Holuwon - Tues., March 4, 08

Up at 5:30, I head out to encounter the pasar (market). Damn! Rubber time. My 6:00 is their ? I return home to find Yariut starting a fire in the stove. Searching for my razor I can't find it. Of course, a "pimbi" must have lifted it. At 6:30, Yariut informs me we should go. He asks for money, lots of 1000rp bills, and shoulders a net. Arriving at th 60X15, not rectangular flat area, we see that only one vendor has arrived. On the flat are gatherings of stones on which the product will be displayed. people gather, mostly children. A man has an ax on his right shoulder, the handle hanging down the right side of his chest. More gather. A naked toddler slops through a puddle - children are the same everywhere. I take a seat on a rock which is apparently someone's display table. She arrives. I leave. Yariut canvasses the area knowing the products and vendors. Apparently some have better quality than others. He wanders, purchases, looks, asks, gives money, and this continues for an hour. Finally he says, "Go". We have boiled peanuts (God be praised), two kinds of bananas, one pineapple, oil, salt, sweet potatoes and some fruits and vegetables I can't even guess at. A scraggly dog barks as we pass. Peanuts, bananas, and coffee for breakfast. Best ever! When I have eaten my fill, Yariut presents me with a large, boiled plantain. Now, this I could have done without. But, I'll eat it. Half of it eaten, I give the rest back to Yariut indicating I'm full. he takes the half to the porch where a young boy devours the remainder.
With "Last of the Mohicans" finished last night by candle light, I need something else. If I want religious books, the choice is infinite - "An Utmost Part", "Missiology", "The True Worship", "Missionary Life and Work", "The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit", "Saved and Kept"... But, I'm looking for something a bit more stimulating. Ah, "The Moonstone", by Wilkie Collins.
I haven't been worth a damn, today - haven't left the house since pasar. Sitting by the window, my gaze taken by the rugged primal jungle and rocky slides of the mountains across the way, I have read "The Moonstone". Then, putting aside the book, I have kept my gaze fastened on the majesty of nature while listening to the high music of Handel's Messiah. Is there anything more divine in life?