Roses, shoes, and books galore

This stunning bouquet greets me as I head outside to work and edit. It was brought to the GG hall after Friday's 70th birthday party for Chandra's sister. 3 colors of roses ...

Friday, June 7, 2024

When the high school library remodels and sells solid wood shelves for $7-10, you say, "Sure. Send some our way." Mr. RM writes me: "This is your stack so far." (The tallest are 6'/2m high.) He'll have more for us next week.

Once we have an answer to last week's proposal, we'll know which shelves stay with us and which belong elsewhere. IES Bandung got two ($20 for both) for a new village library, too. It's fun to participate in God's blessings, isn't it?

The truck with our shelves, a desk, and two huge rugs hits a downpour a mile (15 minutes) from our house. The movers pull over, jump out, and drape everything with a tarp. At our place, they sit with a cup of tea and some cookies until the deluge subsides.

I map our shelves, sizes, and where they should be placed. They're heavy wood, so we don't want to be moving them unless we have to. IbuS helps me shift the dining table and the nook furniture so that the shelves will fit. The movers place everything according to the instructions.

I gather books from around the main room and call it a day.

We put the dogs to bed and turn in for an early night - but it takes me a while to fall asleep.

Saturday

My big morning job after the walk is looking through the +90 bags of books that arrived with the shelves. "At the school, the students helped us take them from the hall to the car," says PakG. "It went really quickly with many hands."

Today, I'm on my own. I cut open and sift through every bag, placing them further along the wall of the house to keep them sorted. I find a few things that people are looking for. Most of the haul stays in the bags. 3 teachers from another city are coming to get the books tonight and sleeping over. They can have as much as fits into their car.

The other thing on my list is making a bouquet for Sunday. This is the wreckage left when I'm through with last week's beautiful arrangement.

It's not that interesting. So I'm relieved when Titik writes that she has lots of flowers to grace the hall tomorrow. (That's the gorgeous bouquet above.) Mine stays at home.

The book group meets on the other hill mid-morning. We read and discussed Lincoln Highway by Amos Towles together - and PakG and I return home to get Waldemar. This tree's root system is spotted along the street.

W and I are off to Boromeus Hospital to get the 2.5-week-old stitches removed. "You're healthy and all is well," according to the doc. We had some skin flaps removed and checked - they're benign. Apparently I'm allergic to the bandages - so that's what was so itchy! My neck and back are inflamed.

"Take your bandages off tomorrow." The doc wants us to apply cream morning and evening for 3 months to prevent scars. We couldn't remember to take the antibiotics. Hopefully we're better with the salve. But why bother?

"Who cares about scars at our age?" I ask her. She insists that the scars can become itchy and hard. They'll be difficult to remove later. Whatever. W asks for the prescription and orders online for 1/10 of the cost at the hospital pharmacy.

I gather books from around the house for the library nook to fill up the shelves. I leave 2 long shelves of Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Tom Swift and the Readers Digest Condensed Books upstairs for now.

Eki and friends arrive at 6:00 p.m. as the sun is setting. W orders in a meal. The guys will sort and pack the bags of books between now and when they leave tomorrow. What a chore - and what a reward for their school.

Sunday

Eki likes oatmeal. I usually make it for breakfast when he's staying over but his friends are less impressed.  The three strong young-uns hoist the heavy rugs up to the second floor to storage. I have to remember to check that these old Tupperware containers are completely closed; the ants find any crevice into food supplies.

We're out the door at 7:00 a.m. and the van full of books are on their way to Tasik at 8:00. Three small piles are left but Frances mentions she's teaching English to kids from her kampung. Aha. That's where they'll go! At IES, we set up a table and invite people to take books as well.

Under my chair in the prayer room is this marvel: first I think it's a Christmas tree light. But ... it's the shed carcass of a bug - neon green with a red tip, empty and clean. I tuck it into my purse to show our American grandkids.

This morning we are praying for the sick and asking God to provide for other needs. We celebrate a baptism and  eat pho for lunch with Eki.

In mid-afternoon, I realize that the back of this shelf is perfect for the macrame displaced in the nook by another shelf.

The front? I dig around every box and rack to consolidate 10 years of shoes. Streets and sidewalks here are brutal to shoes: they're wet, uneven, and coarsely paved. Much of the footwear is almost but not yet ready for the bin. Since soles wear out quickly, we bring 4 or 5 pairs back every October from sale racks in the USA. Looking at this group, I don't need another pair! I can wear these out in the coming year and shop shoe sales in 2025. hehe

We meet Gerhard and Hela for supper and conversation at Bumi Sangkuriang. We pray together at the table before walking home after sunset. The air is warm and clear and the streets are damp; it rained lightly while we ate.

Monday

A few hours of calls, a check of a student's exceptional dissertation proposal, and a some chores get wedged between our walk. The cool night gives way a clear skies and the hot sun warm the air. 

It looks like a morning of scheduling and catch-up. Eki's had breakfast and heads out with a high school friend of long ago. I eat a slice of banana bread and an egg casserole. I'm not in the mood for leftover oatmeal. Maybe for supper?

Read more: (scripture and a prayer)

*O Lord, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 2 Kings 19:15

*Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. Psalm 23:6

*I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8

*Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. Acts 2:46-47

*There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. Romans 10:12

Moravian Prayer: Loving Shepherd, we thank you for your tender care and the promise of future joy with you. We also thank you for the flock into which you have called us. It is good not to be alone, but to live in fellowship with other Christians with whom we can share our joys and sorrows, and experience a foretaste of the joy which will be ours in your presence. May we be sources of love and care for those around us.

Divine Creator, the universe proclaims your power and glory from the wonder of unnumbered galaxies to the most fragile of lifeforms. Despite your position above and beyond all things, you chose to enter into your creation, in Jesus Christ, to reveal yourself to humankind as one who loves us and longs to receive our love in return. We praise you for your reconciling love and yield ourselves to you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Movies and books

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

It's movie night. Yesterday, the new LR/DR arrangement disappeared when W and PakG moved out the rugs and dining table. They brought bean bags and pillows from storage. W sets up projectors in and outside and tests the sound.

He takes the dogs around the loop. Instead of a walk outdoors, I start at 5:30 a.m. and pace +3000 steps in the kitchen, cooking for 60. Knowing how many will show up is a tricky thing; 70 young adults have signed up this exam week.

We pray for good weather ... when it rains, many students won't come. Then we're left with a lot of food. The helpers don't mind: they take it home for their families. It pours in the afternoon and then stops.

The kitchen list get crossed off, one entree after another. When IbuA and IbuS arrive at 3:00 p.m., they work through their own list (written under mine).

They are a great blessing: they stay and clean up until 10:00 p.m.) The students look forward to saying hi to them as much as to us.

Yesterday we experimented with a dough conditioner in the bread maker. One of three breads was a "fail!" We make peanut-butter and honey slices from the rest - it's served as dessert and disappears completely.

As I work, Mom calls. If your mother is still alive and blowing kisses, thank God. W and I are privileged in our late 60s. Both moms pray for us and talk with us daily.

The first part of every movie night is cooking 2.5 kg spaghetti. The spaghetti water is used to boil 200 bakso (meat-ish balls with flour and meat, used locally for soup.) The bakso balls marinate in black pepper sauce while I air-fry 200 small sausages. The food-coated wooden spoons, spatulas, and silicone pads are rinsed into the broth before washing. That makes a rich and tasty soup base. When we're low on broth, I freeze some. Otherwise, the helpers take it home.

The curry and spaghetti sauces simmer while the bakso bakes in the oven, tray by tray, I prefer to be a "clean" cook, washing up as I go. I have to reuse the oversize pots. There's still plenty to wash when I'm done. 

Today the ibu-ibu also wash the utensils stored on the bottom shelf of the island: some of them are pretty dusty. Last to bake are the spicy chicken wings.

Rinse, rinse, and wash what would stick if left for later. By 10:30 a.m., the food is staying warm in heavy commercial pots, side to side under thick blankets. I have no capacity to cook lunch. I make something for the men working outside but W and I head out to Ethnic, a few blocks away. See the little boy is stepping on the narrow wall next to a drop-off of 3-4' (+100cm)? I want to say, "Be careful not to fall!" but he's obviously done this before.

Lunch is oncom, seasoned rice with nuts and a side of hard-roasted beef. We walk home for a quiet afternoon.

After 5:00, I reheat the food for dinner at 6:30. The cutlery, condiments, serving bowls and spoons are ready. Now for people! Food is first, a long line that stretches out the door.

We're pretty casual at movie night. Bella, Sigit and their "little" come to say hi, too. It's wonderful to see our young friends mature into parenthood, marriage, and work after university.

Guests sit on the Porch and in the house, enjoying Paddington and our theme of belonging. They make themselves comfortable on the sofas or floor pillows.

We are saying goodbye to about 10 scholarship students. They're writing finals and theses and this is the last time they're in-country for movie night. They're going home to Kazakstan, Burundi, Tanzania, Morocco, Madagascar, and elsewhere. What a pleasure to get to know them while they're in Bandung. W prays God's favor, peace, and blessings over them as they return home.

Thursday

I'm never up for a hike after movie night. Way too tired but I go anyway. Nature clears my brain and unclogs my body. Sometimes people wonder why we rest so deeply and take time to hike every week. It's because of the surges of attention required for events and pastoring.

Our 2 fearless leaders are away: Angie repatriated to Germany last week (boo hoo) and Veronica is visiting Australian family. Andy leads on "Mariska's walk" today. It's down down to the river and back up to the other side. 

The army has fenced off a "live firing" area so we skirt the edge of the forest and walk through the tea fields. The path offers us God's discards: a beautiful fruit (size of a plum),

an exquisite blossom, and

a bright 1' (30cm) lizard who ignores our dogs running past it. It stays on the path until young Sam touches its head and then darts into the green underbrush.

We've come out on another hill instead of looping back. The descent is steep to where the car picks us up.

On the return trip, we pass a huge display of stuffed lions and camels. "It's a party for a boy being circumcised," explains PakG. He tells us this old tradition is dying out and very expensive. The boy will have a party and be paraded through his village and then he is inducted into Islam with the ceremony. This can happen before school age or through his teens, whenever he and his family are ready. 

"This celebration is very big - and the family must be wealthy. Most of us cannot afford this." Usually there is only one lion for the boy himself but this is a big event.

W and I stop at a Sundanese café for lunch. I order a drink; it's served in a bowl with floating bread in a warm ginger tea, laced with shaved young coconut, tapioca pearls, and peanuts. Tastes ok.

I try another version of oncom rice with a skinny chicken breast and wing. We order sate on the side and can't finish; there's enough for PakG as well.

When we get home, the helpers have washed and put away late-night dishes, mopped the floors and Porch, and reset the living room. I place the accessories back before a meeting at 3:00 about baptism certification. W fields that meeting while I shower off the grime of the hike.

We're tired from yesterday and glad when another day in paradise is done and the sun goes down at 6:00.

Friday

When I wake at 3:00 a.m., I write Sunday's talk about divine healing. I discard what I wrote earlier in the week. That's not the direction we're going.

When the week is full or the talk is percolating, the sermon may not come together until the end of the week. We never want to neglect the privilege of preaching. We don't take it for granted. But sometimes our study, prayer, and reflection on scripture wait for coherence and cohesion. 

W and I read the talk before walking the dogs. Then it's moving day. We're doing another book pickup! The books are packed into bags (some of them below), which are heavy but easier to transport.

We are also getting bookshelves! hurrah. Some will go to Tanikota for their new library. Others will be picked up tomorrow by a group of teachers from another city. Thank God for his provision! 

One more day of picking up library discards is coming up next week. Then, "Dear God of abundance, I think that's enough for a while." W says the same.

Read more:

*Do not fear, for I am with you. Isaiah 43:5

*One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you.” Acts 18:9-10

*And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that  we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.1 John 4:16-19

O God, our help and stay, whatever challenges or problems may come our way, reassure us of your presence to comfort, strengthen and embolden us. Grant us the grace to feel your strong hands upholding and protecting us as your Spirit leads us forth. Amen.

Move that energy!

Friday, May 31, 2024

I've been restless in the house which means a shift is coming. I hold off until after our Bali trip. I used to move with help from our kids when they lived at home. Or I'd shift a room by myself. (Moving the piano from one room to another was a bit of a stretch.) Today the living and dining areas are swapped. It starts like this.

We take the accessories away before vacuuming the carpets and the floor underneath.

We shift the dining room to the sunnier area near the sliding windows. The alternative is moving houses or stirring up trouble haha. W is grateful that IbuS and PakG do the work, rather than him or me.

Add color and we're set.

Saturday

The rearranged space feels cozy when we get up. Our guests say the same thing later in the day.

After a walk and chat with my Mom, I write a proposal for a future project. W reads, comments, and we table the proposal to pray about it over the weekend. 

Brunch with Danny is full of stories. They captured a 5' (1.6 meter) "batik" python on his farm's hill. The zoo wanted $14/mo to keep it so he rehomed it with a friend who lives away from small children. Pythons are good ratters.

We enjoy sitting and chatting - I've walked past this place cafe and wondered what was inside. Looks like a new option for tea and coffee. The rain starts in earnest so W runs home for the car. By the time he returns, it a deluge.

Back home, Shibli has packed hundreds of books into Danny's car; a few are left for the person coming next weekend.

W and I review and edit his Sunday talk. I listen to some leadership and class podcasts. 

Sunday

We talk about 2 men with the same name who make very different choices. The consequences are stark: choose God's way and leave a legacy even if you suffer or are redirected. OR choose your own way and you'll go down in history as someone who never lived up to your potential.

It's Round Table Sunday with time for discussion about the choices we make. Titik has outdone herself with table arrangements and a massive flower bouquet for the platform.

We take them home after lunch and thank God for beauty.

After lunch at Nara, we submit the proposal and rest.

Our guards are on alert while we're away. Their tail-wags say they're happy we're home.

Monday

Oh my - the day flies by. After a few online meetings, there's class prep, writing, and back-and-forth messages to schedule what's incoming. After Bible study, W posts a movie night announcement for Wednesday. The guest list fills up before noon. 

IbuS works at the posiandu (community clinic) every first Monday of the month. Taking a break from books, I learn how to make flour tortillas. Works! in time for a delicious lunch. I learn something new, which is fun. W and I test out the small table.

It pours rain and thunder flashes nearby. We have 3 anxious dogs and a happy "piglet:" our labradoodle loves to roll in the wet mud. She doesn't know how dirty she gets and wants to cuddle when I come out to pet the dogs. Um, please stay there. I'll happily touch the (hardly-any) clean parts of you... good girl.

When I look up from my desk, it's 5:00. The desk is piled high with giveaway sets of books and classroom items. I get a WhatsApp message from a high school: "Want more?" Sure. Let's see where God will send it all.

My work includes deciding when the shelves and desks from the school's renovation can be picked up from the school. They are ready for us, but it takes us until Friday to reset the house from movie night BEFORE more lands here.

Tuesday

I meet online with a friend = life-giving. W and I come back from walking the dogs. Then I'm out the door to shop for tomorrow. PakG is a big help, pushing 2 full grocery carts to the car and hauling them into the kitchen. The helpers unpack. By the time I turn around twice, the first of 3 loaves is baking in the bread maker - and they've stashed everything in the fridge or where it's ready to chop.

Tomorrow I start cooking at 4 or 5am. We expect 50-60 young people for dinner and a movie after sundown. 

Our team meeting is hybrid today. After they leave, W and the guys move furniture and rugs out of the living room and start to set up for tomorrow.

Read more:

**O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you. Psalm 41:4

*“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

 

"I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed--I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God. Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?” Isaiah 43:10-13

IPaul wrote: I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10

Moravian Prayer: Holy One, we act against you every day, unfit to be your followers. We have done nothing to deserve your forgiveness. Yet by your grace, you still guide us, love us, save us. Remind us every day that we owe you our lives, our gratitude, our praise. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.