The long obedience

Sunday, August 4, 2024

I call Mom just after 6:00 a.m. She shares the details of her wonderful 89th birthday party last Friday, thanks to Norm and planner extraordinaire Sandy. Mom enjoyed visiting with four generations of family, plus many friends.

I arrive at the hall without W who has a stomach bug. I've revised (cut) the talk he wrote for the Sunday Gathering since I'm speaking alone. Neither of us struggles with public speaking; it's just easier as a duet than solo.

As usual in the summer, IES Bandung hosts new guests while many of our own attendees are away. Ibu Titik has made a beautiful bouquet.

When I get home, I make toast for W and tortellini for myself. Both are good. We eat outside on the shaded Porch, planning the month ahead. W has 3 weeks of teaching coming up, which defines our August engagements.

Monday

Calls and more calls. Laurel and I enjoy a morning visit. She is reaching the end of her time with us so we evaluate what she enjoyed and what would have made her time easier or more effective.

W and I attend a meeting to discuss a community center before I head to town to collect a delivery. W is able to eat lunch. I scale down his flavors for now. But he's recovering. Yay.

I spend most of the afternoon on a proposal and questionnaire for my next book. Creating a survey is an art and a science. The initial questions must be combined and redefined until they are simple and clear. I'll depend on my academic colleagues for help along the way.

Tuesday

We start with a loop walk and an online call. At a morning meeting, we've asked God for a clear signal: do we kill the project or keep going? The sign to move ahead is in plain sight when we walk in the door. This project needs a series of miracles to come to life. And we're not yet attached to it - it's a mess with potential. It could go either way before we make much of an investment in the idea.

We have lunch with Ps Yoel and Ps Esther to find out how they and their organization handle leadership transitions.  They are wise friends and thoughtful leaders. The food at Waroeng Ethnic is good as always.

We walk home through the neighborhood lane - how creative. With Indonesian National Day coming up, someone has used the bases of 5 liter water jugs as bright flower pots.

They've made tassels from garden twine, attached them to the white-painted bottle tops, and strung them across the alley.

Even the entry is pretty, garnished with Indonesia's national colors: red and white. Indonesians are creative with basic materials.

A driver has swung wide - now the next car has to squeeze by in the narrow street. What you don't see is the motorcycle that zoomed by on the right as the drivers were negotiating their cars. There are 3 vehicles in this squeeze. W and I marvel that metal can pass metal with so little space ...

Here's the campaign poster for a mayoral candidate. We're not sure what he's promoting with the gas mask.

In the afternoon, we have a team meeting. IbuA brings out tea and cookies. By the time I get inside, the helpers have gone. They have packed a bag of cookies for each attendee. My rule is that nothing goes back into the fridge once it's been set out for a meeting. Since everyone has left, the bagged cookies can go home with our helpers tomorrow for their families to enjoy.

Wednesday

First we walk. W checks out a new "container" store that replaces the old van covered with faded tarps and surrounded by old chairs. The menu offers rice and a chicken head @$1.20; ramen noodles @50c, and more. Those are local basics - at a good price. (I'll skip the chicken head, thank you.)

My students have asked for resources. I take a series of pictures of my bookshelves and tell them to look for those in their library or online.

I call up and down the generations before getting to work. First, we find out how our daughter is recovering from surgery. After, I have a l o n g call with Mom - mostly about her birthday. She's reveling in the memories and praying with us for the family and work.

Then it's time for a monthly debrief with God's gift to me: Nancy, an online counselor living in another Asian country. "Live in radical obedience when God shows you the next step," she encourages. She reminds me of priorities and reasons to celebrate God's goodness and offers cautions.

W's stomach is healthy but his back has been seizing up for a few days. He has booked a massage for us in a beautiful setting, a renovated home. "No sexual massage," warns a sign at the entry. Good! (We are decidedly cautious because of the plethora of "other" kinds. A trusted masseuse sometimes comes to our house to knead out my fatigue after a long trip, especially with 8-15 hour plane rides.)

For a married couple, our benches are side by side. The massages deliver pure OUCH to our calves but are helpful to W's back. A diversion from pain? I need to get through some new textbooks. Unless I'm skimming, it's easiest to focus by listening. So I pop in EarBuds, swipe the Kindle reader onto high speed, and "read" until it's over.

After a quick stop at the grocer, we're home to a good lunch made by IbuS. I text a few "movie night" kids - we pray for them and are happy to get their updates. We hope to catch up with graduates who are leaving this month for their home city or country.

Read more:

*I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:26-28

Prayer: God, give us a heart that cares about the things that you care about. Train us to love you and others with all our might, as you do. Thank you for your loving-kindness each day. Amen.

Behind the teacher desk

Monday, July 29, 2024

Ah Bandung, for a morning walk in fresh cold air. We figure it's about 67oF/18oC so I pull on a coat. Look at this double hibiscus.

Some of the trees peel their bark as they grow - and this 2.5' (85cm) chunk looks like a base for flower arranging to me. I tuck it under my arm.

The neighbor asks, "What's that, Ibu?" and I show her the marvelous find. Can't wait to use it.

On a corner, can you spot the "Chameleon" working on the ladder? Three guys are putting up a new sign. One supervises from the side. Two others adjust the vinyl banner to his satisfaction. Every few months, the banner tears in the wind and sun so there's a new offering hauled above the street.

I open the office curtains to the view across my desk. It's the final prep day, ensuring everything is ready for tomorrow's doctoral class online. My 16oz mug of Turkish tea is at hand, along with binders of notes.

At IES Bandung this year, we've been preaching through the book of Acts. This fun find is leaning against the wall in my office: a poster book of Bible summaries. Each book of the Bible has a designated page with highlights from that book.

Herbert is graduating this afternoon. PakDanny, W and I join other friends at his graduation ceremony, delighted that he's completed within the deadline. The ceremony, attended by the university rector and faculty, is for 2 graduates. They offer a warm welcome to the graduates, ask them to recruit for UNPAR, and give them their hard-earned diplomas.

Tomorrow, Herbert is off to Jakarta on his way home to Tanzania. Indonesian scholarships bring students from every corner of the globe to various Bandung universities. Surprising to us is that within a day or two of completing your studies, you are shipped back to your country.

We share lunch with Herbert and friends and hug him goodbye.

He promises to keep us updated - we will miss him on the team!

Tuesday

W and I walk as high schoolers on motorcycles buzz to the second week of classes after their month-long break.

I spot something on the road: is that a snake? It's worth a second look. Nope, it's a ripe bean pod that fell from the tree above. Whew.

I log onto the zoom class an hour early to get ready. Except ... oops - their time zone is an hour ahead and it's time for class NOW. We have all kinds of challenges this first day: our Indonesian internet quits, so I have to log in again. They reset the zoom permissions so I can see the class and share my screen at the same time. The cohort may be small but they are wonderful.

W takes a class hour to explain background theology and offers his contact email to students for further discussion. I mess up the lunch schedule so they eat a half hour later than promised. "Tell me when it's lunch-time, if I go over!" I say to them after realizing my mistake.

"Ah, when the information is so interesting, we just want you to keep going." Well, that's one thing, but I'm sure they are hungry. We have 5 hours of class each day, which is a lot of information!

After class, W helps me swap out the "easy-care" IKEA rug (set down during travels) for a multi-color one. The grey checks go back into our bedroom corner, softening the stone floors for morning exercises.

I like the colorful texture of the Pakistani rug. While we're away, I don't want to think about getting the expensive one wet if someone mops the floor.

A few hours of writing and prep, and it's late afternoon. Time to read and relax.

Wednesday

At least today I know what time my class is starting! I look forward to seeing the students and sharing the notes. We hit the last PPT slide as my final alarm sounds. They're off to lunch before the last hour of class, which is set aside for their presentations.

During the break, I consume my uneaten dinner from yesterday; I would only snack after lunch if it were only myself. However, W likes to eat supper so I usually make something. Yesterday, I had no appetite beyond fruit and snacks. I put my dinner back into the fridge. So today's lunch is dumplings, Malaysian curry chicken (with spices from Penang), and more tea. The rest of the household has a fresh lunch prepared by IbuS.

My nose start to plug up and my eyes start to water mid-morning. Hopefully this is temporary.

Thursday

I'm wakened by calls as the phone buzzes throughout the night. (Why? My ringer and notifications are off between 10 and 6!) By 4:00 I give up, turn on the light, reply, and catch up on messages. I stay behind when W and the dogs head north to the weekly mountain hike. This is the walk I miss.

Time to rest. Um, maybe not. I make some calls and write book reviews. Also on the to-do list is writing two monthly newsletters and reviewing the sermon for Sunday. It will be our first time speaking in 7 weeks. Oh my, we are glad to be home.

Read more:

*God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish. Psalm 9:18

*Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke 6:20

Moravian Prayer: Merciful God, amidst all the clutter of our days, we need constant reminders that you do not forget us; our hope in you and your promises remains strong. Further remind us that we are never alone, as Jesus has promised us, “I will be with you always.” Amen.

Spiritual smarts

"Just getting straight-A's doesn't mean you'll be successful."

Some people are book-smart. Others, people-smart. Others can be administratively gifted, good with finances, or have an eye for design.

Joseph in the Bible is an interesting character. Here's part of his story. The country's ruler had asked him to interpret two troubling dreams:

"It is beyond my power to do this," Joseph replied. "But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease." [He asked God for help, and proceeded to interpret.]

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours."

Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt." (Genesis 41:16, 39–41 NLT)

People "under the influence" of the Holy Spirit have spiritual smarts. They understand God's ways. It may be easy to mistake such godly wisdom for intelligence.

However, when knowledge and wisdom are combined as in Joseph's case, the person becomes a valued part of a team, provided the leader is not threatened by someone bigger and better than themselves. Pharaoh proved his own leadership skills by elevating a younger man to greatness. Thereafter, he could relax and leave the administration in capable hands.

Smart Joseph. True. But smart Pharaoh, too!