Day 13 Our final night

These final posts are from our last night in Bali. This was a long day with our flight departing at 1:10am Friday morning. Enjoy…

• YAY we are finally going home, but we’re leaving Bali waah. Going on the plane on Friday 1 o’clock in the morning. I’m sleeping before customs. Jordan
• I am so thankful to God for giving me this amazing experience. I feel so blessed to have been a part of this wonderful HVUC team. Looking forward now to catching up with my family – I’ve missed Steve, Jai and Cheriese very much. Natalie
• God has blessed me with the opportunity to have been here. Win
• I feel very blessed to be involved in this beautiful team of people and to serve God in this place. Sue
• Have met some really humble people here, it is going to be sad for me to leave but God has really placed Bali in my heart and called for further mission so I will be BACK!! Rachel xx
• Tonight we have mixed emotions. Sadness we are going home, but happiness we will see our families soon. But our Bali experience has just begun because people will be asking us for our testimonies and we will be having times of adjusting to life back home. We will all remember this experience for the rest of our lives with mixed emotions but God will be guiding us in every step we take. Thank God for this wonderful experience. Roslyn
• It has been absolutely great to see how much people have been challenged and have grown. It has been truly inspiring to have been a part of this group, being surrounded by so many great people. Brett
• I asked God to challenge me and He did. I asked God to open my eyes and show me things and He did. God never fails us. This trip has helped me grow dramatically in so many ways expected and unexpected. I will miss Bali. Courtney
• It’s been a great trip as it always has been. And like every year a different challenge has arisen something new to help me mature in my faith. I am going to miss Bali. Don’t want to return to everyday life. I thank God for the messages He has given me this trip. Jacob B
• This has been such an amazing trip. It has been full of highs, lows, challenges, smiles, blessings and much more. God has been amazing and revealing many things. I thank God I had the opportunity to come over here especially with this awesome team. I am definitely going to miss Bali and the people. Chantelle
• We have spent two weeks with a great team of people who have become family while away from home. God has moved our hearts, challenged us and grown us – just as we prayed for. Thank you to all who have been our prayer support. You have been an important part of this mission trip also. Viv
• In a land of so many “man-made Gods”, only the truly awesome living God could achieve what we have achieved in the last two weeks. How mighty is our God. Kaye
• The trip for me has been life changing. I have done things I have dreamt of doing for ages. I now have so much to process. God is amazing! Megan
• Being able to serve the people of Bali with an awesome team has been a real blessing. To see our team grow in faith as we have experienced a faithful God here has been overwhelming. Karen
• Wow, what an experience – I feel so sorry for those who think that Bali equals Kuta. I have been reminded again how blessed we are to have so much. I have also been challenged to use my largeness for the benefit of others. Wayne
• It’s hard to describe how I feel tonight. Looking forward to going home but sad to say goodbye to Bali, because of the wonderful memories. God has taught us and grown us so much. We came to be a blessing but we have been blessed out of our socks. Thankyou for your prayers. The weather has been great. Jeanette
• The last two weeks have been an amazingly rewarding and challenging time. I have enjoyed being with the Bali people and blessing the children with our work. Thank God for His provision and giving us. Rhonda

Well for now that is all, I will put some more photos up on the weekend once I see Karen.

Thank you again for your comments, prayers and blessings it really has meant a lot to the entire team.

Blessings Renee

Day 12

Well it is with great joy, sadness and unknown emotions that I write this the last post.

Tonight was a bit crazy with Bible study straight after dinner so it is just me writing, apologies for that…

Today we had our earliest start (8am) so that we could be at the dump school by 9:30am. We were blessed to be able to fit all of the kindy children with TOMS shoes and also bless them with a bag of rice, some laundry detergent and other household necessities like onions and garlic. The children were a little overwhelmed when we said they could take the shoes with them. The joy on their faces was just beautiful.

I had some lovely moments watching our beautiful team from Hope Valley mingle with the families and children and bless them with stickers, bubbles and just be in conversations with the wonderful Balinese families. To see the smiles on not only the children but their parents was just beautiful.

Vicki and Richard do such an amazing job with the teachers blessing these children and their families by giving them this wonderful opportunity. I know some of the team are quite eager to help out with sponsoring the new children starting school so more info will come once we know more from Vicki.

This afternoon the team was able to have a veg out and either shop, rest or pack. Tonight we were blessed to be lead in Bible study by Brett and Paul and it was such a joy to know God is with us always.

Saying goodbye to the Kuta International Christian Church brothers and sisters was pretty hard as we know so much more about their struggles and family heartache after spending just a small amount of time with them.

It has been a wonderful two weeks, but we are all very tired and missing home and as much as we could stay for another 2 weeks Australia calls us back and for that we are excited.

God has moved in us all in some wonderful ways this trip and my prayer is that we will be able to come home and bless all we see and spread the word that our God is powerful and through some hard work and many, many, many prayers we can achieve all through His love and grace.

I know on a personal note that my time here has been one of extreme growth and it is with great trepidation I return home to the “normal” world.

Well I will still try and get those photos up I promised but for now that is all.

Blessings Renee

Day 11 Orphanage photo gallery

Day 11

Today we split into two groups again. The main group headed to Bali Life to do more work at the orphanage. The second group of 8 headed into the Prison to worship with the prisoners. (including some of the Bali 9) Please read the teams comments and thoughts on these very different days.

• Going to the prison today I saw the presence of Christ at work in the most unlikely place. I am I awe of a God that provides healing and true life in what could be seen as a lifeless place. We worship an amazing God who changes lives. Who could be silent to an aching world when the consequences are more than anybody can hope. Megan
• I have seen God working I so many ways from Indonesian Christians caring for us in Western Bali, seeing a young lad being healed, young children playing on the school lawn, the extraordinary energy shown by all the team and in many other ways. I praise God for this blessed experience. Sue
• Today I realised how much a blessing it was to be at the
  opening ceremony of the school 2 years ago. That came about because as we left the orphanage today I realised how much still had to be done. I am sure God will see to the finishing line such a great project, we have all been pleased to be a part of. As the children lined up to say goodbye to us I was touched to think
  they would be the beneficiaries but God as always is the benefactor. Paul
• Today was the last work day. I miss home. Jordan
• It was a tough start to the day for me as I was feeling very
  emotional, but painting alongside Jordan felt fantastic – we worked so well together and many a laugh was shared amongst our team. Natalie
• Going to western Bali to Ani’s church yesterday was such a
  blessing and God continues to work in amazing ways. We had our last work day at the orphanage today – it is so great to see how much we were able to accomplish over our time here. God is good. Rhonda
• Today was our last working day, it is amazing to see how much has been achieved, not only by “our team”, but the Bali Life team. It was emotional to say goodbye to the kids today, their smiling faces and warm way they welcomed us each lunchtime will stay with me for a long time, they have very little, but are always happy. Now we are sharing tea with Harold for his birthday. Kaye
• God has really gone before us and strengthened us emotionally and physically. No aching backs or shoulders have prevented us from scrubbing, painting, making concrete bricks and sewer pits. The team supported one another so well. When we’ve been unwell or working alongside one another God’s love has been so evident. Last of our work days today. Seeing children at the school tomorrow. What an amazing experience. Thankyou for your prayers. Jeanette
• Thanks God for the chance to work with a great team who have encouraged each other and the locals with work and happy spirits. The chance to visit Ani’s village and Blimingsari Christian Village was a real blessing. Win
• King Richard states: To the chairman of the Board (Harold) Thankyou for your efforts much appreciated. There is still life in the old boy yet 72 Happy Royal Birthday Years. Makasi bu
• 2 more sleeps and a plane ride till we get home. (to Australia WAZ UP!) Sian
• Discovered a new star at tonight’s Karaoke for Harold’s birthday – Megan Callan singer extraordinaire. Today’s visit to the prison was quite surreal as we worshiped with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Roger baptised two Phillipino women who are new inmates at the prison. God’s presence gave an amazing sense of peace over a place filled with injustice and corruption. Pray for those brothers and sisters who are imprisoned that God will move the mountains in their lives. Viv
• Final day of work, quite upsetting. Have to go back to life soon Aghhhh! Had a great time working with all the Balinese, built up great relationships. Wish I could stay here longer!!! Every year God has blessed me on this trip and matured me. This year is no different. There is still more to come!! Jacob
• Our entry into the prison went like clockwork but it had a
  strange feeling about it. The service was alive and vibrant for so sombre a place, it was completely a place apart the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ was very evident and to witness the baptisms was fantastic. Being there to share that 2 hours of their life was awesome and the only regret that we alone were able to leave that place. Ian
• Had a great day at the orphanage, to see it two weeks ago and to see the progress we as a team have achieved is great. Missing my grandson and I know in 3 days I will be holding him and hugging him, will be fantastic. We as a family are truly blessed to have done something out of our comfort zone. Walter

For me going to the prison was a massive eye opener and God really has challenged me to re-think where my life is going and that there is so much we can do for the people of Bali. We also visited another orphanage that the team last year painted and were able to bless them with some rice and play toys for the children.

Tomorrow we head to the school to fit the TOMS shoes and bless the families living in the dump.

Blessings Renee

P.S I will post Western Bali photos tomorrow for you all…

Day 10 Sesitan House Photo Gallery

Day 10 and the ‘stay behinds’ work on the project house

Today’s comments are from the team members who worked on the house renovation project.

• Hard day to see such poor conditions where people live – families of 4 or 5 living in a space  of 2.7 x 2.75 metres. Some had no mattress. It was an honour and privilege to put a little paint on the walls and brighten up their corner of the world. Beautiful little children, they have nothing but are always happy. Kaye
• Very hard day emotionally for me today. Painted rooms which were less than 3m x 3m for a family of 4. Beautiful people and beautiful children. Job was done. Walter (+Chantelle)
• I got very messy. I got paint all over me. I also got a long strip of brown oil paint that you have to wait for it to come off all over my arm. I don’t think I’ll come back into Australia. Jordan
• Such a rewarding day! When we first arrive I found the conditions very confronting but by the end of the day we had walls painted inside and out and with the door trims painted it really brightened up. I was brightened up even more by all the smiles and hugs from the beautiful children. I am so thankful to God for bringing Jordan and I here. Natalie
• I’m tired. Sian
• 2 year old Putu helped us scrub and putty his family’s room. The joy on his face and that of his mother made the job so much easier to bear, The slums they live in defy how these beautiful people have not suffered from some horrible disease – it is beyond my understanding. Thankyou HVUC for enabling us to make a difference. Viv
• I found today a confronting experience. We arrived at the house (after sloshing up the flooded laneway) to see their worldly goods stacked outside of their rooms, ready for us to scrub and paint. The piles were pitifully small – I would have a bigger pile if I cleaned out just one wardrobe! But a great feeling to look at the difference when we had finished. It was great (and humbling) to have the kids helping too. Wayne

Day 9 – Worship at Kuta & then the team divides

Today we all headed off to Kuta International church where the HVUC team provided the music and Roger preached.

After lunch the West Bali contingent headed off on their adventure and the rest of the team stayed back. Today’s comments are from the West Bali team.

• The trip to Western Bali has changed me in ways I can’t explain. My mind has pictures to a puzzle where the depth is further than I can see. I have genuinely grown attached to the group and missed the remaining beautiful people who will spend tomorrow painting. I love my God who loves all people, therefore i become the latter in all the world. Megan
• The bus ride to Melaya was “Trust God to get us there” – front seat ride was…!!! – passing trucks and missing cars coming the other way by centimetres! The welcome & hospitality of Ani’s Balinese congregation was awesome. A fantastic experience sharing & learning more of God’s love. Win
• It was such a blessing to visit Ani’s congregation in Western Bali and worship with them. The welcome of these people was amazing, they put English songs in their service especially for us. The worship in Balinese was very uplifting. We were able to visit a Christian community and school. You could feel the love of Jesus in the place. Rhonda
• The healing service was awesome. The Holy Spirit was present and touching lives. The singing during worship was as if angels were present. The hosts were so hospitable (more than what we are used to). It was also fun again learning Balinese, with me causing laughter with my pronunciation! Bill
• The four and a half bus ride to Western Bali was an experience to remember. The people we stayed with were very hospitable & obviously loved serving us. We experienced basic living & were sorry when we had to leave them & Ani behind. It was a different area than we had seen in the busy towns with houses with large yards. We have been truly blessed. Karen
• Had a wonderful trip with Lias to his village. Went to his uncle’s house and sang Bali church songs. Harold
• Sunday church then a ‘quiet’ country drive to the West of Bali – an experience in survival of the biggest and bravest. Arrived 6.30pm and sorted out accommodation. Healing service was fantastic with some English versions of hymns just for us. To bed and woken at 2am with geckos barking. 5am with Muslim call to prayer. Visited the Christian community which was laid out in the shape of a cross when viewed from the air. Morning wash was a bucket of cold water, soap then 2 buckets of cold water to rinse off. Then the kamikaze trip back in the bus. Good to have a hot shower! This was an experience that had to be fantastic in the extreme & very enjoyable to help these people in their faith and strengthen my own. Ian
• My family knows how I will never go on any rides at the show but after going on the bus to Ani’s and trusting God to get us back safely I may try going on some of the show rides! The church service was wonderful with a boy being healed in front of our eyes. The people are so happy with so little in their eyes. Roslyn