Bamboo trails and friends for tea

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

We miss celebrating birthdays with friends on the West Coast. Happy Birthday, Rich! Hope to see you soon.

Today the helpers scrub floor to ceiling of the office and the prayer room. They come home for lunch - we've ordered chicken and I make rice. You may think cooking rice is no big deal, but here? Moms teach their children to rinse and cook it from childhood. 

My mom showed me how to pour rice from a bag into a pot with 2X water - and we were done. It tasted fine to us.

Here, I rinse and rinse, then put the de-starched rice in a rice cooker. I've learned to pour drinking water to the depth of my first knuckle above the raw rice. Close the lid, hit the switch, and voila ... rice, Indonesian style. 

"Your rice is good," says IbuA. WHAAAT? Woohoo! That accomplishment means as much to me in learning culture as did my 2012 TESOL certificate. Hehe.

It's a day for writing newsletters. In the last week of the month, we gather news for partners and IES Bandung attendees. It matters less how many readers engage than that there's a rhythm and routine of updates = "I could read this if I want." The content and relevance for the reader changes month to month.

New Zealander Lisa comes for tea, pumpkin pie, and salty cheese bugles. Her company is a pleasure. And the snacks are addictive.

W's teaching his last of three weeks to students from around the world.

Thursday

The dogs and I hit the trail for our sabbath rest, especially if you consider walking amid good company restful. The hiking group gets along well; they patiently wait for me going uphill (harder since COVID) and others who have more trouble going downhill (bad knees or balance issues). We are slow enough that no one is sore after hiking 5-8 km (3-5 miles).

The trail starts upward to a tunnel cut into the rock.The cutout is called "Mossy Tunnel" (Lorong Lumut). The bamboo path is rotting underfoot so slats have been placed across them in irregular spacing. Look carefully where you step. The trail is dusty. Red clouds puff up as the dogs run ahead and back and cover us in fine grit. It hasn't rained up here for weeks.

In the early 1900s, Dutch colonizers planted vast acres of pines to shade the coffee plantations they planned on the mountain slopes. They were driven out by Indonesian and Japanese soldiers during WWII. The pines thrived but the coffee was never planted.

After, we go to Pipin's Japanese restaurant Matsuri for lunch.

The food is fresh and delicious. I have soba noodles.

By the time we get home, PakG has arranged the GG classroom tables and washed Bailey, the small white dog. The helpers are finish cleaning the hall, so they're tidying the house and porch.

They scrub two bags of baby potatoes. I coat those with olive oil and herbs. They bake while I'm sluicing the hike's mud off in the shower. A change of clothes. And I'm ready for grading and writing.

Seven deans of universities are on my list. I've contacted them and set up a few in-person meetings for next week. We need volunteers to teach English to disadvantaged kids. Who better to make a difference in the city than faculty or students?

Friday

Guests for the first meeting are running behind a bit so I try a new recipe: vegan cheddar cheese. "Needs more salt," is the general consensus. It's not bad on the fresh bread baked by IbuS.

It's a delight to meet friends on the Porch and pray together. God will hear and answer the deepest longings of our hearts. We send cookies home with them, as per our house rule: "Once food is taken outside, it doesn't come back in."

After lunch, there's a pause before the next meeting. What to do with a half hour? Well, while sorting papers last night, I found the recipe for JD's Bangkok Brownies. So guess what I'm baking today? Yup, JD's brownies, made famous while he lived in Bandung.

Local-baked brownies tend to be cake-like and minimally chocolate. They may have waxy local cheese grated on top. Many foreigners either can't taste that cheese or don't like the texture. (Cheese and chocolate? I'm not convinced either.) These are deeply chocolate = one cup of powdered baking cocoa per pan.

W wraps up his course with Q&A sessions while I host one meeting online and another in person. I miss an appointment based in Thailand because it overlaps with another. The host has logged off by the time I get there.

Saturday

I'm in the mood for egg sandwiches and a friend is coming for tea on the Porch. Between yesterday's brownies, banana bread, and 2 last pieces of pumpkin pie, we're covered.

W and I carry on with Duolingo. He's +200 days ahead of my 750-day streak. He's learning a LOT. It's not like I know all the words so far, but I'm tacking on sentences here and there. This unit is about medical terms. Easy, right?

We're praying today for a 16-yr old whose attention got diverted while he was driving a motorcycle. 24 hours later, he's unconscious in intensive care with three broken bones. One of my brothers was in a weeklong coma at about the same age, after a similar accident. We pray, understanding the agony of the family who is waiting for their child to wake up.

A mouse has died in the kitchen ceiling. There's no access to the carcass. As it desiccates, the odor is foul. Meanwhile in the garden, dozens of fish and some frogs are thriving in a 130 cm (50") flowerpot that serves as their pond. The solar fountains bubble happily to aerate the water.

The gardens are dry. There's been little rain for weeks. It's hot until noon after a sunny morning, but the temperatures cool as the cloud cover blows over. W has a lunch meeting and I have a mid-afternoon group. The weekend is in full swing.

Read more:

*Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food? Job 38:41

*So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Moravian Prayer: We’re pondering you, Beloved, as gracious gardener— tilling, planting, tending, harvesting—all to feed us and all of creation. The earth is your garden; our hearts are your garden. May we, together, bear the fruit of healing, wholeness, life, light, and love. Thank you, gardening God, for your love and trust. Amen.

Food, fun, and fellowship

Saturday,  August 24, 2024

I roast a few hundred baby potatoes and then boil, baste, and bake 200 meatballs in black pepper sauce. I cut Ibu Apong's pumpkin pies into serving portions. Ibu Sumi made 60 mayo eggs yesterday and put those in the fridge.

After cooking, I can't decide what to eat. W offers a meal out. How about $8 steak platters at Ethnic? Why not? It's a 5-minute walk.

He orders a tenderloin with pepper sauce while I choose a steak stuffed with herbs. The portions are big.

We do our best to eat it all after a skimpy lunch. But we're no longer used to eating so much meat. Both dishes are beautifully cooked and presented. They'd be a hit in any top American restaurant (@$40-80/plate.)

"Where are you off to?" we ask this smartly dressed group of young people. They say they're headed down the street to a friend's wedding. The guys hold umbrellas over the women's heads to shield them from the hot sun. Fair skin is a value.

Our helper accepts the leftover sauce for his family. I can't face it again; the whole house smells of peppercorns.

Round Table Sunday!

In the early morning hours, I heat the potatoes and meatballs, wrapping towels around the serving dishes to keep them warm. W packs those plus the eggs and pumpkin pies into the car and unloads it at the hall. Good man.

Round Table Sunday is a favorite at IES Bandung. The last Sunday of the month, we set up round tables instead of sitting in rows. It's our first time using the six tables we acquired from a library remodel a few months ago. (Thanks, #BAIS and Richie!)

Each table group discusses the questions. Young and old have plenty to say about this month's topic: conflict in communities of faith. = How did the Early Church handle conflicts and resolve disagreements? How should we do that today? (Read Acts 15 for that interesting story.)

After the groups are done, a spokesperson reports their discussion to the rest of the room.

The media team stays busy with roving microphones.

On the Sundays after Indonesia's Independence Day (August 17), we celebrate our international congregation. Last week it was national costumes. This week it's international food. After the closing prayer, Laurel and Sayaka set up the potluck at one side of the hall. Tetty, Hanny, and Alice pitch in. The food is scrumptious and plentiful. The conversations are lively. We love to meet together.

It's fun to "welcome home" previous attendees from Australia, New Zealand, Russia, USA, and Uganda. They're scattered around the city and the world, which is typical for an international Gathering like IES Bandung.

Monday

Before 7, we walk and relish the fresh cool winds blowing on the hill. Then it's meetings and writing next week's talk for me, while W attends a study. PakG and IbuS bring home the dishes, furniture, and pails from the hall. It takes much of the morning to wash and put it away. How blessed we are with their help!

Our friends drop by for lunch. We eat IbuS's bread, hot from the bread maker and wrapped around egg salad. It's one of my favorite meals. We send the leftover sandwiches along.

W and I review the Sunday talk. Every Tuesday before the pandemic, we ran the talk by our team for review, critique, and comments. It's been a long time since we've done that: COVID lockdowns interrupted the rhythm of our meetings, including this.

There's one more meeting in the early evening as the day winds down. I've appreciated the heart of each person who has sat with us this past week. We're listening for what God is doing in them and through them.

Tuesday

"We need people!" say leaders of an English program in central Bandung. Andrew, Shibli, the neighborhood councilman, and the woman in charge of the neighborhood ladies come to the Porch for tea and a discussion. 340 kids (plus a few dozen moms) want to study English on Saturdays.

That would need a lot of volunteers! We talk about how to start with the field-tested curriculum and kids in higher grades. Then we pray together, asking God for his favor and wisdom so we can offer this transformative community benefit. Pray with us, please - help is needed.

Students require functional English to pass entry exams for better (and free) high schools. English also opens the door to well-paying jobs.

Usually university students need internships. At the very least, they want to make a difference in the world. Would a visit to the deans of nearby universities be helpful? Last year we found 10 interns this way. This year, we'd like to recruit 30-50 volunteers. Let's dream big.

We ask our faculty and student friends: "What dean do we need to contact at your institution?" Then I contact each: "Do you have student interns or volunteers looking for a place to serve? We have a meaningful post for them!"

Our helpers are cleaning classrooms and the office at Green Gate three days this week. The classroom dust and carpet dirt is cumulative. They vacuum with our commercial machine and wash the rugs as needed. A lady mops each week - but the kids are sneezing and coughing.

IbuS sends me the "Before&After" from one classroom. What! Yup, this sill goes from brown to white. Our admin puts a note on her calendar: in 3 months, we'll do this again.

PakG's morning task is testing the chairs in the hall and classrooms. The chairs are old. Some of the backs have broken away from the frame. The frames themselves are sturdy, if rusty.

Sand them and spray paint the metal the colors of the rainbow with the motorcycle paint collecting on the shelf?

Hmmm, can we remove the sagging backs and wind thick rope around the frame, like French farmhouse chairs? A fix could be as simple as this. (Nah.)

How about this, though not with lime green? (Maybe.)

I always have ideas ... but do they work? Sometimes. (Not always!) When I try to explain this one to W, he says, "What? I don't get it. It would look incredibly tacky." 

I guess I need 2 chairs, a ball of twine, and an hour's play to see what's possible. Otherwise, we have permission to re-home them.

Laurel drops by after lunch for a chat. She's feeling the pang of leaving Indonesia, with 5 weeks to go. She is done with language school and most other obligations. Now she's training an intern to take over.

The pumpkin pie I promised a fellow hiker for Thursday? It's almost gone! Nothing on my to-do list is checked off when the day ends. Maybe God's checklist was different than mine. What do you think? (Smiles.)

Read more:

*Thus says the Lord, “If you turn back, I will take you back.” Jeremiah 15:19

*Jesus said, “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32

Moravian Prayer: Beloved and holy God of all, your gracious gifts touch our hearts with wonder, amazement, and joy! We are most especially grateful that you long for us as much as we long for you. Thank you for your forgiving, healing, and welcoming heart. Amen.

Enjoying nature with all the senses

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

The fragrance of the little jasmine bouquet continues on the Porch table until PakG takes the table to the hall. Round Table Sunday is coming up. We enjoy discussion "around the table" every last Sunday of the month at IES Bandung. Between months of travel and guest speakers, it's been a while since we've had a Round Table Sunday.

I refuse to organize potlucks. Our movie night and community dinner stuff is useful. Laurel and Sayaka are hosting this one and overseeing the details.They ask, "Bring plates, cutlery, cups, recycling pails, round and folding tables ..."

You get the picture. IbuS gathers things and PakG hauls them over to the Green Gate auditorium.

It's time to write more book reviews, with topics of exercise, art, history, and novels. I clear out messages and then relax by live-streaming video feeds of Namibian waterholes. Wild animals adopt a leisurely pace in the heat of the day, a good lesson for humans, too.

One feed is here: find more on YouTube. Do you realize how astonishing this is? I sit at my desk in Bandung, Indonesia, on a virtual safari with hippos, giraffes, antelope, and elephants on the other side of the world. Amazing!

PakG goes into town for floral wire. I bought some in Seattle but when I ransack the office shelves, it has disappeared. Ugh. PakG wires the seed pods and drops them on my desk before taking the dogs on their second walk.

It's W's second week of online teaching. I'm grading assignments from my class this week and next. 

Every month, I clean the 101 toothbrushes collected from travels. Dentists recommend drying a toothbrush before reuse to kill bacteria. I have a lot of hotel toothbrushes and rotate through them, cleaning them after use. Are they dry by morning? Not always. I turn the heads as I use them so I pick a fresh one each morning or night.

At least once a month, I plunge them into a denture cleaner and rinse them thoroughly. I've never had a dozen toothbrushes in rotation before, but each one feels different. Weird but efficient. (W has his own batch.)

Thursday

What a great hike. We start at the top of the mountain near the monument at Gunung Batu. The summit overlooks Bandung on one side and Lembang on the other.

It's "downhill all the way" except for the 20 flights uphill between going down. haha The first bit is steep = slow going if your balance is tippy or your knees are sore.

A few of us go down and realize the rest are will descending so we wait. Can you spot the hikers at the top of this section? Kiki takes someone's arm in the slipperiest and steepest parts. What a great group - we help each other as needed.

This beetle's exoskeleton catches my eye, shed along the trail. I take it home for the grandkids, of course.

The grasshoppers are busy munching their way through leaves.

Lunch is at Paulina's new resort. We take the funicular downhill to the restaurants. This one is a single rail with 3 cables winching the open platform.

The leashed owls have found perches. How many owls can you spot?

Paulina suggests we share meals to taste more. The Aussie chef presents a perfect fettuccini cabonara for me.

He makes a wonderful spinach fettuccini for Dina. We split them for 2 tastes. 

Pasta is my favorite meal; today I've found good pasta! The chef says he'll be offering lasagne and other homemade specialties, starting next month.W and I agree to have our great anniversary meal here in September. (He misses the hike and food to teach class today.)

Paulina treats us to sourdough pandan bread - flavorful jam and cream cheese.

After lunch, we relax alongside the koi ponds. P's husband Rudi takes us on a tour to check out the glamping accommodations. It's true luxury.

On the way home, we drop Kiki and Veronica at their house down the hill. Kiki sends along 2 bunches of bananas. One bunch is almost ripe and the other will be green until next week. These little bananas are so sweet they replace the sugar in baking.

ChaCha drops by for a cup of tea and a chat in the "library" space. The table is a perfect spot for escaping the late-afternoon mosquitoes buzzing on the Porch.

After W finishes teaching, he walks downhill from the office to meet me for dinner at Ethnic. We both choose rawon soup (candletnuts). On the way home, we spot a chameleon on the street.

W nudges it with a stick but it's comatose. When we return from eating supper, it's met its fate.

I check the creatures in Namibia before bedtime. There's a new group: a flock of ostriches is drinking beside warthogs who've drunk their fill.

During the night, I listen through Daniel, Hosea, and Joel. Wow - these prophets issue dire warnings and loving promises, page by page. Before I fall asleep again, I check in once more on the Namibian waterholes. Night has fallen for them, too.

Friday

I sleep in until 7:00 before W and I walk. New water pipes are being installed along the perimeter of the street. Its that what the hole under the foundation of the neighbor's wall is for ... ? There is one water jug 3' (a meter) down.

It's a day of meetings on the Porch. Tea, bananas, and cookies are the set menu.  IbuSumi works her way through the ripe bunch of bananas and the smell of baking from Kiki's gift drifts the house. The dogs relax outside. The big dogs are not allowed in the house, so one paw over the threshold is almost obedient.

W shops for eggs, 200 meatballs, and 5 bags of little potatoes. I'm cooking for Sunday's potluck tomorrow. It's lunchtime before he's off to teach the last day of his second week (of three) classes.

Before she leaves, IbuS scrubs the potatoes and makes 3 trays (60) of mayo eggs. The pumpkin pies IbuA made yesterday are already in the fridge.

Saturday

After a leisurely walk, I take scissors into the garden to clip grass and flowers. About a dozen red roses are left from last week's bouquet. 

We need 12 little arrangements. Because of the repetition on the tables, the bouquets may be plain or unspectacular. Viewed as a group across the room, they are interesting.

I forget the pods we tied together yesterday. Ah, maybe we'll use them next month? Or I can make a "wild things" border around the next big arrangement? (PS. The painting is lying on my desk, the start of maple leaves.)

W and I discuss tomorrow's talk after the food is cooked and stored under thick bath towels. I'll reheat everything tomorrow.

Read more:

*Abraham’s servant remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. Genesis 24:21 NKJV

*But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Psalm 103:17-18

*While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:2-3

Moravian Prayer: We so easily forget, Lord Jesus, to be still and quiet. We forget daily practices of prayer and fasting, singing and moving. Thus, we are often unable to hear you when you speak to our hearts. Our desire, beloved, is to listen, to share, to make room for you. Today, we set aside time to be only with you. Fill our hearts with the power of silence. Amen.