Family photos and snow days

 Saturday, February 1, 2025

I sleep in, from 1 AM to 7:20. Wow - that's a late lie-in.

After a chat with Mom's primary caregiver and friend, I head outside for a walk. It's snowing! The ground turns white. Growing up in Winnipeg, we got our fill of snow every year. Now I don't care if I never see another snowflake. Chilliwack often gets snow in late January or early February, so this is normal.

It's also cold. I layer up with an undershirt, long sleeved T-shirt, a fleece jacket, socks, and trousers - and a hat. A long waterproof windbreaker and gloves from the entry closet get pulled over everything.

I carefully place my feet on the track to avoid sliding on the fresh layer. Very few people are out. Coming back, our tracks are already covered by the wet white stuff.

As I happily head back indoors, I shake the water off the coat and hat and pat dry my shoes. I have only one pair along. No flip flops for us here!

Norm and I head to Walmart for groceries after Mom has lunch. He buys burgers for an early supper. After that, Mom sips coffee and eats a cookie before we chat for a few hours. We pray together, then I make tea for myself and fill a few empty Sprite bottles with hot water to warm the bed. 

W is speaking at the IES Bandung Gathering. It's 6 PM here (and 9 AM Indonesia) when I join online. 

After, I relax with a few chapters of a book before falling asleep. Before long, the alarm rings for Mom's 11 PM meds.

Sunday

I get back to sleep at 4 AM but I don't have to be up until 10:30. I take a hot bath and lounge around until I'm needed. It snows off and on all day. Pretty but not my style. I don't have boots so I'm locked inside.

I wake Mom and the day is in full swing. Between chores, I make lunch: French toast with cottage cheese and pear slices for lunch; for supper, there's chicken schnitzel, baked potatoes, and cheesy broccoli.

It's a long day of conversations and memories until Mom goes to sleep at 6 PM. I clean up and read a bit before turning out the lights. The alarm rings and by the time we finish the 11 PM appointment, I'm wide awake--(the 11:00 alarm rings at 2 PM Indonesian time, in the middle of my usual afternoon. My body has not yet adjusted.) ...

Monday

Ridiculous jet lag. I lie still for an hour after Mom gets up and takes her meds. I give up and turn on a nightlight to read a book. After the last page, I lie there for another hour. Nope, I'm still not sleepy so my YouVersion reader goes through the last half of Ezekiel (rather depressing, much of it). And I lie in the dark for two more hours. Finally, Kindle reads a whole historical novel. Then I just lie there - the last time I check my watch, it's 9:20 AM. I haven't slept a wink.

Happily, I still get a good hour and a half of sleep before the alarm goes off at 11:00 AM. I help Mom get ready and make lunch (sausage, eggs, and fried potatoes). She has a good appetite, which is a welcome improvement in her health.

We dive into bed for a short snooze after her bath. I take pictures of old photos - and post them on the Frameo device Sandy got her. She reminisces as pictures scroll of her family through the years. (She's the little girl on the left, below.)

Jeremy and Rebekah (our kids) show up midafternoon with A&W Teenburgers and warm conversation. It's lovely to see them - both for Mom and me. They live on the other side of the USA border and the state so it's quite the trip in this winter weather. We pray together and take photos before they head home on the snowy roads.

By 7 PM, Mom and I are ready for sleep. Thank God for rest! We pray for protection over J and R and find out later that the wind pushed them into a snowdrift. They and the car were protected from harm. And a kind passerby helped Jeremy push the car back onto the road.

Tuesday

Sandy does the night shift so I can sleep through. I'm awake for a few hours but not fully alert. In mid-morning, before waking Mom, I go for a 3 km walk in the snow and sunshine. 

When the winter sun comes out in Chilliwack, you have to get outside.

A family of ducks paddles by the opposite bank of the Hope Slough.

Homeschoolers are sledding on the river slope. The dad pushes the kids at the top, while the mom catches them on the riverbank before they hit the freezing water.

The weeping willows keep their beautiful gold colored branches.

The grasses have turned grey and tan along the trail, too.

I spend an hour browsing old photo albums. Mom enjoys those new photos on her Frameo. She says, "It helps me to remember the past when I see all these pictures." She hasn't seen some of these pictures in years.

The photos show the startling differences between the body proportions of today's young adults and the youths of the 1950s. My parents' generation ate healthy portions of home cooked food, didn't have access to modern junk foods, and consumed few snacks.

It's fun to see the courting couple: Dad is 20 and Mom is 17 (below).

They were so in love. They stayed that way their whole life. When Dad died at 88 years of age, they'd been married over 67 years.

Mom is at her bridal shower in 1953 with Aunt Thelma, Dad's only sister.

Mom has kept a sweet smile on her face from childhood until now. On Grandma's deathbed, she told Mom: "You were always my sunshine." And she's still the warm heart of our family.

My parents married in August 1953. Their parents who were in their early and mid 40s. No wonder people say 60 is new 40.

There's a pic of our wedding, posing with my grandmas. It's hard to imagine that they were barely 60 years old at the time. Both grandmas lived into their late 80s.

We get great news. One of our sons has been offered work in Germany, an answer to prayer. We talk to my younger brother and his daughter in Germany about that. Mom chats with another brother. We call Kirsten (my daughter) to see how she's doing. It's a total family day.

We send pictures of Mom's meals to the head caregiver. Today, Mom eats crepes and a hearty serving of fried potatoes, eggs, and sausage. It's amazing how she has rallied. What a gift to the family.

The wonderful thing is that each family conversation ends with prayer: we worship and give thanks to God, along with any petitions that have been mentioned. Prayer is not merely our tradition. It's a life-giving and personal blessing we offer each other before God.

W lands in Seattle, rides the light rail into the city, and gets a ride to our house from Jeremy and Rebekah. In a few days, he'll visit his mom and join me here.

Read more:

*[Before his death, Moses said to the people of Israel:] This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

*Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. Job 11:7-9

*Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? Jeremiah 23:29

*Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Moravian Prayer: God of all, we are grateful for your promise made flesh in Christ our Savior. May we hold Jesus’ lessons in our hearts and reflect them to others this and every day. Amen.

Happy Chinese New Year! 2025

Wednesday, January 29, 2025 Happy Chinese New Year!

I finally fall asleep at 2 AM and wake at 6. Not a long night. I start packing for Friday's flight to Canada, where I'll spend a week with my mom.

Happy New Year for the incoming Year of the Snake, which our friends consider a year for big changes. We have a wonderful lunch with Josie and her family. Her mother, who writes and edits the Mandarin newspaper, loves to cook traditional food. It's delicious!

We feel honored to be included in their New Year feast.

On the way home, we spot a motorcycle rider carrying a flower board - we can't see him behind his huge foam-core slab.

It's back to packing and editing for a few hours. W has written a few more chapters and sent them my way. It's more work for him to write than for me to edit, but with thick theology on the page, it is still work on my end.

Thursday

One more hike before I'm in the flat country of my hometown. And what a hike it is! It's been raining on and off for the past weeks so the clay soil, compacted and wet, is a slick as ice. 

We stab our walking poles into the ground and get a good arm workout. We're walking off-clay whenever we can, putting our shoes on the grass- and weed-covered rims. Sometimes it's not possible: there are drop-offs on each side.

Every one of us wipes out. I slide onto a knee on the last incline. Bummer. I thought I'd make it without getting a dirt patch on my trousers. Nope. And our shoes and socks are covered in mud.

"It's an easy walk," we're told. It's in the mountains so we're traversing up and down the slippery slopes, though we skirt the tall hills.

Our goal is the star at the top of the next mountain.

The wildflowers are abundant.

We climb over fallen trees and skitter along the track.

We stop for lunch at Opera, where the pasta is lukewarm but otherwise tasty.

I finish packing in the evening. I dream that I miss the flight, and then it's morning.

Friday

My body wakes me before the alarm at 5 AM. I'm in the shuttle to Jakarta Airport by 7. Our Jackel driver is excellent, not a risk-taker or constant lane-switcher (-swerver, as is usual). The constant lane-changing creates traffic jams - and high-risk slow vehicles suddenly "appear" in front of the car as a driver swerves over to get around a slower car.

At one of the toll booths into Jakarta, our driver takes an exit. Suddenly, we're on the other side of the highway with our lane is separated from oncoming traffic by cones. (Later in the day, they'll switch those orange cones to the other side of the freeway  to provide one more lane for home-going traffic.) We zip along since there's no way for drivers in our one lane to weave in and out. Meanwhile, regular traffic is stop and go. Mostly stop. He probably saves an hour or more and we're at the airport in under 3 hours.

There's construction in a wing of the airport, with workers high above the pedestrian walkways.

You can't have a fear of heights for that job.

Otherwise, the flights are uneventful - the best kind. The food is good in the Taiwan lounge.

The second-last (late!) passenger comes to my row and takes the window seat. Sigh. I almost had a row to myself for the 10.5 hour flight from Taiwan. He doesn't speak English and falls asleep quickly. He climbs over me once, eats all the meals and snacks, and is otherwise quiet.

I pull a fleecy jacket on backwards, suspend my sign "PLEASE LET ME SLEEP" in the tray latch, and pull the hood over my face. I sit. And sit. In the dark under the hood. My watch tracks 1:50 of sleep. Better than nothing. Our flight swings up the West coast rather than coming across the top of Alaska.

I emerge from my hoodie for breakfast. We've cross the international dateline, so we land in Vancouver after 6PM (Saturday 9AM in Indonesia). My brother picks me up and takes me to Mom's. She's had no idea I'm coming so he wakes her and shoots a video to send to her caregivers ... she's surprised!

She chats for over almost 2 hours before I head upstairs at 10PM for a shower. I read a bit ... and am fast asleep within a half-hour.

And get a phone call at 11:45PM. It's Mom, downstairs. "Didn't you hear the bell? [Nope, fast asleep after being up most of 32 hours ...] My care person isn't here." She usually has a night person who makes sure she has meds.

We message the caregivers and my brother but they're sleeping as well. I search for Mom's night meds, then sit with her until she's finished the pills and food, gets up briefly, and is ready to sleep. I fall into bed again but it takes an hour before I'm back to sleep. zzzz

Read more:

*The Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors. Deuteronomy 30:9

*Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his child David. Luke 1:68-69

*Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that 

we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:7-12

Moravian Prayer: Mighty God, you have provided for us throughout the years, knowing that goodness and mercy shall come. Help us to see your providing ways. We are never forgotten and never alone. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Food is a common denominator for meeting people

Saturday, January 25, 2025

It's a quiet morning so after getting our work done, W and I walk out for lunch. It's often cheaper to eat out than to buy and prep things. #HomeGround features Chinese-Indonesian food. My beef scallion dish is tasty, with its small bowl of rice on the side. Note the water bottle for scale. Portions are reasonable = smaller! here.

The flowers are happily blooming around an old flower pot in the garden.

An overnight guest arrives late in the evening and will stay for a few days. JD is a former team member and beloved friend to many.

Sunday

We have to leave early. I leave JD some breakfast options. Overnight oats? Breakfast bars? Or?

As the community gathers, W and I relax. Martin is leading worship and speaking. It's a Round Table Sunday this last weekend of the month, when we discuss questions around the table. Today's questions are: "How do you grow up into God's DNA as his child?" And, "How can you serve others as a child of God?"

Several families take home the table arrangements. DrG and IbuT pose with flowers that match their outfits.

The team has a lunch meeting afterward. JD joins in and gets to know the current team.

I order #MaxiResto's Chinese New Year special @$5: duck. Very good.

Hanny comes over to grab study books for starting a women's group.

We set the beautiful arrangement from #titikbadudu on the coffee table. The afternoon is filled with writing and revisions. 

Monday

The world is full of surprises, isn't it? This cute "dog and kennel" art on the street catches my eye on the morning walk. Oops, W points out that it's actually garbage and a discarded latex glove.

PakG has painted bright sienna on the re-sealed flower pot. The color will fade to "clay" color in the sun. It's quickly filled with water, as well as plants and fish from other pots. The water must still be contaminated by the paint: all the fish jump into the garden. Sorry, fishies. We'll give it another day or two for the plants to detox the water before trying again.

The bougainvillea blooms from its stump. That thick bare stick was thrust into a pot a few months ago.

W admires the "blue hairdryer" he ordered. It's a cheap, for drying Bailey after he gets washed. (That usually happens after each hike). The delivery driver has thrown three packages over the top of the gate while we are away. The glass jar W ordered smashes into 100 pieces, despite good packaging.

Overhead, the bamboo hedge towers 25'/8m tall. The bright green is energizing.

We meet Shibli at #HomeGround for his birthday lunch. As part of our team, he faithfully leads the groups that teach English in village neighborhoods.

Tuesday

Between meetings, there are walks and conversations. Oh oh! What happened? There are many dead fish in one of the Porch fish tanks. They're tossed into the garden, while the remaining 3 fish are rehoused into other tanks. The fishes in the office vase are doing well.

 I love spending time with Judy over coffee. W joins lunch with JD. The world of expats is small - many of us know each other from other settings.

This morning, it's helpful to share ideas with Keelee. After that, Nancy gives me good counsel. I'm pretty sure she'd tell these kids to get in the car ... but their parents seem ok with them hanging out of the skylight.

The #MissBeeProvidore pasta is deliciously SPICY. I pick out some of the hot red peppers. W helps me finish it.

We're home by mid-afternoon and would be ready for a break - if W wasn't working on a book with a looming deadline.

Read more:

*Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

*A bruised reed [the messiah] will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. Isaiah 42:3

*Jesus said, “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones.” Matthew 18:10

Moravian Prayer: Loving Spirit, as a mother cares for her young, so you care for us. You nurture us, especially when we feel down. A light, you will not dim; you only seek to help us shine brighter. Help us to encourage our youth, ourselves, and the world with your light. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.