By Rick Lancaster
It’s 2:45 am (10:45 am, March 5, Claifornia time) here in Bali, and unforfuntately I am wide awake. We arrived yesterday afternoon. Our flights were long, but not crowded, which allowed us to spread out. Debbie was even able to lay down across several seats and sleep.
Upon arriving in Denpassar, Bali we checked into the hotel and then had dinner with Pastor Brandon and his wife Yunita and their girls Joy and Charista. It was a blessing to catch up with them and hear about the ministry God is doing through STL International here in Indonesia. STL is the ministry that Pastor Randy leads here in Indonesia. Most of CCFV’s missions work goes through STL.
About 9 am, we will be leaving for the airport to travel down to Kupang. Once there, I will meet up with Benny and Piter, who are part of the STL team. Benny will be my interpreter for most of the trip. We will then travel by car down to Soe where I will teach for the next several days through the book of Revelation.
Pastor Brandon, Pastor Randy, and Debbie will be meeting with several people and checking on some of the ministries we are involved with here, including the orphanage in Soe.
[envira-gallery id=”9642″]Last night, we found out that today, March 6, a festival is held here on Bali. I do not understand completely what it is about, but basically it is to drive demons away. That’s interesting because Bali is filled with carved images and statues and altars and some of those are very demonic looking. I will try to add some pictures to this post. My access to internet is a little spotty, but I will see what I can do. One aspect of ths festival is that tonight, the Balinese people will turn off all the lights in their homes. They do this because if they have any light coming out of their homes, demons can find their way in. So, tonight, the Balinese people will sit in darkness hoping these evil spirits that they seem to worship will stay away.
One of the reasons we are here is to bring the light of Jesus Christ into the darkness of this country. We do it by sharing His love and His Word. We covet your prayers as we move through the darkness to bring the hope of Jesus to the people of Indonesia.
Speaking of praying – Praying is one of the ways you and be a part of what we are doing here in Indonesia. Here are some other ways you can be praying for the team as we travel and minister.
Traveling mercies – We will be travelling from Bali to Kupang. It is not uncommon for things to happen to luggage. Pray that our bags are not broken into.
My teaching schedule – The most intense part of my teaching schedule starts tonight and goes through Saturday morning. I got about four hours of sleep last night, so I will be need the Holy Spirit to strengthen me more than usual.
Divine appointments for Pastor Randy and Debbie – Pray for God to put Pastor Randy and Debbie and Pastor Brandon right where they need to be to do the good works He has ordained for them to do here. Pray for open doors of opportunity.
Pray for our familes back home – Please lift up our families that we left behing so that we could come here to serve Jesus. They need your prayers and support as much as we do.
I will try to send more updates througout the week. Because of my teaching schedule and spotty wifi, I might not be able to do that until the weekend. Thank you for your prayers and support. Without you, this might not have been possible. If you feel led to support this trip financially, click the Give button at the top of this page and select Indonesia 2019 from the giving types.
God bless you. Have a radical day with Jesus. Rick