Life this month has been everything I never thought it would be, yet everything more than I could’ve imagined. The Lord is in every moment. And I mean every single moment, because we’re choosing to see through His eyes each and everyday.
In a lot of time with the Lord, He’s been speaking to me about this idea of choosing. That each day is an opportunity to choose who you want to be, and how you want to live, and furthermore, the ‘why’ behind those choices. When it’s 90 degrees and you’re hot, tired, and dirty, it’s not necessarily ones first response to be exuding joy and laughter in all you do. It’s not necessarily ones first response to want to run and jump and play with all of the kids that don’t understand most of what you’re saying to them. It’s not necessarily ones first response to fight for the fun. But we are! That has been the overall consistent heart posture of myself and each of the girls on the two teams we’ve been together with this month, and I couldn’t feel more encouraged or inspired to be here and now; to be who I am in Jesus here and now. We leave for Malaysia in just 2 days! But I wanted to share what our time in Indonesia has looked like during the last several weeks— it’s been sweet. Really sweet <3
Our day to day has looked a little different each and every day. We’ve quickly learned that Bali is an island centered around living in the moment; about being present in what’s happening now, and worrying about tomorrow, tomorrow. If any of you know me, you know that myself, along with many Americans, are always looking ahead. We know our schedules so far in advance that we are able to plan and arrange and pack in as much as possible into our days whenever we can. As a type-A kinda gal, not knowing what’s next, and having to be flexible in every single loose plan that’s made has been incredibly challenging. But being in Bali is forcing me to slow down, and breathe in the present like I never have. God has been speaking Psalm 46:10 over me for nearly two years now: “Be still, and know that I am God.” I’m finally (& genuinely) understanding what that means. If I’m still, I can see Him clearer. I can hear his voice louder. I can turn off the distractions from my soul and just be present with my Father. Bali is teaching me to do a whole lot more of this in my life.
Most mornings we are woken up around 5:45am with a village call to prayer. It’s a loud symbol-like chanting and song. This happens 3 times a day, and still feels a little soul bumping each time it does. Whenever this call sounds, we do our best to intercede and pray through it, or often times we sing and worship through it. This gives the unrestful feelings a new sense of peace and comfort around something that may otherwise be triggering.
When that quiets before the dawn breaks, I usually lay in my tent to pray for my people back home or for people we’ve been loving on here, and listen to the sounds of all the animals and insects that are also waking up. The sounds are heavenly. It’s roosters in the distance, frogs croaking, crickets chirping, lizards singing (yes, they do that), and the sounds of the people of the village coming to life. It makes the mornings absolutely magical.
We usually begin the day with individual quiet time; journaling and meditating on scriptures that God is bringing us through. This is a crucial part of life on the Race. You are living life in community so often that you have to make sure to get time for just you and God. I myself am not a super-morning person, so this time for me often happens later in the day. If I’m and at ‘em before 7AM, I try to work out or shower before the heat of the day sinks in.
Around 9, we will have team time or ATL. We usually do this in team settings or with our host. The first days of this, we were in Acts 1-3, which was so special to me, as Acts is what we’re journeying through with my “home community” I attend. This was such a sweet sign of God’s specificity and saying “I see you, and I’m with you here.”
After this ends around 11AM or so, we will usually all split up to find lunch around the village. Most of our meals are enjoyed at local food carts where we have some form of rice, tuna, chicken sautée, tofu, eggs, and vegetables. The food here is delicious, and everything is so inexpensive! Eating locally has allowed so many beautiful relationships and sweet moments to foster from the consistency of our visits.
Following lunch, we either spend the afternoon time visiting with those around the village community, going offsite to snag Wifi and write, or catch some time alone. Since it’s so incredibly hot all the time, energy gets depleted rather quickly. Some of our girls have gotten overheated and sick, so we are trying to avoid those happenings as much as we can. Drinking lots of water and getting plenty of rest are essential.
Some of my favorite afternoon time has been spent at our neighbors home where we’ve gotten the honor of spending time with one of the sweetest families; our “Bali family!” I even got to teach zumba with some teammates and their family to the soundtracks of Housefires and Hillsong, and my teammate and best babe Hannah got to teach yoga to them as well! We’re learning that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is intercede and bring the Holy Spirit into a place through your words and life, even if the people you’re with don’t quite understand that that is what you’re doing or why you’re there other than to love them. When we’re with anyone in the community, we’re praying, and believing in God to move and come through in the miracles they tell us they need and want. If we can’t convey the Good News through our words, we can do it through our actions, and sometimes that’s often better than speaking.
I could go on and on and on with the stories of miracles and joy that have happened within the walls of our “Bali family’s” home. This family has stolen my heart in a way I’ve maybe never felt before. Their joy has cascaded across my existence and taught me the true meaning of “rejoice always,” no matter the hardships or challenges of circumstances— and they’re walking through some difficult ones. Yet still their smiles are bigger than mine. Yet still they love us harder than anyone. Yet still they say “you are our family. You come here to be with us anytime!” It’s unexplainable. I’ve watched God move powerfully and beautifully within a home that may stand under different beliefs than us, but yet we share the same exact Spirit of Love between one another. If you’d like to know more stories about these days with them, please ask me because I would love to share with you about my keluarga selamanya— “family forever.”
In the afternoon from 4pm to 6pm we have “cultural exchange” with all of the kids in the community! This has been the bulk of our joy and teaching while we’re here. The first day we began with 3 little girls, and grew to over 25 kids by three days later! Though we ‘start at 4,’ kids have been coming as early as noon some days! It’s been a wild ride of learning on both sides. How do you facilitate sharing the Good News with children when you don’t speak their language, and they don’t speak yours?! You get creative! We’ve been doing everything under the sun for fun with these sweeties! Hours with them consist of playing cards, playing soccer, running and romping in games of tag, teaching VBS songs with motions, doing english/balinese lessons by writing and speaking out loud with the help of Google Translate (what a God-sent!), drawing picture boards to share the story of Jesus, having the kids retell the stories in their own languages to us, and even getting to teach zumba to mix in exercise and a whole lot of joy!
One of the best parts of these hours, is seeing the kids comprehending what we’re saying to them. When we learn new Bali words, or they master speaking new English words, their entire spirits just light up! Their smiles are indescribable, and surely what makes it easy to just pour into them each day. And the parents are beyond grateful that we are here learning with them. One of the Dad’s of one of our little girls stopped us as we were walking to the local mart, introduced himself, and said “Thank you. Because of you my daughter is learning English.” I mean sheesh! How beautiful! We’re here to help these little ones not only know Jesus, but know his love, and to teach them the things that their parents may not be able to. And there will be thousands more kids to pour into over these next months. I absolutely cannot wait.
Night times are spent going around the village to snag dinner, or making Ramen on our mini stove. This week, a family stopped by during our cultural exchange time to meet and talk, and then brought us pizza later in the evening, JUST to say thank you and welcome to Bali! The love is legitimately never ending! As for our evenings after eating, there are all sorts of happenings at the community center. Since this is our home, we are often a part of the happenings too! Everything from exercise classes, dance competitions, village meetings, ping pong or volleyball playing, etc. Every night is an adventure and we are never totally sure of what to expect. Again, always being interruptible and always being flexible are keys in Bali!
Some nights we’ve spent in deep and beautiful conversations with our teams; crying over things that break our hearts, and laughing harder than you’ve ever seen someone laugh (Kylieeeee). Some nights we’ve spent worshipping. Some nights we’ve spent praying. Some nights are spent in Bali homes having dinner with families. Some nights have been spent with my new sweet German friend from the village, connecting over faith, music, life, and love to the newly discovered Blue October soundtracks. Some nights a combination of all those things. Every night is new and different, but every night is filled with wonder and hope of more goodness, and more of God moving through us into tomorrow. Everyday the people of Bali are learning from us, and every day we’re learning exponentially more from them. This is the day to day of Indonesia life, and I cannot imagine all that we will learn throughout 10 more countries.
A fellow world racer who’s blog I read often once said that every time she changed countries, it was like changing worlds. We head to Malaysia in just 2 days, and I’m surely not ready to leave this world behind. Surely not. But “There’s a million reasons to trust You; nothing to fear for you are by my side. I’ll follow you anywhere. Wherever you lead me, whatever it costs me, all I want is you.”
This is still only the beginning. #wakeupthewonder #leavehope
