Beyond Adventure

"Time is ticking away…..tick tick ticking away"

Balinese design

The opening line are for those of you who remember the old DC Talk album that has a song by that title…..and now I must apologize for getting that song stuck in your head :)

Yes, time has truly flown by. I had not realized that my last post was all the way back to July and for that, my sincere apologies. My excuse? Alien abduction?????

Ok, really, it's because I've been out of my mind busy but I think alien abduction is more exciting….don't you?

Since coming back to Bali, I have moved house, moved base, organized some systems on our base, develop strategies of a CP movement for our soccer group, successfully raised finance to come to a leadership training program and that's where I'm writing from now….Thailand. Thank you all who have helped me get here. I was going to send post cards but apparently, they hide them so well nobody knows where to find them here in Chiang Rai.

SO! on to the list!

Moved base, Moved house.

On our Bali base (campus), there are a total of 50 staff plus students and 2 operating locations. Recently, we've had to move out of 1 location and consolidate our work into 1 building (fun!). That takes a lot of organization and time. Since organization surprisingly is a gift of mine (shocking! I know Mom :), I was able to help with the big move as others focused on our ministries on the island (soccer, street kids, prostitutes, etc). I was glad to take the burden so that others were free to continue the work they've been building.

In the move, I volunteered to move from my room on base to another accommodations 10 minutes down the road. Here's some pics to prove it :)

My Old room (time room with my own bathroom but on a hallway full of other rooms so had to share my kitchen, lounge, and fridge with 25 other people)

My new room

My sitting lounge that I share with only 3 other girls

The view from my balcony (in the background is one of the main Hindu temples in Bali)

Due to being so close to the temple, I get to enjoying knowing the time without ever looking at the clock thanks to the loud-speaker chanting that happens at 6:00am, 12:00pm, and 6:00pm (sometimes, they feel a little crazy so they'll plan late at night sometimes just for extra kicks)

I've also helped organize the keys here on base. I know, you must be wondering….."huh?". Yes, keys. When I volunteered to help, I had no idea (I wish I had taken pictures!). When I was given some keys to label and organize, I was given a huge bucket with about 150 keys (no labels). I began to go to every door and figure out which key belonged to which door. This was done on our 3 locations. During this long process, I got to receive at least 3 more buckets! Let's just say that Indonesian organization is not quit like ours. But! each key has a home and now, people won't have to spend a whole day looking….yay me!

Ok, on to more photos!

I've see cows plow grassy fields but sand????

They do this for the hotel guests. I guess they think it makes it look prettier?

No, I'm not wearing a white t-shirt…..that's the awesome sunburn I got when I got lost on my bike during the heat of day (the ONE time i thought "I'm not going to need my jacket….it's a quick trip)

Idiot!

My new Indonesian flat-mate bought us some "nasi kuning" meaning "yellow rice"

This is a truly community minded place. Each morning when I run on the beach, the fishermen are coming in from their catch. Once there boats land, all of these guys run up to help the guy push it up the beach….wow! what team work!