A New Adventure Begins  

Wednesday was a lovely Perth autumn morning, a perfect way for my new adventure to begin.  I was awake just after 4am so decided to complete some of the tasks on my departure list, turn off all power points, rods in windows and sliding door, pack the last of my thing which I’d used that night; eye masks, earplugs, toothbrush etc. Just as it was getting light I went for my last jog.  It’s lovely at this time of the morning, so fresh with spells and sounds of the Australian bush. Then back to do my exercises before heading to the beach for my last dip for the season.  Very refreshing, I wanted to linger but had to get back so I wasn’t rushing before leaving. Breakfast, final check of the house, turning off the power in the meter box to the aircon, water heater and things I wasn’t using.  It was nearly a week later I had to message Kathy, my neighbour, as I thought I’d turned the fridge off as well.  It was fine but if it had been off so would all the contents, the things I left in there, be off too!

The Uber arrived at 10am, I was already waiting for him at the top of the driveway.  He was surprised I was going so early as my flight wasn’t till 2pm! I told him I prefer to wait and relax at the airport.  This time I had a large 20+kg suitcase, a large carryon bag for my flute and tablet plus a smaller backpack and a bag of food to be eaten before and on the flight. I was very grateful to the steward on board who heated my quiche for me during the flight. I sat next to a Christian couple from Java who now lived in Perth and were returning to visit family.

On my arrival I needed to complete the online health form which you load up from a QR code using the airport internet.  I had already completed and received my eVisa and immigration clearance so quickly passed through immigration to collect my suitcase.  From here I breezed through customs and out to buy an e-SIM, which I’m told expires after 30days, unlike the previous one which I was able to topup. I was now able to contact Gayle and Joshua who had just arrived to pick me up.  Frist I needed to make my way through all the drivers haggling for passengers, then Gayle saw me and together we jumped back into the car to prevent paying the parking fee. It took us awhile to get through the city before stopping at their favourite dim sum franchise where we stopped for their dinner and where I was tempted so joined them with noodles and a few dim sum treats.  It didn’t take us long to get home from there.  After catching up with some news I headed to my usual room upstairs and started unpacking things I needed for the night.  The rest of the things I unpacked in the morning as it was well past 10pm before I jumped into bed.

Thursday I organised my room, packing all the things for Japan into my two larger backpacks to get them out of the way.  I then practiced my Indonesian on both Duolingo and Babbel just to keep in practice, not that I seem to be able to use any of what I’ve learnt.  Either I’ve forgotten the phrase I need or haven’t yet learned the word or words needed.  Sometimes I can hear words running around in my head but they are not always in the right language.  They may be one of several Asian languages I’ve learnt or partly picked up during my travels or places I’ve stayed for a length of time.  After this I headed downstairs to eat my breakfast before the rest of the family appeared from their respective rooms.

Later in the morning I went with Joshua to order some sourdough from a Christian lady who has a bakery shop on our street.  Then before lunch we went by scooter to the local Tiara supermarket to buy a few things I needed and to stock up on things they had run out of. I wanted some coriander for the Banh Mi I was making for lunch.  Then back to the house to roast the pork in their Air Fryer. Other than that it was a bit of a lazy day for me.  Nice to have time to settle in a bit.  That evening I stayed home while both Joshua and Gayle went to the weekly prayer meeting which always finishes late

Friday I was up early. I started the day as I did at home with a devotional and language study before breakfast. By 10:30am we were out the door and off to church for an executive meeting.  Before joining them (well not for the meeting) I walked to the local Tiara supermarket where I did a small shop including some of my favourite kue (Asian desserts) to eat with my ice coffee.

Back at the church I had offered to help with packing up some of the school things for the move to the new building later this year.  I started by taking an inventory of the library books, I also borrowed one for myself to read while I’m here.  This didn’t take long as it’s only a small collection of books.  While waiting for the meeting to finish I chatted to Deborah, the headmistress, about her life and how she came to meet her husband and join his church.  I also practiced my juggling and read my new book ‘In His Steps’ by Charles M. Sheldon. Then back to the house for a quiet evening with Gayle and Joshua, finishing with a short practice on my flute before bed.

I couldn’t get to sleep that night thinking of my missing parcel at home, which was supposed to have been dropped off but was no-where to be found.  I had taken a strong sleeping tablet, which was a mistake, as the next day I felt drowsy till late afternoon.  I was the first up as usual so practiced my Indonesian, prepared my kefir and cooked up some of the vegetables that needed using up, which we later had with rice for lunch.  We then all went to the beach at Sanur to meet Gayle’s friends who were visiting from Australia.  But first a stop off to see the new church-come-school building which was under some major renovations.  The workers were gutting the top floor to make an auditorium and removing most of the bathrooms attached to the rooms, which had been bedrooms, to make them into classrooms for the international school, which will be moving here from the temporary building where the church now is. Here we met Janette whom I’d met last year; she had just returned from her ministry trip in Vietnam.  She continued with us to the beach where we met Gaynor and her niece. Gaynor knows Ps Jordan from North Beach Baptist; she will joining him on the new church plant this June.   While the ladies caught up, I went for a walk to the mall for es campur an ice, fruit and jelly dessert which I had been looking forward to ever since my arrival. Then back to the ladies who were still catching up, so I went for another walk with Gaynor’s niece to get some exercise. She returned before me, I re-joined the group about 20mins later; they were still engrossed in conversation.  Slowly everyone started moving towards the car.  Here Gaynor and her niece headed to the night markets while the rest of us set out for home, stopping off at Tiara for dinner before dropping Janette at her hotel.  Finally home for an early night while Joshua went off to meet his friends for badminton.

Sunday of course is church.  I’m usually up before everyone so I have time to do my Bible reading, memory lessons then a shower before breakfast.  I’m then out of the kitchen and out of the way for the others to do their thing.  Once again I had to borrow Gayle’s sandals as the one’s I brought from home I had packed especially as they needed mending and knew they could be done here.  At home I would have been told to throw them away as one of the leather straps was ripped.

I was so warmly welcomed back by those who knew me from both the Compassion Programme and church, I felt so blessed.  There were a few people I hadn’t met before.  After church a newly married couple provided lunch to everyone.  This was laid out on a long table for self-service. Rice, chicken curry, rendang, vegetables and several herbs and chill which you can added depending on your own taste.

From here, Gayle and I were invited back to Janette’s hotel for a dip in the pool, leaving Joshua to attend the youth group service.  In the end I decided not to go for a swim; I’m not really into tepid water although I was told it wasn’t so tepid and quite cooling.  Afterwards we sat around under a pergola snacking on Indonesian cakes and sipping on juice made from blended fresh fruit and ice, before bidding Janette goodbye and heading home for a relaxing evening.

Monday morning Ibu Rosa, who helps around the house and garden, arrived early.  I do so want to hurry up and learn more Indonesian so we can communicate, it is very exasperating trying to get our messages across to one another.  I picked up a saying from some Chinese’s friends which describes this well.  It’s like the communication between a chicken and a duck.  Google translate helps but it’s a very slow conversation.  She told me she had stirred the compost, which Gayle finds difficult.   I suggested the next time she comes, we dig up the front garden where it’s now fallow, dig in the compost and plant some more seeds to make it more productive.  The garden had been quite neglected, what with Gayle’s busy schedule, travel and ill health and Ibu Rosa’s absence due to her family needing a new motorbike as the old one is not able to be fixed.  The good news is that the papaya trees which we planted by seed on my last visit were now producing fruit and Gayle tells me there was quite a harvest of chilli, tomatoes, eggplant, pumpkin and beans.

Once Joshua was up, I joined him on the scooter as we headed back to church, where I helped pack some of the school books before going on a long walk through the back streets to get some exercise.  I haven’t done any jogging because there are too many dogs, cement roads with potholes and it’s too humid  I was intending to do some long walks to prepare myself for the Japan walk but I just haven’t felt up to it.  The weather has made me lethargic and lazy so I was determined then, with extra time on my hands, to go for a long walk.  I turned right from the church and headed to a major intersection where I turned right again.  I crossed a small, not so clean, water way and kept walking to the next laneway.  Here I turned right again, sticking to as much of the shadows as I could to keep out of the sun and continued in the direction I hoped I’d find the Tiara Shopping complex.  It took me awhile, weaving in and out of the back streets past some very interesting warung (food) stalls, clothing shops, mechanics and a variety of other little back lane shops and homes.

On reaching Tiara I ordered a soursop juice (my favourite juice) and sat down for a short rest.  I then did some shopping, to make the most of the store’s air conditioning, before once again taking a rest and finishing my juice.  Then back to the church, putting my shopping in the fridge, before doing some language study while waiting for Joshua to finish his work.  On the way home we stopped at another bakery where he bought Bika Ambon for me to try.  It is a fermented cake introduced by the Dutch.  I must admit I still prefer the ones at Tiara. We also stopped at a music shop not far from home where I bought myself a music stand as I had been trying to prop up the music book while sitting on my bed.  One more stop to buy my lunch before returning home by 3pm.

Gayle had had a quiet day which she really needed.

Tuesday I decided I was staying home to catch up with a few things including my laundry, this blog and the community garden newsletter, which is due out at the beginning of June. I also did a bit of cooking for Gayle and replied to my Couchsurfer in Japan who has offered me accommodation at the end of my trip, as he lives close to the Narita International Airport where I fly out to Hanoi.

That day, I also received a reply to my inquiry about my missing parcel.  My neighbour Kathy reminded me about my surveillance cameras. Praise the Lord!  I had totally forgotten about them.  This would surely solve the mystery. Kathy wasn’t confident she could operate the recording system so I asked Laura, another neighbour.  She would be home later so I could talk her through it. I sent out a prayer request asking the Lord to help with the technology and to solve the mystery.  Kathy has my house key so was able to let Laura in and together, on a video call, I walked her though the steps.  Praise the Lord she was at least a little tech savvy and later sent me a video of the delivery.  Yes, there was a delivery but it wasn’t the large box I was expecting!  It was the small parcel Kat, my sister, had sent for my birthday.  Oh dear.  Now I realised I had mistakenly thought the postal tracking number was the same as on Kat’s parcel!  I felt such a drongo!  I contacted the postal services and cancelled my inquiry after writing them an apology. The following day I also received an email from Aust Post with a photo of where my parcel had been left.

Wednesday was Gayle’s packing day. I emailed the company, who I’d put my order in with, to ask them for a tracking number and was told the order still hadn’t been sent due to the high demand for their product.  What a relief to know it wasn’t lost!  I also asked if they could please postpone the order, sending it just before my return date so that it would arrive after my return but unfortunately that didn’t happen and the following day I received another tracking order.  This time for that which I had ordered.

After cooking up some lunch for all of us, Gayle returned to her packing and Joshua went out to the Compassion Project.  Later that afternoon we needed to do a bit of a shop, which included collecting Gayle’s shoes which Joshua had taken in to be cleaned.  Unfortunately we had forgotten to remind him to pick them up as he left the house earlier that day.  After our grocery shop we drove to where Gayle thought the shoes were left.  They were not there, we contacted Joshua again to ask for the address, which was just across the road.  It was only the Lord’s intervention that we were able to get the shoes. As we were approaching the store a young woman shouted out “It’s closed” Gayle cried out in desperation, she needed the shoes for her trip to Australia.  The woman kindly stopped to talk to Gayle then with her partner drove off to the owner’s home to bring her back to the store.  Praise the Lord the shoes were cleaned and ready.  What a blessing!  Once again the perfect timing of the Lord.  We were both very relieved.

Thursday I was woken at 4am by the hourly chiming from the night watchman, the first time since my return.  I decided I’d get up and get my usual morning routine started before we rushed off at 6am to take Gayle to the airport.  Just as we were leaving the rain bucketed down.  It had previously been raining but this was the first time while we were needing to go out. It was still dark outside, especially as most of the road lights no longer work.  The roads were much quieter, which made it so much quicker to get to the airport.  Big hugs goodbye then back through the streets which were getting busier and busier as we neared home.  Joshua and I were contemplating what foods we would cook both western and Asian.  We both wanted more greens and less carbohydrates.

Back at the house it was time for breakfast before putting a load of washing on, practice the flute and getting into my computer to finish off the CCG newsletter and this blog.  Unbeknownst to me things were brewing back home, in Perth.  Kathy my neighbour sent an urgent message for me to call her which I did.  The police had arrived and were investigating a possible incident at Ann’s place (Ann lives next to me). They wanted to check my security cameras to see if there had been an invasion as Ann was found on the floor, by her community worker; she was not able to get up (which is not unusual) and beside her was her jewellery box and a knife

Kathy let the officers into my home and once again I talked them through unlocking my surveillance system. It wasn’t till later in the day that Kathy got back to me with the full rundown. The police had taken a copy of the recording on a USB drive, Ann was taken into hospital for observation and will go into residential care till long term care can be found.  During this time Gayle announced her safe arrival in Perth and later her meet up with Dorothy who is taking good care of her.

Then back here in Bali, Josh and I enjoyed our greens and fried chicken for lunch followed later in the day with banana and pear turnovers with ice cream. What a day! I hope that things will be a little quieter now in Perth and here.

Photos:  1. Jungle Flame (Ixora coccineal)    2. I’m a Duolingo star    3. es campur    4. Me and Gaynor    5. Jen’s favourite kue    6. flute lessons    7. Joshua enjoying my pear turnover

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for all the answered prayer and guidance during this time.

I praise the Lord for Him clearing the way, making my re-entry into Bali run smoothly.

Praise the Lord for Gayle’s safe arrival into Perth.  Please pray that her staying with my friend Dorothy will be a restful one.  Please also pray that during this visit she will get everything done that’s needed and good results from her tests and a diagnosis can be made.

Praise the Lord for answered prayer regarding the mystery of my missing parcel.

Continue to pray for the world.  For peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia, and for countries dealing with major disasters, wars and the unbelievable hardships they cause.  Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.  Jen is off again on her adventures in Europe, please pray for her safe