Lombok

Sunday was busy as usual, we had more visitors from Melbourne plus a team.  One of the local pastors preached a great message of encouragement. God is about to do a new thing; don’t look to the past but be expectant to what is ahead.  After some time of fellowship some of the members plus Gayle’s close friends who were also visiting joined us for lunch.  From here I decided I wanted to return home to work on my updates.  I walked quite some distance to catch my usual bus. Praise the Lord it wasn’t raining at the time.  The rainy season seemed to have come early as the past three days have barely stopped raining.  I was praying Monday morning would be fine as I didn’t envision riding a Grab motorbike over an hour in the rain to the fast ferry.  When boarding the bus, the driver was trying to tell me I had to pay.  I’d shown him my ID but he still insisted.  Fortunately there was a local couple on the bus who said the fares had changed since the 1^st of July, we now needed to pay 2,000 Rupiah which is about $0.20c. Praise the Lord I had an interpreter and the correct change.

Back at the house, having just dodged the rain, I read and emailed my previous blog update to Elaine and Gayle to check I had things correct. I also packed my bag for the early morning start. I borrowed Joshua’s medium sized backpack as I didn’t want to take too much.  My backpack is just too small. I was hesitant to include my computer but as I write up my blog every day it made sense to take it.

Gayle and Joshua arrived with her friends who were staying the night, as they didn’t like the look of the rough seas for taking their car on the slow ferry to Lombok.  Mornings were known to be calmer.  I was a bit nervous about my crossing the following day so Joshua kindly went out and bought me some tablets for motion sickness.  Before I went to bed they all prayed for me.  I also sent out a request to my prayer warriors for a smooth journey.

Going to bed early, I took a sleeping tablet to ensure I slept well.  I did, waking at 4am, which gave me plenty of time to prepare all I needed, eat my breakfast and do my final pack. The backpack Joshua had leant me was a perfect size and not too heavy.  Stevenas, whom I has messaged at 6am to make sure he was up, was running 20 mins late which didn’t help my travel nerves Gayle’s guests were also up by then. Gayle and Joshua came to see me off just as my ride arrived. We were both dressed in wet weather gear just in case the rain continued.  I’d prayed for clear skies and was blessed with only a short burst of rain before it cleared for the rest of the day.

It took over an hour to reach our destination. On arrival, we were asked by several eager vendors looking for clients to help.  It was then I realised I needed to know which company I was going with. Once we knew, we were directed down the right road which was chocker block with mini vans, cars and bikes taking passengers to the boats.  Bidding Stevens adieu, I checked in at the counter and waited. I was early with over an hour to wait I could now relax.

During this wait I introduced myself to a South African lady, Lynne, who comes to Bali every year for a holiday.  It was lovely getting to know each other while we waited, then on the ferry, exchanging contacts before finally bidding each other good bye.  The seas weren’t too rough, making the ferry trip quite pleasant, although I’m glad I had taken the motion tablet.  We arrived late but so was Nina (not her real name as she is working in a sensitive area) who was picking me up. I walked through more optimistic hasslers looking to give me a ride or find a hotel for me.  Eventually I came to Poppy’s café which looked like a good place to stop and wait.  It also stopped the hasslers from harassing me and gave me a pickup point for Nina to find me.  She did just after I had ordered a very hot lemon drink. Not to worry, I had finished my iced coffee so I poured it into the thermos cup with the remaining ice blocks.  Perfect.  Thank you Jesus.

Stopping first at the supermarket for fresh milk for the kafir, Nina and I chatted all the way to Jason and Anne’s house where I was staying with Ina.  I unpacked some basics, making up my kafir then walking up the road to Nina’s home to pick up her bike before heading out for lunch and a few errands.

Lunch was delicious.  We ate at a popular Muslim restaurant with an extensive menu. We ordered Nina’s favourite fried fish, kangkong vegetables, beef spareribs and rice, with a durian smoothie topped with ice cream, finishing off with a very sweet iced jelly dessert.  It was a bit pricey but very delicious. From here we picked up some T shirts which were to be the first prizes for the badminton tournaments that were being put on by their youth program, plus badges for sport medallions.

This took us much longer than expected as neither order had been finished, so we had to wait as they were needed for the following day’s competition.  We eventually arrived back at the house after 5pm, both exhausted having been up so early, chatting some more before Ina arrived an hour or so later.  I had met Ina at Sheryl’s when the team had come over for some meetings.  Nina left just after 8pm, I pottered around, washed my underwear while showering then crashed out and slept well, even though the very loud mosque called all to prayer at 5am, dosing off again waking at 6am.

On Tuesday I had my usual quiet time before breakfast and a stroll around the garden.  Access to the garden on a lower level was down some steep stairs, definitely not Australian standard!  Each step must have been over a foot deep. The garden was a large area with many different plant varieties including a very poorly jackfruit with dead fruit on the ground and in the branches. I suspect either not enough water or possibly lacking fertiliser. I spotted an open female pumpkin flower and pollinated it with a male I found on another plant. There were quite a few cassava plants, four large papayas, two citrus of sorts and many plants I was unable to identify from the leaves.

Nina arrived around 10am to pick me up.  We had a very busy schedule and would be late returning.  I hadn’t realised how late, late was!  She took the car belonging to Warwick whose family are still in Perth.  It was the same car Cheryl used with the contrary alarm; Nina too was having trouble with not being able to turn it off.  Heading out of town our first stop was over an hour away up a very windy road, which twisted and turned through jungle, farmland and villages.

Our first stop was in a village where we parked amongst the coconut pickers and walked to the homes beside the mosque.  Nina is a nurse who worked the emergency department in Australia and uses her expertise, plus the help of Google search, to help her treat the villagers.  She was horrified with the lack of health care here.  Some villagers were riddled with scabies to such an extent that they couldn’t walk due to the festering sores. The work she does amongst them is invaluable.  Some of the medications she is needing are not available here and all purchases come out of her support fund.  After sharing some of the Bible stories of how Jesus healed the sick, we then prayed for each patient.  The first was a lady with Bell’s Palsy.  Before we left we could see a remarkable improvement. Praise the Lord, many of those prayed for during the visits by the team have seen amazing miracles.

Nina had previously told me that my age was on my side as Indonesians are very respectful of their seniors.  I was taught the local greeting, which if you are the younger, you take their right hand and bow to touch your forehead on their hand, then touch your heart.  As I was much older than the majority of people, I was only to take their hand, greet them with ‘how are you’ then touch it to my heart as I withdraw my hand.  I thought this was such a warm sincere greeting to touch your heart. I’d seen it in other cultures too.

One of the women we came to see took us to another part of the village beside another mosque (there are mosques all over Lombok). Here Nina visited a lady who had been diagnosed with a tumour, she suspected it was cancer of the lungs. She was with her for some time relaying another Biblical story of healing before praying for her.  She also saw many of the locals, giving them cream and soap for scabies, explaining time and time again how to use the treatment to reinforce its proper use.  I sat outside trying to make conversation to those who were brave enough to try their English.  I was offered these amazing plates made out of rice and corn (a bit like gigantic prawn crackers) which are edible and so much better than plastic.  Onto this I was given some kangkong, beansprouts, freshly grated coconut and a chilli sambal.  This is eaten by breaking your plate and dipping it into the mix.  How unique!

With another hour of driving along a twisting narrow road behind some very large trucks and roadworks to widen the road, we were now running very late for our next destination, but it turned out not to be a problem as the badminton tournament didn’t start till after 7pm!

With time up my sleeve I wandered around with some of the girls who wanted to show me what grew on the farm, learning the English names for some of the fruits. There were lots of varieties including durian, jackfruit, bananas, passionfruit, coffee and cacao.  The farmer whose home we were at showed me the raw cacao and then how he roasted it, giving me some little packets to take home.  He also grows and roasts his own coffee, of which I bought a packet of two varieties.

It was a long night for me. There were family members and guests of the students involved in this programme, who came from surrounding villages.  I don’t know how many people there were arriving on motorbikes.  They sat or squatted around the cement court to watch the competition.  There were rowdy cheers and shouts encouraging those who played.  All went well till the last match and the last game.  It was then that both young teenage boys jumped for the shuttlecock, slipped and fell.  One injured his knee the other chipped his front tooth.  After a small interlude with Nina checking out the injuries, they recommenced the game, coming second in the boys division.

One funny incident occurred while I was trying to make conversation with the woman who sat with me.  She wanted to know how to say things in English.  Of course I didn’t know many of the phrases which she spoke in Indonesian.  Then she asked, in English, how do you say “I love you”.  I was confused so asked “how do you say, I love you in Indonesian”.  It was her turn to look puzzled.  After a while she realised what she had been asking was in English!  All the women around us roared with laughter, slapping their sides hysterically. It became the joke of the evening, being repeated many times to friends and family.

After the trophy and prize giving, the program was wrapped up quickly, with nearly everyone returning to their homes.  A group of men remained chatting, one of whom asked Nina about the work they were doing.  She later told me he was the head man of the area.  Lisa, one of Nina’s team drove us back to the car, which we had parked further down the track, which was very narrow, bumpy and really better for a four wheel drive.  Driving back to the house was much quicker, although it still took us over 2hrs. The road was virtually deserted of traffic and people but still needed much care due not being well lit, narrow, snaking over the hills through the roadside villages.  Nina dropped me at the house where she parked the car before walking home.  It was just after 2am when my head touch the pillow.

Wednesday, I had slept well, waking at 7am.  I decided I’d get up to try to reset my body clock back to an early night.  I hadn’t brought many clothes so washed those I’d worn the past two days and wrote down all my memories before I forgot, and then made myself and Ina a coffee frappe while she cooked us lunch.  Nina came over to join us; it was very delicious fried chicken, which Ina then cooked in small red onions, garlic and chilli with a side of carrots and bokchoy fried in garlic.  So much for my FODMAP diet!  Praise the Lord I wasn’t too gassy (well at least not that anyone noticed) while I was on the back of the motorbike, with too many other street sounds and smells.  LOL

Before leaving, I donned the helmet I had borrowed and used the previous day. I was just about to buckle it on when I realised I had been baptised with tiny ants!  Bashing the helmet on the paving, they dropped out in swarms. I mean there were millions of them!  They had had a day to build a nest under the lining and had since produced thousands of little eggs which also continued to drop out as I knocked the helmet.  Ina grabbed the helmet from me, taking it to the gas stove where she held it over a hot flame.  More ants dropped out. Finally, as there were still live ants coming out, Ina made room for the helmet in the freezer holding it as the door didn’t quite close.  This seemed to do the trick, killing those that remained.  When we returned that evening I put the helmet on another table, but within an hour more ants had invaded it!  I left it in the refrigerator over-night to prevent another infestation.

That afternoon all three of us were heading to another village in the north of Lombok.  En route we picked up Mira, who I’d also met at Cheryl’s home. Once again we weaved our way around the narrow island roads over hills, through villages and around beachside cliffs to the village we had intended to visit.  It was quite a distance, about an hour of sitting on the back on the bike which wasn’t the best position for my back.  It was good to get off for a stretch at our destination.  Here we met up with some new believers, one of whom had been in a terrible accident when her cement house collapsed during an earthquake about five years ago.  Due to a harrowing experience in hospital, she hadn’t wanted to repeat the ordeal, even though the bones in her leg and foot were shattered.  She had learnt to trust Nina, who had picked up some flesh eating maggots, which had burrowed into the live flesh, as a result of not having the wound properly covered since returning to her home.  Some types of maggots are used to eat the dead or dying flesh, but these were some Nina had never seen before.  Dr Google helped her identify and treat these pests, each of which needed to be extracted individually as they came to the surface looking for air, after she smothered the wound in saline solution.  Another wound had not been healing either, but since their visit with prayer and treatment had greatly improved to the point that it was just about closed over. The woman was able to walk with difficulty, dragging and putting a bit of her weight on the shattered bone, which didn’t help the healing process.  Nina had already removed some bone, which had worked its way out through the open wound as it was healing.  This continual movement of shattered bone made the healing very difficult.  A new dressing was applied, more Bible stories and prayer shared before the next patient was seen.

A few mothers with their children had gathered to chat to the girls and ask for advice.  One of the husbands approached us; he wanted to show off his grasp of English by chatting with me.  It was obvious he had worked around the tourists with his flirtatious banter, his wife squatting close by. He wanted Nina to look at a problem he had with his feet, which she diagnosed as Athletes Foot.  The anti-fungal soap was given to him and a cream, which she didn’t carry was suggested.  Nina couldn’t resist having a cuddle of a three month old baby before jumping on the bikes once more and heading to a local beach.  She had suggested we might have a swim, but I changed my mind as it was very rocky and quite rough at times.  It had been decided we should come here to wait for the sunset, which could be quite spectacular depending on the weather.  From a beach vendor, we ordered young coconut to drink, Mira also ordered some rujak which she shared while we chatted and waited for sunset.

We were not disappointed by the setting sun as it lit up the sky with its splendour.  Hues of yellow and orange radiated through the blue, reflecting off the rippling waves. It was a photographic moment and a lovely way to round off our day.  En route back to the house we stopped to buy some local pineapples to add to my breakfast.  Both Nina and I were pooped!  By seven she was heading home, while I relaxed a little longer on the lounge with Jason’s cat which seemed to have taken a liking to me.  I sent off a few photos with her stretched out beside me with her paw on my arm, saying “This woman won’t let me sit on her lap!  This is as far as I can get!”  It was very cute.  She often tries to get as close as she can during the day, sleeping on the table beside me as I work on the computer or on the sofa while I relax.  She has even tried to come to bed with me but my room is off bounds, no cats allowed for someone who’s a light sleeper and allergic to their dander.

After our evening re-acquainting, I headed off for an early night, leaving Ina to let herself in on her return.  She was off to visit her boyfriend with a young chicken one of the village women had caught for her.

The ant in the helmet saga continued the next day, Thursday, when I Googled to find a natural ant repellent and read that Peppermint helps.  Searching through Anne’s pantry, I found Peppermint tea bags and put one of these under the helmet padding.  But within the hour more tiny ants were crawling over the helmet.  Ina then put it out in the sun; later I hung it by it’s strap on the clothes line.  Unfortunately this house and many here in Indonesia are built on rice fields which are notorious for ants.

With a few more days in Lombok, including facing the challenges of my return to Bali, I will leave you in suspense to read all about it in the next chapter, as this one is getting rather long from all the adventures already experienced.

*[Peoples names have been changed as many are working in sensitive areas]

Photos:  1. Bougainvillea     2.  Grab map to fast ferry    3. I’m waiting for fast ferry    4. View from the veranda of the house I was staying at    5. Women needing medical help    6. Beach view    7. Pealing husks of the cacao    8. Badminton tournament    9. One of my house mates    10. Nina treating the crushed leg    11. Sunset Wednesday 12^th July

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for all the answered prayer; good weather, calm seas, safe journeys and new friends.

Praise Him for all my new experiences while in Lombok.

Please continue to pray for Joshua as he applies for his Indonesian citizenship, that he will have all the papers and information to complete the requirements and that there will be no problems or delays.  Pray also that he will find appropriate part-time work to help support himself.

Please continue to pray that I have opportunities to share His love with others during my last week here in Bali.

Please pray for Jen as she does Work Away in Spain, 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.