Saturday, April 17, 2021
We have a dear family over for pizza night after the usual Saturday meetings and a few hours in the office. The fresh cookies Ibu Apong baked are delicious. And Sayaka brings treats from their favorite bakery, which we divide and enjoy.
Sunday
The rainy season is changing to dry season. Well, it's drier. We have a few days without a downpour though thunderstorms still clatter overhead almost every day.
I'm working plans out in a notebook as well as making art every day. One day I combine the two with a stenciled cover for my notebook. (It's partly done but already the colors make me happy.) The 4 values of our work are to gather, grow, give, and go.
The "As-Is" frame we got last week is still on my desk. I take time to play around for a few minutes. I find a quote on a magazine ad that I like and make it a background landscape: "To break the rules you have to first master them."
How about a shadow box? I find some kid dollhouse furniture for a fun start. I wouldn't mind that kind of a picture window in my bedroom, for real.
B continues to be a delight. He discovers the joy of squeakers and "kills" them in marathon sessions. When I hide a squeaky toy to make it last longer he undertakes long searches to find it, starting from where he saw it in my hand.
Did you know that mustard is not a usual condiment? There's sambal (spicy sauce) on every table and you can usually ask for saus tomat (ketchup). But if you want mustard, you have to pay extra ... provided it's available. We got this glop of mustard for $.40 at lunch last week.
It's our recording day - we finish the talk for Sunday before 7:00am. Then W and I walk down to Pino Terrace for breakfast. We're switching our date morning to save time. Dim sum, tea, and two bowls of noodles are Rp.130.000. How would you feel if your breakfast cost 130.000? Well, probably pretty good: that's $9-10 for everything.
The setting is beautiful. An original old Dutch-style house still stands on the property, now the home of an Indonesian-style restaurant.
I love noodles. Malaysians are among the best foodies: they have noodles for most breakfasts. Indonesians like rice (nasi) best but also have ramen noodle dishes.
Later in the day, Chandra swings by BIC for boxes of ramen and a truckload of used clothing for NTT - the island east of Bali that was hard-hit by a cyclone recently.
Wednesday
On our walk, we spot a poinsettia bush beside the street. They can have red petals most of the year in hedges or as specimen plants.
The tall palms the neighbor planted along the driveway have their silvery flower clumps again.
And nearby, another 20' tree is dripping with bottle-brush yellow flowers.
At the entry to our neighborhood, someone is building a gy-normous house. The metal workers walk along the third-store beams, welding and fitting the studs and trusses without harnesses.
I decide on a bath as this week's luxury - once or twice a year I haul out the plastic "sitting" bathtub and fill it up. (We have no regular bathtub, only showers in the house.) You wouldn't think a simple bath is that great of a luxury, but it is. It's great to read when I need to focus, sitting up to my shoulders on a little stool in the bottom.
First I have to fill it (15 minutes when the city water is on - we have very low pressure most of the time.) Then it has to heat for 2 hours with a drop-in water heater we found in the Philippines years ago. Of course, I make sure I'm already clean when I get in - who wants to soak in dirty water?
I don't drain it after I get out but add baking soda and a bit of bleach to the water. Maybe I can have another soak tomorrow, like in a hot tub. We have such limited water supply that I don't want to fill it twice.
The only problem is that by the next morning, the bottom is lined with the silt and dirt clumps that came from the city water supply. Seeing how awful the water is, I just can't do a second round. I drain the water out with a sigh.
The pandemic is taking its toll on mental health. My own counselor suggests two exercises. One is to think about current stressors, then to hang my fingertips toward the ground, "Let go of everything, " He encourages me to think of letting go as making space for better things. "Ask, God, 'What do I need to receive from you right now?'" Done a few times a week, that pause is helpful.
I think about the waits and inconveniences of spiritual leaders: Noah - locked in a boat with his family and animals while his neighbors drowned. Abraham - leaving his country to live among strangers. He had to wait decades for his promised child. David - hiding in caves with outlaws for years as King Saul hunted to kill him. I'm taking heart by knowing that God is not done with us yet.
We're used to instant news, instant updates, instant solutions. In the scope of human history, a year is a very short time to wait to see what God is up to, though for moderns it feels a long time.
My prayer today: "Lord, forgive us our impatience. AMEN."
Read more:
*God said to Noah, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature, that never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Genesis 9:9-10,11
*Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants ... He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 1 Chronicles 16:8-14
*Do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. Colossians 1:23 NIV
Moravian Prayer: Thank you, faithful God, for the promises that you have made to us, the covenants that you have kept with us, and the hope that you bring to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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