A Day at the Mosque

We are often invited to different ceremonies of friends....Circumcisions, Thanksgivings, and Weddings being the most common. Today we were invited to a wedding. Usually this consists of arriving...eating...greeting the new couple...then leaving. That simple. Here it is referred to as SMP (Sesudah Makan pulang)...(eat and go home).
      This time it was different. We were actually invited to witness the actual ceremony in the mosque.

      When we arrived, a tent was set up in the street in front of the mosque. We were greeted by family members of the bride.

 Once inside the tent, we greeted the Bride as she also waited under the tent for her Groom and his family to arrive. We took this photo with our good friends waiting with the bride. My friend looks much better wearing here head covering than most white women.

After the groom arrived..the couple and their families entered the mosque. It wasn't much on formal ceremony. They just took off their shoes and walked into the mosque. Many times, the bride is not allowed to enter for the ceremony due to certain times of the month.

 Let me first say...since we are Non-Muslims, it was highly unlikely we would be allowed inside the mosque. We were expecting to be asked to wait outside. To the contrary...Our good friends (family of the bride...also American Christians) and Rich and I were escorted into the Mosque. Rich entered through the men's door and I, with the women, entered in through the women's door.

Inside, I was encouraged by the other women to move closer to get better photos. I saw the couple, along with their immediate families, sitting in the front on the floor. All the other male friends and family were sitting on the floor in the main area. Rich sat with the men. While we, the women, sat in a divided area off to the back and side of the men. There was a green curtain separating the areas for the men and women.

We were surprised to witness the bride being allowed to speak at her own wedding. Normally the promises and agreements are only conducted between the father of the bride and the groom. In this situation, the Bride asked the Groom to marry her and asked her father to allow her to marry the man. After the ceremony was over, we had the opportunity to meet the grooms father. We couldn't pass up the chance to get a photo. It is obvious by the fathers clothing that he has met the Muslim requirement of completing a trip to Mecca.

Then it was time for SMP. The men had a food line and the women had a separate food line.

After eating, We went through the reception line, had our photo taken with the couple and were on our way home. I have to say this was one of the most memorable weddings I've been honored to attend.

NYEPI (THE DAY OF SILENCE)

 

 

 

BOO!

 

 

        No It's not Halloween. It is Nyepi...The biggest Hindu Holy Day. Even though we live on a predominantly Muslim Island, we do have a fairly large amount of Balinese Hindu in the main city area.
        As you know from one of my latest blogs, the Muslim and the Hindu don't always live together in total harmony. Harmony is what Nyepi is all about. The Hindu pray and release the evil in their own spirits the day before Nyepi and then parade these Ogoh Ogoh, paper mache monsters, around the city. This is so their evil spirits will inhabit the Ogoh Ogoh. The following day, Nyepi, is the day of silence. The Balinese sit quietly in their homes; no cooking fires, no electricity being used, no oil lamps or other forms of activities whatsoever. On this day of silence the evil spirits are allowed to do anything they want without the humans interrupting their fun. By doing this the Hindu believe they create harmony so that for the rest of the year they are allowed to live in peace from the interruptions of the evil.
        In Bali, the day of silence is "THE LAW' Even if you are not Hindu you are not allowed to have lights visible from your home. On Our island, if you don't live in a Balinese neighborhood, life goes on as normal. Things can get a bit sticky if you are in a mixed neighborhood. Tensions have been a bit high in our mixed neighborhood since December so we will wait and see what happens tomorrow.
        The following are a few photos of the Ogoh Ogohs parading around the main street.

This man is going around to pick up plastic water bottles and glass to resale as recyclable trash. Today his family will eat well.

The black and white checked sarungs that these men are wearing is to protect them from the evil because the colors symbolize the harmony of the evil and good spirits.

This is a statue of a Hindu priest battling the evil spirits.

Muslim band groups were hired to play music along the parade route in between the Ogoh Ogoh.

We have lived here for 10 years and this is the first time I have seen such a human form of an Ogoh Ogoh. And it's a woman no less.

The smaller children are enlisted to carry the smaller Ogoh Ogoh around the streets on the bamboo platforms.

Head out on the highway...Sort of

After 10 years of living in a country that has billions of motor bikes as the preferred mode of transportation, the time has finally come for me to step (or ride) out of my comfort zone. Thanks to a very dear and persistent friend, I had my first motor bike lesson on Valentines Day. (She is such a sweetheart)

 Please notice all the fluffy tall grass that we chose for my landing zone just in case I took a fall. I soon found out that riding on the back of the bike, knowing that someone else much more experienced is in control, is much easier than driving the bike. I guess this is a great example of how I feel about God being in control of my life.

Take notice of the terrified look on my face. This was the simplest of bikes to try to learn on. It is automatic. Right hand is go and left hand is stop. I was so concerned about what little rock was in my path that I kept my head down and looked right in front of me. By doing that, I missed seeing the big hole coming my way.  I think this a lot like my life too. I am so preoccupied with the small things that happen every day and then fail to see the big picture that God wants me to see.

Once I had a few practice rounds in the grass, my friend decided it was time to try the road. Thank goodness there was very little traffic. Right turns...left turns, up and down hills I went.  With each lap around the block, my confidence was building. And then... I hit a bump and my smile and pride faded away quicker than I could let out a scream. I quickly recovered without falling and knew I had learned another valuable lesson....I should never feel so confident that I think I can do it all without a few bumps along the way. 

That is why God is ever watchful over his children...He knows we are scared to try new things, but like my friend, encourages us to move past our fear. He knows we may not be able to focus enough to see the big picture, so He stays focused for us and guides us along the right paths. And, He knows we will still stumble, especially when we start thinking we can do alone. I thank God He is with me always and is ready to pick me up when I stumble.

 

 It has been a while since my last post...not that lots of things haven't been blog worthy...it's just that we have been busy with all those things. 

      In the last few days something has been happening in our neighborhood that I could not postpone blogging any longer. Below you will find the photos and story about our latest Indonesian adventure.

     This past Wednesday was just like any other Wednesday.  Wednesdays are Rich's and my Sabbath. We usually stay in the house and just rest. All of our friends and Indonesian kids know the "Do Not Disturb" sign is out for that day and our gate stays locked. That's why, when we got a call from our friend, Pak Masrin, we knew something must be very important. with an urgent tone to his voice, Masrin said "Don't go outside! Lock your doors and stay inside!" He then went on to explain...
    " I am trying to get to your house to guard you. There has been a killing in your neighborhood and your neighbors are rioting.

 The police won't let me through."
     Rich and I had been resting, watching tv and apparently oblivious to the chaos going on just outside our gate for the last hour or so. Rich walked out and and peeked over the gate and saw lots of people running around in the street, and police directing traffic and turning vehicles around in front of our house so they could not go through. For the rest of the night we were on high alert. The sounds coming from over our 9 foot tall fence were loud, angry, mob like, "let's go get them" sounds.

 Finally, a little after 12 midnight, God sent a heavy rain that cooled things off temperature wise as well as emotionally. Most people left and went back to their homes. Through all this we felt safe and peaceful. It was closer to 2 before Rich and I were able to drift off to an ever alert sleep.Waking at the littlest noises just to go look over the fence to see what was happening.
    In the morning we looked out and there were police EVERYWHERE.We found out that a 16 year old Muslim boy was killed by 4 Hindus because he rode his motorcycle too fast through the streets of the neighborhood. Many people said alcohol was involved. The Muslim community took revenge on the Hindu neighborhood and burned and destroyed several homes. Every one was standing around talking about this tragedy throughout the next day. Other than that, life looked to be going on normal as any other day. For the most of the day every thing was quiet, peaceful, and uneventful. Even to the point that most of the police left our area and just concentrated on the Hindu area a hundred meters down the street.
    Rich and I were looking forward to a peaceful night of sleep and was preparing for bed around 11:30 when, all of a sudden, we heard repeated screaming from the speakers of the mosque "Allah Akbar" (God is Great) This is the cry of Holy war for the Muslims. Then the chaos began again, hundreds of people pouring into the street in front of our gate, stirring each others emotions up. After a while it sounded as if they were settling down so Rich and I decided to try to get some rest. What we didn't realize is the mob had went down the street to the Hindu area to take more revenge. Around 1am, not 5 minutes after our heads hit the pillow, we heard burst of gunshots, more blood curdling screams of "Allah Akbar" from the mosque and more gunfire with a final "boom". Rich went out, once again to look over the gate, and smelled tear gas. Through all this, we felt safe and peaceful.

We found out the next morning that the Muslims had once again tried to attack the Hindus. The mob had ran with sword, sticks, knives and rocks to the area and was met by the army and police who in return started shooting rubber bullets, bean bag bullets and tear gas into the crowd.
     Things once again started to settle down around 2am. Once again, we tried to rest while remaining alert. (You know the phrase 'sleeping with one eye open'? Well we were 'sleeping with one EAR open'.)
    The next morning, lo and behold, we looked out the gate and everything seemed to be normal. Women were walking to the market, motorcycle taxis were waiting at the corner and Ibu Ros was selling her bags of breakfast rice in front of her little store in front of our gate.
    Later that day (Friday, the Holy day for the Muslims) the village leaders, the mayor of our Indonesian province and the police chief for our island all spoke against the violence and demanded the riots to stop for the sake of each individual, the community, the island, and Indonesia as a nation. ( What is ironic is if you were not in the immediate area of our neighborhood, you would not have known anything out of the ordinary was going on.)
    The government decided to show they meant business...The community was warned and then more army troops were dropped in front of our home. As you can see from the photo above...We could not have been more protected with all those guns and smiling faces eager to help.
   Last night we got a full uninterrupted nights sleep. Thank you God for your Peace.
     What I learned from all of this is ...No matter where we live there is evil...whether it is in Connecticut or a small island on the other side of the world in Indonesia....What we must remember is that no matter where we are GOD is there and we can have peace and rest in HIS mighty hand and can feel safe in the middle of a war..... Ephesians 6:12...For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Mangoes are my Pineapples

We have a huge Mango tree in our front courtyard. It always gives us much more fruit than we could ever eat. The thing is, our mangoes aren't ripe yet. They are getting nice and big but still a few weeks from being ripe. The Locals here (me included) love to eat the unripe mangoes with a very spicy sweet peanut sauce.

 Part of our tree hangs over the alley next to our house and on those branches seems to grow the biggest and best mangoes. Do you see where I am going with this??

Today we caught some local young boys using a long bamboo pole with a hook on it trying to steal some mangoes. At first we were angry, they wanted the biggest best mango on the tree. Then I thought about how I could use this as an opportunity to teach these young thieves a lesson. I began to explain to them that asking for the mangoes would be better than to steal them. I explained that if I have extra that it would make me feel good if I could bless them with the gift of a mango but if they stole the mango they would would be adding more sin to their lives. This seem to hit home for them since Ramadan has just finished. They had just endured 30 of daytime fasting to get rid of their sins.

 The young guys asked for forgiveness and I sent them on their way, feeling good about myself. I managed to teach them a lesson and still be able to save the biggest best mango to grow for another day.

The boys stood out in the alley for a while and I could here them debating among each other. a few minutes later one brave fellow knocked on the gate and very loudly called out and asked if they could have a mango...Can you imagine what was going through my mind? (My mangoes! Didn't you learn anything young man? How dare you ask for a mango after you just tried to steal one!) Then I realized that was not what I was trying to teach them. The boy was doing exactly what I asked him to do...He was asking for a mango so I could feel good about Blessing him and his friends. 

I realized this teachable moment was not for them, it was for me. Do I want to give them the biggest and best I have or do I want to keep it for myself? Do I want them to see what happens when you do the right thing?.....hmmmmmm?

Beginning Idul Fitri Celebrations in prayer at the Mall

We went to the only mall on our island this morning at 6:30 am. Today is a special day for the Muslim community.Today is the first day after the 30 day fasting month of Ramadan. To begin Idul Fitri celebrations the Muslims start with prayer. Many go to the mosques in their neighborhood and many go to public parks and many, close to 2000,...go to the mall.

 Above is a photo of the empty parking lot before everyone arrived. Then... they came. Everyone was dressed in their new, finest prayer shawls and sarungs. all the men were sporting new hats and new prayer rugs. The street was lined with cars and motorcycles three deep into the road. As they arrived, musical chants proclaiming Allah's greatness repeatedly played over the loud speakers. This is the same proclamation we listened to for 7 hours last night and will listen to all day today.

 This is a FULL parking lot. Every available space was taken up with prayer mats. The men and boys sat in the front facing toward Mecca and the women and girls were in the back. The speakers loudly playing the call to prayer as the men and women bowed in reverence and humble prayer with thankfulness for completing the fast. The Muslims try to fast for 30 days each year to hopefully receive forgiveness of sins for that year.


  More than a hundred rows of people were bowing shoulder to shoulder. If you look closely you can see the edge of the McDonalds sign in the top edge of this photo. During Ramadan, McDonalds and most all other restaurants, and road side food stands were closed during the day and opened only in the afternoon as people prepared to break their daily fast. McDonalds was allowed to sell food through the day only for take out or to eaten upstairs out of sight.

 This part of the prayers shows men wanting to hear God speaking to them. Usually Muslims see and hear God through dreams and visions. We often pray with and for our Muslim friends that God will reveal his will for them through these visions and dreams, and that they would become strong family leaders, full of integrity.

I couldn't help myself when I snapped this photo. This adorable little boy is being very good as his father and uncle teach him how to pray. Couldn't you just pinch those little cheeks?  This family had to stand in the middle of the road in front of the mall in between the cars because the parking lot was filled to overflowing.

 The women, looked like a sea of beautiful brown faces surrounded by their new stylish prayer shawls. Just like I would have a new dress for Easter or Christmas, the Muslim's spend weeks before Idul Fitri picking out just the right new Holiday clothing and prayer shawls. They will spend the next 3 days visiting family and friends, receiving guests and eating and eating and eating. Idul fitri snacks are yummy. After visiting a few families you wouldn't need to eat for a week. 

The men were standing in front of our island's one and only McDonalds. The women, as you can see are in front of our one and only Kentucky Fried Chicken and across the street from our one and only Pizza Hut. Needless to say, the mall was a great place to break fast each night of Ramadan for the wealthier class. I personally prefer to eat with friends in their homes with the spiciest and yummiest traditional food.

I hope you enjoyed my photos of this very special day. It's just a glimpse through a window
in my world.

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...

 How many of you know the struggles of getting a child into the bath? They fight you every step of the way and come up with all kinds of excuses to stall the much needed BATH. Then, just try to get them out…they do the same…”Just a minute, Mom”, “I’m still playing, Dad!”

      I’m like that with my exercise bike. I come up with a lot of reasons why “I don’t have time today” or “ I’m not feeling up to it.” Or more often… “I dun wanna!” Then, I finally get on or Rich pushes me until I do it just to shut him up… and I become just like one of those kids that don’t want to get out of the tub. The adrenaline starts pumping, and the endorphins start kicking in and all of a sudden I start enjoying it…even smiling. I put my headphones on and blast my most upbeat praise music and love every minute of it. Sooner than later I totally forget the promise of “Just 30 minutes and I can get off” often it has been 45 minutes before I even check the time.

      Unfortunately I am just like that with my Bible time…How about you? “Not enough time in the day”, “Let me get those dishes done first”, “I’ll do it after this TV show is over” “Gotta run to the store first, We are out of milk”…..sound familiar? Yet, God is faithful…when we buckle down, and put Him first, He gives us the strength, the endurance, the motivation, the desire, the joy, the pleasure, and the knowledge to live in His freedom. Often we sit to read those “10 minute devotions” and look at the clock an hour later realizing we lost track of the time. Why do we fight it so much? Why is it so difficult to get ourselves to sit down and spend time with the ONE that loves us best? Is it because we love the world we live in better? I’m not sure why, I just know I always feel better and more energized to face that world when I put the Lord’s word first.

By the way, this devotion came to me …while I was riding my exercise bike. Funny thing huh?

Rich configured this wooden contraption attached to the back wheel of a regular bicycle so I could use it for exercise. I married a smart man!