2 days ago I wrote a blog. In my personal opinion it was a great story about how my team and I took a 33 hour bus ride to Java. It was about how the jungle roads felt like a roller coaster, and how I sat right next to the bathroom in the back of the bus for a day and a half, which smelled like literal death by the end of the trip. It was about how 20 hours into the bus ride we found baby chicks under our seats that had been in a box the entire time. It was about an elderly couple on the bus and how the husband was extremely ill and the wife didn’t rest once throughout the trip. It was about us randomly stopping at a Dunkin’ Donuts (one of the few American things I’ve seen in Indonesia) after a 12 hour stint with no stops and how I got 2 donuts, someone ate one of mine and instead left me a custard donut that I ended up giving to the wife of the sick man, and ultimately finding that my own selfishness keeps me from seeing how I should be loving people like the Lord loves people.
It was a good blog. It was edited, with eloquent language and all the periods and commas properly placed.
But I went to post that blog, and let’s just say after a series of very unfortunate events it is now deleted with no hope of being recovered. Stuff like that disheartens me. It bothers me to no end when I work so hard on something just to have it vanish.
I was with one of my teammates when that happened and as I was raving my frustration she looked at me calmly and said “well, maybe that’s not what God wanted you to share”. So I thought about it and I think that’s true. So here is an impromptu, unfiltered, unedited blog.
If I have learned anything in the past month it would be that God shows up in places where you least expect it. Throughout my time here in Indonesia, I have slept at a Hindu temple on the ground, and trekked through a rice field to play with children who made flower crowns far more beautiful than any piece of jewelry I’ve put on. I have watched the light pierce the darkness and peace overcome chaos, seen prayers answered and eaten meals with encouraging new friends. I have slept in a small, single airbnb room with 6 people for far too long but have enjoyed sharing many laughs with them also. I have been extremely sick for a day and woken up the next morning feeling completely healed by God. We have been caught in rainstorms that soaked my team and I within seconds, and hung out at a school with some amazing young girls and boys whose curiosity and imaginations are inspiring.
Over all, I often find myself going to sleep being so grateful and thankful for Indonesia and how prevalent God is here. I know that was short, but that’s all I have for now. Thank you for your support!
