Friday, June 5, 2026
K and I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by. We have a few more days together. She puts together a meal for Hope, her grieving friend has just lost her mother. K prepares chicken, salad, carrots, sweet potatoes, couscous, cookies, and more.
Meanwhile I walk Mika. I want to see if I can find a "Pride of Bermuda" shrub in Bandung. This one has constant 10" stems of flowers. It's 5' tall but the homeowner says it will double in size by the end of summer.
Hope's mom collected Pen Delfin figures, just like I did in my early 20s. It's the first time I've seen PDs in years and I recognize some of them. They'll be decluttering the collection soon. Mine might still be in a box under the stairs. oh oh.


The restaurant that we've chosen in northwest Austin is closed for maintenance. We head to another Szechuan Chinese restaurant. The food is good. The company is wonderful.
I'm awake after sleeping for 3 hours. Since I can't fall asleep, I listen to scripture - 1 and 2 Kings. Wow, how the kings of Jerusalem go their own ways, the same we want to disobey with "do it my way" today.
In the evening light, the Pride of Bermuda shrub glows orange.
K's neighbor Kat and I finally find time to walk together. We meet at 7AM to check out a neighboring trail. Bikes whiz past but mostly it's quite empty. It's an easy loop walk, pavement on a gradual uphill for a few miles.
Kirsten drops me off at the airport on Monday morning. I check a carry-on bag at the gate. It's heavy: full of shoes and art supplies. No, I did no art in Texas. Maybe in Montana in the coming weeks?
Lunch on Wednesday is a Tex-Mex bowl: rice, beans, chicken, and ground beef, topped with lettuce, hot salsa, and shredded cheese. Not bad! Hispanics and Caucasians each make up close to 35% of the population. The rest are immigrants from everywhere so we feel right at home. We hear many languages spoken around us.

I'm up early. Might as well have a bath before W wakes up. The water is so chlorinated that I'm breathing bleach fumes for 1.5 hours.
* The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10
* Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:14
* I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:1-3
* Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:1-5
* Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” John 11:21-22
Moravian Prayer: Lord, thank you for sending us your son. Jesus is always here to hear our prayers and to help us to be people after your own heart, loving you and generous to others. We await the return of Jesus to bring us to God, face to face. Amen.




















