Thursday, December 4, 2025
It's gloomy though the tropical sun provides light through the clouds. When I talk to my mom in hospice care at home, she says she is "ready to go Home." We pray together for relief from the intense pain she has night and day. She tells me she loves me, says "Goodbye if we don't talk again," and prays over me, my brothers, and our families. I type as fast as I can, saving her patterns of speech and what's important to her. I want to remember this when she is no longer with us.
We raised money for kids' English programs during Giving Tuesday yesterday. W and I fell asleep tired but happy at the generosity of our friends. This base fund is a godsend for volunteers who tutor neighbourhood children. Here, when kids come together, they need snacks as well as supplies.
W and I tape off the rough edges of the mosquito screens that could tear window coverings. We head to the grocer's for eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, and other baking ingredients to continue baking Christmas goodies. Today there are stars and gingerbread men on the counter when we get home.
The grocer has Christmas decor and foods.
W finds a slice of Christmas cake @$1.50 for dessert after lunch. It has good flavour for the price but none of the moistness of the classic buttery Christmas ring that Costco used to bake.
I'm looking for a bowl to bring to our daughter on our next visit - we both like choosing a decorated bowl for dessert or a treat.
The Project entrance is showing progress by afternoon. They're concrete-ing in a tall berm to reroute water from the street before it hits the driveway. The rain pours down but no river sluices into the yard from the neighbourhood.
I find a blue tablecloth that I don't like in a bag of linens. Maybe it's meant as curtains for the blue bathroom upstairs? We've kept the old floor and wall tiles throughout the Project to keep costs down (think "retro" style). I pull off the old rings and wash down the fittings before clipping up the tablecloth. Not bad.
Shower curtains are in, with extra-long liners that will sit inside the tub. Most of the curtains are hung about 4" off the ground to allow the wet mop to swing under them without making them dirty. Looks strange but it works. And in the bath, we barely cover the edge of the tub with the exterior curtain. It's all about efficient cleaning in a climate where bugs and critters want to share spaces with us.
In the garden, the lawn is in but some of the transplanted shrubs are ailing, like this gardenia.
The water apples are thriving.
We indulge in bread and cold cuts for supper. Sometimes you just need some childhood food when the world is shifting around, right? Our non-traditional addition is IKEA cranberry jam on top. A bit (very bitty) like Thanksgiving.
I fall asleep for a nap at 6PM and wake for a meeting at 8. Then I don't doze off until almost 2AM. I listen to great chunks of Ezekiel's prophecies as I wait for sleep. What a strange book. The repeated phrase is "I the Lord am holy," or "Then everyone will know I am the LORD." So that seems to be the point - a message from the One and Only God about justice, mercy, and the consequences of disobedience.
Friday
Mom calls at 4AM and repeats how ready she is for heaven. She wants me to know I'm loved. "I just wanted to say goodbye and tell you I'm ready. You've been a good daughter."
I remember how frustrated my grandma was in the last weeks of her life. At 89, she was impatient to depart earth and see the face of Jesus. She couldn't choose when she'd pass through that veil of death, though she wanted to go Home so badly. We trust God's timing for Mom and treasure the prayers she still prays over us. Again, I write down what she says.
I fall asleep for another hour before we take the dogs for a walk. It's a glorious clear morning. The air is clean and fresh. We pick up used items in a close-by city: a mattress, a cabinet, dishes ... then after a quick and cheap lunch at the nearby IKEA, we get back to work.
It's begun to pour but W walks through the rain to the Project. He's climbing ladders to put display shelves and rods on an entry wall. The crew is working on plumbing. The best news is that there is NO water flooding down the driveway into the back of the house. Wow - that's progress.
Meanwhile I pack up the bedroom. I have a stack of not-going items to give away. For the big picnic tomorrow, we're asked to bring plates, drinking cups, cutlery, serving dishes, and more. We pray that it doesn't rain - it's raining most of the day today.
Organizers of big events in our circles often borrow our stash of serving items and recycling pails. "How many forks and spoons do you need?" I ask Angie.
200 of each? I check the storage bins and there are that many wrapped and ready to go. God always knows. 200 rattan plates and 300 paper liners get loaded up for early morning delivery.
Angie thinks they need cups as well but I don't find them. Maybe tomorrow W can locate where they were moved. (Nope - we don't find the box of cups. What else has gone missing?)
SaturdayThis would have been the wedding anniversary of Uncle Erich and Auntie Molly - but she's gone Home to heaven. I remember the warm welcome of their home, the big hugs, and good food. They were my alternate parents, my favourite aunt and uncle all through childhood and up to now. I never forgot the love they showed a young child and how patient they were with this "wild thing" though they had no children of their own.
They adopted my cousin Elaine and me on Sundays, taking us home for lunch and returning us for the evening service. Sometimes they even braved us overnight for a glorious sleepover on Saturday night before church. Wow - good memories; sending love today to my Uncle E who is 95 and still lives in Winnipeg. (The consistent loving care you offer a child will never dim in his/her mind.)
I call Mom, who lingers and prays over the family. She wants to depart for the presence of her Lord but says, "He has his perfect timing, and I have to wait." Bedsores are an unpleasant addition to what she suffers.
The big pot of spaghetti (2kg/4 1/2 lb) is cooked and wrapped for transport by 6:30AM. I walk over to the Project to meet an engaged couple at 7AM. (They're dedicated to premarital counselling to come at this hour!). At 8, PakG picks me up, along with the barang-barang (stuff) for the kids' event. He heads out after unloading to buy the volleyball someone forgot to bring along. Luckily someone else has brought two balls for football (soccer).
I am honoured to welcome the moms and their kids and pray a blessing over the day. Two years ago, the leaders of 2 neighbourhoods asked us to teach their kids English. Today I meet them again when their group of kids come from town to have a fun day with the first group of English learners. (Thanks, Kristi, for starting that initiative years ago).
I get a tour of art in storage - oh so much to choose from! before heading back to work. In late afternoon, PakG goes back to retrieve our plates and the rest.
The plants never cease to amaze me.
The fuzzy balls that appear after spiky blooms are bright green on the darkening stem.
While I'm gone, W finishes his group study. He strolls to the Project to pin up the other side of the entry "gallery" and work on house security. We clean plugged drains and check how the yard is coming along.
Lunch is at Ethnic, sitting on the porch beside the garden.
It feels like pure luxury to be outside in a short-sleeved blouse in December.
It's a full and busy day, connecting with people, doing hands-on jobs, and packing. We're more than ready to head home in late afternoon.
Sunday - ADVENT 2: LOVE
A youth choir from another congregation leads us in carols at the Gathering. (Thanks for arranging that, Della and Wanda.) We explore love, which gives, sacrifices, and cares for others like God does for us.
Titik has heaped poinsettias and greens around the stage and the Advent candles, complementing Daniel's Christmas decor. I love how people work together.
Lunch at Maxis is fun - the little boys run around the yard with their grandpa while the rest of us chat.
The Maxis gardener is clipping the hedge. He collects some plants for us to grow at the Project. What I initially wanted was what he threw in a trash bag. But that's gone. He goes around the border again and trims things he thinks we'll want. Most of our plants are similarly acquired, whether seeds, seedlings, or trimmings. It makes for a lush and interesting garden.
Read more:
* Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God. Jeremiah 31:18
* When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
* Paul said, “We bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” Acts 14:15
* If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew andGentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, Romans 10:9-13
Moravian Prayer: Dear Jesus, help us to be inspired and excited to share your good news with the world. May we always be guided by the fact you came to save and not condemn the world. Amen.
Thanks for sharing.
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