Bukit Doa, the Hill of Prayer

Newt has mentioned that BDIC, the church he is leading, is located in an area that the government allowed for churches of five faiths to build worship facilities. There is a mosque, a Catholic church,  a Buddhist temple,  the Protestant church shared by the Indonesian church and the English-speaking congregation, and the Hindu temple. The 4th pic is a view of all of them, and the last pic is the Hindus. We all share a parking lot, which can get pretty crazy. Good Friday was also a big Muslim holiday, and many busloads of Muslim worshippers we dropped off, causing a major traffic jam as we were coming to Good Friday worship. The Catholics  have services all morning long, the Hindus at 1200 on Sunday, and multiple times daily, throughout the week, the Muslims worship on Fridays. The Buddhists worship on Wednesdays and Sundays. 

Easter Monday with kids

Each week, Newt goes to a school started by a member of the Bukit Doa International Protestant Church, Susan. The school is Christian. The children in the school are mostly Hindu, although some are Christian. Most of the families are very poor. Susan teaches Christian concepts along with the usual learning of numbers, letters, colors, behavior, etc. On Easter Monday, they took a special trip to the beach, had an Easter egg hunt, a lesson from Pastor Newt about Christ's resurrection, and a farewell to some of the international volunteers that help in the school. His lessons have to be translated phrase by phrase by Susan or another of the teachers into Indonesian. Needless to say, it is hard to put Christian concepts into understandable terms for these cute little Hindu children.

Easter in Bali

The Lord is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!
Easter Hallelujahs

from the Kerneys and Bukit Doa International Church

The Settling Ponds

On the South Bali island, there is a large complex with upscale hotels and shops along the western coast, the Nusa Dua hotel complex. When it was built, a water treatment facility and settling ponds were built along one side with the purpose of water reclamation and reuse for maintaining the Very expansive and beautifully manicured grounds. Bali which has no significant underground aquifer, relies on water catchment and water reuse. The building of big hotels is a concern because of high water usage. The settling ponds have become a haven for many of the islands beautiful and unique water and shore birds. Very early in the morning and late in the evening, bird watchers walk around the vast area of the many ponds with cameras and binoculars. We were fortunate to go with our lodge host, Meryl, Kadek, a lovely Balinese staff member who often leads walks there, and a father and two teenage men from Australia whose combined bird identification knowledge was very impressive. We saw several varieties of kingfishers, one variety so very small, egrets, many night herons, Java cormorants, the beautiful purple heron, and so many more. This area is such a treasure, and all because of good water reuse.

In every part of the world

In every part of the world .   .   .   .

No matter where we find ourselves, no matter the situation.   .   .   .  

   There are caring, kind and giving people

   There are knowledgeable people to provide you care and direction

   There are those who will show you extra concern and go the extra mile for you

   There are those who will worry with you

   There are those who will laugh with you

   There are those who will share their culture with you and broaden your understanding

Thank you, Lord, for every one of them.