A New Chapter

Arriving at Gayle’s began a new chapter of my 2023 Adventure.  Gayle was dashing out when I arrived, so I quickly dropped my stuff in the downstairs bedroom. I also met Gayle’s son Joshua before heading out to pick up some visiting pastors, Chris and Ruth Brown, from C3 Church Gosford, north of Sydney.  From here we went to visit one of the Arms of Love Foundation projects , a children’s ministry outreach in the slums.  It is held in an open shed owned by a very accommodating Muslim family which was situated amongst a plastic sorting factory. The children come from many poor families who are delighted to have the team help their children.  The team have a visiting health and dental service as well as provide some food, school stationery, fun games and activities to learn English.  There are from 30 – 50 children of various kindergarten, primary and middle school ages attending each week. It was a very loud, fun time for all.

From here we stopped for dinner en route to church for a leaders meeting. Chris and Ruth spoke, encouraging the staff and members of the congregation; it was a late night for me. By the time we arrived back at the house we had decided it was best I slept upstairs as it would be quieter away from the lounge room and kitchen.  I sorted a few things before I crashed out.  It was a restless night for me as the air conditioning was too cold and stuffy so I turned it off, opening the door instead for a bit of air flow.  The following day I worked out how to open the windows which needed to be locked again before leaving the house.   4:30am I was up getting things done before everyone else woke up.  I do enjoy my quiet mornings alone.  It’s a great time to spend with the Lord before the busy day begins.

We had another full day ahead of us.  First a visit to the Arms of Love House of Hope home where both teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds could board while attending school.  Chris and Ruth had arrived ahead of us and had been shown around and introduced to all the children who had shared a little about themselves.  We then had a short word of encouragement and prayer and a time to chat.  Some of the girls came over to practice their English so I asked them to show me upstairs which was where the girls stayed.  Both downstairs and upstairs was kept very neat and tidy.

At midday we dropped Chris in town before heading to a woman’s meeting held at Peak Restaurant run by a church member.  The lunch was delicious and the fellowship delightful as we got to know each other. We then split up into three teams of four people.  We were given a task to come up with a skit where a husband with very pregnant wife was visiting the nurse and doctor.  I was the pregnant wife, Ruth the doctor and two of the local English speaking Indonesians the nurse and my husband. Ruth suggested the doctor turned me away saying it wasn’t time and my husband had to help me give birth in the car.  It was hilarious!  We won first prize for the best acting.  The next day I was going to take a baby-doll, which was in my bedroom, to church to prove I really did have a baby.  But I forgot so the following day I sent a photo of me and the baby to our group WhatsApp just for a laugh saying.  “You all thought it was just an act didn’t you?  Well here’s proof. I really did have a baby! Just like Sarah I’ve been blessed in my old age!”  There were lots of funny comments to follow. I’m pleased to say the Indonesians also have a similar sense of humour.  They were all such a lovely group of women.

Gayle needed to take Ruth back to her hotel so I waited around chatting to those who remained.  Then on the way back to the house we stopped off for some shopping.  I was able to pay with my bank card for both mine and Gayle’s large shop.  This is not only a way I can help out with my stay but paying for some of Gayle’s expenses also means she can later pay me back in cash, boosting my dwindling supply of Rupiah.  Before turning into our street, we stopped to purchase a durian. I was delighted to know both Gayle and Joshua had similar tastes to mine.

Sunday was again a busy day.  Gayle hadn’t slept well as she had been informed the church had to leave their premises this week! They knew it was coming but the owner had said they could stay free till the end of the month; but there was a change of mind and they were asked to move out earlier.  The church had already rented another property but it wouldn’t be ready for a few weeks as they needed to put up new walls which they were pulling down from the old premises, plus repaint the interior before the church could once again resume services.  There was lots to do in cleaning out the old premises they have been in for 15 years.  Chris was preaching again in the morning service. His message was very poignant. The Lord had put it on his heart to share over 9 months previously before he knew of the challenges that they now faced.  God is so good!

After church many of the church leaders met for lunch at a traditional Indonesian place then across the road for gelato for dessert before returning to the church for a youth meeting where Ruth spoke.  Poor Gayle was exhausted by the time we reached the house.  She crashed out for a quick nap while I made noodles for dinner.

Monday I needed some time to post the latest update, which includes going through Elaine’s corrections (praise God for a proof reader), upload the photos, check, check and check again before posting it.  I still haven’t started my jogging here.  The roads, with the many potholes, drains and obstacles are not conducent to jogging from the house and I’m not one who will travel before going jogging.  Instead I have been keeping up to date my notes for the blog before I forget the many events of the day.  Every day is packed full, I wonder where Gayle gets the energy!  She had said I can use her workout vibration plate which is supposed to strengthen core muscles. I gave it a go one morning and thought it might help me with my exercise regime.

That morning Gayle had a member from church who is a professional chiropractor come and work on her back.  I was delighted he had extra time and could work on mine too.  After some time he said that my right hip was higher than the left, he worked on adjusting things, using a Tens and ultra sound device, massaging my back and hips, pulling also on both my legs to realign them. I felt much improved.

Joshua had been at the church all morning, returning with a car full of boxes to be stored here.  Later that afternoon both Gayle and I joined him, to help with packing up.  There’s still lots to do although all the air conditioners and major equipment had already been removed.  Unlike in the west, the rented buildings here are just a shell when you move in.  Everything including internal walls are constructed by the new tenants, making it a huge job setting things up. From here we went to the new premises where some of the things were already being stored.  This building was supposedly meant to be complete before any furniture etc was brought over but due to the sudden change of plan, many of the items had already arrived making working and painting in this space very difficult.  A number of the church members who had assisted with the packing and moving were also there. They had come with the removal truck and were now waiting for a ride back to the church where they had left their motorbikes.  Due to the congested traffic at that time of the evening all car pick-up services were busy or too far away and not interested.  Eventually we offered them all a lift, squeezing eight bodies into the car.  Praise God, Indonesians aren’t large men and the car could accommodate them all with two in the middle with me and three in the back on a bench seat.  After dropping them at the old church building, we headed home, stopping to buy fruit and veg at the night market, then on to a local restaurant for dinner before arriving home just before my bedtime, 8pm.  It had been a very long, yet enjoyable day.  I was pleased to get home.

Tuesday we started slow, I thought I’d help out by sweeping and mopping the floors and then helping Joshua unload things from the church but I must have over-done it as my back was complaining afterwards. Gayle wanted to check out what was happening with the dismantling of the old premises so I went along for the ride, taking my jacket with a broken zip and an old mini backpack with me that needed some repairs.  From church Gayle and I went out for lunch at a local pork rotisserie place.  It was delicious!  Then on to see if my bag could be fixed.  Heavy fabric was found which meant I didn’t have to buy any, and after a bit of discussion it was agreed that it could be done and would cost me 140,000 Rupiah or $14.00 for the lot.  Bargain. I can’t buy this size anywhere so really wanted to get it fixed.  We then drove to the new premises where Gayle chatted to the owners before driving to her medical appointment. While there I wandered over to a local supermarket for some goodies.  Here I was able to use my bank card again which makes it very easy.  Then back to the house stopping to buy another durian. This one wasn’t so nice.

That night I didn’t sleep well, waking just after 1am and unable to sleep till after 4am.  During this time I decided to chat to Jen in the UK, she was just getting ready for bed, 8pm so it was good timing.  I slept in to 7am and felt lethargic all day.  Still it was a home day so I didn’t feel too bad not doing much.  I also had a lovely chat to Kat in Cairns before cooking lunch for us all as well as work on my computer.  There was a stack of other things I wanted to do but just had no energy. In the evening I made a turmeric concoction to help Gayle and me with our inflammatory problems and hopefully our sleep.  By 7pm I was ready for bed and slept well all night!  Was it the turmeric tea?

Thursday was my birthday, it was also Gayle’s late husband’s birthday too, so a sad day for her.  Fortunately we were busy all day, leaving the house by 9am for a school graduation, at Bali Christian College which was founded by Gayle.  Due to the school and church sharing the same building, another church had offered their premises for the graduation.  It was a fun morning, part in English and part in Indonesian with lots of primary school aged children receiving graduation certificates and awards. The staff then came together for lunch before we parted ways, heading back to the house for a short rest.  Gayle and I then walked to the end of the street where we once again bargained for durian to celebrate my and Wayan’s birthdays.  Another restless night!

Friday I was awake by 7am and needed to get ready to go out with Gayle by 8:30am.  Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned as one of her refrigerators was leaking badly and seemed not to be working!  We decanted all the frozen foods into her smaller fridge and prayed. As the freezer was just about defrosted, I took this opportunity to clean it out before rushing out the door a little late for our first appointment.  We had a list of items needing to be done starting with a Thermomix party.  It was an interesting morning meeting some of the church members and making new friends There was a demonstration on their new cutting gadget, food to taste including a coffee cream drink which wasn’t too bad even though it was – shock horror – made from instant coffee. This was followed up with traditional sweets and rojak which is like an Asian fruit salad with spicy peanut sauce and very delicious (if you like that kind of thing, which I do!)  Not far from here we stopped at a shopping mall where Gayle needed to see if Joshua’s reading glasses could be fixed and I wanted to inquire about my mobile plan.  I couldn’t decipher the breakdown which was for various areas across Indonesia and what’s more was in the Indonesian language. Taking a ticket, which is all done via QR code, I suggested Gayle go for lunch and I would join her when I was finished as there was a very long wait, approximately one and a half hours! It was worth the wait through as I had thought I was just about out of data but was told I had to add up all the different zones which came to 14GB plus 2GB for social media lasting till 23 June.  This was more than enough as I was also able to use Gayle’s Wi-Fi at the house. The assistant helped me to download their app which would make reading what remaining credit I had, simpler and in English!  When I joined Gayle she was listening to a zoom conference.  Before leaving the mall we did a quick shop at the supermarket to stock up on a few goods.  Maneuvering through the traffic we made our way to the Peak Restaurant where Gayle spoke to the manager, a church member, about setting up for church on Sunday.  This is where church will be held till the new building renovations were complete.  From here we went to pick up my jacket and bag.  Gayle dropped me off while she did a ‘U’ turn. The guy in the shop couldn’t find my things and when he did they weren’t finished, promising they would be done the following afternoon.  Back to the house I made a cup of Turmeric Tea from the batch I had made up the previous day.  Then off to unwind and pray that the concoction helped me sleep.  It seemed to work!

Saturday was another day around the house/garden.  Rosa who is employed by Gayle to help around the house, arrived just after 8am and saw the soil we had bought.  She immediately started re-potting plants.  Some of the plants in Gayle’s garden were not happy where they had been planted so we moved the shade loving ones out of the sun and the sun loving ones into where the others had been. I showed Rosa the red and normal ginger that had begun to sprout which I had kept for planting. These went into the ground with the turmeric and other ginger plants in the garden. I had brought some frangipani branches back, which had been thrown onto the road near the house.  One I planted in the garden, the others into pots for the land which the church is by, faith, believing to purchase. Rosa and I, despite our communication barrier, recognised a kindred spirit and commented to Gayle.  I was pleased Rosa who has been caring for the garden would continue to do so in my absence as Gayle confessed she is not a gardener.

Around 11am more church members arrived.  They had a pest control business, Gayle had employed them to treat the white ants.  She had previously found a nest in a wooden ceiling which was below the cement one.  This ceiling had since been removed but white ants continue to be a pest, getting into skirting boards, doors and other wooden structures within the house.

Back in the kitchen I made a pot of chicken soup and large vegetable stir fry for Gayle and Joshua’s lunch and a similar veg stir fry for myself without the FODMAP foods. This was to go with my chicken curry I had previously made.  Then time for a bit of a relax, well I thought it would be a relax till I tried to do some typing on the computer!  My keyboard went into tablet mode (on screen instead of on my physical keyboard) and I couldn’t work out how to change it back.  FINALLY it worked, although it kept putting up suggested words which was a tad annoying but I figured it might help when I can’t find the right spelling for what I needed, so I ignored it. Later I worked out how to use it from my keyboard so it might come in handy after all.

That evening the family and I had been invited to a beach feast by members of the church. I called it a feast as there were two huge platters of sea food between eight adults and two children.  The drive there took us through some of the tiny backstreets to where the airport met the sea.  It was definitely a fishing/tourist boat hire area.  I was told the more expensive tourist area was just north of us. We were in the locals area where the food was at local price. Arriving just before sunset we took photos with a backdrop of the spectacular display of God’s glory, as the sun slowly set. Then feasted on prawns, squid, freshly caught fish and clams in a spicy tomato sauce eaten with rice while talking till we were full.  What a wonderful evening!  Coming home, there was one more stop, a pharmacy before arriving at the house exhausted.  It was very late for this early to bed girl, 10pm! But I had had another amazing God-filled day and the week ahead was already filling up with more adventures.

Photos:  1. Frangipani    2 & 3. Arms of Love    4. My baby    5. Sunday church in old premises    6. Packing up    7. New premises    8. Durian Party    9. Thermomax party    10. Kindred spirits    11. Girls from Compassion practicing English with me    12. Beach party

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for all the wonderful experiences I’ve been having here in Bali. Praise Him for His provision, protection, health, guidance and love.

Praise Him for answered prayer in a successful operation on Pastor Chris’s arm which had a serious break while he was here in Bali.  Please pray it continues to heal well.

Praise the Lord for new friends and Gayle who have blessed me so much already.  What an amazing family of God we belong to.

Pray for the church members and all involved with the move and preparations for the new church premises. Pray especially for the school as the new premises are not as large as the previous one and some families have pulled their children out which is challenging financially for the school.

Please continue to pray that I have opportunities to share His love with others.

Please also pray for Jen that she will remain safe and well during her adventures and travels in Europe and the UK.

Continue to pray for world peace and for the refugees who are caught up in the suffering this war has caused, both in Ukraine and Russia.

Please continue to keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.