Wooh - hoo (for a train ride)

 Friday, July 25, 2025

Our friends join the morning walk with the dogs. The locals are astonished that 2 young girls can walk Gypsy and Juno, both big dogs. 

We refresh the fish that died when the big pond sprang leak. The mosquito-eating tropical fish got moved to the old bathtubs at the back of the yard, but didn't thrive. We take the girls and their mom to "fish street" and the bird market 2 km further. The sharp beaks of our lovebirds and budgies have worn out the old ladders and exercise toys.

We meet Jojo, their dad for lunch at Mike Pizza. He's attending an Allstate Insurance conference this weekend so he heads back to work after we eat.

I grade papers but it's not a focused day. My desk is cluttered with notes for the next teaching session. 

Saturday

We do a brisk walk at 6AM with the dogs. The kids miss us by a few minutes - we're already out the gate. I make crepes for breakfast - and we pray together over the day. The kids run around the yard - Anton is loving having them to roughhouse with him.

A 2-hour meeting with a mentor brings clarity and peace. "Compartmentalize," is my takeaway. With so many things in motion, it's healthier not to throw everything into one whirlpool. 

Sunday

We talk about holiness and love - most rule-keepers seem to get sourer and sourer in character, but God promises that being set apart to him (holiness) will make us more loving. Afterward, we open the house to a group that has come to meet and eat lunch on the Porch.

We finish packing and leave for the train station and have lunch kababs at our usual place. W offers to split a Magnum ice cream bar but gets to eat the whole thing when it looks like this...

The ride to Jakarta is smooth and uneventful.

Old trestles built by the Dutch still stand.

But the scenery ...

Here's what happens when you favor a cowboy hat but have to wear a hard hat to work. (The guy in the back is wearing a baseball cap under his hard hat.

Beside the old railway line, men are digging holes and building forms by hand for pouring cement.

I scroll my phone and see a statistic that's hard to believe, given the current noise in the press.

A Bluebird taxi ($4) gets us from the train station to the Holiday Express Inn. Traffic is a mix of walkers, horses, three wheeled , motorcycles, cars, and trucks. Oh - don't forget the sellers pulling their handcarts through it all.

Artwork in the lobby is a vibrant collage of colors and shapes. W has gotten us 2 nights for $76, a 20-minute walk from the USA embassy. 

We walk to #LittleArabia nearby. Our meals are excellent ($12 for both). We'll definitely come back if we're in this part of Jakarta.

Night falls as we eat. I like the landscape lighting strip along the road.

We've come into the city for an embassy appointment first thing tomorrow. Sleep tight, everyone!

Read more:

*Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.

“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy. Exodus 15:1-6

*The Lord brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

*[Paul writes:] By the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Moravian Prayer: Amazing God, you delight in us! Our imperfections aside, you genuinely love us just as we are, and you delight in meeting us where we are. We may be in the darkest recesses of our own hearts, or we may be frolicking in the fields of joy. Either way, your grace abounds! Amen.