thrive. Thanks, #StarbucksCiumbuleuit.

Good Friday

The day starts with a 2-mile walk. Though our neighborhood is on a mountain, the loop goes up and down gradually, and only slopes down precipitously at the end. If we want more of a workout, we go up the steep hill first. (Yeah, hardly ever.)

There's a 10" spider weaving the power lines together. Oh the wonders of God's world.

It's nice to talk to our daughter and my mother online. Mom is as pretty and lively as ever at 87.

Everyone but our guests was away from the house yesterday, either volunteering or taking a day off. That's rare. Today, though it is a Red Letter day (national holiday), the house is back to full. I am grateful that the floors and porch are cleaned often. Oh the dust! that blows in when your windows and doors are handmade = not sealed.

The wood, screens, and metal need constant maintenance in the hot damp tropics. As the structures wear away, anything that wants to squeeze under or through the cracks can (and does). Anything that eats wood has a snack. Every few weeks, we go through the house to look for termite frass in case we've missed a termite colony.

Mid-mornng on the Porch, Laurel watches the Good Friday service from IES Jakarta online with us. It's a moving reminder of what God has done in sending Jesus to die on the cross: his unfathomable love, his restoration of creation, and his ongoing work. Later, others also tell us how much they've enjoyed the service.

Rob and Wina (and wonderful little Ezra) drop by in the afternoon for tea, pumpkin pie, and cookies. Somehow the day has flown by with many touches of God and his people. How grateful we are. Have a blessed Good Friday, all you whose sins are forgiven!

Read more:

*He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful. Psalm 111:4

*God said, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

*[a prophecy fulfilled at the death of Jesus, 700 years later] ... But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 52:5-12

*Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Luke 22:19-20 [Click the link for more Good News.]

*You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Moravian Prayer: As faithful as the cycles of day and night, and seedtime and harvest may be, you, Lord, are even more faithful. You invite us again and again to your table as treasured guests. We give thanks, fully and freely without end, that you give yourself to us in love.

Thank you, justice-loving God. Seeing our hungry bodies and empty hearts, you give us your commandments and show us the way to live in harmony with one another. Knowing we need still more, you show us that self-sacrificing love—yours and ours—enriches your world with mercy and peace. Amen.