Bali is full of old traditions, Hindu temples, and the occasional hidden waterfall. It rains about four times a day and the moped riders are abundant. This place is so foreign to me but it’s no surprise to God and he is definitely working here. Yesterday on our walk to the industrial side of town we were able to speak with some local workers.
Surya and Kadek were two guys around the ages of 21 and 24 that worked at the hotel we were hanging out at. We offered to teach them more English and tell them more about God and they were ecstatic. They couldn’t believe that we would take the time to hang out with them and teach them English for free. It was a blessing to be able to connect with guys my age that come from a totally different background than mine. God made no mistakes when he decided our ethnicity and it’s so cool to learn about his love for other cultures.
Later we tried this fruit called durian that has a spiked outer shell and the fruit in the middle looks like a slimy chicken breast. It tasted like sweet onions and was probably the nastiest thing I’ve ever eaten. However, I had bought one before I realized I could try it. A young man around the age of 28 came to buy some durian at the fruit stand we were at. I had the opportunity to give him my durian that I had bought earlier. He smiled and asked me why I had done that and even though I hated the fruit, I said because God loved me first so that is why I love you. He kind of laughed and shrugged that comment off but you could see it meant a lot to him. Maybe it will resonate with him down the road. We are commanded to plant the seed not to convince.
Lastly we ate dinner at a small restaurant that sold everything from fried noodles to a whole fish with the scales and all. Somehow Greg talked me into eating an eyeball with him, but to my surprise they were better than the durian. We got to sit down with our waitress and talk about the story of how Zachias was forgiven for his sins. The girls were able to understand what we were talking about through our Balinese friend and they seemed to relate to the story in multiple ways. We are planning to see them at Sunday Service and grow our relationship with them.
These three small encounters throughout the day meant so much to our whole team this week and it definitely lifted up our spirits! I can’t wait to see what God has for us tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Logan
