In with the old, but mixed with the new

Friday, March 8, 2024 (Lent Day 21)

I thought I'd be sore after the hike yesterday but nope - doing fine. W and I walk up the hill to #NaraPark for our weekly date breakfast. The owls stare at us as they are shifted to daylight perches from their overnight aviary.

I check the menu as I always do. And order the same thing I always order because I like it so much: mie Rica (spicy ramen noodles) and popcorn chicken (a side of crispy chicken and shrimp). As usual, I can't eat it all but W distributes the leftovers, including a little bag of sambal (hot sauce - that one's not for the dogs!)

On the way home, we admire the alignment of stone tiles on the wall of the new house. The master mason has done an incredible job. The cornerstones are perfectly placed, too.

I sketch a gazebo for an Austin friend in a few minutes. Such things are pure fun and brain candy for me. It will be drawn and painted to scale after approval.

For lunch, Don joins our meeting with Ps Yoel and Esther at #WaorungEthnic down the hill. We treasure these relationships. It's fun to connect people from all around the world at a table.

The meals are big portions but hit the spot. Dessert is "just right," shared between us all: banana chocolate pancakes and strawberry crepes. (No, I don't try the strawberry stuff. I'm still scarred from picking them in my teens.)

Our friends are donating a guitar to a new worship team. We plan to pass that along on Sunday. Generous partners make the world sing.

Yoel and Esther drop Don and me at Don's next appointment. We stash the guitar in storage for Sunday's transfer. (Below: Instead, Saturday it's wrapped in plastic against the rain and delivered to CityC church via Pak Perdi's motorcycle.)

I refuse Yoel and Esther's kind offer of a ride home and have a leisurely walk, sweating in my raincoat in 85o (30oC). I'm too lazy to carry the coat, though there's no rain.

Yay! I finish marking student papers for the January class I taught,  with a week's grace after the deadline and no penalty for late submissions. I send in the grades and give the school permission for anything that comes in later to be considered and graded by their faculty. At least half of the class is on spotty internet and limited electricity, which makes a Zoom class a challenge. My part is done.

And then it's sundown. Is anyone hungry for supper? (Not I, said the woman who's eaten out twice in a day, for less money than she could have cooked the meals herself ... )

Saturday (Lent Day 22) 

One interesting thing about aging is seeing the shape of family members emerge in your own body. I look down. Woah! I used to trace similar veins on my grandma's hands, while standing beside her in church. She must have been about my age: in her sixties. Lovely to remember her and her fervent love for God. The veins? Not so attractive.

A roam around the garden provides greens and a few flowers to fill in the gaps left by last week's faded roses. Titik's structure is so good that it takes very little to redo her bouquets for another week. Lucky me! Look at those HOT red bromeliad flowers.

#1 Last week...

#1 This week...

#2 Last week...

#2 This week...

W takes the flowers to the hall in the car. Our driver is off today. PakG is traveling to meet his extended family before March 12 kicks off a month of Muslim fasting (called Ramadan).

We pack our luggage for the next trip. Then I sort through some leadership materials for the next class. The amount of information being written and broadcast is staggering. As a lecturer, I pare it down to the essentials for my students.

Sunday

We meet early in the prayer room. Alice has donated a rug from her mom's collection. It goes beautifully with the paint colors.

After a good message from Don Eischens, the IES Bandung team has lunch together at Maxis. It's a joy to eat together as a family.

After, we pose under a huge benjamina fig tree. We are so honored to serve with this international crew.

Read more:

*Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor. 

The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing. Psalm 112:6-10

*My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1

*[When Jesus died,] the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Mark 15:38

Moravian Prayer: Sometimes, O God, we feel alone and forsaken but then we remember your promise—that you will go before us and will be with us. You will never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you that we do not need to be afraid because you are present in our lives when we need you most. Amen.