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.

Happy morning to you

I read and re-read the Moravian prayer for this morning (below). Then I determine to rejoice in the Lord and to live as a good alien in a foreign land.

Small and wonderful pleasures along the way:

• I love the smell of lavender crushed in my palm, plucked from a plant overhanging the sidewalk.
• There was no rain on our walk. No sun, but no rain either. Thank you, God!
•  Our friend, in surgery today, will soon be breathing easier and walking better.
• The dogs trotted along nicely, dragging the leash. They're freshly groomed and their hair is soft.
• Those ghastly drifts of maple leaves making the roadsides a slippery mess will soon be raked away or dissolve into mulch.
• The apple plucked from the tree along our driveway was crisp and cold. Pure delicious-ness.
• Yesterday's wind played a rowdy tug-of-war with the trees but some leaves proved tenacious and are still waving their goodbyes.
• A smoky bitter lapsang suchong refreshes me with its darkness.

And an enormous pleasure:

• They're done with presidential elections for 2 years.

Read more:
*The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. 1 Samuel 2:4

*Paul wrote: I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Moravian Prayer: Almighty God, we are strong when our strength comes from you. Help us in moments of weakness to remember that we can call on you and all that works against you shall be broken while we will be made whole. Amen.

Walking fool

“It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks.” Anatole France

Do you walk regularly? Whoever Anatole is/was, that’s good advice. The American lifestyle demands a car culture. (NY and a few other urban centers are the exceptions.)

The grocer is a few miles from our house. It’s a long way to the pharmacist or pet store. Our friends may not live in our neighborhoods and church may be 15 minutes away – by car. Shopping malls have big parking lots to host vehicles for those who come from a wide radius from the stores.

A car makes the trip convenient – and if our loads are heavy, makes errands possible. So, some of us don’t walk further than from our house to our car to the office or shop. Ever.

And our bodies suffer. “Every hour, take a break from sitting,” experts say. “You need the circulation and the movement.” Yet who remembers to leap from the chair to stroll around the building or neighborhood? My mom does. At 77, she takes several walks a day to keep her spine straight and energy high. Sometimes Dad walks along with her – he’s 80 today and fit as the fiddles he loves. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POP!)

The dogs and I walk almost every day at home, rain or shine, usually 1-3 miles. I hate our climb up our driveway to the steep street that gets us to the flat mountaintop of our neighborhood. “Do it for the dogs,” I tell myself. Actually, the dogs get me moving = my reason for having a dog, besides companionship.

Here at camp, I’m a walking fool. Each morning I walk my dogs just over a mile to the post office to deposit a postcard or letter. I try not to get into the car unless I have to, fending off runs to the store (“Can I do without that?”) or local attractions (“Do I really want to see that?”) If we want to visit, want to use wifi at the lodge, or otherwise decide to get out of the cabin, we walk. The gravel roads are good for the feet and bad for my shoes, the sharp pebbles wearing through the soles.

Walking provides stimulation for the eyes and a rhythmic meditation of breath and muscle. 20 minutes nearly a day, with a ½ hour walk once a week, should begin to heal and nurture your body and refresh your soul. Your body and soul are the only ones God gave you. Take care of them!

So why are you still sitting there? Get moving!

Read more:

*Does God not see my ways, and number all my steps? Job 31:4

*But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands. Psalm 10:14

*Jesus saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34 

*For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Moravian Prayer: We know that you are always with us, O God. Be with us today and every day as we go through life, and help us remember to live as your children, until we see you face to face.

Lord of compassion, we sense the needs of many we pass on the street but do nothing to help. Your sensitivity and concern as the great Shepherd is always at work. Hear our prayer, O Lord. Amen.