Random Last Post

It's coming to the close of my time here, and I am wondering how I'm ever going to survive saying goodbye to everyone tomorrow night.

My time here has been a huge blessing. I've been able to spend some much needed quality time w/ God... ive had the best time getting to know these kids and playing with them - they've taught me a lot. i've learned some new survival skills... almost ready for reality TV...Rule #1: when in doubt, eat a clove of garlic. it's the best medication around.
I've even learned how to surf a little better... i've also learned not to get too proud about that --- after a friend helped me out a little, i went out by myself the next day, and no sooner did i catch a wave and the thought, "Melody, you've totally got this!!" cross my mind, then did my forehead get plummeted to the ocean floor. To top it off, in a panic i hit my head on the board when i came to the surface.. ya. so, that whole "pride cometh before the fall thing"... Apparantly He wasnt kidding. :)
I've learned a lot more about life in 3rd world countries - or at least the Balinese.... As a whole, the people are more generous. More thoughtful. More willing to serve... w/ a smile on their face. i.e., there are 5 staff girls that work at the orphange... between 18-32. They've committed two years of their lives to living at the orphange and serving the kids. They wake up at 5, go to the market, cook, clean, take care of the children, help them with school, and even go out of their way to make sure that the other guests (myself included) feel at home. Every day they prepare at least 100 meals (more if there are guests) from SCRATCH. They're not paid. They barely brought anything with them. The idea that americans put happiness in material things would be a completely foreign concept to them. A few times a month, on the weekend, everyone goes on a big day trip... The kids LOVE IT!! Even if it's just to a different beach.. or the park.... somewhere simple or not.. Some of my favorite times with the children have been on such trips. And the work that goes into these trips is unbelievable! Yet, these ladies never complain and are thrilled to do it all over again the next week. One day, they will make the world's best moms.

A girl from YWAM and i were talking about how different it is ministering to people in 3rd world countries than it is in the West. The most incredible difference, i think, is that you dont have to convince people in 3rd world countries that there's a spiritual realm. They are WELL aware. Almost all of them have been exposed to it their whole lives. For generations they've lived in bondage to these false religions that invite evil into their homes, their families, and their country. The difficulty in evangelising resides in convincing them there is a good side to this spiritual world. A side that is FOR them, not against them. A beautiful religion that is based on Grace, and redemption, and love and freedom... where faith in action is not to be discounted, however, works are not necessary. They live in fear of the gods. Almost every religious tradition they practice is in fear of being cursed. the book of James would rock their world. The idea of free grace is often the hardest thing for these people to put their heads around. But they're hearts are beautiful. It is my prayer that these children at the orphanage can continue to grow, and learn, and one day be apart of transforming this country.

The last month has been stretching, inspiring, and amazing.

I am excited to be home and see everyone, but i know it will be so strange when i step off that airplane at LAX and realize these kids are SO FAR away from me. I dont know if or when i'll ever return, but i hope that God provides a way.

I will miss a lot things and people. I'll miss Hendris smile... not only is it larger than life but he's missing his two front teeth. it's great. I'll miss him singing from his heart... loud and off key. I'll miss little tiny Chile running up and wrapping his arms around my leg. I'll miss totally relating to him in the morning when he's the last one out of bed and really grumpy. ha. I'll miss Wenty's big brown eyes and how she always wants to hold my hand when we're playing in the ocean. I'll miss Linda's lazy eye and her total abandonment of social norms. She's great. Man, I could go on forever... Theyve all left thousands of beautiful footprints on my heart.

The fact that each of these children have come from such brokenness is truly a testimony to the miraculous powers of restoration that the God we serve is capable of... some of them have been left on the street - completely abandoned by their parents, others abused, one has escaped from a mom who tried to kill him, some raped, others have witnessed their parents murdered.... the list goes on and on.... and the most incredible thing is to see the redemption this ministry has provided for each of them. The joy on their faces is real. They're hearts are transparent. It is mind blowing to see how God has pulled them out of the darkness and made known to them his overwhelming love for them. They know it. They dont doubt it. We could all learn a great deal from watching them. I'm humbled daily.

yes, i really hope to return.

With all of that said, I will be arriving home on Saturday morning at 11:15am. My internal clock will be telling me it's 2:15am on Sunday, so it should be heaps of fun for the first week or so. Nothing like a 15 hour time difference. For those of you throwing my surprise welcome home party, dont forget flowers, jewelry, candy, really expensive gifts... you know the drill. hahaha. jk. but i really cant wait to see everyone. Let's get some quality time in before my fall semester resumes - ive got about 3 weeks.

Thanks for reading these things. I know they can be lame and impersonal, but if nothing else, it keeps me somewhat accountable to keeping some journal entries. :) Thank you even more for your prayers. They have carried me this past month in more ways than i could begin to type out.

My Love to all of you,
mel

I owe my life to Frogger

OK, it's been awhile since ive updated on anything good..... so time to break it down. :)

I want to paint the picture a little better of what Bali's like - all the little details that make it tick.

First off, i know i already mentioned the nightmare known as driving... but let me unpack that statement a little. Actually, being in the car or on the motorcycle is one thing.... walking is undeniably worse. But first, you know that game 'Chicken?' Where two cars face one another about a block apart and race towards each other till one pulls to the side first... making that driver the "chicken." I play that game every day. By default. I really dont see the point in wasting paint to separate the different directions of traffic here. They really make NO difference. It's already a little backwards being that everyone drives on the Left side here... or so it seems that’s what they attempt to do. But they fail miserably every day because no one stays on their side. Ever. On top of that, some of the "streets" here are really remarkable. They're about half the size of the boardwalk on the peninsula in Newport Beach... when the first motorbike whizzed by me, i thought i tasted death... then i got used to sharing my confused 'walking path' - not big enough for 4 people across - w/ 2 way traffic of motorcycles and mini TRUCKS. What?? Honestly, it's pretty ridiculous. And trying to cross the bigger streets is even worse. In short, it is the equivalent to a real life game of Frogger. No joke. For those of you who dont remember the video game Frogger.... you missed out on a piece of your childhood. I owe my grandpa the biggest gratitude in the world for always "playing" that game w/ me when i was young. I put quotes around playing, because turns out, it was actually practice for survival skills i would one day need. When i step off that curb, my hand goes out in a "stop" gesture (i assume to be universal), i take a deep breath, and start walking. Breaks in traffic are nonexistent... so it's not really a choice. Sometimes i find im better off closing my eyes... so far, i havent been hit... but i come within inches far too often. It's great.

Other details include the offerings that lay in front of EVERY home and business here. Beautiful little flowery offerings - tragically offered to the nonexistent gods of Hinduism every morning.

Or the men that stand around the sidewalk near all the tourist shops... (Think funny, kinda indian sounding accent) "Hello Darling..." "Transport??" "I love you." "Braid your hair??" "Maybe... maybe.. you want to give me surfboard... no?" "Weed?" "Come, come.. i give you good price." Ha. They're relentless.

The only touristy things ive participated in involves my fascination w/ the different animals here... One day, we went to a different side of the island and i paid 20,000 Rp to hold 2 Pythons... one was 9 FEET... they both were wrapped around my neck!! (dad, you wouldve been proud.) I've also avoided bright blue jelly fish... 4-inch cockroaches... and other mysterious bugs. I held a monkey, took a picture w/ a giant fruit bat, and have surprisingly become good at avoiding the hundreds of poor homeless dogs. (my friends from europe would be so proud.)

I hope you enjoyed the silly updates. I'll write again soon. Miss you guys.

love love love,
Melody

Tidak Abapba

That's indo for "no worries." Well, rumor has it that there has been news spreading around the OC about whats been happening over here. Myself and the other girls here have received a few emails from friends back home making sure our passports arent stolen and were not facing jail time. So.. while your prayers have been extremely valuable in accordance with our safety, let me also squash some rumors and set the record straight. For those of you who have no idea what im talking about... read on.
Let me give a brief overview of the way the orphanage works so that you understand the significance of what's been happening. The orphanage is set back from the street down a small driveway w/ about 6 homes total on it. Almost like a miniture cul-de-sac. One house is the orphange where all the kids and staff live and where i am staying. (That's the picture i previously posted.) A 2nd house in this "driveway" is also property of the orphanage; however, it is used to house missions teams, YWAM outreach teams, surfers... etc. For the last two years, the orphanage staff has been working towards the ownership of this 2nd house in order to help finance both homes. Just recently, that business has finally seen fruition and allowed for the two homes to benefit from renting out the 2nd.
The other 4 or 5 homes in this driveway are occupied by Muslim families. As i said before, 95-96% of Bali is Hindu.. but for whatever reason, these muslim families have become our neighbors.
In short, these neighbors do not like us. Especially the Westerners. So when there were 20 white YWAM members staying in the 2nd house - plus about 5 of us white people in the orphange, they really didn't like us. We've done our best to keep the noise level down and be respectful of them, but it hasnt seemed to make a difference. They've made threats which i wont type out so as not to worry you (bc truly God is trustworthy and there's no sense in sending worry thousands of miles away) and they've complained to the police - i think several times. Despite the Hindu government, they're of course still siding with our Muslim neighbors simply because they're Indonesian. Several staff members have made some trips to the police dept. to interview with them - and they've been very smart about what they've said. The police have also visited the orphanage for a little looksy - but again, everything was fine.
We had until today to clear out the YWAM teams staying at the 2nd house. They left this morning, and it should be semi-smooth sailing from here on out. Scott was in the States for a wedding during most of this, and his return has had to be quiet... but suffice it to say - everything is ok. He's back at the house now, and the kids, the staff, the others and myself, are all doing really well. Tina, the pioneer of this entire ministry, also returned last night. (She's been away at a language school for the last month or so.) I dont want to type out too many more details because honestly i dont know them all and dont even fully understand the ones i do... the last thing i want is to generate unncessary worry or make it easy for my words to be misconstrued. But please know that everyone is doing good. We serve a powerful God. He has and is protecting us.
The biggest results from all of this comes down to the fact that the business that has been built the last two years in that 2nd house was completely shut down this last week. It can never operate again to help finance the orphanage. However, all of this couldnt have been better timing as rent for the orphanage for the next 3 years is scheduled to be due in October. At this point, it seems like God has used this whole thing as a massive blessing in disguise to move the orphanage to a new location before the contract is renewed.
Please pray for God to continue to open and close doors as He leads them into a new location. Please pray for God to continue to provide the finances and resources necessary for such a change.
Following God often silmutaneously involves opposition. The enemy is never going to rest while God is being glorified. Satan will happily use Muslim, Hindu... or any kind of instrument to stand in our way. But Praise God that we're already serving the Victorious King. The battle has been won. It's simply a matter of trusting Him to protect and lead us in this new season. The Lord loves to give beauty for ashes. This new season is exciting.

I hope this website gets fwd to whoever needs to read it so that those rumors can be squashed and the record can be set straight. Thank you again for your concern, but please do not worry. God has protected us and kept us safe and i believe that He will continue to do so. Your prayers have been valuable. Thank you.

love, Melody

alive and really really well

ive almost survived my first week. it's been a little busier. scott left a few days ago to return to the states for a wedding, so we've been left in charge... wahahaha. just kidding.. its been running great, minus the pink eye/conjunctivitus outbreak in the house. danielle caught it the same night as her motorcycle crash.. poor girl. it's been spreading around... several kids and staff leaders have it right now. so far, ive been spared. *knock on wood* no one new has contracted it in 2 days though, so hopefully it's contained and almost over with.
yesterday we had the first of two australian YWAM teams show up... they're all staying at the 2nd house. the 2nd team is coming in a couple days.. so we'll have two very full houses then. for now, there's only 11 of them & they're all really sweet. all the little geckos that run around and cover our walls will finally have some new company. :)
i completely forgot to mention the insane exchange rate here... 1 US $ is equivalent to nearly 10,000 Rupias (sp?) .... so when i exchanged $200, i was handed back almost 2 million Rp. I felt so rich!! seriously, im living like a king on $2-$3 a day here. man, am i gonna hate myself when i go home to starbucks! ... im a slave to it. (michelle knows this is true -it's pretty pitiful.) when we go out to eat here i make sure i have about 10,000 -20,000 Rp in my pocket and i'm golden. that's $1-$2... it's brilliant.
so, i almost got attacked by a wild dog today... wild dogs run rampant here - but they always mind their own business, so it's never really anything to worry about. but this morning, the black dog jumped out at me from behind a wall, already barking as it approached me. it scared me to death.. i was not expecting it and could just envision the rabies on the tip of it's snout waiting to infect me... i grabbed danielle and we lunged into moving traffic as we darted across the street. good lord... it was a close call.
speaking of dogs, ive been a hardcore vegetarian for the first solid week of my life. im already sketchy when it comes to meat back home, by no means a vegetarian though. but when i finalized my plans for bali, i made the decision to go without it here for fear of eating dog or cat disguised as "chicken." so, let's review... no diet coke. no meat. no starbucks. wow. seriously, would someone plese send me a medal. ha.. it's surprisingly not as hard as i thought it'd be. ive eaten more rice and vegetables in the last week than probably my whole life combined. but they're really good. oh yeah, and pineapple juice too. lots of pineapple juice. yum.
the kids keep pouring into the house.... yesterday we did face painting with them. all the boys wanted spiders on their faces and spider webs on their tummies. the girls either wanted hearts or cat whiskers. afterwards, we took them to the galael (aka supermarket) to buy them ice cream. ive never seen children be so excited over ice cream... it makes me want to feed it to them 10x a day. they get SO excited and are so appreciative - it's precious. at night, we've been having devotions with the kids.... we sing songs in indo and a few in english that the kids know. hendri sings louder than everyone. and for as loud as he sings, he's also extremely off-key. i love it. after worship, one of the other staff girls leads a lesson... then the children tell stories and answer questions. we always end in asian style prayer.... which is everyone praying out loud at once. there's three different languages at the house... indonesian, balinese, and english. it's so beautiful to listen to the prayers simultaneously offered to jesus in all the different languages.
if you cant already tell - im falling in love here. with everything. the children, the culture, their hearts, their strength... its inspiring. jesus is so very real. the faith of a child is truly profound. they know Him and love in a such a deep and real way.

Luke 18:16-17 - "But Jesus called them to Him and said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁷Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.'"

my love to you all,
melody

photo opp!

pic 1: the orphanage
pic 2: day 2: jeanette, me, & danielle in kuta
pic 3: "dr." scott is helping matthias
pic 4: this pic doesnt do the view from the village justice
pic 5: the village at night - the cheif, mada, is on the right
pic 6: hendri - seriously, how could you not love him!?
pic 7: i'm holding the "wild child" - isnt she beautiful!
pic 8: kuntamani... the hot springs at the foot of the volcano
pic 9: hendri again.... man, i love that kid!
pic 10: jeanette & i earlier today before our motorcycle ride

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