Community Gardening

I’ve been helping Ibu Rosa in Gayle’s garden. Last year I showed her how to make compost from the garden and kitchen scraps.  I thought I had explained what can and can’t go into the bins but then again there have been visitors who may have put other things in like the husks of the mangosteen, avocado and mango seeds and strangely enough plastic. This year I showed her how to empty the bin which was about to overflow, this is when I found all the added extras.  I had bought some heavy duty long gloves and with these I picked out the dry matter separating the rubbish into one bin and the dry organic matter into another to be returned to the compost bin once emptied.  While I was doing this Ibu Rosa, scooped out the rich moist compost from the bottom of the compost bin and dug it in around her plants.  Once the job was finished I needed a shower, even though the gloves did their job, I was still splattered with compost.

Jen came for her stay on the 1^st of July after seeing Brony off at Padangbai.  Her new friend and driver Made, waited as she dropped off her bags, then dropped us both at Tiara Gatzu for lunch and shopping. He asked if we wanted a lift home but we decided we’d take the bus.  We stocked up on groceries before waiting for the bus.  The rain was pelting down so we waited at the supermarket, then as it eased we walked to our stop, where we waited under the eaves of the shop in front of the bus stop.  We were a bit wet getting on the bus but then it poured!  It was still pouring as we alighted and ran to the nearest shelter.  Here we waited for it to ease but it didn’t so we walked, getting totally drenched, to Gosha restaurant.  We were dripping wet, standing at the door wiping ourselves down with our little face cloths we usually used to wipe our sweaty brows.  We looked like drowned rats; wet clothes clinging to our, can you believe it, cold bodies!  We should have taken Made’s offer to drive us back but then we would have missed out on our cake.  We ordered a Kelapon Cake, pandan flavour which was an iridescent green and two cups of ginger and lemon tea.  The waiter wasn’t sure what we asked for clarifying if we wanted a tea bag, no just hot water, lemon and ginger, Jen said. It was delicious, fresh lemon and crushed ginger and warmed us up.  The rain eventually eased, stopping completely just as we were finishing our drinks, enabling us to walk home. Gayle had been out all afternoon arriving back early evening.

Tuesday Gayle, Jen and I drove to Jiwa Community Garden which wasn’t far from Gayle’s but took us a while to get there because of traffic congestion. It was an interesting place with pigs, chicken and ducks providing matter for the organic compost which was then used on the many individual plots which people had leased out to grow vegetables. I was surprised there weren’t many flowers to attract the bees.  From here we shouted Gayle to a Korean BBQ lunch which was quite interesting.  We sat around a table with two soup dishes and a hotplate warmed by gas on which we cooked our meat, seafood and vegetables.  Gayle suggested we go to different areas of the buffet tables to collect the food needed for cooking.  There were also other dishes which we could help ourselves to and desert. All our food needed to be eaten with in a 90min time slot.  By the end of we had eaten our fill we were very full with plenty of time to spare.

The following day was a busy one.  Gayle asked some of her community from House of Hope to help Jen and Ibu Rosa and I to do some gardening.  Two young guys arrived, which was the muscle we needed to assist Ibu Rosa move some heavy pavers further out from the existing garden bed, making our garden bed wider.  They then removed all the grass and weeds preparing the bed for vegetables. I wrote on plastic spoons, making labels for all the different types of seed we were planting.  Jen filled pots with potting mix ready for some of the seeds including basil, tomato, passionfruit both native and ones I’d bought from my garden in Australia and Chinese gooseberries.  Jen and Ibu Rosa also pulled out the sweet potato runners growing in the old bed ready for our new seeds; Ibu Rosa then re planted them in another bed on the opposite side of the garden which she had also widened slightly.  Jen had suggested we use bamboo poles to grow beans up. Ibu Rosa and the boys scrounged, finding some across the road where they are renovating the old radio tower into a home.  The boys then cut these in half, length ways, then into four down the middle to make stakes which Jen tied together at the top making a tepee.  Jen also prepared the main garden bed planting, carrot, bok choi, lettuce, and more tomatoes under one of the climbing tepees.  While they finished off the garden, I excused myself to make lunch; cutting up vegetables for soto and putting on rice. The garden looked fantastic after all our work.  That afternoon it rained again giving everything a good soak.

As it was Wednesday, Jen and I had volunteered to teach another joint English class to the students at House of Hope.  We put them into groups of two and three with one senior student in each group to help the junior school students.  We continued on the theme of directions, adding in a picture on graph paper which was filled in through instructions, the result was a heart.  Most completed it doing well, some were disappointed theirs wasn’t quite right but all enjoyed the activity.  We then asked them to write down in Indonesian what the House of Hope meant to them and then, in English tell the others in their group what they had written. It was very interesting what they had said; making friends, helping to learn English, they received loving, caring and encouraging support and were helped to know more about Jesus.

Thursday 4^th July my friend Vi-Lay was arriving from Sydney.  Jen had decided to stay at the house to catch up on some work she was doing for Ralf.  I had planned to catch the bus to the airport leaving at 10:45am to enable me to get there before Vi-Lay exited customs but Gayle said she had a lunch appointment and could drop me off at a bus stop closer to the airport.  I was hesitant but also thought it would be a good time to catch up with Gayle as she had been quite busy lately.  I should have realised we would be running late as Gayle always has so much to do, plus the traffic was terrible the closer we got to Kuta.  Where she dropped me was about 7.6 km from the airport so it shouldn’t have taken me long to get there. But things still weren’t going as I had hoped; firstly there was no marked bus stop although it was on the bus map, fortunately someone I asked said yes the bus stopped there. Secondly the bus took quite a while to arrive and lastly when I was finally on the bus it got stuck in a traffic jam not moving, so it took me over 45 mins to arrive instead of 12 minutes. While on the bus Vi-Lay messaged me to say she had arrived safely and was waiting for her luggage, a little time later she had a question re ATM’s, then while I was still on the bus she messaged to say she was through customs, then had found the tourist tax booth where she paid her tourist tax and another message to say she was upstairs where I had suggested she wait for me. I’m glad she is such a seasoned traveller.

We had decided to take the bus back, one it’s heaps cheaper and secondly it’s a great way to experience Bali while relaxing in the comfort of air conditioning without the stress of driving.  It was also a nice time to chat and fill her in on all that we hoped to do while she was here.  The traffic was moving quicker in this direction, we changed buses part way then disembarked at Tiara Gatzu to have a very late lunch around 5pm!  It was a bit tricky crossing the main road with Vi-Lay’s luggage but we made it.  After eating we ordered a Grab car back to Gayle’s.  Praise God it had been a rain free journey, arriving safely back at the house where Jen was working in the garden.

Vi-Lay unpacked and repacked for our trip to Lovina the following day, she also unloaded her goodies she had brought over for Gayle who returned later that evening from her very busy day out.  It was then early to bed for us all.

Photos: 1. Orchid slipper    2. Korean BBQ    3. Ken and the youth in Gayle’s garden    4. Jen and me teaching the House of Hope students.

Prayer & Praise Points:

I praise God for your ongoing prayer support while I’m away.

Please continue to pray for Gayle’s ongoing health concerns, especially her eyes.

Please pray for Jen, Vi-Lay and myself; for our safety as we navigate the roads here in Bali and for our trip to Lovina.  Pray also for ongoing good health and protection against disease.

Please continue to pray for Elsie and Ross Winchester as they continue their cancer treatment. Please also pray for my good friend Anthony Higgs who is needing a shoulder operation. Believe with me for the Lord’s intervention and total healing for them all.

Continue to pray with me for world peace both in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia, South Brazil, PNG and all 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 in 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.