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.