Naming a hike: Angie's Walk

Sunday, May 12, 2024

When I lay down for an afternoon nap, I crash into 3 hours of solid sleep. After, I bake some easy power bars. They're just right; not too sweet. With an unstoppable ant parade in the kitchen, we store our baking in the fridge.

The 5-ingredient POWER BAR recipe (to which I added a pinch of salt):

• Blend 12 dates and 1/2 c peanut butter into a thick paste.
• Stir in 1 1/4c oats, 1 c. smashed almonds, and 1/3 c seeds: sesame, chia, or poppy, etc.
• Pack the dough into a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes at 350oF (180oC). 
• Cool 5 min in pan before cutting.

Eki and Lyong stay over - they have a peaceful night.

Monday

I am up 3 hours at night. Sometimes something comes into the house after a crowd. It disturbs the peace and restfulness of the house. We pray and it leaves. When I wake at 6:30, W's already taken the dogs for a walk. We make breakfast and eat together. 

I call Mom for Mothers Day in her timezone. She epitomizes this:

We're happy to chat every day. I also call my brother Norm to howdy.

Between scheduling appointments and answering messages, we pray for our friend Alice who is in surgery. It is a success though the recovery may be painful.

The rose from Mothers Day is opening. I sleep another 2 hours after lunch.

Tuesday

I take the second morning meeting in the nook and knock over a big mug of tea. It's fortuitous. I spot frass on the tile as we wipe up the spill. When I lift away the bench in the nook, there's frass on the carpet, too. The pellets signal that there are termites in the wood - and you can see the holes the bugs are eating into the wood. Yum yum.

W gave up on the top of the bench and fastened a strip of thin Tri-Plex over the holes. We spray when we see the pellets on the floor ... but the termites keep coming back.

I find another comfy (and dry) spot to continue the online meetings, relaxing on the sofa with my feet up on the glass table. Technology makes global connections easy.

The garden is massed with growth. The ground is wet from overnight rains but the sun is out in full force by day. These candy-cane blossoms are seeded from pretty weeds along our walk.

A neighbor planted bulbs along her fence. They bloom all year and today's stunner is a Porsche-red flower.

This little vine, just outside the gate, is new to us.

The fish fry are growing in the glass cylinder atop my desk. Growth is a natural progression. Why is it so hard for us to sustain growth? And why do we fear death, when that is the normal rhythm of life? Somehow the human soul knows there is more; we yearn for freedom and eternal life that animals never long for.

Team meeting is mostly in person. Nowadays, we end up with hybrid meetings (online and personal) because of scheduling issues. Daniel is leading the talk Sunday so he does a dry run for us. Very good. 

Wednesday

At #NaraPark, the servers know what I will order: spicy noodles and an extra hot pot of oolong tea. It's the only place I eat the same meal every week.

After our date breakfast, we're in a mandatory organizational meeting online. The subject is conflict resolution.

Next, I meet Nancy to debrief on the past month. Then it's off for a skin checkup. Living under the hot sun, it's a good thing to check in every few years (5 years for me ...) as a healthy preemptive routine. The Executive Clinic doesn't accept our $10/mo insurance but that's ok. The full checkup and blood tests are about $60 per person.

We check in on Alice, who is asleep. A return trip to the hospital later in the day takes us past a parade of wheelchairs outside the entry.

On the sidewalk, a frog has desiccated itself by landing in the sun and not finding his way back to shade.

The neighborhood tree-cutter chopped an enormous Benjamina ficus back to bare trunks a few months ago. It has  begun to regenerate.

Oh oh - when I pull out a bowl, it's another casualty of stone counters and sinks. Chip. chip.

Thursday

What a beautiful hike. When a beloved walker repatriates, we've begun to name a trail after them. Today, "Angie's Walk" is named; she returns to Germany in 2 weeks. As a measure of her friendship, it's a big turnout: 17 walkers today, plus 7 dogs. "Doggie daycare," mutters someone. Yes, the dogs love to run around.

This hike includes a descent and climb back up - but the waterfall at the base is worth the hill. The dogs splash in the cool water. The shiba yelps without pause whenever she stands in water - it's ear-piercingly loud. Two dogs get to close to the little lip and get swept into the pool a few feet below. We pull them back onto the mossy rocks at the side of the stream.

It's hot in the tea fields but slightly breezy while we're in the forest. Most of us wear hats and slather on sunblock against the sun and heat.

Angie brings us to a cafe she and Amy discovered in the tea fields up the road.

Veronica (hike leader) had a brainwave. She and her daughter Tessa made a photo collage of the hikers of the past years. They included the names of the places where we've tramped.

Everyone signs the back of the frame.

This should provide Angie with a few memories. She'll be missed.

We cruise around a winding mountain road, looking for the hydroponics store. It has closed. However, after crossing the hills above the city, we're on the opposite side of north Bandung. We can drop Melvi (our passenger) near her apartment. No need for her to order a GoJek motorcycle home.

Read more

*Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. Jeremiah 31:16

*Jesus said, “You have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22

[Here's the definition of true LOVE:]

*If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13

Moravian Prayer: Our God now and forever, we believe that when we die, when pain and troubles are over we will be with you for eternity. Until that day, while we are on earth, remind us that you are still with us, even through pain, tribulation, and grief. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Bake a cake already!

Thursday, May 9, 2024: Ascension Day

The daily help shows up. The one paid monthly takes the day off on another government "red-letter day". Since Muslims don't believe Jesus "really" died and was resurrected, they give Good Friday off. But not Easter Sunday. However, Ascension Day is a thing. So interesting to us.

I try to add these berries to arrangements but they are fragile and roll off the stems at the slightest touch. They're pretty in the garden beside the path to the backyard.

I check the bathtub ponds, where one turtle, a group of frogs, and a school of fish live. The grasses and water lettuce are thriving.

W rigged a pump on the hydroponic system to push water through a few times a week. Everything is planted.

The garbage piles are growing along the walking loop.

The worms are making swift work of the avocado tree's leaves.

We cancel the mountain hike and join 2 friends going down the hill along the river. 

"Berhenti! (Stop!)" says the man to the motorcyclist below. But the guy driving up the hill pays no attention to the shouts as another bike descends on the steep and narrow "road." He gooses his bike and flings it up and around the pedestrian and cyclist, from the houses below to the walkway above. Drivers have amazing skills.

Someone is setting up a growing space. Quickly, a handful of 9-10" (20-25cm) spiders take up residence. How many can you spot?

To our left is a plunge to the river and on the other bank, the mountain houses are stacked wall to wall. Most neighborhood drainage on our side runs through this canal to the right of the walking path.

There's every variety of handmade bridge over the drainage canal. This one is bamboo and reclaimed wood.

A little girl sits in her stairwell beside the canal. Some residents build concrete bridges across.

Down below, pre-teen boys are jumping into the river from the other bank. Yay for school holidays.

We cross the busy Siliwangi Road to the Treetop Walk near ITB university.

The old banyan tree is a mass of roots along the sidewalk.

 In the distance, you see the university swimming pool.

The trail loops around through the forest, sometimes 10 meters high as the terrain rises and falls beneath.

Isn't it beautiful? 

Below are many trails through the forest floor.

We walk back to Dalaraos for $2 and $2.50 meals from their Sundanese buffet. We're there just before lunch - by the time we're done, there's a waiting line for our table.

The flavors are intense and mostly spicy. I wrap the hottest vegetables in lettuce and dip them in sambal (more hot sauce). So yummy. I can feel my stomach warming up with the spices.

W goes to sort out some storage at the hall while I come home to edit and write for the weekend. Meanwhile, IbuA and IbuS bake Sunday's chocolate cake.

"I'm making this for my grandchild's birthday party tomorrow," says Ibu A. It's quick and easy and tastes rich and delicious without expensive ingredients like butter or vanilla.

Friday

Walk. Then Gail and I sort out the syllabus. We're getting closer to what we need. We're having lunch with friends, our first time at #TinySeed in KBP. The food is fresh and refreshing.

We pop into another friend's house to pick up IbuS's purchase: a big rice cooker. IKEA has a cheap wall clock to replace one that broke. I find some tablecloth hangers in As-Is, but it's a quick trip and we're back by mid-afternoon.

Saturday

I sleep in because I'm up 3 hours at night - the books of Hebrews and James are interesting listening, though. We walk and W heads to town as usual while I hang tablecloths, sort cabinets, and work on a few other things. I'm wrapping up when he gets home at noon.

 

The syllabus for July's class is sent off. Finally. 

 

A neighbor comes for tea and discussion on how to serve the community. He makes an "impossible" proposal but asks us to counter with something closer to our capacity. "We'll be in touch."

 

Sunday

It's International Mother's Day. Moms are celebrated with roses (thanks, Ibu Titik!). Angie compiles a dozen submissions about our moms are into two videos. What joy to remember how special our moms are to us. We say thank you to a couple serving here for the past years, too.

 

Lunch with friends is a pleasure at Miss Bee, a short walk around the corner from the hall.

We come home to a hangout on the Porch.

The young people laugh and talk and eat together, many cultures and many languages.

Read more:

*God wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal. Job 5:18

 

*For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36

Moravian Prayer: O divine Healer, we come to you with sickness and infirmity—some obvious and visible, some invisible or hidden. Help us to recognize our illnesses and frailties, and to take what steps we need to restore ourselves to wholeness, so that we may fully worship and praise you forever. Amen.

We wrote what??

Monday, May and 6, 2024

Why buy a lawnmower when you have a goat? The neighbors let their 3 goats roam near their house and in the big abandoned lot. The goats call to each other nnnnneeeeeh most of the day as they graze.

W wants to try #Pipinos, a fusion cafe down the street. Surprise! I order the best ravioli I've had in Bandung ($3.25). It's high-fat with delicious cheese and pesto.

But I look across the table at W's gut bomb: a mayo-drenched croissant filled with coleslaw, deep-fried chicken, and maple flavoring. There's not one thing I'd order in that combo, but he says it's good.

These pretty crimson stems grow beside our courtyard table.

We take a shortcut down the hill between high walls of the kampung. Most neighborhoods are similar. Whether the walkway is 2 or 5 feet wide (600-160cm), motorcycles squeeze past as pedestrians flatten themselves against the sides.

The streets are busy: two guys carve away bricks and a cement pad with a chisel and hammer. I wonder what's going into that cavity.

Another group is cleaning the got (drainage ditches on each side of the street). Leaves, garbage, and food wrappers tossed by locals are everywhere, plus what washes downstream from elsewhere in heavy rains. There's not a garbage can to be seen; it's normal to throw the waste to the side of the street. It's cleaned up by private helpers or occasionally by groups like this. 

There's a growing garbage dump on our loop walk, not in the "real" disposal area, but in front of a beautiful weekend house. The heap of tossed bags contains home garbage: paper, food, plastic. It's disgusting. Every month or so, someone clears away stacks of rotting items. Once, someone hung a banner over the usual drop area: 'The ghosts will get you if you dump trash here,' and it cleared up until the banner was removed. Then it was back to people throwing things out from motorcycles and car windows.

Hurrah! hurrah! Finally my syllabus shakes loose from my desk and laptop and I'm making progress. There's a stack of 4 binders (from various classes I'm combining into one) and another pile of printouts.

Supper is a matter of clearing the fridge and catering to our tastebuds. These plates have a little bowl: great for dressing, yogurt, salsa, etc.

Tuesday

I figure out that my resistance to starting my academic work was mostly due to last month's flu. It shut down my brain, body, and drive. On a call with a friend, she mentions the same despair and depression. Wait - that whole muddle was from being sick? Thank God! that's over and I've come back to life. We pray for her healing as well.

Usually Tuesday is team day. Since the team celebrated and connected at lunch on Sunday, I give them the week off.

Walk. Nara breakfast. Writing. Syllabus work and class study. There's so much new information for the class. The question is what to include, what to shed, and what to pause. On the office desk, I leave behind what I've compiled. I spread the rest onto the table on the Porch.

It's a gorgeous sunny day. The rain has been tapering off, which means a warm afternoon. The helpers are hard at work. Outside, PakAD prunes jackfruit branches that have stretched into our eaves. Crash. Smash. The long limbs hit the ground.

Inside, dishes are being washed, pumpkin pies (from real pumpkins not cans) are ready for the oven, and bread is rising in the bread maker. My Turkish teapot steams away: a big handful of leaves steeps in the little top pot while water boils in the bigger bottom pot. I mix stiff tea and water, half and half. W finishes off what's left over with sparkling water, sweetener, and ice.

From the Porch, I smell roasting chickens. Yesterday, W and I popped into the grocer. Whole broilers were on sale for $2.25 so we bought several for the house plus one each for the help. PakG drove down the hill to pick up the heavy bags of groceries while we walked home.

Today I ask the kitchen helper: "Want to prepare the other fowl as you make our lunch?" It's easier if everyone takes home food that's ready-to-eat, rather than having to cook after they get home. Plus we have yummy spices and a real oven ... 

"Yes please!" Only two chickens fit into the turkey roaster at a time, so they are baking all day long. We try new foods when they come on sale and bought weird salty dried mango. It is magically transformed into a delicious fruit salad by IbuA, who is a genius with food.

Last week, I was browsing files for an upcoming class when I ran across a formatted-for-publication chapter. I had no recollection of writing it or what book that went into. 

Today, looking for a book, I find one that looks vaguely familiar ... and there it is? Ah, I vaguely remember writing it. Once my work is out there, it's out of my head. Margaret Shirer is the only Pentecostal mentioned in the book; she was a wild thing and an AG missionary to Africa and Central America.

Wednesday

After a walk, we stock up at the grocer's. Yesterday, making pumpkin pies and bread "ate" into our stock of eggs and flour. 

PakG points out the moving trunk of a tall avocado.

W gets a closeup of the writhing mass of caterpillars. 

"It's the normal cycle for avocado trees," says PakG. "They strip off all the leaves and the tree grows back healthy and strong for the next season. That will happen in our yard as well." Eh?! What a way to replace autumn and winter in the tropical garden!

My desk is a heap of binders, papers, art supplies, an aquarium, tissue box, toys and lamps from our last IKEA run, and even memory stones. (I draw my word-of-the-year on a stone and keep them on a plate as a reminder of God's guidance.) There's so much on the surface that I can't put my computer between. "That's it! Do something."

Clutter gathers when I'm ill, like during last month's flu. I'm ruthless about clearing what others leave in my office unless I'm sick or focused on a project. Hence, the heaps. In a mild start, I sorted books on the office shelf - and hey, today there's room for the class binders and texts in that blank spot. The other binders and books go back to the top shelf. DONE - lamps and toys head to storage as hostess gifts and play items for young visitors. 

W's kickstarter investment a few years ago keeps my tea warm as I tackle the paperwork that's left and write Sunday's talk and book reviews. I liked the book read to me overnight by the Kindle reader. (2X speed is about perfect for absorption.)

I'm chugging through an academic journal article, written by a well-known theologian. As I edit, my head begins to buzz with repetitions, run-on sentences, and prepositions. I write the new journal editor, "May I cut out some of this for the readers?" Let's see what he says.

The former editor offered me carte blanche and told me to quit highlighting my edits. "I trust you and I don't want to know what you did." That was easy. Now I'm trying to guess the new direction of the journal. Especially when the writer is famous.

After lunch, Lisa drops by for tea, pumpkin pie, cookies, and an apple to dip into yogurt. The cute plates were 50% off and called my name last week. The teacups are from my Seattle collection. I re-homed 50 or 60 teacups but kept some favorites.

We check in how the media is going for the weekend, send off some videos, and read through the Sunday talk for the first time. Learning is constant - as is connecting.

Read more:

*Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. Psalm 37:7-9

*Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. Hebrews 1:1-4

Prayer: Thank you for your salvation, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the inseparable One True God. Thank you that you come near to us when we accept your forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

In you, we are made whole. We are set free from the powers of darkness. We are heaped with your mercy and divine favor. Give us hearts to worship, tongues to praise you, and feet quick to do your bidding. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.