Advent Week 2: Three "Before and After"-s

Friday, December 1, 2022

December?!

I'm happy to be in rainy season in the tropics. I pull the hose over to the big pot, which got a coat of hideous brick-red yesterday. 

It has water in the bottom from the heavy rain last night but it takes almost an hour to fill. We let it overflow for a few minutes to drain out the gunk. It heeds 24 hours to off-gas the chlorine before we add fish.

My home office desk is the dumping ground. There are teaching supplies (left by a volunteer), Christmas supplies (brought home from IES), gift boxes and White Elephant gifts (waiting for wrapping), tea - and the usual office supplies. I move enough stuff so that I can see its surface again.

We have a lunch appointment with friends at Pipin's restaurant. The streets are worth touring just for what you see. Look at this little pickup, heaped high.

Lest there not be enough on top, workers pile on more.

We have to drop off a dehumidifier for repair. The covered building supply mall has a whole section of up-and-down: 2 escalators going up one or two storeys; stairs up to the first storey and others to the second storey; and stairs to the ground floor /basement.

At the restaurant, the company is good.

So is the coconut and fruit drink.

I don't try the papaya blossom dish because it smells of the dry salty fish I avoid.

W likes the green mango salad, along with his creamy ginger drink. We split 2 kinds of ribs.

There are many kinds of spicy sauces for those who like that.

Historical homes in Bandung are usually Dutch style. Their tall ceilings wick away hot air. The plaster walls could be from Europe. The yards ae manicured and driveways are paved. Overhead, the wires and cables give away our location (= not Europe.) 

People rent costumes to raise money (begging).

They walk between cars, looking for donations.

Later, we clean the fishbowls on the porch and edit the talks for the weeks ahead. And there's writing. Always writing. By 4:00 p.m., the lightning and thunder storm has started. IbuS has baked pretzel bread buns so we have those for supper, along with leftovers. That warms our tummies as the wind kicks across the hills.

Saturday

It's time. The fish are lifted out of their pail to swim in the new pond. The waterlily leaves grow 8"taller to reach the surface in less than 24 hours.

My office tank is emptied into another pot in the garden. The good thing about keeping tropical fish in the tropics is that you need no lights, filters, or heaters. Put water and plants into a container and you're done.

I eat breakfast, make calls, and write on the breezy porch overlooking the garden.

W has one meeting instead of 3 so we have time to walk the neighborhood loop together. At the hall, the bulletin board needs an update. It's a simple 1-2-3 renovation.

1. Pull off old papers that are peeling and drooping off the board. Toss.

2. Start anew. The paper sheets in the office are "less-than-1/4" size. No wonder they were inexpensive! The size determines the pattern. There's an old Christmas sign, too.

3. In the afternoon, I walk over to finish the board. Our bag of ornament "leftovers" offers limited choices. It takes a few minutes: I find a bit of batting, scraps of tinsel garland, a holly loop I don't bother to straighten, some branches, and 6 ornaments. That's enough.

Speaking of upgrades: the fading wall in the hall gets repainted to match the other end of the room. Thanks, JP and Maddie! Before:

After:

We bought silk Christmas flowers yesterday. A bit of "real" foliage could perk them up so I break 2 stems from a garden shrub and put them into a glass inside the vase, along with some grass seeds plucked on our morning walk.

Read more:

*Jacob said, “Come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” Genesis 35:3

*He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Isaiah 40:29

*Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

*Give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything. Ephesians 5:20

Moravian Prayer: Heavenly Creator, we thank you for your faithfulness. You have blessed us richly in ways which are seen and unseen. Thank you for your presence in our lives, through your Holy Spirit. 

Great Provider, you give strength in weakness, you feed us with life, and you refresh us with your love. Help us to use the provisions you give to continue your work in your world. Amen.

Advent blessings and concerns

Friday and Saturday, November 25-26, 2022

Volunteers work hard to deck the halls! There's laughter, too. Advent celebrates the first coming of God's Son Jesus and looks forward to his return to judge the living and the dead.

At home, we're finished, too. The Christmas napkins are on the table.

The tree is dressed.

Advent ornaments - one a day, each with a scripture verse reminding us of the love of God which we celebrate at Christmas.

The picture ledges are lit.

The nook gets a few sparkles and festive additions.

 

The end tables are topped with spontaneous choices each year. This time around, the dill flowers drape over a 70-yr-old vase from my mom, surrounded by a big wreath.

In my office, termites are doing their own remodeling. This pile of frass drops on my collage papers.  During an evening call, I hear rats scrabbling overhead in the ceiling. Oh well.

The Advent bags were handed out the last 2 weeks, full of candles, little ornaments, an Advent devotional booklet, and home-baked cookies.

Sunday: First Sunday of Advent

The hall is full and we enjoy the round table discussions.

Groups of volunteers take selfies of course.

The photo wall will soon fill up.

And in front, the reason for the season.

Monday

Many calls. A lot of decisions. And tea! Lisa and I spend part of the afternoon enjoying a cuppa, along with egg salad sandwiches on freshly-baked bread (thanks to IbuS).

Tuesday

The team meeting is follower by a wonderful surprise: our son Agus drops by for lunch. He lives far away.

We take pics around the tree as Bailey watches.

At the office, Clau, Alice and Laurel sort through donations for distribution in the earthquake-ravaged zone west of Bandung.

Wednesday

It's Melvina's last day in the house. She's gradually moved into a dorm room close to her university since she won a prestigious scholarship in August. Today, she comes back for dinner and packing up. She leaves this beautiful orchid and a few other treats for us.

I'm reading the snow posts from my Seattle friends and looking at their pictures of 15-40 cm snowfalls. I pull on a long-sleeved top (in the 80o warmth) and shiver at the thought of winter.

Yesterday, six guys strained to move a big pot (4.5 feet/1.5 meters across) from the neighbor's yard to ours. PakR is redoing his focal point and we already have two matching pots in the garden. The men got the monstrous urn to the back of the yard with great effort: it weighs hundred of pounds. Today, Pak Ade recruits 3 neighborhood friends to help - and they, W, and PakG wrestle it up a few steps and into place beside the porch. 

The pot has multiple cracks and leaks near the top, so PakA paints it with a grey, waterproof concrete.

"Tomorrow it will be dry and you can put fish into it," he says, pulling a tarp over it to prevent the afternoon rains from soaking it.

Thursday

The paint is neither the kind I want nor the right color. I water it down as much as I can but it's not close to the original antique terra-cotta. I'm a messy painter and it takes 30 minutes to scrape the paint off my hands and trousers. But my blouse is a loss. There's no getting the paint out of it.

Other than that, the pot will make a fine fishpond. (For scale, can you see the full-sized pail with the fish inside?) We'll fill it tomorrow morning once the city turns on the water. The fish will have to wait in the bucket for another 24 hours - maybe Saturday morning they'll be swimming again. Hope they last until then. And that the paint doesn't kill them.

Our Thursday walk is practically perfect. W is back after 2 months off (travels and a knee injury, which has healed.) We park along the highway, avoiding a 3' hole in the parking strip. Luckily, someone rammed an 8' (2.6 m) warning bamboo stake into the hole and tied a branch on top.

After the walkers cross the highway, we're in tea country. The volcanic mountains and rolling hillside are swathed in clouds but it doesn't rain. And it's muggy but not too hot without direct sunshine.

The roads, made of irregular rocks jammed into mud, wind through the tea plantations. Beside the roads, the rain has gouged out deep ditches. We spot some men redoing parts of the road where trucks have made deep ruts.

The stream beds are damp but have drained the recent downpours away.

It's an amicable group and a slow wander, which is good for me. My heart pounds going uphill and the high elevation = a working walk. Two of this morning's hikers finished a 22 km rough jungle-and-mountain run on the weekend. They're in great shape! and they are patient friends for those who are slower.

IP Farms is our lunch spot. They've decorated for Christmas.

6 of us lunch together with dozens of flies zooming around. "Oh, that's because of the chicken manure and rainy season," shrugs the server. They're on every dish we don't keep waving our hands over. We eat everything anyway.

The formal herb beds and a border of amaryllis make a fine view from the table.

The paths lead into the fields. We've had our walk so skip the extra stroll.

As we drive home, this little boy (2 or 3 years old?) is having a fist fight by himself. He's adorable - playing without supervision a few meters from heavy traffic.

The ladies have baked 6 banana breads and cleaned Melvi's room upstairs. I'm so grateful for their help. The afternoon thunder shakes the house.

Read more:

*I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.

Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. 

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:5-10

Prayer: Oh Lord God, you who know everyone and everything, come to our rescue. Be our God, day by day. We know you have good plans for us so we ask for obedient and submissive hearts to live those plans out in the world around us. Amen.