Enjoying nature with all the senses

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

The fragrance of the little jasmine bouquet continues on the Porch table until PakG takes the table to the hall. Round Table Sunday is coming up. We enjoy discussion "around the table" every last Sunday of the month at IES Bandung. Between months of travel and guest speakers, it's been a while since we've had a Round Table Sunday.

I refuse to organize potlucks. Our movie night and community dinner stuff is useful. Laurel and Sayaka are hosting this one and overseeing the details.They ask, "Bring plates, cutlery, cups, recycling pails, round and folding tables ..."

You get the picture. IbuS gathers things and PakG hauls them over to the Green Gate auditorium.

It's time to write more book reviews, with topics of exercise, art, history, and novels. I clear out messages and then relax by live-streaming video feeds of Namibian waterholes. Wild animals adopt a leisurely pace in the heat of the day, a good lesson for humans, too.

One feed is here: find more on YouTube. Do you realize how astonishing this is? I sit at my desk in Bandung, Indonesia, on a virtual safari with hippos, giraffes, antelope, and elephants on the other side of the world. Amazing!

PakG goes into town for floral wire. I bought some in Seattle but when I ransack the office shelves, it has disappeared. Ugh. PakG wires the seed pods and drops them on my desk before taking the dogs on their second walk.

It's W's second week of online teaching. I'm grading assignments from my class this week and next. 

Every month, I clean the 101 toothbrushes collected from travels. Dentists recommend drying a toothbrush before reuse to kill bacteria. I have a lot of hotel toothbrushes and rotate through them, cleaning them after use. Are they dry by morning? Not always. I turn the heads as I use them so I pick a fresh one each morning or night.

At least once a month, I plunge them into a denture cleaner and rinse them thoroughly. I've never had a dozen toothbrushes in rotation before, but each one feels different. Weird but efficient. (W has his own batch.)

Thursday

What a great hike. We start at the top of the mountain near the monument at Gunung Batu. The summit overlooks Bandung on one side and Lembang on the other.

It's "downhill all the way" except for the 20 flights uphill between going down. haha The first bit is steep = slow going if your balance is tippy or your knees are sore.

A few of us go down and realize the rest are will descending so we wait. Can you spot the hikers at the top of this section? Kiki takes someone's arm in the slipperiest and steepest parts. What a great group - we help each other as needed.

This beetle's exoskeleton catches my eye, shed along the trail. I take it home for the grandkids, of course.

The grasshoppers are busy munching their way through leaves.

Lunch is at Paulina's new resort. We take the funicular downhill to the restaurants. This one is a single rail with 3 cables winching the open platform.

The leashed owls have found perches. How many owls can you spot?

Paulina suggests we share meals to taste more. The Aussie chef presents a perfect fettuccini cabonara for me.

He makes a wonderful spinach fettuccini for Dina. We split them for 2 tastes. 

Pasta is my favorite meal; today I've found good pasta! The chef says he'll be offering lasagne and other homemade specialties, starting next month.W and I agree to have our great anniversary meal here in September. (He misses the hike and food to teach class today.)

Paulina treats us to sourdough pandan bread - flavorful jam and cream cheese.

After lunch, we relax alongside the koi ponds. P's husband Rudi takes us on a tour to check out the glamping accommodations. It's true luxury.

On the way home, we drop Kiki and Veronica at their house down the hill. Kiki sends along 2 bunches of bananas. One bunch is almost ripe and the other will be green until next week. These little bananas are so sweet they replace the sugar in baking.

ChaCha drops by for a cup of tea and a chat in the "library" space. The table is a perfect spot for escaping the late-afternoon mosquitoes buzzing on the Porch.

After W finishes teaching, he walks downhill from the office to meet me for dinner at Ethnic. We both choose rawon soup (candletnuts). On the way home, we spot a chameleon on the street.

W nudges it with a stick but it's comatose. When we return from eating supper, it's met its fate.

I check the creatures in Namibia before bedtime. There's a new group: a flock of ostriches is drinking beside warthogs who've drunk their fill.

During the night, I listen through Daniel, Hosea, and Joel. Wow - these prophets issue dire warnings and loving promises, page by page. Before I fall asleep again, I check in once more on the Namibian waterholes. Night has fallen for them, too.

Friday

I sleep in until 7:00 before W and I walk. New water pipes are being installed along the perimeter of the street. Its that what the hole under the foundation of the neighbor's wall is for ... ? There is one water jug 3' (a meter) down.

It's a day of meetings on the Porch. Tea, bananas, and cookies are the set menu.  IbuSumi works her way through the ripe bunch of bananas and the smell of baking from Kiki's gift drifts the house. The dogs relax outside. The big dogs are not allowed in the house, so one paw over the threshold is almost obedient.

W shops for eggs, 200 meatballs, and 5 bags of little potatoes. I'm cooking for Sunday's potluck tomorrow. It's lunchtime before he's off to teach the last day of his second week (of three) classes.

Before she leaves, IbuS scrubs the potatoes and makes 3 trays (60) of mayo eggs. The pumpkin pies IbuA made yesterday are already in the fridge.

Saturday

After a leisurely walk, I take scissors into the garden to clip grass and flowers. About a dozen red roses are left from last week's bouquet. 

We need 12 little arrangements. Because of the repetition on the tables, the bouquets may be plain or unspectacular. Viewed as a group across the room, they are interesting.

I forget the pods we tied together yesterday. Ah, maybe we'll use them next month? Or I can make a "wild things" border around the next big arrangement? (PS. The painting is lying on my desk, the start of maple leaves.)

W and I discuss tomorrow's talk after the food is cooked and stored under thick bath towels. I'll reheat everything tomorrow.

Read more:

*Abraham’s servant remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. Genesis 24:21 NKJV

*But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Psalm 103:17-18

*While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:2-3

Moravian Prayer: We so easily forget, Lord Jesus, to be still and quiet. We forget daily practices of prayer and fasting, singing and moving. Thus, we are often unable to hear you when you speak to our hearts. Our desire, beloved, is to listen, to share, to make room for you. Today, we set aside time to be only with you. Fill our hearts with the power of silence. Amen.

God's loving-kindness and generosity

 Friday, June 14, 2024

I had a few in-person meetings yesterday. Today continues with the same, so we walk first thing.

Then I check the newly-built 20' (+6 meters) grape trellis. The yardman planted THREE grapevines, one at each intersection. My dad's single grapevine spanned 40' (+14 m) and was heavy even after being pruned each year to one main branch.

"No worries," PakAD says when I protest. Apparently he hasn't grown grapes before. Grapes grow year-round here, without a winter rest. Yikes. He'll have to cut these vines back a few times a year and brace the trellis as soon as they take off.

At lunch, W and PakG arrive with our SUV jammed full of books. "I thought we agreed not to get more books," says W. Sigh. So did I.

2 chameleons rustle beside the Porch where we eat lunch. Can you spot them? Look for their 2' (600cm) tail, their skinny feet, or crested heads.

"Careful, don't get too close. They bite!" say our helpers. Juno doesn't care. She waits for them to dangle within reach but walks away when W shouts at her to "Leave it!" We don't want her to get bitten. She's fascinated by wild things in the yard and brings us gifts when she catches them.

An hour behind the guys is the moving van heaped with furniture, games, classroom items, maps, and ... more books. 

What? More books are wedged between shelves in the truck. These latest +50 bags are our final batch, I hope. Who will take them? W and I spend a few hours sorting piles and categories.

I've drawn up a map again for the shelves we are keeping. Since the house assimilated 11 shelves last week, I need precise measurements and creative placement. Where does it go? Here is one before and after set, with the old under the new.

We swipe everything off the buffet/dresser before putting the new shelf in place. Its measurements are exactly the same as the shelf below.

Another shelf corrals clutter under the kitchen cabinets.

The guys wrestle 5 round tables and seven shelves off the truck so it's ready for the next load. Two shelves have been purchased by a helper. We put them aside for now.

It takes all 4 guys to put the "beast" of shelves in place. The glass cabinets have locks and keys. Not sure when that will be useful. "A bonus," someone pipes up.

Another bonus? a rocking chair that will go to a charity for unwed moms and local adoptions, or to the church nursery.

The first person to show up takes classroom items, books, and maps.

A teacher sorts through teaching manuals. Many of the university students don't have access to materials that are common in the West so these discards are a godsend.

The two movers agree to extra trips that take them all day. "Will you drop off shelves for MrM at his school?" Ok - they take his load from the next city to across town. "Then bring IbuA's table and shelves here, pls."

"Could you load up the tables for the hall with a table and shelves for the helpers?" By the truck's fourth trip, it is late afternoon. W adds $6-30 per load, depending on how far the destination.  That includes 2 wiry movers.

A friend asks for novels and action books. We fill two huge bags for pickup tomorrow. Everything settles into the house. W picks up a supper pizza on his walk home from the last trip to the hall. What a guy! We're worn out.

Saturday 

After our morning walk, co-lecturer Gail meets me online about an upcoming class. She appreciates this season of choosing work that she enjoys. At our age, we no longer feel the obligation to agree to every request.

W and I call our moms, read through the Sunday talk, and W loads up our car with books for the hall. We'll give away as much as we can on Sunday and have the admin display a new load each week ... until the books are gone. W has meetings in town until afternoon.

The motorcycle taxi comes for our friend's 2 bags while Melvi selects books for herself and her friends. PakG offloads the books at the hall and delivers a final load of 15 bags to a new library on the next hill. Everything but MrM's pile is spoken for. What an answer to prayer! Stuff comes. It goes. Thanks be to God.

W eats downtown while my lunch is vegetarian leftovers. Yum.

The thunder rumbles in, midafternoon. I find a few expensive textbooks in the stacks. What provision!

There are a few books our kids loved, too. We'll pack them for the next trip to the grandkids.

Sunday: Father's Day

We display books on the table outside the hall, free for the taking. W has written the Father's Day talk, which includes how much his dad meant to him. I celebrate my dad all day, thanking God for healthy and loving parents. And I remember my "second dad" who shared a birthdate with my father. I still love my dear Uncle Erich in his 90s.

At lunch, we celebrate Shibli and Herbert who are graduating. Except that both of them have made plans elsewhere. We split their two "Congratulations!" cakes among the team after a nice lunch without them. 

We send pictures of each family's portion to the missing guys. We are thrilled to have Alice back as well after an extended time away.

W and I feel at home in the little library space; we eat most meals at its just-right table beside the kitchen.

Della and Daniel take Titik's beautiful bouquet home - they'll celebrate their daughter's grad this week.

A young friend comes by for her English charity school. She thins MrM's load with her items. Afterward, W and I work on typical Sunday afternoon stuff. While he's editing sound from the morning video, I'm planning the week ahead. (Our day of rest is Thursday.)

Monday - feast of Abraham

All night long, the chants and readings from the Koran are broadcast across the city. Not many people sleep since mosque speakers are turned to high volume for the special broadcasts. We walk at sunup and pass a cow tied to a business gate. This cow has no idea what's ahead. 

A little further, goats and cattle are tied up. They'll be ritually slaughtered in commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. The Bible says it was Isaac. (Click here to read the original story.) The Koran doesn't specify which son so Arab culture has adapted the story to their ancestor Ishmael.

Groups of Muslims are headed for the neighborhood meeting place. When the ritual butchers have divided the animals, the piece each family (or group of families) has purchased is taken home for cooking. It's a much-anticipated feast and a government red-letter day (holiday) for all.

W and I pray, "May God find those who are seeking him." We pray for peace and favor over those who are celebrating.

Followers of Jesus have the assurance that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He foreshadowed the sacrifice of his Son in the willingness of Abraham to offer his own son to God. Now, since the death of Jesus on our behalf, our debt is paid in full. What hope! What joy! And what confidence we have in our Savior and his salvation.

Read more (about the joy of serving the God of Abraham today):

*[Joshua told the people of Israel:] Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:14-15

*We know that Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again. Death doesn’t control him anymore. When he died, he died once and for all time. He did this to break the power of sin. Now that he lives, he lives in the power of God. In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now you believe in Christ Jesus. So consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned. Romans 6:9-11

*For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 

*My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2

Prayer: Generous Creator, what kindness and love you have shown us. What we could never accomplish by striving for a perfect righteous life, you did by sending your son Jesus. You apply his perfect obedience and righteousness to us. We have become your children because we have accepted your loving sacrifice and forgiveness. All praise, honor, and glory belong to you, One God, now and forever. Amen.