Friends making friends, people influencing people

Monday, September 28, 2026
We take a 3 1/2 hour train into Jakarta, across some of the loveliest terrain in Java.

As we head for the train station, I snap a photo of our steep driveway entry. We built it up at some expense to keep water from flooding the house and yard. The Department of City Waterworks has a crew in the neighborhood to redo the street drains. We want to ensure that they replace what they remove.

Lunch aboard the train is the kababs purchased at a food stand in the train station. As in much of Indonesian food, there's sugar in the sauce.

Freeways and railroads depend on bridges. Central Java is hilly, with deep valleys and towering mountains. Many railway bridges were built with accurate Dutch engineering, 90-100 years ago.

The mix of old and new is typically Indonesian. Technological advances are on one side, with ancient farming methods on the other.

In rainy season, the rivers churn through the valleys. They are tame during dry season.

Farmers cut terraces into the hillsides with pickaxes and shovels. A variety of crops grow on the stepped landings.

Most rice fields have been harvested. They lie fallow, waiting for the abundant irrigation of the wet season.

W's gotten a deal on the hotel. No surprise there - it's half the price of a budget hotel in the USA. Still, even he rarely pays 25% of the regular room rate. The hotel is a kilometer from the train station. It may be hot out (33oC / 92oF) but we're saving $4 in taxi fees by walking 12 minutes to our accommodations. I'm happy when W carries his tote and my carry-on bag. 

Without ameliorating socks, the backs of my shoes rub long blisters in my heels. I limp past a military compound and government buildings.

It's hard to imagine a regime turning on its own people, as often happens in history.

The 5-star Hotel Borobudur sits on 23 acres (+9 hectares) in a city crammed with people. The "who's who" in historical photos includes famous actors and actresses, rock stars, and even Prince Charles and Diana (in 1989, a while ago.)

We unpack, catch a ride to a shop and back, shower, and head to dinner. It's unusual for me to speak for us. Waldemar is used to taking the lead and usually has interesting resources to share. His stroke recovery is steady though his speech can be halting when stressed.

Tuesday
The hotel boasts an exceptional breakfast buffet. We try a little of everything.

While W checks out of the room, I walk around the perimeter. The jogging path is soft underfoot with its recycled rubber surface. I pass basketball and tennis courts, the spa and gym, a heliport, and a huge swimming pool. There's more that I don't see.

We walk back to the train station and relax on the trip to Bandung. The scenery stuns us on every trip.

We disembark in Bandung. It's a short stop for the train before it winds along to a city 3 hours further down the rails. PakG picks us up. We stop by the art framer's shop. His challenge was to cover the broken corners of a decrepit 100cm/39" mirror found in the Project yard. He has lots of work - and can't find the bill. Luckily, W has kept his copy in the car.

Most of the glazing peeled off the back of the mirror while it sat exposed along a fence. I sprayed the bare patches with chrome motorcycle paint. Now it looks like an antique. We'll find the perfect place for it soon, but not today.

We pay for the mirror and Dolly's watercolor, which he matched to "the wild thing" pastel painting we already had.

After I make lunch and unpack, we raid the library shelves for games for tomorrow's Games Night. 26 puzzles and 2 easy games ... we bought one pack of UNO and the secondhand puzzles. Over time, we have collected a good variety from others. (We're not games people.) 

It's our first big open house in months. The rooms are rearranged so that young people can circulate and befriend each other.

Wednesday
No morning walk for me - but the dogs happily go out the gate with W. Bruno goes a block before he comes back in with sore feet. However, he's improving and starting to explore the yard. That's a big deal. He'll build up muscle soon enough.

I cook our breakfast before 2 back-to-back online seminars, starting at 6AM. The timing of meetings is inconvenient when the information is being given from the other side of the globe. One workshop is about healthy relationships with adult children. The other is about reorganizing the Transforming Center. TC offers spiritual formation retreats, offers counsel and podcasts, and is a great resource. Its founding member Ruth Hailey Barton has stepped back from leadership; it has grown beyond her capacity. The board is prayerfully rewriting the future and fundraising. Both sessions are helpful.

Then it's on to grading papers, finding out where to submit the grades, writing letters to grandchildren, as well as writing a letter of recommendation for a grant applicant. A German chocolate cookie and a cup of tea make the going easier.

W walks 3 km/2 miles to the hospital. I check his route on a mapping device and chuckle at the stern warning to take a taxi or angkot (public vans) instead of walking. "Given the steep inclines and lack of continuous pedestrian-friendly sidewalks in certain sections, walking is generally not recommended for this specific trip, especially if you are visiting the hospital for medical reasons." 

The app has noted the cracks, gaps, tilted levels, and uneven steps of the walkways. That's not stopping anyone; it's "just the way things are" in Bandung. We constantly scan the surfaces ahead and watch our feet.

"What are the chances of rain?" I ask W as a glowering sky hovers. 

He checks. "Ten percent in 5 hours." By noon, that prediction turns into a solid downpour, gushing through the downspouts and watering the garden. Apparently poodles love rain as much as little boys do. Anton cruises around until he's sopping wet.

Two regular helpers and a caterer friend arrive in the afternoon. Over 80 have signed up (plus staff) for Games Night. She asks if she should reduce the amount from the 100 portions we have ordered. "No, sometimes the guys want more food and many will come for seconds." 

About 60 young people drop in. Others offer reasons for missing out.

The caterer plates the food in our buffet trays and bowls and leaves for another assignment. Someone brings pizza, another dumplings, and still another food I don't recognize. 

Moving through the line, the young people heap their plates in normal movie-night proportions. "Remember there are people behind you," I caution them, looking at the serving table. Doesn't help. We run out of meat within half an hour, with a long dinner line still to go. Even the two big bowls of rice are empty.

I text the caterer. "We need 1.5-2X the amount." She must stay and serve the portions or box the food individually. It's tricky to reckon the amounts. I send her the movie night menu: 600 pieces of meat (breakfast sausages, meatballs, and chicken wings), plus 3 starches, 2 hot vegetables, salad, cheese balls, and dessert baking, fruit, and yogurt. Sometimes there are few leftovers, even with that abundance. It depends on how hungry the students are.

There are no complaints; the young people eat what they get. They spread around the Project to eat. They they grab games and group off to play. Miky teaches his table to play mahjong, which is all the rage in Indonesia. The click-click of the tiles and laughter of the players echoes through the yard.

I warn our guests to wrap up their games 15 minutes before the end of the evening. They also need time to recycle their cups and plates. The helpers make short work of a basic cleanup for the evening.

Before everyone leaves, the bunch asks: "Please take our picture!" I get out my iPhone to shoot the ones still here after an initial exodus. While they're standing together, we pray a blessing over them. Many need provision, help with their studies, and good friends if they've moved into the city from elsewhere.

"I think I just met my new best friend," one gal exclaims as they hug and smile at each other. They attend the same university and make plans to meet for coffee. Interpersonal connections are a lasting outcome. It's also fun when young people bring their spouse or a date for the first time.

"I want a photo with you two," say several groups. So we take those too. We do minimal cleanup before bed.

Thursday
"We hiking today?" I ask W. He looks at me in disbelief. Instead, we do two long rounds of the neighborhood. The new addition Bruno loves walks and insists on coming along. He is limping and gliding less. To protect his feet, we dop the dogs off after one loop.

This multicolored wonder grows along the narrow gang (motorcycle lane) nearby.

When W and I come back, Bruno has enough confidence to tiptoe behind W down the unfamiliar-surfaced driveway.

W has to replenish some meds at the pharmacy. While he's waiting, I stock up on fruit and the helpers' monthly "gifts" of oil, sugar, and rice. Passing the meat counter, I decide to try the difference in taste between roosters and chickens. 

"Use a rooster for soup," I'm advised. "It's more like dark turkey meat, good for long stewing." Really?

What's that on a side shelf? You know the UK bone china brand, Royal Albert? Here they have Royal Alfred dishes. I blink a few times but the label doesn't change.

W waits in line for Volcano Chicken, the nearest thing to Costco Rotisserie fowls. These are flavorful but 1/3 the size. At home, we toss vegetables, the skinny rooster, and skin and bones from the Volcano packages into a slow cooker. We'll stew that overnight, topping up with water occasionally. The Volcano meat is packaged and frozen for later.

The helpers erase footprints as they vacuum and wash floors and remove fingerprints from glass surfaces. They return the games to the library shelves and furniture, pillows, and ornaments to the living rooms. W wipes the floors with rust-remover where a bidet hose has leaked. Our well water is so iron-rich that water drops color the fixtures and floors brown.

 Since morning, this pull-and-fold loaf has been rising. I'm teaching the household helpers a new method of bread-making. I sprinkle Japanese smoked sesame seeds on top. Let's see if the oven gets hot enough ot dry out the dough today.

The street drains are being fixed just in time. Like yesterday, there's a good downpour in mid-afternoon. The rainy season may be here.PakG and the dogs get caught in the rain on their last walk of the day. Only the human minds that. The dogs love it. Farmers will be relieved. The plants and earth smell fresh and hydrated.

The July class finally wraps up with the grades posted by the school. An academic press sends me a journal article with, "Can you edit this for us by November?" Why not? Editing is somewhat mindless, but I learn as I read others' research.

Read more:
* Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Psalm 25:3

* Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his. Daniel 2:20

* The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. Luke 8:13

* Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Revelation 7:12

Moravian Prayer: Lord, strengthen our hearts to remain firm in trials. Let our trust in you be deep and unshakable, not fleeting like shallow roots. Protect those who wait on you, and let deceit not prevail. Keep us faithful and grounded in you.

Almighty God, we bless your name forever! All wisdom, power, and glory belong to you. We rejoice in your majesty and give you thanks, for you reign in righteousness. May our hearts forever praise you, now and for all eternity. Amen.