Smitten...

WE'RE HERE!!! As I write this, I am sitting in my new living room in our house in Singaraja, Bali, Indonesia. I am sweaty, caked with dust and dirt, jet lagged and generally exhausted...and I'm the happiest I've been in a long time. I just spent the day playing, eating, drawing and praising God with 36 of the most beautiful children I've ever seen. Camille and I just became part of a new family. I'm pretty sure that in one day, our hearts have been changed forever.

I actually started a blog yesterday as we sat in the airport in Seoul, Korea. It was a pretty good post, if I may say so myself! Right as I went to publish it, I found out that my computer had dropped the internet wi-fi at the airport and hadn't saved any of my work...one blog entry down the toilet! Luckily, the wi-fi is a lot more reliable here in Bali. Before the literary catastrophe yesterday, I was writing about how one of the things I love the most about being a part of the family of God is the fact that we have instant family everywhere we go. Before yesterday, Camille and I had never even met any of the kids or staff at My Father's Home except for over the internet, yet we loved them already, and we knew that they loved us back. Well, today confirmed all of that, big time!

If you're reading this blog for the first time, you may want to start from the bottom of the page and work your way up. Camille and I have quite a story that has led us to the other side of the globe to love kids whom we had never met. For now, I'll just say that the pictures on the web and the lovely brochures for My Father's Home don't even come close to doing any of it (the kids, the home, the staff, the area, etc.) justice. These kids stole our hearts the moment they jumped off of the school bus and into the arms of a couple of Americans who they hadn't even met, but already knew as uncle and auntie. 36 little ones, who up until this last April hadn't ever been told that they were loved or given any reason to even smile, were instantly crawling all over us and showering us with hugs and kisses. And you should see their smiles now! Camille and I spent the rest of the day being loved so unconditionally, so wholeheartedly...I learned just how little I knew about true Christlike love today.

I already have funny stories to share and touching points to make, but in addition to being dirty, sweaty and worn out from one of the funnest (is that a word?) days in recent memory, I'm completely jet lagged. I'm probably just rambling to begin with, but I know that there are quite a few of you who are waiting for an update so I wanted to at least post something quick this evening. I promise that we will start taking pictures tomorrow (WARNING: Looking at pictures of these kids may cause an uncontrollable urge to get on an airplane and come to Bali), and hopefully I'll get some time to share a little bit more.

For now, I want to thank everyone who is praying for us and supporting us in any way, even if it's just happy thoughts. Our journey to Bali from Oregon was long, but comfortable. All of our bags made it here unscathed, even after the first airline tried to convince us that our surfboards would never make it all of the way. Truly, thank you for your prayers and support. I plan on updating this blog almost daily now that we are settling down in Bali. Thank you for being a part of our new adventure. Bali is truly as beautiful as all of the brochures claim - but what makes it spectacular are the wonderful people. The 36 kids at My Father's Home and the staff who serve them are the 'cream of the crop', and we now have the honor of calling them our family. We sit here tonight smitten. Smitten by the kind of love that only God gives. Smitten by children from unspeakably horrible backgrounds who are finally getting to learn how to just be children. Smitten by the knowledge that we now get to be on the receiving end of the love that they have only recently discovered is inside of them. Yep, we're smitten. Let the adventure begin!