Bali

Had the opportunity to travel to Bali this last week. We spent a little over a week being encouraged by many brothers & sisters in Christ. It is always funny to me when I travel all the way around the world to meet someone who grew up in my same hometown! Reminded me of being back at home. Bali is a country who's primary religion is hindu. It is such a pretty place but everywhere you turn, there a gods on display. My heart goes out for these people that the have an encounter with the one true God.

"I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God... (Isaiah 45:5)

Here are some pictures of my time in Bali.

Enjoyed this cup of Bali kopi (coffee) looking at a volcano. It felt so good up there!

Each day the as the tide went out at the beach, this red coral surfaced. You could walk almost a quarter mile out this huge reef. This is a picture of me looking back to the shoreline. My mom always asks me to bring a rock back home from my travels. She may have gotten a little piece of this coral... not really sure if it was legal to do so or not!

    

So I had heard every morning at breakfast about how amazing the sunrises are in Bali. I had been there for 7 mornings so far and just hadn't taken the time to wake up to see one. I figured that the last morning we were there would be the day that I would get out there to see it. On that particular morning, the sunrise was covered mostly by clouds... I was then reminded of one of my favorite A.W. Tozer quotes where he said, "Were all human beings to suddenly become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light." Basically, I was reminded that the sun does not rise for my glory, but for God's alone. I just get to benefit from its light and warmth. 

I was reading one of my favorite Psalms out there that morning too. Psalm 19 says,

"The heavens declare the glory of God,

the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat." (Psalm 19:1-6)

This was another great reminder of who this sun rises for. 

They terrace the land to grow rice. Makes good use of space. I also met a friend on this side of the world from Leeds Alabama who called this a "holler." He was surprised that I knew what that meant. Thanks to my Papa, I did!

I loved these old boats on the beach. They were right outside of the cottage where I stayed. What you don't see is the men always asking if you want to ride in these boats every time you pass by...

This is the view from the hotel where we spent the week. 

Another thing in Bali is the currency. The conversion is a little under 10,000 rupiah to one dollar. When the money was transferred, I became a millionaire in Indonesia. It is so hard to warp your arms around so many zeros. Not sure how Bill Gates does it...

This last week was a great encouragement to me and it also gave me a little time to relax. Thankful for all the people who made this last week possible and it was very nice of them to invite me. Great food, seeing friends and nice weather makes for a good week! Hearing really good preaching along with that is just icing on the cake!