Jakarta Lets go back to Jakarta

After Bali I had a 5 days left on my indonesian visa so I had already decided to pop up to Jakarta. I had spent two months living and working in Jakarta with an outreach team from Ywam New Zealand. So I have made a load of friends living and serving God up in this city so having the opportunity to go back and join with them again was amazing.
It all started at the airport playing hide and seek with Alex who had come to find me and help me get into the city. So after he found me hiding in a tree in the airport we them began are adventures into the city. Last time I was living in jakarta I was living in an apartment with my friends from ywam so this time I wanted to try out the tourist hub in the center of the city and see what it is like as a tourist. So I managed to find a cheap sleep at a good $10 with a bed & fan so all was looking good.

So myself and alex sat down and wrote out all the names of the people who I was going to try and find in the city and catch up with them and see whats happening in their lives. So we had 17 people who I was gonna go looking for in 2-3 days. So a heavy task and a bonkers city full of 16 million people.
But these few days I had there left me feeling so encouraged and blessed. These christians in Jakarta are just top draw material. Ive learnt so much from being with them and spending time with them. They are so unselfish and will do anything for you, they are so determined in everything and are fighters. They made me feel so welcome and looked after me so well. The passion and enthusiasm is admirable and so contagious the may they fearlessly give up everything to serve the God whom they love.

I got to join the Central Local team during one of their care groups as they were hanging out, worshiped, taught and encouraged each other. Also I got join with Sasha and her ICCJ home group in their church. Myself, Alex & Sasha went back to Suropati park to hang out with all the musicians, artists & the homeless dudes. I'll never forget that moment sleeping in the middle of the city on concrete wall listening to the saxophone echo around the city at 5am while the city is sleeping one of the best moments of my life seriously.

We got to teach some street kids English while one of the girls treated them to KFC aswell.
I got to go back to Cinema and chat to some homosexual prostitutes friends that we made last time we were there and Myself and alex even got to pray with one of them who was having a rough time and was running away from his past and had fled to the city to get away and having nothing here in jakarta no money, friends, home had turned to prostitution to survive. We also got to meet with Rudy a former Prostitute who had become a christian 7 months ago and had got baptized while we were in the city. He had many testimonies of what God had been doing in his life protecting and providing for him. He was electric and so happy and filled with joy. I didn't get one word in 2 hours as he talked constantly about what great things are happening with him.

I also got to renew my relationship with Nasi, Sate & the most beautiful J-Co.

Jakarta what a place, im defiantly attached to the city, getting back there walking the streets which I spent so much time and the group of friends which I have there and there friendship which ive been able to continue because of this super internet thing the worlds got going. I cant wait for my next trip there but hopefully some of them will come see me wherever I am aswell.

Bali with Ross & Debs

At the end of May I joined up with Ross & Debs in Bali, Indonesia. It had been a good 14 months since ive seen my little ross so it was great getting to catch up with him for 3 weeks. We spent are time on Kuta beach which is the main tourist place in Bali, and we also spent 1 week over in some small car-less islands called the Gili islands. The Gili islands were just some small islands take 2 hours to walk around and are very small and they are surrounded by a beautiful coral with all sorts of sea life. A couple of Ross's friends from his time traveling New Zealand were there on the Gili islands aswell so we had a great laugh chilling with the irish contingent. I was trying my best to get some of the irish sound back into my voice even though people have been saying my canadian accent has been disappearing.
Ross turned 23 while we were in Bali and we had a great laugh celebrating his birthday living it up at the Hard Rock Cafe and surfing and completely indulging in gluttony that night, ross ate so much he even fell into the swimming pool on his way out of the restaurant. We also rented motorbikes and drove around the island with my friend Windu from Jakarta.
After Ross left us myself and Debbie bused up to the north side of the island. Debbie blessed me so much by putting us up in an absolutely savage hotel for my birthday & Christmas present. We were the only guests in the whole hotel and it was such a small town it was ideal relax and living it up time. We Got some 5.30 am dolphin swimming but the thing is there was like 100 boats like ours trying to chase these poor dolphins so wasn't exactly the most natural thing Ive ever seen. But the dolphins looked like they were having a great time. I defo think im a dolphin of some sort just messing around. Well a dolphin or a merman!