It Begins...

Ok... so apparantly i wasn't in a creative mood when i titled t
his blog. my apologies.
I'm happy to say Danielle and i arrived safely after two long plane rides and one night in Japan... (which was great by the way.) Scott and Christina met us at the airport and took us back to the orphanage. Most of the kids have had a holiday the last couple weeks, which means the ones that still have families went home to visit... so the orphanage was pretty empty when we arrived. Right away we met two little boys named Daniel and Hendri... hendri is possibly the cutest thing in the whole world. i may be stowing him away when i return home.
Christina and Jeanette (two friends from vanguard) gave us the rundown on the orphanage... cool things like what the shower consisted of, the bathroom situation (yikes), food, sleeping, a mini tour of everything and the like. Ive adopted a "bring it on" attitude so i dont freak out when things such as - "no toilet paper" - come up.
I was exhausted. Our first night's sleep went great. I woke up bright eyed at 7am ready to go. The next day we made our way down to the beach - the water is so very warm. After making friends with the lifeguards, we set our stuff down, and took a hand at surfing. I've only been a couple times in the past, so suffice it to say that i'm not very good. but i didnt give up. despite the board knocking me upside the head a couple times.
That night scott told us we were going to the village to pick up the kids. he told us to pack light - he suggested just a sweatshirt. Thankfully, after traveling w/ scott in europe, i'm familiar with how to translate what he says into what he really means. "just a sweatshirt" = " We will be spending the night. It's going to be freezing. Bring a toothbrush, deodorant, sunblock and a sheet to sleep on." He would have never mentioned the latter essentials, but thank God the girls and i can interpret his strange boy communication.
Having no idea what to expect, i kept it to the bare necessities.
At about 6:00 o'clock, we crowded about 12 of us, 6 adults and 6 kids, into a tiny suv - plus 6 more on motorcycles, and headed to the village. from now on, just know that whenever i mention driving - whether by car or motorcycle - know that i have overcome death. italy and mexico had always tied for 1st in my mind as the craziest places to drive. no no, my friends. those countries are for little girls. they have been violently pushed to a far 2nd as bali has - without question- taken the lead. and it only got better when scott said, "Ok kids, let's pretend we're running from the police!"

On a different note, I learned many things during that 4 hour drive.
- every child i had met thus far seemed to a have a story worse than the one before. these children are so brave.
- Bali is about 95-96% Hindu...making it the 2nd most concentrated place of hinduism in the world, only 2nd to India.
- less than .01% are Christian.
-the village we were traveling to is a completely unreached people group.
-we would be among the first white people they had ever seen.
-above the village, higher in the mountains, live witchdoctors who come into the village several times a year to hurt, curse, and sometimes kill the villagers.
-the people in the village hated scott the first couple times he visited, but he continued to bring medical aid w/ him. one of his last visits, his medical aid ran out, and all he could do was pray for the family he was with. they were healed instantly. ever since, they have said they believe that "Scott's magic is more powerful than their magic." They now respect him and look forward to his visits.
- many crazy religious ceremonies take place in bali, especially up in the villages.
- it is very spiritually intense with incredible spiritual warfare taking place.
- a friend of ours on his last visit witnessed a religious ceremony where he watched men stab themselves with swords repeatedly - to which NO blood was drawn.
- most of these people have never heard the name Jesus.
- there was a national ceremony going on that night we made the drive and as we headed further into the mountains, we could hear chanting outside the windows. it sounded evil.

... and so it began.

The last thirty minutes of the drive were off the road, on what, i suppose one could call a trail... if they really stretched the word trail. the road was steep, rocky, and narrow, w/ dropoffs to the left, and many sudden, sharp turns. the kids were all half screaming/half laughing... it was one of the best adrenaline rushes of my entire life. i appreciate indiana jones on a whole new level.

we finally arrived to a group of small balinese villagers huddled in the pitch black road holding a torch.

Sanjaya, an older boy from the orphanage, is one of the kids from this village. his father, mada, is the cheif of the 600 person village. he and a few others welcomed us warmly and led us to their small home/hut. they prepared a strange white vegetable/root for us- it tasted like a potatoe. we sang worship songs with the children and the

men played on their drums and wind instruments. we could only see by the fire light. that night wasnt too cold. i remained in my tank top and basketball shorts. the boys slept outside and the girls were able to sleep on the floor inside.

i woke up the next morning at about 5am. after realizing we had slept underneath a massive wasp nest all night (w/giant red wasps for the record) i made my way outside. it was just light enough to see. as we walked back to towards the road i saw the most spectacular view. from the road, we overlooked a beautiful green jungle, thick with vegetation, with tall palm trees towering above. just at the edge of the jungle is the ocean. it goes on forever. the skyline meets the ocean so high up, im convinced heaven must look something like this. it was simply breathtaking. as the sun rose, it only got better.

Later that day, the boys went around to "play dr." the girls, some kids, and i hiked through some "trails" to several different homes. a few of the children showed us where they lived. for as beautiful as this place is, it's also poor. it is probably the most 3rd world i've ever witnessed first hand. the people looked at us like we were celebrities because of the color of our skin. they were also eager to offer smiles.

that afternoon, i embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. i joined a motorcycle gang. ok, not really. but it felt like it. scott and six other locals (the locals of course being slightly drunk) took the rest of us on the back of their motorcycles for a ride through the jungle, across the mountain, to leah's house, so we could pick her up. after protesting from all of us girls, there was nothing we could do about it. scott thought it'd "be good for us." i think he's part crazy. (mom please dont worry... we were fine.) Ladies - it's a man's world. no helmets, no road, no english.... it was insane. the drive was beautiful and terrifying. after a few close encounters, we made it. most of us pretty safely. poor danielle had crashed and skinned up her leg, she also later burned it on the exhaust... but we made it. she was ok. though scared to death, i secretly had a blast. every girl needs her adventure.

we spent the night again in the village.... it rained....really hard. after peeing outdoors, avoiding red wasps, and covering my eyes during the cock fight that all the boys thought was hilarious (you can imagine my horror - i cant even look at road kill!) we left this morning at 4am. it was pouring!! we stopped at the hot springs in kuntamani. it's a small town w/ a volcano. afterwards, sanjaya and i rode the motorcycle for the last half of the way home. the ride was gorgeous.

today has been pretty laid back since we got home. the city of kuta (where the orphanage is) is really busy.

there's more to write.. but ill save it for next time. if you actually made it this far through my post - thanks. :)

i hope everyone is doing well. please keep me posted on your lives (Skrupples@aol.com.) Please continue to pray for us as well. As you can tell, danger isn't too hard to come by. Please pray for the children and orphange staff also.

Im really looking forward to the rest of the children arriving. We have had so much fun playing with them thus far. The schedule hasnt started yet, but it will soon. Thanks again for your prayers.

all my love,

melody