Sometimes it works. Sometimes not.

Monday, October 19, 2026
It's our day off. My first morning meeting starts as soon as we return from the walk. By the time I'm off the call, the yardman and the helper have arrived. With guests and the children's language classes coming and going, there's a lot of maintenance. W and I sigh with relief as others clean the Project inside and out.

PakG helps W figure out why the electrical payments have stopped working. An electricity meter is mounted outside the side door. Every few weeks, W presses some buttons to transfer money to the electricity company to keep the lights on.

The meter isn't working and needs rebooting or replacing. The guys figure it out. PakG is a big help with systems; he understands English well enough to know what we need. He makes calls to the utility companies in Indonesian when we have questions about keeping the Project up and running.

I chat with our daughter before she goes to bed on the other side of the planet. We're happy to hear that one of our sons has safely arrived in his new Canadian home. (He moved from Germany over the weekend.) May God give him favor, good work, and make him a blessing to others.

Tidying and moving things around, I come across the handbag I wore on the weekend. It's a relic of 1970s tourism to East Africa. Mom brought it home and used it regularly but she kept her things in pristine condition. So it's like new.

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At the grocer for eggs, I find ripe mangoes and other fruit. Fresh tempeh has just been delivered: it's still warm. We don't like it, but the Project staff will have it for lunch tomorrow. W and I share my leftover pizza from yesterday, topped with the shredded chicken I froze a few weeks ago. Not bad.

Tuesday
We walk before having breakfast at #NaraPark. The servers wonder why we haven't been in for a while. "W needs to eat low oil, sugar, and salt," we explain. That's hardly on a restaurant menu. Ah, they understand.

The food is excellent. "Do you have a different chef today?" I ask.

Yes, the head chef is training someone - no wonder the same recipes taste exceptional. They've put a mahjong table in one area for the clients' pleasure.

At our table, someone has punctured the leaves with their fingernails.

The big job at the Project is baking Christmas cookies. The helpers work in the main kitchen, rolling small balls of chocolate and chocolate chip dough onto cookie sheets. They baked a few hundred cookies weeks ago which have already been consumed by various guests and volunteers. They work all day, pulling pan after pan out of the ovens.

"Can you imagine if the Project had only one kitchen?" we say to each other. (Their response: "NO!")

In the serving kitchen, I reconfigure the Sunday arrangement. The pink roses have faded beyond resuscitation. While I'm at it, I mix 2 batches of yeast dough, one for pizza crust (into the fridge it goes overnight), and the other for cinnamon rolls. There's no recipe; we're just giving it a try. How hard can it be?

I dive into statistics (tabulating 300 survey responses) for a book in progress. I promised myself last week that I'd work on the book for at least an hour a day after putting it off for 2 years. I'm in the middle of studying when W reminds me that I have an appointment at 10AM. Oh yeah! My hour is up. I close everything down and walk up the hill.

The other person isn't there for the biweekly meeting. I sent the name, pin, and link for the coffee shop because we're exploring places nearby. Each week is at a different place. She's nowhere in sight. I text: "Where are you?"

"I'm already here, in the back, away from the street noise," she texts.

Nope. There's no street noise where we are supposed to meet. Turns out, she's 3 km and a half-hour away at a completely different place. I clear emails and messages until she arrives, then show her how to use a map link with the motorcycle taxi.

My hot chocolate is very good at #KopiEyang. Apparently Eyang means a great-grandmother in Indonesian. That's my new word of the day.

On the way home, 2 men dangle off the side of a high-rise, from several cables secured at the top of the building. They're repairing the sagging balconies. Eeek ... that's not a job I'd sign up for.

I'm home in time for lunch. Yesterday for supper, W ate the sushi I bought at Toko Setiabudi. I eat mine today, thawing breadbuns and chicken for his lunch. Thinking up what another person wants to eat is a part-time job in itself. To think I did this 3X a day while homeschooling 4 young kids and teaching music? (Parents have an amazing capacity. I watch the stay-at-home person with awe.)

It's back to stats, with a pause while the cinnamon rolls rise. I have no idea what I'm doing, not having baked cinnamon rolls before. My mom's were delicately rolled out, paper-thin, and delicious. I need more practise, that's for sure. Mine taste amazing, though they're ugly (so who cares).

I'd forgotten what the Cattleya orchid looked like. But today it's blooming and showing off.

Wednesday
The Mastermind meets at 5-7:30AM. It's a privilege to examine life and service with other leaders. They suggest that I take a photo of what's in our fridge and let AI whip up a weekly menu to take that off my plate. What a good idea, among other discussions.

W and I walk the dogs afterwards. They're relaxed and happy, staying together without pulling or bumping each other. Cinnamon rolls, hard-boiled eggs, mango slices, and chia pudding make an easy and delicious breakfast.

The sun and wind are strong all morning. "Watch out for sunstroke and dehydration," warns the weather bureau. I do my part by steeping green tea leaves from a tin someone brought from China. I sit in the shade, drinking tea steeped once, twice, and a third time while working on statistics.

We've had several requests to restart pizza nights. During COVID, people hung out on the Porch at our old place on Saturday nights. W invested in a pizza oven, made pizza dough, and baked the pizzas. I set up the serving items, set the tables, and prepped toppings so everyone could customize a pizza. We cleaned up together.

It worked because we didn't have to get up early the next morning. Sunday talks were prerecorded and posted. We sat on the Porch in pyjamas, eating whatever I cooked: pancakes or French toast, while interacting online. I guess it's similar now; we show up at the Gathering and enjoy it without any obligation. Except we have to get out of our PJs and we can't eat pancakes while we listen - hehe!

I get the pizza dough from the fridge and smack it down a few times to develop gluten. While I make the sauce and get the meat ready, IbuS chops the vegetables and grates the cheese. Oh oh, can't forget the olives. I dice those last.

W digs out his pizza oven and tools. He waits for the dough to warm and rise, rolls it out, and bakes the pizzas after we top them. Oh oh. What a mess! The dough is still too wet, sticking to the paddle. It clumps and burns inside the oven, too. Live and learn. No biggie.

I toss the jumble reclaimed from the oven into a wok to bake it more thoroughly. The toppings and cheese taste good! Afterward, I store my leftovers in the freezer. I'll rebake them when I'm hungry for good flavor.

W scrapes charred bits and fallen toppings off the base of the pizza oven before cleaning the paddle and Silpat mat. He prefers to clean his tools, while I leave cleanup to the staff. (They cook and clean up after their lunch anyway.)

After a bit more work on my documents, I respond to a student email and call it good.

Read more:
* Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalm 37:1-6

* Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:2

* In this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:9

* He [Jesus] was teaching and said, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’” Mark 11:17

Moravian Prayer: Lord God of hosts, make our churches and homes be houses of prayer. As we offer you our prayers and praises, may we prosper in faith, hope, and love. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.