Is there anything nicer than walking in your door and exploring your surroundings?

Saturday, November 4, 2023

You know you belong when your whole body relaxes, walking in the door. The shoes gifted from Kirsten have done their job through multiple airports, lounges, and shuttles.

We grabbed breakfast  bubur ayam (chicken porridge) at 6:30 a.m. in the Jakarta airport. 

Good thing, because we get in about 11:00 and unpack our 4 suitcases until 2:00. I spot 2 items still at the house that haven't been picked up. Stacks of books sit on my desk.

A flower arrangement I made for a friend's salon is on the dining table. I'll take the flowers to IESB and park it in the IESB prayer room if she no longer wants it.

W orders McDonalds burgers (easily delivered for $1. I have no capacity to cook.) We clear the house of ants and roaches, run the robot vacuum for hours, and fall asleep before 8:00. The Turkish mosaic lamp we purchased in Istanbul a few weeks ago is our new night light. I love its soft colors glowing on the white walls.

Sunday

I get up at 4:00 a.m., have devotions and clear social media. We are out the door to a warm welcome at IESB. We're remembering how strange parts of Bandung seem to us - see the steps which end in a drainage ditch? Maybe it's a seat for guards at the facility?

I'm handing over goodies - signs to Laurel for the Kids Room, silk autumn leaves and Christmas items to Angie for the bulletin board. Yup, it's that season again. We have movie night later this week; after that, our Christmas decorations go up.

How I treasure the quiet hour of prayer before the Gathering. Our morning volunteers join before their work starts.

W speaks on The Living Word, the Bible. It's unique among religious scriptures because it is an ongoing, interactive revelation of God, not just a moral text written a long time ago to show how to live a good life.

Christians believe God continually speaks and listens. He is not dumb, mute, or uninterested in us but interacts with his creation and creatures. I love his renewal of nature, how he heals broken bodies supernaturally or through medicine, and how the scriptures that breathe life into our souls. After the talk, we celebrate the life in Christ with Communion.

The ministry team comes over for lunch. It pours rain when W walks to Nara Park to pick up the pizzas. Clau rescues lunch by bring him and the food to the gate with her car. We pass out journals for the ladies and Turkish chocolates for the guys.

As we age, one of our non-negotiable for self-care after a long journey (and especially after hours of sitting) is a massage from Ibu Siti. She works her healing touch on us again ... and we sleep soundly, 8pm to 4 a.m.

Monday

We walk early, spotting this parrot across the wall.

It's King Parrot, cage-free but owned by a rich celebrity nearby. This protected species flies off with a noisy squawk. Apparently it goes home for supper.

The neighborhood is removing two 25 meter/75' trees. That's unusual - normally the feeling that spirits live in the trees keep them from being removed. The neighbors are also moving a family's cemetery to create a park. 

Oh oh, the tree cutters have smashed our landlord's concrete fence as well as other solid structures with thick falling limbs.  "Those things will be repaired Monday," we're told. Mmmm. I hope they will finish cutting before they try to fix what they've broken.

W and I walk 1.5 loops with the dogs, saying hi to the regulars who are sweeping, walking, and making food.

The whole porch smells of jasmine as I open my computer. Delicious. I snip a few sprigs for the house.

Our Canadian and American friends are suffering the 1-hr change from Daylight Savings time. We're offset by 14 hours. Just saying. (And it's 15 hours with the new time in N. America.) 

Mom tells me that Daylight Savings originated as a war measure (read the link.) Well, the war's over. Be kind to your people and get your acts together, silly governments around the world. Indonesia is smart - the sun rises about 6:00 and sets about 6:00 year round, 6 degrees south of the equator where we live.

The bell rings and 80 pages arrive from the doctoral student I'm advising. Hopefully this time he understands what is required - I've read this material reworked so many times. We've gone back and forth for 2 years without much progress. He's on a final extension from the university and if we can't make this work, I'm out.

Read more:

*Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb! Revelation 7:10

*Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. Deuteronomy 33:7NIV

*Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:18-20

*I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 2 Timothy 1:5

Moravian Prayer: Sustainer God, you care for humanity as a loving parent. We experience your love through the guidance of our faithful elders. Through their example, help us guide, care for, and deeply love those whom our lives touch each day. Amen.