When I was in the island of Java, there was a lady who was outside her home and I was really intrigued by her. I stared at her for a minute and she gave me a big smile and I smiled back and waved at her. I wanted to go up to her but I knew we were soon leaving the location. Later, I found out that her two grandchildren were possessed. I felt a heavy burden come over me and my heart was broken. The image of her smiling wouldn’t leave my mind. I had no idea that behind that smile was a dark, heartbroken life that she was living. It made me reflect on how the gospel is very needed in places where people have no idea who Jesus is.

GREETINGS

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I am grateful for your partnership and being able to go to Indonesia. God is faithful even when I am faithless. It was unbelievable when I got out of the airplane that I was in Indonesia, considering the prior weeks of not knowing if I was going.

BALI

Bali was not what I expected. When you google Bali you get these beautiful images of the beach, of resorts, and all these adventure type photos. I didn’t see anything like that because it felt like most of what we saw was poverty, financially yes, but more so spiritually. When we got out of the airport and drove to our hotel we saw many demonic statues and temples and I was appalled. I had no idea it was going to be all over and in your face. There were also many offerings on the streets to their gods. Over and over throughout my time in Bali the Lord gave me a burden for the people.

I took this photo above as we were driving to a restaurant and I had no idea if my phone captured the image; when I checked my phone I was shocked at what I saw. There was another photo that I took where you could see there were kids behind the float and on the side.

One night after a woman’s bible study we went to the hospital to pray over someone’s father from the congregation. Barek and I sat outside and waited for our turn, when all of the sudden we heard loud sharp music. As I sat there, I felt this heaviness come over me. I felt like time paused and I couldn’t move. When I stood up to go see what this terrible noise was I saw these men across the street playing different instruments. Barek talked with a security guard at the hospital and asked what it was; and he told him they were preparing for a parade called “The Day of Silence.” The noise was horrific and again my heart was broken for these people.

JAVA

Java was like I stepped into another world. Going from Bali, a place that is filled with so many demonic statues, to Java, a new region that is entirely muslim with so many mosques and calls to prayer, was quite interesting. This area had a different heaviness and darkness. I remember sitting at a restaurant and feeling very overwhelmed and I quickly wanted to return to Bali. A gentlemen who has a ministry in this location shared with us that the people who live there don’t know Arabic yet they claimed to be muslim. It made no sense why the people claim to be muslim if the calls to prayer and the Quran are both in Arabic. The only answer is that the enemy has a stronghold on them. The people are living in spiritual blindness.

OVERALL

On both of these islands the enemy has a stronghold on the people and it breaks my heart. The need is great and so more prayer is needed to see if this is a location the Lord wants to use us in a new work. I am open to whatever the Lord wills. I feel like there is still more to process from everything that I have experienced.

I’M ENGAGED

I am engaged!!! I met Barek a little over a year ago and after much prayer and seeking the Lord we decided to take a step of faith and start dating, and now we are engaged! Barek is a man who is after God’s own heart and I am grateful for the Lord bringing us together. We were able to go up north and see my family. He met my family for the first time and asked for my hand. I am excited to see how the Lord uses us both in our calling to missions.

Praise Reports:

• Praise God for the opportunity to go to Indonesia
• Praise God I got to visit my family, it had been serveral months since I last saw them
• Praise God for working in the ordinary and bringing Barek and I together

Prayer Request:

• Pray for the grandchildren of the lady in Java
• Pray for Barek and I as we step into a new season of engagement
• Pray for God’s will to be done as I am considering going back to school and getting my teaching credentials as the Lord has been showing me I can use this when I move overseas.