Josh and I

While Gayle was in Perth, Australia, Joshua and I held up the fort. Well that might be a slight exaggeration as it was really only Joshua (Gayle’s son) who did all the work while I took some time off.

I’m on a different time clock to my hosts who are usually working late into the night while I’m sleeping.  Most of my friends know I prefer to go to bed early sot that I can be up early or take some time sleeping in when I haven’t slept well.  I enjoy quiet mornings when I can do my own thing which means I hate having to rush out in the mornings.  Some mornings I needed to wake Joshua as he had scheduled appointments especially when there was a visiting church team.  This left me free to fill in the day as I saw best or just laze around keeping out of the heat.

Each morning while it was still dark, I started with my daily devotionals and time with the Lord, then a round of language studies, and around 8am I have breakfast. It was usually too early for flute practice, that came later. Most days around 2pm I either cooked up some lunch for myself leaving some for Joshua when he returned or for me the next day so I didn’t have to cook every day.

During this free time I was determined to start my exercise regime – walking, in preparation for Japan.  As my sandals needed collecting from the cobbler which was not that far away, this would be my first target.

It was Friday, the day after Gayle had flown out.  That night like most nights, the neighbourhood dog had kept me awake, barking just as was falling asleep, then continuing during the night.  I also woke every time the night watchman clanged out the hour during the night, finally staying awake from 3am when all hope of sleep vanished.  It is infuriating!  Still that’s life in Asia and as a light sleeper it doesn’t help.

Completing my usual route before Joshua rose from his slumber, he had another busy day so I was free to get on with things. I also wanted to finish stuff on my computer before leaving.  I had decided instead of making a coffee at the house, which I usual do with my fancy coffee press, I would wait and reward myself during my walk. I left the house just before 11am, walking south I crossed the busy main road with much caution.  Here the bikes are cutting in front of the cars and trucks crossing and entering the intersection which has no lights to help the flow of traffic.  You take your life into your hands crossing these roads.  You can look in the right direction for traffic and have a bike nearly knock you over as it manoeuvres around the traffic on the inside, the wrong side of the road.  You wait for a pause in the oncoming traffic, if none appears you take a small step into the traffic then with you hand up indicating to the traffic to stop, you begin to edge across the road with bikes following you or as you follow the bikes and cars which also want to go in your direction. Once halfway across, you do the same to the traffic coming in the other direction. Then you have to watch out for the bikes scooting around the corner on the wrong side of the road. It’s quite a skill.

After picking up my sandals, I walked a little further to find a small market, but I’d already passed it and didn’t realise as most of the stalls closed around 10am.  I then took some back streets to avoid the noise, traffic and people, working my way back to the busy intersection to run the gauntlet once again to reach the other side.

From here it is only a short walk to the Gosha Patisserie where I stopped, dripping with sweat to cool down in their air conditioning and enjoy a coffee before walking home. It was then I remembered we needed some WD40 for the gate, so after my short break I headed back to the busy intersection, crossed the road before I wandered around the Miter10 store lingering in the rows of merchandise, to once again, enjoy the air conditioning.  With WD40 in hand I headed back out to the heat, crossed back through the traffic, went a little further up the street to buy some fried chicken before continuing home.  I was hot, wet from sweat and exhausted. It didn’t make it easier to know the water was once again off. Praise God I had remembered to fill the big bucket in the downstairs bathroom so I could have a dipper wash to cool me down. All my clothes went into a small bucket for washing and hanging on the line.  That evening I brought them in just about dry. Things dry quickly here despite the humidity.

I then felt ready to cook lunch, more vegetables, saving some for Josh who returned by 4pm. I was disappointed I had only walked 4km but it was a start.

Late that evening after some very heavy, extended rain I saw Joshua on the second floor back veranda and realised it was flooded due to a blocked run off pipe.  The kitchen ceiling which is cement was dripping from the beams.  I mopped up what I could and put bowls to catch the drips.  Praise the Lord Joshua cleared the blockage and the dripping finally stopped.  Yes the tap water was off again.  Relaxing in my room with the air conditioning on, I did a couple more lessons with my Indonesian apps and flute.

My flute practice was going ok but I had a funny feeling something wasn’t quite right.  I was learning a new note, E was now on the top line as well as the bottom line.  Surely they weren’t both the same sound!  After a search online I found a flute lesson showing how to play both E notes.  My presumption was correct; there was a high and a low E.  I had been playing the high note incorrectly.  Praise the Lord I worked it out quickly as the next lesson was learning the high A, G and F. Boy they are not so easy to play; I pity the neighbours.  I try not to play until Joshua is up but he said he doesn’t hear it anyway!  Yes, he and Gayle are really sound sleepers, sometimes I would appreciate that gift too.

Saturday I was determined to push myself further.  Around 11am I set off on foot towards the Tiara store where we do our local shopping.  I suggested Joshua meet me there later and bring the icebox for the perishable groceries. I walked on the back streets most of the way checking on Google maps for directions and so I didn’t get caught on a dead end.  It only took me an hour.  I bought a fresh iced mango juice, messaged Joshua to say I had arrived and waited, and waited and waited!  He was not aware of my messages as he thought I would take longer and would do the shopping first.  I didn’t see the point in shopping first as I needed the ice box.  He eventually saw my messages arriving three quarters of an hour after my first message.  We shared lunch before going shopping, he then rode back on the scooter as I headed further south.  I walked away from the shopping centre along the back roads towards another major road.  Here I turned east and when possible took more back roads north towards home, crossing several waterways full of plastic rubbish.  These back roads had lots of puddles, rocks and potholes but a lot less traffic making them less polluted and safer to walk.  Back on the main road I dodged the traffic, jumped the broken paving opening chasms into the storm water drains.  These run-off drains run along both sides of the road about half a metre below the roads.  Last year, my sister Jen fell down one, badly injuring her leg.  I’ve known others to do the same, making me very cautious walking beside the main roads. I was constantly wiping the sweat from my brow and eyes due to the humidity.  At a T intersection I turned north looking for a sweet ice dessert to cool me down before the last leg home. I found an es Telor shop and took a seat waiting for my ice dessert.  I wasn’t far from the last busy intersection and the final leg before reaching the house.  It had taken me about an hour and a half not including the walk to Tiara.

Once again I needed a shower and to wash my cloths before making lunch before I had a relaxing afternoon and early bed. Not surprisingly I slept so well.

I had forgotten the previous day was Saturday so thought I was going to have a relaxing morning till Joshua asked me if I was getting ready for church!  Praise the Lord I had plenty of time, I’d finished my language studies, dressed and breakfast all in good time before accepting a lift with Joshua on the scooter to church. Other members who hadn’t been last week were there and surprised to see me. Jeanette was also there and joined me after church for another ice dessert.  Joshua was preaching and did a great job of expounding 1 Corinthians chapter 3. A difficult chapter but well executed including illustrations on the overheads. He stayed on after the service for the youth service before coming home late.

After my snack with Jeanette I decided I’d try to walk back to the house.  It was a long way, hot, dusty, polluted and what’s more it rained.  I had a rain jacket made from thin plastic with a hood which I draped over me. I didn’t want to button it up as I was already hot and sweaty. I made one wrong move going too far up one of the main roads before doubling back and taking a side street which was a little quieter. It only took me two and a half hours to walk 7km I was pleased I’d pushed through.  At the house I ate leftover veggies and eggs finishing off the rest of my mango smoothie and some kue from the previous day. The rest of the day I relaxed then did my lessons before bed.

Monday was a home day.  I hadn’t slept well, again, waking at 1am and staying awake till 5am, then sleeping again till 7am. I hadn’t had a night like that for some time and I didn’t really want another one even though I’m not needing to do anything the next day. Joshua had returned late that night so also slept in.  I made him some savoury pastry snacks to take with him when he left at midday. I had similar for lunch with the spinach I’d bought at Tiara and cheese that needed using up in the fridge. The rest of the day was flute lessons; three more, higher octave notes A, G and F to practice.  These notes are produced by increasing the air speed embouchure (mouth position).  I do not envy who ever is listening, there are lots of screeching sounds as I try to reach the higher octaves!  After this I needed to catch my breath and do some mindless movie watching.

Tuesday I was once again awake at 4am to start my day.  I stripped and made my bed, did a huge load of washing and started breakfast before Joshua descended the stairs.  He was once again out with the visiting team from Australia.  He had asked if I wanted to join them at the museum but it’s really not my scene, I’d prefer a walk around the country side.  I’ve never really been interested in history except Christian history which I find fascinating.  Before lunch I walked to Tiara to buy some kua and a fresh juice before my grocery shopping to get fresh fruit including bananas and milk for my kefir. I had put some ice bricks into a plastic bag to keep my milk cool for the hot walk home which seemed to work ok.  Back at the house I had a quick shower to cool down before cooking up my fresh veg for lunch. Joshua was home late that night too.

Wednesday, I decided I wasn’t going for a walk and stayed in all day going through my Indonesian notes and learning app, practicing the days of the week and conjunctions, praying that new neuropathways were being made in my brain to retain all this knowledge.  Then more flute practice, cook up the remaining veggies and generally have a relaxing day.

Thursday was Ascension Day.  Josh had told me we were leaving at 9am but he had meant we should be at church by 9am.  I woke him at 8:30am after my breakfast thinking we had plenty of time, then started practicing my flute.  He asked if I was ready to go.  What! Now!  Yes. Oh dear! A quick scramble to get my ice coffee which I had partly prepared the night before and change out of my shorts and T shirt into more respectable clothes. Then out the door.  Praise the Lord we arrived before the service started.  The team arrived some time later.  It was a very lively celebratory service.  Joshua had a meeting afterwards so I said I’d meet him at Tiara later which meant I could get some walking in even though it wasn’t far. I treated myself to some of my favourite kua and juice which was two for the price of one and waited.  I didn’t realise I would have to wait so long but it didn’t matter as I had nowhere else to go. He arrived about an hour after me, then while he finished the second juice I did a bit of grocery shopping.  En route home we stopped off to buy some lunch for Joshua, where I bought fish and prawns to add to my leftover veggies.

Friday, Ibu Rosa came to help around the house.  I was already up but didn’t hear her arrive so missed giving instructions on how to dig in the compost which was alive with some not so pleasant grubs.  I wanted to make sure it was dug well under the soil.  By the time I found her she was pulling up weeds.  I started digging in the garden and unearthed the raw compost trying to give an example of what was needed.  There were clumps of uncomposted kitchen scraps which needed separating and redigging in. She followed suit and later Joshua helped explain in Indonesian what was needed.  I suggested once it was done we could put fresh soil on the top then leave it fallow till the next time she came and then plant the vegetable seeds Gayle had. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to help much as I felt my back was beginning to complain.  I didn’t want to overdo it as I needed to be fit for Japan’s trek. Once finished Ubu Rosa come inside, she is wanting to learn English so I sat her down and wrote out a few conversational phrases she could practice for next time. We then had a time of praise and worship while she played the guitar followed by a time of prayer.  She is such an amazing woman of God, I’m honoured to know her.  By this time Joshua had again joined the visiting team.

Once Ibu Rosa left I continued on with work on the computer as well as my lessons. I was getting a bit bored, too much indoors but I was too lazy to go out in the heat and humidity.  I looked up the humidity and saw it was 100% nearly 20hrs of the day only dropping from about 10-2pm due to the heat. Any excuse to stay out of it!

Saturday, Joshua slept in having returned home very late from looking after the visiting team while I had another lazy day around the house. Just because I’m not going anywhere I’m not totally slacking off, I’ve been serenading the neighbourhood (whether they like it or not), and my Indonesian vocabulary is increasing.  Now I just need to be able to retain it so that I can pull it out when needed.

Sunday, I had woken at 2am and took a quarter of a sleeping tablet but it didn’t click in till after 4am.  Praise the Lord I put my alarm on for 6am when I dragged my dopey head off the pillow. I still wanted to do my language studies before I left but missed out the flute practice.  I woke Joshua at 7am just before I called the Gojek to get a ride to Ibu Debbie’s church. She had sent me the location which I punched into the share ride app.  I do love that I can get a bike which is so much cheaper than a car and is able to zip in and out of the traffic. Unfortunately we could not find the church.  We stopped several times to ask but no one could give us a definitive answer. The driver then bought some more data for his personal phone to locate churches in the area through Google Maps.  Praise the Lord he found the right one and dropped me at the door where I gave him a tip for his extra service and asked if Ibu Debbie was there. I had tried calling her several times but although she had answered my texts she hadn’t responded to the phone calls.  I had suspected she had turned her phone off when she knew I was on the way.  Her husband, Wayan, had greeted me at the door and escorted me to their seats on the second row. It was then I saw her with her back to me in a prayer circle with the musicians. She had previously told me she was leading the singing but would join me to interpret as there was only Indonesian spoken at her church.  I said I would sing along in the spirit.

It was a lovely service and message on being a true disciple of Christ.  Ibu Debbie did such a great job interpreting with only a few blanks as she was looking for the right English word.  Much of it I could follow along with my Bible app and fill in the gaps with the help of the Holy Spirit. After the service I was introduced to the pastor and his wife and other members of the congregation and family.  We then walked next door to the family complex.  Here I was told the story of how the grandfather of Wayan, Ibu Debbie’s husband, became a Christian and donated some of his land to build a church.    Many Balinese families own family land on which they build homes for their families. Over time the whole clan gave their lives to follow Jesus. On this land the grandfather built three homes for his three sons who continue to live here with their families. There are nine family homes now joined by a shared driveway.  Some homes have a shopfront selling kue and other things then back out on the street is the entrance of the church. I was so impressed with this set up and would love to see it applied amongst Christian communities all over the world. It reminds me of Acts 2: 44 “And all who believed were together and had all things in common”.

I had a lovely chat with all the relatives while Ibu Debbie served at children’s church.  Then just after 11am I walked home.  I had been offered a lift but as it wasn’t too far away I wanted to get some exercise.  One of the ladies came with me as far as her home.  It was very hot and humid even when I tried to keep to the shady areas.  I had borrowed Ibu Debbie’s hat as I’d forgotten mine.  I stopped several time to check the GPS as it was a bit of a weaving trail and where possible took the back streets as the main roads were very busy. My last stop was just before I arrived home to buy some lunch which was approximately $1:50 for rice, veg, tofu and spicy boiled egg.  I wasn’t able to stop her from adding some very spicy sauce which seeped into the rice making it impossible to separate.  Boy was it spicy hot!  Praise the Lord I had other homemade veggies I could add to it to try to cool it down.

Monday, I woke again at 3am from the sounding of the hour gong!  It was not long after this I could smell the burning off of rubbish including the toxic fumes of plastic.  I flew out of bed and closed my windows but it was too late, the room stunk. I was now wide awake and feeling the congestion in my chest. I read quietly till around 4am then tried again to sleep.  Eventually I did and woke just before 8am still feeling chesty.  Josh was up later and off to help out at the church.  I was too lazy to go. I moved the compost bin to the front garden where I’m hoping the full sun will discourage the bugs.

Tuesday, I needed to get out, I needed exercise and to do some shopping so again I walked through the backstreets to Tiara.  I spent some time here just relaxing, eating and stocking up on food before making the hot trek back to the house.  I tried to locate the local bus but since they had reinstated the service (It had been cancelled for over 10 months for some reason or other), the app had been updated and I was no longer able to trace the movement of the buses.  Instead when clicking on the bus stop, up popped a message to say there was no bus located nearby.  I had seen the buses pass so I knew they were in service.  I really don’t like this latest update as it makes the app redundant.

Wednesday, I was awake early again so after my morning routine I stripped the bed and washed all my clothes and bedding. Josh had decided he was not going in early as he was exhausted and needed the morning off. I treated him to stir fried veg which we ate with food he bought from a local store. Later I made him a sweet apple pastry which we ate with ice cream. They are really quite delicious.

Photos:  1. White cedar Tabebuia heterophylla   2. Bananas growing in the streets    3. Coffee at Gosha Patisserie    4. Back streets    5. Pastor Joshua and Benny preaching    5. Canal through the suburbs    6. Local banana sales    7. Me with Ibu Debbie’s family    8. Es campur (pronounced Champor)

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for Gayle’s safe return and Joshua and my time while she was away.  .

I praise the Lord for the wonderful time I have had here in Bali since my arrival.

Praise the Lord for answered prayer for Gayle and the time of refreshing she had staying with Dorothy and meeting many of my church friends.

Praise the Lord for my neighbours who are looking after my place while I’m away.

Please pray for Jen and Ralf as they travel throughout Europe, may they be kept safe and enjoy their adventures too.

Continue to pray for the world.  For peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia, and 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 safety.