Nova

So, like I mentioned in my last post, I am going to start sharing stories about individual kids here at Rumah Bapaku. I will start each post with the bio that Camille and I wrote for the 'My Father's Home' website, and then add to it for those of you who read this blog. After the positive feedback I've received on my posts about Dion and Jolly, I really think that you will enjoy getting to know the kids on a more personal level this way. So here goes - I'll start with today's post about Nova.

(From the website): Nova is a real joy. He has a very sweet spirit and always wants to please others and help. He is quick to give hugs and encourage others. He loves to draw and is one of our most naturally gifted artists. The staff is just recently noticing that he is also extremely athletic, excelling at any sport that he learns. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way someone seems to have convinced Nova that he is not that great. He tends to speak poorly of himself and has a hard time accepting praise from others. Our prayer for Nova is that with God’s help, he will start to believe in himself and to understand just how wonderful he is. Nova is very smart and ‘catches on’ to schoolwork or English lessons right away. He has a very tender heart and is always concerned about the well-being of others. Nova is a true gift to Rumah Bapaku.

(Jeremy's thoughts): You probably notice from the picture that Nova is a really handsome kid. Those good looks penetrate to the inside of him as well, and when I think of Nova, I can't help but smile. Nova is one of those kids who genuinely wants to please others. He cares very deeply for those around him and you can tell that his selfless attitude is not just a show. He is always quick to lend a hand and is one of those rare kids who actually looks to see how he can help others.

Give Nova a pencil or crayons or oil pastels and be prepared to be blown away! He has an uncanny, God-given ability to put anything he sees or imagines down on a piece of paper with amazing realism. He loves to draw and will spend hours just laying on the floor and sketching. I think that part of that ability comes from the fact that he is just so stinkin' smart. He is a great student and is catching on to English with no problems. He will often come up to me and start rattling off English words for things and quizzing me to see if I know the Indonesian version. Needless to say - Nova usually wins that game!

Nova has such a gentle heart. For the first month or so, I couldn't get him to come and play soccer with us. I thought that this was because he would rather just draw, but then finally one day he 'gave in' and joined us for a match. I was amazed! Although he rarely played, Nova was actually better than almost everyone else! Having Jason Hotchkin, a pro soccer player from America, here with us for a couple of months has been such a blessing. After watching Nova play soccer a couple of times, Jason and I were talking and we both agree that he may actually be the most naturally gifted soccer player of the whole bunch! This is not only due to Nova's athletic ability, but because of his heart. You see, Nova is teachable. He listens well and because he is eager to please, he is very good at following directions and taking instruction.

It was Nova's soft heart, or rather (unfortunately), his broken heart that was keeping him from from joining the other boys for soccer matches. As I mentioned earlier, it seems that somewhere along the line, somebody broke Nova's spirit. Nova is extremely hard on himself. He is quick to criticize himself, take blame and apologize for any little mistake. Watching him on the soccer field, I realized that Nova hadn't been playing because he was afraid of making mistakes that would provide more fuel for his low self-esteem. Any time he kicked a ball and it didn't go exactly where he was aiming or each time another kid would get by him with the ball (which wasn't very often!), he would run to me and apologize over and over for being a bad player. I would tell him in Indonesian, "Don't be sorry, Nova - you are a great player! You are so good at soccer!" He would always respond that he was 'no good'.

Jason also noticed this right away, and between the two of us, we made it a goal to boost Nova's self-esteem and help him to start believing in himself. Every time Nova would do something good, on or off the field (which was a OFTEN, believe me), we would shower him with praises. At first, he would shake his head, grin sheepishly and tell us, "Tidak (no), Nova tidak bagus (Nova's not very good)". We had our work cut out for us! One day, we took all of the boys to a local recreation area that has a full-size soccer field. We did some drills and then put on the blue and yellow jerseys for a full-on match. We started playing and some local school children showed up and were watching with that longing 'Boy, I wish I could play' look. I went up to them and asked them if they wanted to play, and they all cheered. So, we put our kids in yellow and the local kids in blue and had a blast!

Well, Nova really shined that day. He seriously played like someone who was years older. Almost every good play that was made somehow involved Nova. Jason and I took full advantage of every single opportunity to praise him in front of his peers. Slowly, we watched as our encouragement started to sink in. As Nova's confidence started to build, he held his head higher, he started smiling more and most important - he looked like he was really having fun and was, for once, proud of himself. I watched the small transformation and had to hold back tears of joy. I'm pretty sure that Jason was feeling the same.

Nova still has a fragile spirit. He will probably always be sort of hard on himself and part of that has to come just from being so intelligent and capable. The 'carnal' side of me would love to go back and give a serious beat-down to whoever it was who took this sweet, kind, talented and sensitive little boy and broke him. Probably not what Jesus would do, but it might make Jeremy feel better... What I can do (and most important, what Jesus would do) is to keep loving Nova and encouraging him and helping God to put that broken spirit back together.

One great thing that I have noticed lately is that Nova, being so intelligent, seems to have figured out that the adults here are rooting for him. He'll look at me with a smile and a sparkle in his eye that suggests that he knows that we share something special. You know that look that someone gives you when they know that you share a secret together? Yeah, that's the look. The fact that he knows I'm rooting for him means that he knows that he's loved. Feeling loved is the first step to putting a shattered self-esteem back together. Thank you, Lord that I can be used as your instrument to help love Nova back into a strong, secure little man.

Back to blogging...

Hi everyone! I know that I've stated repeatedly that I will blog more often. Well, for the last week and a half or so Camille and I have spent every single spare minute writing bios on each of our kids here at Rumah Bapaku to be used on the new update for the 'My Father's Home' website. The link is on this blog page. If you haven't checked the site out yet, you really should. My Father's Home, or Rumah Bapaku in Bahasa Indonesia, is where Camille and I are living and serving 3 dozen children who were born into severe poverty. The website should be updated this month some time.

While the extra work for the website has meant a pause in my blogging, it has actually been a blessing in disguise. I have decided that for the next month or so (or however long it takes), I will start each new blog entry with one of the kid's new bios. Then I will expand the story a little and let you sort of get to know each of our children. I have gotten good feedback on the few stories I have posted so far on individual kids, so I think this will be fun!

I have a lot of 'ammo' for some good blogging, so stay tuned - I'll probably post my first new update on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Camille and I get a day off tomorrow (Monday in Bali, Sunday in America) and it looks like the surf will be great at Balian, West Bali - one of the most beautiful places on earth. That probably means no blogging tomorrow! But trust me, I am excited to start sharing the personal stories behind our wonderful kids, and you will definitely be touched in the process.

Thanks for being patient and a HUGE thank you to everyone who has recently started supporting Camille and I. We are going to be needing a lot more support in order to stay here in Bali, so if what you read here impacts you in any way, tell your friends and help us gather a network of supporters! We love you all and God Bless!

Head Wounds and True Love

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Bali? Everything about this crazy, wacky, beautiful place just makes me smile. I'm not sure if it's things like trying to figure out how the Balinese can light a cigarette at 70 KPH on their motorcycle, or watching dudes paint a 45-degree incline hotel roof in the blazing tropical sun 40 feet above the parking lot with bare feet with no safety equipment whatsoever, or just having yet another total stranger pull up to me at a stoplight and invite me to come stay in their home...just because I'm here. It's probably the latter. The Balinese are some of the most genuinely nice people in the world. Yeah, their culture and religion pretty much give them a blatant disregard for all things safety-wise and they are surely a study in contrasts with their slow-paced lifestyle and 'island time' and their chaotic, life-or-death traffic and busy cities. But I guess that all just makes my smile bigger. What counts is that I have yet to meet a Balinese who won't smile back at you...or smile first! I have yet to be treated like an outsider. I've always been about half-crazy, so Bali's frenetic lifestyle suits me fine. The people are what counts, and as far as people go, the Balinese are right at the top of my favorites list.

As beautiful as the people are here in Bali, unfortunately many of them are very poor. Unemployment is high throughout all of Indonesia and in Bali, the Hindu caste system and views on reincarnation and karma don't help to motivate people to try to do a whole lot about poverty or creating options for the less fortunate. I often notice that people I talk to will feel a sort of empathy or sadness for the plight of the poor here, but they have a sort of 'it is what it is...I can't do anything about it' mind frame. At the same time, they are always very quick to thank us and shower us with praises when they learn about what we are doing for the poor. It's as if no one has ever taught them that they also have the ability to help others. Actually, I'm pretty sure that no one ever has. In a society dictated by caste and bound by karma, what you are in this life is a result of how you acted in a past life. You would think that this would motivate people to work hard to help others and improve their position in the next life, but it actually seems to do the opposite. People may empathise with the plight of others, but they tend to adopt a stand-offish attitude so they won't risk 'rocking the boat' and disrupting their own karma.

I often notice that when people see a westerner like me, they tend to realize that I'm probably not bound by their caste system and that I live by a little different set of rules. I think this may have something to do with why we often times are 'latched onto' by average people we meet. It's almost as if they can see the Light of Christ seeping from our pores and know that we are people who don't just care about Bali, but are willing to act to make Bali a better place. Everyone notices the poor, but not everyone is willing to do something about their plight. People here accept this fact and I think that is why they are always thanking us for what we are doing here at Rumah Bapaku.

Not that we need any encouragement...the love of 3 dozen wonderful children is all the thanks we will ever need! Last week, we took a couple of much-needed days off and headed down south to Sanur for some surfing and relaxation. We actually hadn't even noticed just how exhausted we were from our long days here with the kids. The first day we surfed in the morning, went to lunch and came back to the hotel in the late afternoon for a quick nap...and ended up waking up at 6:30 the next morning! With 3 dozen kids, catching up on sleep is definitely a necessity once in a while. We had a great couple of days and got some good surf and a bit of relaxation. I'm convinced that I never want to put on a wetsuit and surf in cold water again!

When we got back to Rumah Bapaku, the kids were having their afternoon snack. Now, I left out the part about how I wiped-out at Sanur Reef while taking off on a wave that was moving like a freight train and ended up taking the nose of my surfboard to my forehead just above my left eye. Thank God that I am fanatical about putting rubber nose-guards on all of my shortboards. If that board had hit me where it did with just bare fiberglass on the nose, I may not have a left eye or much skin left on my forehead right now. As it is, the nose-guard scooped a neat little patch of skin off of my forehead and left a pretty deep gash, but nothing serious. Sitting out in the water 2 kilometers offshore bleeding and praying for no sharks while knowing that our boat driver wouldn't be showing up for another 45 minutes was a little exciting, but I actually caught a couple of more waves while we waited and I'm still here to talk about it!

I mention all of that for a reason. Like I was saying, when we arrived back home, the kids were in the dining room having their afternoon snack. I walked in to say 'hi' without a band-aid on my forehead. Pandemonium! The little girls were aghast: 'Om Jeremy is hurt! We need to do something...Quick, get some paper towels! Om Jeremy needs hugs and kisses...and then more hugs...and band-aids...followed by concerned looks and more kisses!' The little boys, especially the Sumba boys, immediately went into defend and retaliate mode: 'Who did it, Om Jeremy? Where are they? Did you win the fight? Let's go and teach them a lesson for hurting Om Jeremy!' I don't think I've ever been doted over like that even by my own mother! Eventually, I had to run and grab my surfboard, bring it over to the dining room and show the kids exactly what happened and let them all touch the nose-guard to convince themselves that no one needed to pay for hurting Om Jeremy. Sounds hilarious, and it is - but in those chaotic moments, I knew that I was truly loved. That I am truly loved. That my blatant disregard for living a 'normal' life is so very worthwhile. That to 3 dozen children whom society had overlooked, I am part of the center of the Universe. I hope that someday there is just a little permanent scar left on my forehead to remind me daily of the true love and happiness I felt on a Friday afternoon in northern Bali.

It's nice to hear locals thank us for being here. But honestly, what they think pales in comparison to the love that I get daily from Andy, Yunsi, Joly, Nova, Anes, Alex, Budi, Dadi, Ananda, Desy, Dion, Eka, Hendri, Jonius, Erlina, Gaby, Joshua, Juni, Kristin, Meli, Andika, Mega, Dwi, Suwan, Putri, Sari, Sulis, Ayu, Teo, Novi, Tini, Tinus, and Tris. These are their names. Read them again. They may have been born as anonymous victims of poverty, but their Creator knew them all by name before they breathed their first breath…and He loved them. He knew that one day Camille and I would know their names as well. And now He’s tattooed their names right onto my heart. They love me just because I exist. I wish words could describe how much I love them back...

New Year's Update (Finally!)

Hi All! Whew! What a busy few weeks it has been here at Rumah Bapaku. Sorry the updates have been slow, but it is my goal to change that. I am going to do a little 'wrap up' of the Christmas and New Year's season by posting a bit of the letter I sent out to those who are supporting Camille and I. We didn't do a lot of fundraising before we left for Bali because we wanted to be sure that this is where we belong. If you have been reading this blog, I think that you have probably figured out that we are definitely convinced that we belong here! We have a small core group of supporters, but we need a lot more if we are going to stay here for any length of time - but that is not the purpose of this update. I just want to give everyone a little review of the past few weeks here at Rumah Bapaku. I'll be sharing soon how you can become a part of the miracle that is My Father's Home in Bali. For those who already support us - I just sent the update letter for this month, so if you haven't gotten it yet, don't worry - I haven't forgotten about you. Most of you should already have it in your email, and a few of you who I still have no email address for will be receiving it soon in the mail. So, with no further delay - here's what is happening!

I bet that you are all excited to hear some news about events over her e in Bali, so here goes! December was a whirlwind month, to say the least. On the first of the month, we put up the Christmas tree. We gave each child an ornament and had them climb up on the ladder and decorate the tree. It was a blast! Think about it – this was their first Christmas tree. Over the next few days, their eyes grew wider as more and more presents appeared around the tree. I learned that shaking the present to try to guess what it is must be an instinct that is bred into every human, regardless of culture! No one had to teach the kids to do this! By Christmas morning, each child had seven presents awaiting them under the tree. Mind you, the sum value of those seven presents was probably less than the average American spends for one present for his or her child, but the beautiful thing about these children is that the monetary value of the presents means nothing to them. The mere fact that they have a present at all is enough to fill them with Christmas wonder.

We had an open house here on Christmas Day and a couple of hundred locals filed through to help us eat traditional goat and goat soup and Babi Guling (whole roast suckling pig) with all of the trimmings. Bu Luh, our chef here at Rumah Bapaku really outdid herself! It was great getting to reach out to people in the community and serve them on Christmas. Most of the locals are Hindu, of course. But we also had Muslims and a few Christians come join our party. We even got to meet our village chief. Sharing the love of Christ, which is what Christmas is all about; with people who think that Christmas is just an excuse for stores to run sales was a real blessing. Rumah Bapaku continues to be a light in this community and every single time I meet a local when we are out and about, they thank me over and over for what we are doing for the children.

On the 26th, the kids had their big Christmas pageant at the Hotel Putri Sari that is home to Pastor Dar’s Singaraja church. They had been practicing songs, drama and dances all month. It was so much fun to see them celebrate their first Christmas using the talents that God gave them. We have some really great singers and dancers here! The nativity drama was tender and hilarious at the same time. Little Alex, the smallest of our boys from Sumba, was adamant about playing Baby Jesus. Alex has the energy of a nuclear power plant and the attention span of a goldfish, so we knew that having him in the manger scene would be pure comedy – and he didn’t disappoint! Neither did the rest of the kids. Hearing them worship the Christ child brought tears of joy to our eyes and seeing a ‘pregnant’ Juni playing Mary and Suwan with his fake moustache playing Joseph brought tears of laughter. (I’m not sure how many full-grown Indonesian men can even grow a moustache, much less an 8-year-old!) When Alex ‘magically appeared’ in Juni’s arms as Nova (the MC of the nativity play) announced Christ’s birth, I thought everyone in the house was going to pass out from laughter!

Throughout the Christmas season, I was continually floored by how genuinely thankful these kids are for Jesus and what He has done for them. They have a depth of understanding about Christ’s grace and love that I don’t ever remember achieving as a 7 or 8-year-old. They have seen things that most of us only imagine in our nightmares. They know the ‘dark side’ all too well…both physically and spiritually. They truly understand just how much Christ has done for them…saved them from…given them. And they are truly thankful. While they are only children, I feel that in some ways they are more mature than I am in their friendship with our Savior. I am learning at least as much from them as they are from me, that is for sure.

New Year’s was another big celebration for Rumah Bapaku. Here in Bali, they like to get the party started with fireworks every night starting about 3 weeks before the New Year! On New Year’s Eve, we got fresh ears of corn and barbequed them for the kids. Slathered in Balinese spices, it was some of the best (and HOTTEST) corn I can remember. It almost tasted like spicy pop corn. Tasha bought a bunch of fireworks for the ‘adults’ to light and the kids to watch and she also bought what she thought were sparklers for the kids to hold and play with. Turns out the ‘sparklers’ were a type of Roman candle that would sometimes explode and sometimes spew sparks all over the crowd! We’re lucky we still have all of our eyes and appendages! Being the trained professionals we are, we made sure that no kids or animals were harmed in the making of our New Year’s Eve celebrations! (As much as I REALLY wanted to blow up our annoying rooster.)

After the fireworks, the kids went to bed and the staff started in on OUR New Year’s fest – barbequed barracuda! Tasha sprung for some awesome fish and some of the guys got a nice hot Indonesian barbeque going in an old wheelbarrow. Most of Tasha’s family was here visiting for the holidays and many of the staff brought their ‘significant others’. We roasted the barracuda, played music, sang and danced, played basketball and badmitton and brought in the New Year properly! The Balinese love to sing and are quite talented at anything musical. It was a blast to be included in such a merry celebration.

At some point in the festivities, someone showed up with a whole bunch of durian fruit. Let me tell you – if you’ve never heard of durian, consider yourself lucky! Durian has the consistency of over-ripe avocados and smells like the inside of a REALLY messy baby diaper. Although I’ve never tried dirty diaper, I’m sure it actually tastes better than durian. When we were in Malaysia, all of the hotels had signs posted forbidding people to even bring durian into the building because of its foul smell. The Balinese haven’t figured out that God made durian smell and taste the way it does so that we wouldn’t eat it! They are crazy about the stuff. As soon as the durian came, they all got busy cutting it open and gorging themselves. They had durian all over their faces, on their clothes and even in their hair! Talk about a stench! But it was all good because we got to celebrate another year of God’s provision and grace.

We have been really busy since the New Year because we have lost a couple of the Balinese staff members due to family issues and outside circumstances. We are praising God for Kayla and Jason, some American friends who are spending a month over here to help serve. In addition to our normal duties in helping with the kids, Camille and I have had to double as dish-washers and maids. It really does take a LOT of work to keep a house with 36 kids running smoothly. Camille and I regularly take our turns with the dishes, but since we lost our full-time assistant cook, we are the dish-washers every night now, as well as the dining-room maids. Like I said before, thank God for Kayla and Jason who are eager to serve and happy to help. Today we actually hired a new staff member to be here from seven in the morning until two in the afternoon just to help clean…and she promptly quit because she said it’s too much work! Please be praying that we will quickly find another cleaning person and a live-in full time assistant cook to help Bu Luh.

I can’t say thank you enough for all of your support. All I can tell you is that you are truly heroes to 3 dozen kids. The kids thank us all of the time for bringing them to live here. They shower us with love and affection every chance that they get and they are well aware that it is your love and support that gives them a home and a ‘Tante Camille’ and an ‘Om Jeremy’. We simply cannot continue to stay here and be your arms and Christ’s arms of love for these kids without your support. Every month is a lesson in faith for Camille and I as we wonder from where the funds to stay at Rumah Bapaku will come. Thanks to you, we can stay another month. God willing, next month I will be able to tell you the same. Our long-term goal is to stay in Bali for as long as God will allow. With your help, that could be forever. The only thing that we know for sure is that 36 kids are growing in their relationship with Christ and that leaving them would crush our hearts. So thank you again for being a part of the wonderful team that is Rumah Bapaku – My Father’s Home.

Well, that is a very short 'wrap' for the Holiday Season! The last paragraph was obviously geared toward those who are part of our support team. Although my goal for this blog is to just relate the daily adventures here at Rumah Bapaku and I would never want it to become a forum for any advertising, I will be showing you how you can be a part of the team in an upcoming blog update - so stay tuned. Don't worry - the focus of this blog is and always will be the children and what God is doing for them and through Camille and I here in Bali. Thanks for following and look for another update soon!

Quick New Year's Update

Whew! Sorry I've been such an unreliable blogger lately. Christmas around Rumah Bapaku was BUSY!!! So many times, I have sat down and started to blog, only to be interrupted by a pressing Christmas or New Year's duty. And what a great Christmas and New Year's it was indeed!

As I've mentioned before, it was the very first Christmas for all of our 3 dozen kids. Christmas morning...something that just goes without saying in the West as every kid's very favorite morning of the year...I still can't wipe the grin off of my face from watching our kids get to enjoy this magical morn for the first time. As does most everything here at Rumh Bapaku, our Christmas started out with an early time of worship and thanking God for the miracle of Christmas. Seeing their thankfulness being outwardly expressed with such innocence and honesty was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.

Then came the presents! Camille and I, thanks to our chef Bu Luh and her toy-store-owner friend, were able to get a great deal on 18 Barbie dolls for the girls. By the luck of the draw, our presents were the first ones the kids opened. I can still hear the massive cheer that exploded as all of the girls, all at once, realized that they had just been given their first Barbie doll. Then there were squirt guns for the boys, clothes, coloring books, crayons, toy airplanes, My Little Ponies. In all, each child received seven presents. Mind you, the presents were not expensive - in all the cost probably totalled less than what the average American parent spends on just one present for their child. But if you would have walked in to our living room at Rumah Bapaku on that morning, you would have thought that 3 dozen kids just won the lottery...in every state...all at once. That's how much these simple presents meant to kids who had never received a Christmas present before. For those of you who support the efforts here at Rumah Bapku in any manner - Thank You. You are heroes to 3 dozen beautiful Indonesian children.

I'm actually making this blog quick because today is New Year's Day and Bunda Tash (our director) gave all of the staff except the boys' and girls' counsellors, the chef (we tried to give Bu Luh the day off, but she wouldn't hear of it!) and Camille and myself. So to make a long story short - we're kinda busy today! Last night was a blast (literally) as the kids got to barbecue corn (over here in Bali, BBQ = HOT & SPICY, just the way we like it) and then got to try to blow each other up with fireworks! Side note: completely sober people can be dangerous with explosives as well. :) Seriously though, the kids loved the fireworks that the ADULTS lit and then they got to play with what we thought were sparklers but ended up being fire-spewing roman candles that sometimes exploded and sometimes just sprayed the crowd with sparks. Sounds dangerous, but we are all trained professionals and no children or animals were hurt in the making of our New Year's Eve festivities...as much as I really tried to blow up our annoying rooster.

There are a lot of great stories that I will be sharing over the next week or so that came out of this awesome season. Right now, we have to get back over to the kitchen and get ready for another round of dishes. Camille and I will be taking off for a few days tomorrow morning for some much-needed R&R and a little surfing. I'll try to post another update as soon as we get back. Thanks again for taking the time to read my ramblings and for your support. And God Bless everyone this New Year!

Scars

Meet Dion. If you can believe it, Dion is every bit as sweet and good-natured as he is handsome (check the picture to the right)! Some very wise people (thanks Mom, for starters) have advised me lately that my best blogs come from just sharing the 'everyday' stories that happen with the kids here at Rumah Bapaku. I agree. Besides, what happened today just had to be shared.

Dion is from Sumba. I've mentioned before that the Sumba kids are tough. Sumba is a tough place - very remote and still quite primitive by western standards. The people there value the warrior spirit, and it shows in the utter fearlessness of our kids from Sumba. For example, I'm the size of 4 or 5 of them put together, but they will throw themselves in front of me when we are playing soccer and they are trying to get the ball with absolutely no regard for what the consequences may be. Some of our smallest kids are from Sumba, but no one has ever told them that they are small!

That 'warrior spirit' also shows in other ways...unfortunately. Every one of the boys from Sumba bears the permanent marks of a warlike culture. There are huge scars in every one of their precious little heads. Places where hair will probably never grow. Reminders of a life where it was kill or be killed...where 7-year-olds were expected to pick up a sword to defend their family...where differences were settled with the edge of a blade. They have all been abused. They have all had to fight. They all carry those memories with them in the form of physical scars. The oldest is 9, most of them are a few years younger. Think about that for a minute and try to digest all of it...I dare you.

Once a month, the barber comes to Rumah Bapaku. Because the boys are going to school in town and are exposed to kids from all walks of life, and because the tropical Bali heat requires us to shower at least three times a day, it is just easier to keep their heads pretty much shaved. It's cleaner, easier and we don't have to worry about things like lice. Of course, with 18 boys, we have all kinds of personalities. Some of them already are under the impression that they are ladykillers and don't want to shave their precious locks, and some don't mind at all. I'm lucky - Camille sort of likes me with a shaved head, so I can get my head shaved with them! It really does make it easier to live in the tropical heat. So, I get in line with them for the barber and I tell the ones who don't want a haircut that the haircut makes them ganteng (handsome). They love the fact that Om Jeremy gets his hair cut to match theirs!

As I was saying before, Dion is a sweetheart. He is probably the 'mellow-est' of the Sumba kids. He's still as tough and rough-and-tumble as the rest of them, but he has a very gentle spirit about him. I could tell today as we waited for our haircuts that Dion was not too stoked about getting his head shaved. He was avoiding the barber every chance he got, letting other boys go in front of him. When his turn finally came, he got up into the chair with a sort of 'aw, shucks' attitude. I could tell he wasn't too happy about the whole thing. As the barber started to cut his hair, without saying a word or even making a sound, he started to cry. I noticed big crocodile tears running down his cheeks and, true to Dion form, he tried to brush them away before anyone made a big deal about it. I kneeled down next to him and looked him in the eye and told him that it was OK, that the haircut made him look extra handsome. As I ran through the events of the previous hour in my head, I suddenly realized why Dion was so opposed to having his hair cut, and my heart shattered.

Replaying things in my mind, I understood what my limited knowledge of the Indonesian language had missed earlier as I watched Dion talking to some of his buddies...Dion is ashamed of the scars on his head. He doesn't want his hair short because he hopes that longer hair will help hide the marks left from when his father used to hit him with pieces of wood. Dion comes from a family where he is the youngest of 6 children. His father is a farmer and they are very poor. Dion had 4 jobs after school every day - he would have to look for wood for the cooking fire, find food for the pigs, feed the goats and then go and get water from the river. His father would beat him even if he got all of his work done. Dion's scars remind him of what it feels like to be a slave...to have no value...to not know the meaning of love. As all of this hit me like a ton of bricks, it was all I could do to not pick him up, hold him and cry with him.

Thank God that there is more to Dion's story. Thank God that He loves Dion enough to bring him to Rumah Bapaku and give him a new life. It tears me up inside to know that each of our kids has a heartbreaking story like Dion's. But I use it as fuel to fire my passion for giving these kids the most loving home and family that any kid could ever hope for. You want to know why I love God so much? It's because He's in the redemption business. It's because He takes the shattered pieces of our broken lives and puts them back together to make a picture more beautiful than anything we could have ever come up with on our own. Life is hard. You don't have to convince any of the Rumah Bapaku kids of that fact. But as I played soccer with Dion later on this afternoon and he was covered from scarred-head to foot in dirt and as happy as any kid who ever lived, I was once again reminded that God is a God of fresh starts. He wants to work everything that happens to us out for our good (Romans 8:28). Dion carries scars, as we all do in one form or another. But just has He has done for me, God has taken a broken, scarred little boy and turned him into someone beautiful...someone who is truly happy. Thank you, Lord...thank you.

O Holy Night

Whew! It's 5:50 AM and I already have a couch full of little boys who are intently watching the screensaver on my laptop in the living room. The screensaver is scrolling through a bunch of surfing pictures I have collected from various surf magazine internet sites. The boys think that the surfer in every picture is me - I wonder how long Om (Uncle) Jeremy will be that cool! I guess I'll savor it while it lasts!

Camille and I have been busy lately to say the least! The Christmas season is in full-swing and, this being the very first Christmas for each of our 36 kids, we're doing it up right. We have a tree in the kids' living room and we let each child hang an ornament on it. There are presents overflowing on 2 levels below it (it's pretty much a miracle that they haven't been tampered-with yet). We had to put the whole thing on a pedestal so that that Chockie and Brownie (our dogs) wouldn't sneak away with the presents. The staff made a big 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' sign and there are even Santas hanging from the front doors of the kids' house.

The kids have been practicing for their various roles in the Christmas program/variety show that they are putting on for each other and the staff. We have some VERY talented kids. The other night, Camille and I snuck out for a Friday night 'date night' and when we returned, we heard a guitar and a BEAUTIFUL voice singing 'O Holy Night'. We wandered in the direction of the music and found ourselves out back in our covered gym watching Roy, the boy's counsellor, playing guitar for Joly, one of our 9-year-old girls as she practiced for her part in the Christmas celebrations (Joly is the girl on the right in the picture). I only wish that I had had a way to record those ten or so minutes. It was truly one of the most beautiful things that I have ever experienced. To say that Joly can sing is the understatement of the century. Angelic is the only word that even comes close to describing her voice. The staff actually picked Joly to sing a solo because we had noticed her naturally stunning voice when the kids sing. I watched with tears in my eyes as a little girl who, just 7 months ago had never heard of Jesus or Christmas, sang praises to her Saviour with all of her heart...and really meant it. My brain is permanently emblazoned with the scene of a little girl, under the tropical stars, accompanied by only a guitar, voicing praises to God with such innocence and with such a hauntingly beautiful voice that the world seemed to stop and revel in the magnificence of the whole scene. I've said it before, and I'll say it again here - I truly believe that a child's voice lifted in praise is God's very favorite sound.

The whole scene becomes even more special if you understand a little of Joly's background. Joly comes from a very poor village. Her entire family lived in a one-room hut that housed many people. Joly has a younger brother and sister had a lot of responsibility. Her mother has mental problems so it was up to Joly to look after her younger siblings. Every day she would take them down to the river to bathe, feed them, find wood and cook for them. She never had a chance to be a child herself. When she first came to Rumah Bapaku to live with us, she was very happy for about 2 days. Then she became angry and one night, she jumped out the window of her bedroom. Tash, our director, came to her that night and asked her what had been bothering her. Her response was that she felt guilty being here in her new home because she had so much now and her brother and sister did not. Tash explained to Joly that she was a child herself and needed a chance to be just that. Tash told her that we will educate her and one day she will be able to help her family, but for now she needs to learn to play, have friends just be loved. Since then, Joly has made a new friend...Jesus. She is truly happy and loves to play and sing. She has many friends here and tells Tash that she knows that Jesus is her friend forever. So for Joly, 'O Holy Night' is more than just a Christmas carol. She sings to thank her best friend, Jesus, for giving her a new life...a happy life...a life every child deserves.

Yep, Christmas this year will probably be the best one Camille and I have experienced yet. I'm sure that there will be a lot of great stories to share! I actually planned on sharing a little more 'news' in this post but found myself 'sidetracked' by Joly's beautiful story and knew you'd want to hear it. I do have some more great stuff to share, so I will try to start posting daily. I was going to post this yesterday, but the Indonesian government decided that our part of Bali didn't need power ALL DAY, so the post is a little late! Anyway, stay tuned - more news is coming! And Merry Christmas from Bali, Indonesia!

Sorry for the delay!

Hello to everyone who reads this blog! I'm sorry that I haven't updated it lately - I never knew that the days could become so jam-packed! I promise that I am working on a new blog and will get it out tomorrow. We have been away for a few days, but a lot is happening over here in Bali that I want to share, so stay tuned! I promise the updates will become more regular, even if the posts are short sometimes. Check back tomorrow (or tonight, if you live in North America) for a new post! God Bless you all!

-Jeremy

The voice of a child.

Selemat Siang! ('Good late morning/early afternoon in Bahasa Indonesia) The kids are taking their afternoon siesta and we are getting a little bit of the first rain of the season. I never thought that I would be so excited about rain! Just having the clouds to cool things off a bit is nice, and the rain is SO refreshing! We are looking forward to the rainy season for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it will give us a chance to get some grass planted on the soccer field and keep the dust down a bit. The field is all leveled out and has about six truckloads of new dirt, but we have been playing on the dirt and between the dust and the 100% humidity, by the end of playtime we are sweaty, dirty messes! Thank God for colorful clothes that don't stain easily!

I am still in the process of trying to figure out the best way to upload pictures for everyone. So far, facebook seems to be the fastest from over here and I have been posting quite a few new pics on facebook. The upload/download times on the 'high-speed' internet over here leave somewhat to be desired, and trying to post pics to this blog takes FOREVER! I may have to start editing the pictures and making them smaller before uploading them. Facebook does that automatically for you, so for now I have been taking the 'lazy' way out and using facebook. I'll be sure to let everyone know if that changes.

I can't believe we've already been here for 3 weeks! We have to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next week to get a 'social visa' for Indonesia that will allow us to stay for six more months without having to leave the country. Kinda weird that you actually have to leave the country to get a visa to stay in the country, but I guess the government is just trying to make it hard for freeloaders to add to the already high unemployment rate in Indonesia. We are praying that everything goes smoothly with the visa process.

We are continually struck by the amount of love that emanates from My Father's Home. It's as if the kids know that they missed out on a lot of love during their first 6 to 9 years and are now trying to make up for lost time. We've been here for 3 weeks, so you think that the 'novelty' factor would be starting to wear off, but we still get mobbed every time we step out of our house and are anywhere where the kids can see us. Personally, it's something that I don't think I will get tired of and I hope that 'Om Jeremy' will always be a celebrity! Last night, after spending the evening watching 'Finding Nemo' with kids piled on our laps hugging and cuddling with us the whole time, Camille announced that if this is what our 'job' description is going to be, she can't think of a good reason to ever leave Bali. I totally agree!

For my fellow Christians, I know that you would probably agree one of the times you feel the closest to God is during worship times at church or with a group of Believers. Every day here at Rumah Bapaku, I am totally awestruck when these kids start to sing during their worship times. Eight months ago, they had no hope whatsoever. They were abused, unloved, used as slaves and many cases their innocence was stolen from them. Now they have hope, love and Jesus Christ. To see the humility and gratitude that they 'bring to the table' when they start to worship is something that has shaken me to the core. They understand God's love and His healing better than I could in a thousand years. I have yet to hear them sing and keep a dry eye. I truly believe with all that is in me that the voices of children lifted in praise is God's very favorite sound in the entire Universe. They start to sing, and He shows up. Period. At 6 years old, some of these kids know more about our Creator's presence than I do at almost 40. And they've only known Him for a few months. I'm getting a crash-course on why Jesus had so much to say about children.

I know that not everything will be 'peaches and cream' for Camille and I here in Bali. So far, though, it seems that no matter how rough the day is going, just one of these little ones can make it all worthwhile when they jump into your arms and bury their head in your chest for no reason other than the fact that they love you...just for being you. We are definitely not special. Heck, we can't even speak much of their language yet. They love us unconditionally just because we're here. For me, they are God's love in the flesh. Funny, because that is just what I came here to be for them. God has a way of turning the tables on us, huh? I guess I have to go back to my basic belief that when you decide to serve God with your whole heart and life, He gives you you cake and lets you eat it too!

Sorry if I'm gettin' a bit 'preachy'. Maybe someday soon I can get a video of the kids singing posted so that everyone else can catch a small glimpse of how beautiful it is. It has truly changed me. That's all I have for today. I'll keep everyone posted and try to update the blog before we leave for Malaysia on Tuesday (Nov. 24th). God Bless, everyone, and thank you for your prayers and support!

I'm Back!

I gave this post the title that I did for a couple of reasons. First off - Camille and I are back from our little mini-vacation to Lombok and south Bali. We had planned to take off for a couple of weeks at first, but after getting to Rumah Bapaku (My Father's Home) and meeting the children, we decided to cut it down to a week. Plus, we have to leave next week for about four days and head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to get our social visas which allow us to stay in Indonesia for the next six months (and then another trip to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore). So, we are back at Rumah Bapaku and our wonderful kids! Second, I titled this post 'I'm Back!' because I have decided that the possibility of me getting any justice from my insurance company is quite slim, so I may as well return to using my real name. So, as Jeremy Youngquist, I am advising you to NEVER purchase disability insurance (or anything else, for that matter) from Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company. In my humble opinion (that oughta satisfy their legal department), I feel that they are crooks...enough said. (Except for Connie - she's been very kind and helpful, but her hands are tied. Thank you, Connie.) Aahhhh...sorta feels good to be Jeremy again.

Camille and I had an awesome time in Lombok. The surf wasn't as big as what we had hoped, but it was fun nonetheless and Lombok is one of the most primitive and beautiful places on earth. The water is crystal clear and the locals are the friendliest people you'll ever meet. It takes a bit of determination to get to a place like Mawi Reef, Lombok, but it is well worth the journey. (That is, unless you are lazy and just want to shell out the 'big bucks' to charter a boat from Bali to cruise over to Lombok and drop you off right in the lineup of surfers like Camille and I who have actually 'paid our dues' to get there. The journey truly is half of the reward - don't get me started on charter-boat weenies.) I've never been anywhere where absolutely everybody smiles and says hello when you pass - and they are genuine. Life isn't easy for most Lombok locals, so I suppose that they have come to realize that true wealth is found in relationships, not stuff.

We also enjoyed a couple of fun days in the Seminyak and Canggu area of south Bali. The surf finally picked up a bit and we got to play in some of Bali's renowned surf! The water here is so warm that even your extra-hard tropical surf wax starts to get gummy and soft while you surf. Being cold is a thing of the past, baby! I once again proved that I can be a wave-hog anywhere...hehehe. This is truly where Camille and I belong!

As we look to the coming months, we are excited to say the least. I am especially excited for Christmas this year. Camille and I have talked for years about spending Thanksgiving or Christmas day just helping the poor somewhere. Now we finally get to! Christmas with these kids is gonna be so fun! I am going to savor the entire season. Bringing the Light of Christ's love to an area of darkness is pretty much what Christmas is all about, and we are going to take full advantage of this opportunity. I spent a couple of hours today just trying to find the best deal on those little balsa-wood glider airplanes that I used to play with as a kid. You remember those, right? I want each of our kids to be able to experience the fun that I had with those gliders as a child. Playing Santa will be a blast this year!

I am still searching for the best way to share pictures with everyone. Pictures seem to take FOREVER to upload to my blog from here in Bali, so I will let everyone know when I decide on the best avenue for sharing pics. For now, I have been posting some of them to facebook - so if you're not my facebook friend, send me a request! I'll hopefully come up with a better way soon.

Thanks for 'tuning in' to the blog. I'll be updating it each day that I have a chance, so check back often. God Bless and if you're the 'praying kind', please keep us and Rumah Bapaku in your prayers. If you want to sponsor a child, go to http://www.myfathershome.net/. If you want to sponsor Camille and I, send an email to youngquistjr@hotmail.com. I'll let you know the details on how to do that. Thanks and check back tomorrow! Selemat Siang!