Big free library (in contrast to a Little Free Library)

 Thursday, May 23, 2024

We walk 2 miles downhill (3km), meeting Troy and Veronica partway. It's a pretty river walk, though in places the paving has started to tilt toward the water below. Neighborhood drainage is on our right; a steep drop-off to the river is on the left

Indonesians are entrepreneurs. Cooking is one of their favorite ways to earn money. There are pop-up restaurants and food vendors everywhere, including new ones since we walked here a few weeks ago.

Can you spot the lady who sorts and sells eggs? Her shop is along the main road that we have to cross to get to the Treetop Walk.

The second half of the walk is literally in the treetops, 2km (1 1/4mile) long with guardrails on both sides. It's swarming with pedestrians, foodies, and family groups: today is another! Indonesian red-letter day (Buddha's birthday?) Vendors aren't allowed on the trail itself, so they set up in the parking lot to feed hungry families and students from the nearby university.

We meet John and Lisa at Delaraos buffet. The New Zealanders (J/L) and the Aussies (V/T) know some of the same people. Some common friends live in NZ now, but they lived here decades ago. It's fun to hear them catch up.

W and I hop an angkot (city van) up to the grocer but there is no money in their ATM. We walk the rest of the way home. Our watch and phones record +13,000 steps by the time we sit down at home.

I find some Trader Joes dark-chocolate coffee beans and peanut-butter cups. Formulated for cooler climates, they start to melt when they leave the fridge. 

Friday

We walk the dogs, of course. It's cloudy today with cooler breezes. I consider throwing on a blanket while working on the Porch but let's get real: it's 25oC (77oF). I need to write monthly newsletters and compile a few months of team devotionals. Tea smooths away distractions so I can focus on work.

W's off to pick up some library castoffs: this round it's textbooks and two commercial orange rugs. Well, maybe they're not enormous in a business office: 300X550 cm (10X16') and 450X600cm. At $10 each, they're useful as well as inexpensive. Good thing we're not afraid of orange!

Once again, we have stacks of books before we get the bookshelves. The shelves will be here in June. Thankfully most of these books are going elsewhere.

The Bandung Book Group says they'd love some essays for an upcoming discussion. I put those aside.

Between, I'm reading a recommendation: The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser. So far, it's a little mind-bending. I'm wading chapter by chapter, deciding what to discard, what to consider, and what to include in a summer course.

Saturday

We walk the dogs. W and I have a hard time remembering to take the antibiotics prescribed on Wednesday. Are we reluctant because they wreck gut bacteria or forgetful because we can't feel our biopsy sites? We shall do better. We hope.

We do a quick run to Borma (similar to a small Walmart). Near the cashier is a display of baby and toddler perfumes. With mosquito-borne dengue fever and flies everywhere, why would you want your little kid to smell like fruit? Dunno. (I say, give them another bath.)

We buy rice (sembako), household paint, and cheap art supplies. 60c for oil pastels seems a worthy investment. I grab the blank notebook that I sketch or write in when we travel. No matter whether or not I draw or paint, I always write. I refill my fountain pen and tuck it away for the next trip.

An occasional chore is checking the guest rooms upstairs to ensure they are prepped for visitors. The kitchen and dining area is larger than most home kitchens.

There are recent additions to the guest wall behind the dining table. Instead of a guest book, we've left out markers for visitors to comment on their stay. Once in a while, I snap a photo to stay up to date.

A favorite art piece hangs in the guest living room: a shot-out target dragged home from the side of the street.

Sunday's floral arrangement consists of leftover leaves and button mums, plus garden additions: a few shoots of bamboo, fern fronds, and a red-gold-green branch torn off a shrub. We take it to the hall so we don't have to think about it tomorrow.

W has written the talk for next Sunday so we read it and edit it together. How nice to have time to think about it in advance.

Sunday

Shibli from Uganda is speaking today. It's always more interesting when the speaker brings friends, as Daniel did last week and Shibli does today. The whole team cheers for these first-time speakers, too.

After, we celebrate with lunch.

I drop off a neighbor's meal before heading home. W is editing the Sunday video so he heads home. What a blessing to live within walking distance of the international church!

Read more:

*You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Exodus 23:9

*The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 NIV

*When the magi saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Matthew 2:10-11

*Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:37-38, 40

Moravian Prayer: O God of all, there is so much need in this world! So many people are hungry. Too many people must flee their homelands. There is so much injustice that it seems there is no hope. Yet, you give us gifts of time, talents, and treasures that bring hope and healing to a hurting world. May we remember that sharing food, refuge, and justice is our service in your Name.

Most holy Lord, you brought light into a world of darkness with the birth of your Son. Some days it seems that the world has returned to darkness, as violence, injustice, and conflicts increase. Let your glorious light be seen anew, that we may be reminded that you hold all things and all provisions in your hand. Amen.

Stepping toward the future

Friday, May 17, 2024

We walk through a property with the owner, checking out future possibilities. Then IbuSI pummels the kinks out of me before heading over to Lisa's to administer the same treatment (or was that torture?). To save her hands from carpel tunnel, she's found a wooden "scraper" that shoves deep into muscle tissue. Ouch and very effective.

It turns into a quiet day of general work.

Saturday

We walk. The street seller has jicamas today. They evolved from a kaki lima (pushcart) to a little stall - into a shop and eating area that's attached to a 2-room house.

There's great squawking in the neighborhood. A big parrot sits 10 meters up on the tall tree in the next lot; it looks like a yellow-crested cockatoo. It has a million-dollar view of the hillside and neighborhoods from there. Every morning it comes by and every evening it returns to its owner for food in its cage. 

Our birds should be so lucky. The lovebirds have a big cage (+ 100 x 80 x 50 cm/39X32X20") on the Porch. As they scatter seeds, sparrows and pigeons come for free food. 

When the wild birds perch on the furniture, they make a mess. We moved in to a yard without birdsong due to the domestic cats. But our dogs chase cats away. So the birds have happily returned and sing for us all day.

 

W joins his weekly study while I make calls. Someone knocks at the gate: she told us earlier that it was her birthday, so she has come to ask for money. We check with mutual friends and her special day is not until August. Hmmm. No birthday gift today.

Meanwhile Bailey lays down at my feet. Wherever I am, he's nearby until the dogs bark. Then he's off like a shot to "help" guard the gate. It's a poodle thing.

I'm in the mood for thought-less work. Shall I make some yogurt? I mix milk and "live" yogurt for the bread maker on the 8-hr yogurt setting. Ugh - what's crusted on the bottom of the appliance? I scrape it clean before adding the yogurt mix into the cooking bowl.

I boil potatoes for a quiche-like lunch. My recipe is easy to make and tastes good. We serve this with hot sauce on the side, but barbecue sauce or ketchup works, too.

---------SKIP DOWN IF YOU WANT--------

RDK Eggy Brunch Recipe

Ingredients

• 1T oil or butter
• 2-3 large or 10 small potatoes, skin scrubbed or peeled. Cut large potatoes into 1.5"/4cm chunks.
• 6-8 eggs
• 1/2-1 c each, ricotta cheese and plain yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1 T salt, plus 2-3 tsp spices
• 2-3 c chopped vegetables (onions, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, etc. - your choice)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
2. Thoroughly grease a baking pan* with oil or butter.
3. Cover potatoes with water. Add 1 T salt and boil 10-15 min until soft enough to mash but not mushy. Drain and flatten them into small-ish chunks. Spread them like a "pie crust" in the oiled baking pan.
4. Heat oil or butter in a pan. Saute chopped onions, green pepper, garlic, and sliced mushrooms, letting each ingredient fry a little before adding the next ingredient on the list.
5. Season with herbs and salt. I used 1/2 tsp each: salt, pepper, sun-dried tomato powder, Greek seasoning, and a French mix (rosemary, thyme.)
6. Spoon the seasoned vegetables over the potatoes.
7. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with ricotta cheese and yogurt. Pour them over the vegetables in the baking pan.
8. Bake 25-40 minutes, depending if *your pan is flat or deep. (Deeper takes longer.)
9. Cool 5 minutes, then dig in. Or cover and freeze for up to 3 months. 

Freezer tip: Precut leftovers into 3" squares and freeze them overnight, separated on a cookie sheet. Store the pieces in a freezer container. Lift out as many pieces as you need when there's no time to cook. Microwave the piece/s, covered, for 1:00-2:30 minutes. (Adjust time, depending on the microwave strength and number of pieces.) Let sit 1 minutes before serving so it heats through.

----------END OF RECIPE---------

We walk up and around to the Art Deco building to see if their restaurant has a good menu. "We hired a new chef 2 months ago," says the server. "That means a new menu." And it looks good. We'll have to try it when we host someone.

Sunday

Daniel speaks today, his first time in front of a congregation. Great job! with his wife Della interpreting.

We share a celebration lunch at #Maxis, a short walk from the hall.

It's special to have their family and friends gather round.

While I walk home, W drives the car from the hall with the flower arrangement Titik made. He sets them in the back hall for watering.

Two guys are working atop a wall, high above the street. "Hati-hati (be careful!)" I call to them.

Read more: (A prayer for the wanderer)

*Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth—then my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:1-6)

Prayer: God, we are faithless. We come close and then wander away. Help us to return to you with our whole heart. Help us to revel in the love you provide, in the forgiveness that washes away our sins, and the mercy to others that we learn in your Presence. Teach us to trust you, no matter what is happening to us or around us. In the name of Jesus the Messiah we pray. Amen.