Christmas week: pure joy to end 2025 well!

Saturday, December 27, 2025

We take the dog on the loop walk and notice the new paddleball court going up. It's the third one within walking distance. I'm not sure they aren't late to the party, though "padel" is a current trend and one way young people meet each other.

Time to put more things away. It's windy today - the curtains flutter near the open doorways. A cup of tea braces me for the morning's work. W's office is almost cleared of the dump of boxes with living room and serving thing. The kitchen makes no sense as far as use and how things are stored. Why are cooking things beside the sink instead of by the stove? And washing up things under the stove? Hmmm.

I assemble some shelf risers, wax sticky drawer glides, and make breakfast = fresh-baked bread, peanut butter, jams, and honey. That's been the default all week. Everyone helps themselves when they get up.

The flowers from Christmas Eve are combined, clipped, and recombined a few times. Some of the white bouquets are still stunning.

W needs hardware screws and handles so he takes the angkot (little bus) to town to look around for those. I'm not interested in catching a post-holiday cold from the tight squeeze of bodies on the local transport so I work at the Project. W usually gets sick but he prefers to save a dollar or two over the $2-3 taxis. This time he's ok. Whew.

Siblings Eki and Lyong leave today after staying over. It's been a joy watching them grow up during and after university. Lyong has found a good post after studying child psychology. Eki is a musician, artist, and teacher.

A one-bedroom/bath apartment wedged on one end of the Project suits us fine, but it's a work in progress. We have evening tea at the little table. It feels cozy and just right.

Sunday

I find matching shoes, no small feat after a week of unpacking. I've given away footwear that I no longer wear. These are comfy.

"You have a lot of shoes," W remarks. That's because every year when we went to the USA, I'd pick up several pairs and add them to the rack. Now many are wearing out - but no need for replacements yet.

We walk over to the hall because we're not carrying anything that requires a car. In the prayer room, termites are making their way down a few walls. They are persistent!

Titik makes a sunny bouquet for the hall and afterward sends it along to the Project. How I love her eye and skill with flowers. It's a weekly joy and this arrangement lasts through New Years Day.

It's Round Table Sunday, so each table also gets its own spot of sunshine.

After the Gathering, contributions are almost at the We Care goal to fund local village kids and help North Sumatra flood victims. A kind donor tops up to the full amount.

We take our team for lunch; it's the first meal at #HomeGround for most of them. (Thanks, Alice, for introducing us to the place.)

The group enjoys the food and ambience. The servers are attentive and stand nearby, which is not taken for granted here. Often restaurant staff stands in a far corner, scrolling on their phones or chatting together. You practically have to flag them down.

And then a bath. Those who like bathing can imagine what it's been like not to have a tub at home for 13 years. The existing shower was a mess at the beginning of the Project renovation: shower doors had been stolen, tiles ruined, floors stained, and plumbing broken. And two "thrones," no thank you. They removed one toilet.

I requested a tub, which costs the same or less to install. What luxury to test it out today. Of course, the hot water flow isn't sufficient from the shower heater (warm at best) so W hauls a few pails of steaming water from the kitchen to bring it up to temp. To make it complete? I bring a piece of Marzipan stollen (thanks to friend Anna who owns #MomsBakery), a tall mug of tea, and a candle.

A bath makes me feel truly rested after the Christmas rush. We're expecting a full week ahead with the ongoing move.

Outside the window, water pours off the roof as the rains start. W checks if we've been flooded again. No, thank God. Apparently the last berm built between the street and the driveway has done the trick. The yard and house are wet but not under water from the street.

Monday

Morning calls take 3.5 hours. I don't get through to Mom. W and I walk the dogs and begin the chore list. One of the electrical outlets has already been torn out of the wall in the back so W repairs it. He mounts a mirror in the bathroom and hangs office shelves above the (soon-to-be-installed) desk.

That means I can stash away most of the heap that's been on the floor for a week. I ramble around the house, cleaning and putting things away. Things gradually find their place. The kitchen looks orderly though not all the shelves are used and a few containers are still full. Every box needs sorting and shelving. With people coming and going, it's vital to find linens, trays, lamps, and tools that are most-used. Happily, the tea corner has been set up.

On the side porch, a beautiful palm keeps guard over the wild side of the yard. I live near palm trees that grow in December? Sometimes I can hardly believe it. I never dreamed of living in the tropics but it turns out that this climate makes my heart sing day after day. W is equally appreciative. Thank you, God! for giving us what we never knew we craved.

We head to #Ethnic for lunch, then get back to work. The dogs are happy to see us when we come in the old gate - Anton wants to play fetch of course. One dog comes with us overnight, roaming the yard as a sentry, in addition to the older man who spends the night.

The Project is starting to feel more and more like home. Our apartment feels more organized. We draw the curtains, eat supper at our little round table, shower in lukewarm water, and end the day with relief at all that's been accomplished. I consider some before-and-after photos. What my imagination saw 4 years ago is almost live.

Tuesday

We're up early (4-ish?) and the calls begin. I have a checklist of postponed tasks to accomplish - writing a newsletter to partners, listing chores for helpers (I don't get to this one), and a new assignment: writing an entry for an upcoming dictionary/encyclopedia.

"Can you let us know by January 5?" What? A little more lead time would be nice. Actually, it's due in March. Ok. Doable.

JonathanM drops in to say hello at 7AM. Good thing we're early risers :-) and back from our walk. He's on the way from Jakarta to visit friends and family. We offer a cup of coffee and share the last of the marzipan stollen with him, talking about God at work in the world.

W goes down the hill for a $1.50 haircut while I put away linens and start to sort the bathroom. By day's end, I'm ready to indulge in another bath. The extra pail of hot water gets a silt on the bottom in the hour before I'm ready to use it. That's what's coming out of the well and the taps. "Maybe a whole-house filter?" W muses.

Wednesday NEW YEARS EVE

So how would you spend the last day of the year? I reflect on the changes this past year and think about the big changes coming in 2026. God is in control of it all. His faithful love sees us through.

The contractors drop by to do a few last repairs. It takes 5 men to move the 7'/230cm lesung (rice trough) from the entry porch to the front of the kids' space.

We send a dozen potatoes from the 50 Kg acquired in mid-December with each worker. The yardman, who is weeding the grass-ish he planted a few weeks ago, gets his own portion. Many plants have sprung up between and need to be rooted out. He fills bags with weeds.

It rains off and on. We walk and once home get a lot done. By day's end the bathroom is mostly organized and my office is finished. Hurrah.

W climbs a tall ladder to hang a beautiful painting that is on loan from a friend. The women have been sitting, frame facing the wall, for over a week. Time to say turn around and face the world.

One of the things I do at lunch is heap salad greens on the plate. I put the rest of the food on top. My stomach feels full after a moderate amount of "real food." W and I have each lost 3 kg in the last 2 weeks with the exertions of moving.

We have mused how an apartment would suit us just fine at our age. Instead, we have been gifted with a big property and an expansive Project for the next years. Good thing we have maintained homes before - moving from a little space to this would be overwhelming.

A firebrand of an organizer and community activist calls us: would we be interested in hosting a senior daycare once or twice a week? The center has been priced out of their old place. "We started with a little fee and then it's been added to over and over. Now we cannot afford to stay." They have several options and someone mentioned the Project as a possibility.

Often elderly Indonesian are left alone during the day while their families work to make ends meet. Lili says they have created a successful and interesting program: seniors are dropped off by their families on the way to work and picked up later in the day. Games, exercises, cognitive play ... they've got it going already. 

Didn't we ask God to fill the Project? Here we go. The organizers plan to drop by this weekend to see if the space is suitable. I have no interest in participating: my part is to make room for the gifts and service of others.

It rains as we go to get a dog to guard the Project at night. W carries his trusty umbrella while I have donned a raincoat as usual. Gypsy, who hates lightning and thunder, is hiding under the Porch. Several dogs guard the old place as weak. We wish Melvi a Happy New Year as messages begin to come in, first from New Zealand and then from across the globe.

Read more:

* Take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you. Haggai 2:4

* Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.

When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required [circumcision], Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:25-32

* The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6

Moravian Prayer: Dear Jesus, help us to see that when we sow seeds of faith, hope, and love around us, we can see your reflection in all our labors of love. Amen.