New endeavours and recovery

Friday, February 13, 2026

We clear the children's area and carport for the start of campus 3 of an English program. We have no idea how many are coming; there's no ibu (neighborhood woman) in charge yet. I'm watching to see who emerges.

We haven't seen this floor since a few weeks ago, before we began the final round of moving. We work hard together to clear away what's been dumped in the space.

I toss salad and the lunch leftovers into the microwave and voila. Supper.

I'm about to post to the Yard Sale with a big food-service shelf that we acquireda long time ago and used for storage. Before I hit send, I consider another option. One of our helpers is a foodie. Maybe her relatives want it? I price it at 1/3 of what I'd ask online.

She responds that her daughter-in-law (or granddaughter-in-law?) would like it. Can they come today? Yes please - but bring at least 3-4 men. It's very heavy. I warn them not to put it down on their flipflops or break their toes by dropping it. It's handed it over in good condition. But.

First, they bump the top on the concrete rafters in the carport. They lift it down and drive the pickup truck onto the driveway to load it again. I hear another crunch when they get to the top of the driveway. They've hit the gate supports and have to lift it down one more time to get under them. 

We go from squeezing past the shelf under the stairs to 

suddenly having space for ...? 

Saturday
I walk the dogs before they eat and nap.

They're tied under the trees, away from the kids and moms who will show up for language class orientation. 

The birds need food: we're almost out. Their chirping and singing are pleasant. Other songbirds fly in, pecking the seeds that fall out of the cages.

I check the classrooms and the supplies before everyone comes. Shibli, who arrives first, chooses the conference room as the classroom. Seen through the window of the young kids' room, the mural makes a nice backdrop.

The conference room gets the new carpets (woven plastic) donated by Dina. (Received with thanks!) When the moms and kids arrive, they sit around the edges.

A half-dozen volunteers do the English orientation. A few newcomers understand some English; others are new to the language. After I welcome them, I go back to work.

After orientation, the volunteers take the kids and moms into the nearby villages to recruit more learners. It's a perfect day with high clouds shading the hottest sun. The wind stirs the trees.

After an hour or so, the pat pat of children's feet slaps down the driveway. They grab their things and off they go again. 

A look at traffic from drones reminds us why we don't go into town on Saturdays. (7:42 AM)

This is near the toll road that comes from Jakarta and the Bandung suburbs. No, thank you. Those merges, those 3-cars-in-2-lanes? We've never learned to drive it.

One of the plagues here is that people burn yard waste and garbage. Thick smoke drifts over from the neighbor mid-day, right into the house.

Sunday

The prayer room has verses that remind us of our heritage in God. This one speaks of the unchanging love and kindness God shows his children.

Chandra leads the Gathering. The guests stand to introduce themselves and their hometowns. Some have deep family roots in Bandung.

A few attend sister congregations - Bali, Jakarta, etc. We take pics to send to their pastors.

Titik's flowers anticipate Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day (just past), and the love we celebrate as the Body of Christ.

A closer look is even more interesting. The red pussy willows are a traditional Chinese celebration stem.

#TitikBadudu says roses are expensive this week. In addition to the Chinese New Year on Tuesday, both Lent and Ramadan (a month of Muslim fasting during the day) start on Wednesday. This one-in-a-generation confluence of holidays last happened in the 1990s.

Jenny invites us to lunch in a new art museum. We walk down and meet in the cafe upstairs.

We get a menu, but they're out of nearly everything. They have fries, siu mai, and rawan soup. So that's what we order. Not bad, but the view of the neighborhoods from the top of the museum is spectacular.

I briefly glance at the art, including this runner on the table. The pattern is woven between thin strips of bamboo.

The dogs are happy roaming the yard, welcoming me home with enthusiasm. After some work, it's time for relaxation.

Want a bath? The shower offers a small stream of warm water and the tap in the tub is only cold. For a hot bath, you schlep pails of hot water from the shower at the far end of the upstairs hall, which has a gas heater. It's good exercise. I fill 6 buckets, walking back down with each.

The last pail is reserved as a hot refill when the water cools down. 

The orchids have enjoyed a patch of rain to quench their roots.

A week of work lies ahead. Good thing God mandated a Sabbath rest. It's one gift I like to spend fully. How about you?

Read more:
* The word of the Lord came to [Jeremiah], saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,    before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” [Jeremiah] said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:4-8

* Looking at his disciples, [Jesus] said: 

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets." Matthew 6:20-23

Prayer: God, you love us and see us. Help us to trust you. You will take care of us, no matter what our circumstances. Help us to faithfully follow you, loving others as you do. We thank you for your protection and provisions. Amen.

Almost nesting - almost

Monday, February 9, 2026

Yay for a new week. Last week started with the deaths of two friends. It ended with a wedding at the Project. That's a lot to process. To wake up early, to work with energy, to be healthy? W and I don't take that for granted. We feel utterly blessed.

This week, we must shift the remainder of the garden over, prepare for the handover of the old lease, and do some traveling. That's on top of our regular obligations. Some weeks feel fuller than others.

W and I walk through the old yard to decide what will be left behind.

We're not happy with the wedding food garbage and recycling left on the Project porches and in the carport. That has to be cleaned away as well.

It's a relief when the yardmen show up at 8AM.

I walk through the old yard again, this time with PakG and the guys, to make sure they'll bring the pots, plant supports, ginger, and other plants. After a month, the weeds have taken over - it's overgrown and will be cleaned up at our expense before we hand off the lease.

Meanwhile, IbuS starts on the laundry and cleans the conference room, corner to corner. Then the tables left outside after the wedding come in to be washed down and packed away. We eat leftovers from the wedding for lunch.

I clip off dill stems that are getting lanky: we dry and freeze them. The plants will get bushy if they are regularly pruned. Walking outside to clip a stem for garnish or flavour is a year-round privilege.

Inside, the bouquet of roses has matured to perfection. No petals have dropped but each rose is fully open to 10cm/4". Breathtaking, isn't it?

A few of the dogs move to our place today. They're tied up out of the way here until all the garden transfers are done. We don't want anyone stumbling over a dog as he carries in a clump of plants! The dogs rest - it's familiar ground since each has slept over at least once. They're alert and curious, watching the goings-on. They got a 2-loop walk with us at daybreak and will get 2 more before the day is done.

I take them around the property. I chase them off the grass and 2 porches that are designated dog-free for the sake of our Indonesian guests. They have plenty of room to roam. Anton cruises around the yard many times. I'm sure he maxed out # of steps on his tracker (if he had one.) Some dogs are returned to the old place to guard the property at night.

Tuesday

Sympathy cards are hard to write. There's no way to express heartfelt condolences, the wish to be present, and our love for those who have lost someone. I brought some cards along but they seem so inadequate for the depth of sympathy we want to express.

W orders a truck to move the last things from the old house and yard. The men make 2 trips, filling the carport with plants, trellises, and pots. Where did all those birdcages come from? Seems like we've shifted multiple households on this move. 

We restored a broken hydroponic unit that was falling apart along the street. We haven't done much with it. "Can we give it back?" we ask. 

The answer is no. If the neighborhood council let us fix it, they don't want it back. The men tear off the plastic roof and unscrew the top braces. They squeeze it through a passageway to the back of the Project.

The dirty kitchen is set up, the plants are shoved into the ground (yay for a light rain afterwards), and the dogs are chased off the porch multiple times. They're getting the hang of the yard. However, Anton is smart and stubborn. He's intent on finding out which boundaries will be enforced and which are mere suggestions. When I go inside, I come back out to his muddy pawprints everywhere.

I'm on a morning call. We've just paused for prayer when I look up. Anton is staring at me. He has led all the dogs onto the porch while my eyes were closed. The dogs look unblinkingly at me. I turn off my video and audio and walk sternly toward them. "OFF!" and they trot away ("She means it, we think.")

They love having doggie neighbors who bark a lot. The dogs run to the fence on both sides to talk to each other. Anton jumps on the heaped compost, stands on hind legs, wags his tail, and looks over. Then a cacophony of barking erupts. Can you spot him?

I work on the side porch where the dogs can sprawl at my feet.

The biggest chore - and the hardest - has been deemed "impossible!" by Waldemar. In my head, it is already long done. We are repurposing discarded pots in a new space. These were found at the back of the garden and the now-deceased landlord gave us permission to claim them. It took 6 men to move the biggest one the last time it was moved.

It's been repaired many times before us and by us. The last time, the crack ran most of the way down a side and spilled water everywhere.

Today, 6 guys figure out how to lift the massive clump to their shoulders and drag it around the house and through the garden. I throw rugs on the waist-high concrete wall; neither the pot nor the wall gets damaged.

It's a beast. "You don't realize how heavy the thing is!" W exclaims. The men have to put it down a few times on the way over.

They need a break before lifting it over to its resting place.

Then they must level it on a new concrete pad to keep it from tipping over. The pot has been cemented into place many times in its history. Now its base is pointy, making leveling a challenge. Fortunately, I have a long bubble level in my office. That helps set it straight.

It's a long exhausting day for everyone. 

Wednesday

Some IKEA key hooks were mounted yesterday and should be ready-and-stuck. Up go the necklaces that have been stored away for a few months. I give away a dozen more.

I get to talk to Mom this morning! At midweek, it's the first time we've connected since last week. She's tired and somewhat confused with caregivers coming and going in her home.

The difficult thing is that she's a people person; having them in her home is a bit like having guests, only they're strangers rotating in and out. Sandi has each helper post their name with the time of their shift when they arrive. It's hung where Mom can see it; then she knows who is there and when they will be leaving.

The sun's up today. The solar fountains start to bubble. We filled the 2 smaller pots with water yesterday; another discarded pot was placed at the end of the side yard. Fish will go into those three today. The big pot has to settle on its pad for at least one more day.

We don't have much money to renovate the Project. Our imagination and education are the result of enjoying the beautiful rooms and gardens of others. Many secondhand discards came our way in the past few years. With those, a home and community space emerge. The goal is to create character in the rooms and focal points around the yard.

I won't tire of this view. I gather seeds on our hikes and walks. We'll keep planting until the flowerbeds are full and overflowing. 

A women's group meets on the new Porch from 10 to noon. 

W goes downtown to cancel the old phone/internet service - it takes him away for 3 hours. This is a major telephone provider. Wow. Processes can be glacially slow. 

Someone at the first address (where he signed up for service) sends him to another one. "They've moved." When he gets there, he's told they've moved again. At the third place, he can cancel - but only the internet. The phone is still registered in the name of the original owner, who died decades ago. (W asks the family to do that when we meet Thursday.)

At the old house, Melvina - who came for a month and has been our boarder for 6 years - writes a final message on the upstairs guest wall.

For supper, W explains how to order pizza online. I write down each step. I'm not intuitive so missing a step means I'm lost.

We indulge in the TJ hot chocolate sticks the grandkids sent along a few years ago, in mugs we got from a friend the same year.

The "dirty kitchen" is set up; now it just needs a pantry shelf.

Thursday

No hikers today; everyone is busy with other things. W finishes moving - now to clean! the old house next week. What a blessing Ibu Wigar's house was to us over the past 11 years.

We meet there with the family that owns the old place. They have been wonderful to us. They express appreciation for our upgrading systems (including water and power) and for maintaining their home. We are grateful to pray together for God's goodness and health before we hug goodbye. They promise to visit our new place "just around the corner from here."

The guard makes some outdoor brooms from bamboo and sharp grasses. wow. Instead of rakes, these long brooms sweep leaves from driveways, lawns, and public streets. There's no such thing as an automated street sweeper.

W hangs a curtain across the 7'/2.3m shelf at our apartment entry. The first thing people have remarked when entering the room is, "Oh you still have lots to put away."

Um no, that's how sewing and craft supplies look when organized on a huge shelf. About a dozen pictures are not yet hung up. I don't mind propping them atop bookshelves. We'll swap them out later.

Friday

Looking out the apartment window feels as fresh as always. God knows how I crave green spaces and warm weather. I don't take this for granted - ever.

We had a mini auction for 24 demitasse sets yesterday in the WA group: Yard Sale. We're satisfied with the final bid and the person who got them is happy with a LOT of cups and saucers. We bought dishes from an Indonesian china factory during our first month in Indonesia. I don't regret getting so many sets; we regularly use most of them. 

"Are you running a small hotel, by any chance?" asked the cashier back then. Nope, but we were hoping to have a lot of people eat with us. That's certainly come true.

Read more:
* The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Psalm 126:3

* 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

* For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

Moravian Prayer: Comforting Jesus, as your star guided the wisemen to the toddler king, may we, too, pass our gifts of time, talent, and treasure to the church we serve locally, and then rejoice with thanksgiving. Amen.