Images and Imagination

So on our first weekend in Bali we spent one day in the south at Uluwatu and Jimbaran and then Sunday we explored the north part of the island.  But of course, it was Sunday so we took our first big adventure on the motor bike and drove 40 minutes to church.  It was great driving the roads of a developing country, no heeding to road lines and barely any heeding to each other.  I see it as this organized confusion or some non-conventional symphony where it seems like it shouldn’t work because it sounds different but for some reason it still works in harmony.  In fact, I think it works better in some regards than the states.  We followed directions we received from a contact and after a few wrong turns and “too fars” we made it.  However, it wasn’t a steeple that told us we were there, it was a missionary couple on the dirt road outside of a music school adorned with black badges that told us, “this is the place.”

The church members are amazing here.  For the past 16 years there have been only 3 members meeting regularly and after a few more members moved into the area, the Bali Branch was established at the beginning of this year.  And just this past month the first Stake in Jakarta was established.  Indonesia is 85% Muslim with the remainder a mosaic of Hinduism (Bali), Christianity and Animism.  In total there were 35 attending the branch that day and I’d say half were visitors.  We met in a classroom that was probably 15 feet wide and 25 feet long and we had to constantly shuffle around to make more room and allow the sacrament to be passed around.  The meeting went back and forth between English and Indonesian; luckily we had two American girls that served missions in Indonesia and translated for us.

Takeaway: People are tied together by the desire to be happy.

After church the two girls invited us to travel north with them and Polimon (one of the original LDS members in Bali).  So we crammed in Poli’s compact car and started driving.  Honestly Katie and I had no idea where we were and where we were going, but it was beautiful.  The longer we drove, the higher the elevation and narrower the road became.  We finally stopped to enjoy the view and took some pics in Jatiluwih, a gorgeous village surrounded by terraced rice patties.  Its currently harvest season and most the fields we drove through were red rice, which is much taller when ready.  Local village-women lined the side of the road bringing in their harvest and the smell of burned fields passed through our car.

We then headed to the coast to enjoy the temple of Tanah Lot.  During high tide, parts of the temple are completely surround by ocean and at low tide you can venture out to the tide pools and view the temple through their reflections.  It was quite crowded with visitors but still a beautiful place to visit on sunday.  If we can’t make to our temple, we might as well enjoy theirs.

We finally neared home around 8 at night and made one last stop at Poli’s friends motor bike shop to pick up some food.  The literally had a shade tent outside their shop with burning coals to barbeque chicken and serve with rice.  To date it is the best chicken we have had in Bali and best of all, its up the street from our house!

It was a glorious weekend for us to relax and explore a lot of the island.  We topped it off one more day on Monday, visiting the hustling surf town of Kuta and enjoyed the beach, markets and warung food. When we tell anyone where we went over three days (Uluwatu, Jimbaran, Jatiluwih, Talah Lot and Kuta) they say, “well you’ve done it all!”  Which isn’t true at all, but it is a great start.  I love traveling, exploring and living with Katie and being in such a beautiful part of the world.  Its important to enjoy the world around us, but we also need to preserve it.  Be cognitive of the world around you, where your food comes from and how your decisions today may affect your world tomorrow.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Bali is very small and recently established.  It is currently being held in a classroom of a Music School in Jimabaran.  Below are some directions and images to explain where the members meet.

Directions:

Coming from Kuta/Denpasar/Northern Bali: drive south on the bypass until you reach the intersection with KFC and McDonalds in Jimbaran.  This will be your third stoplight after going through the Roundabout near Kuta.  Turn right at the KFC stoplight and travel for 500 meters before veering left onto a side road.  Take the side road another 250 meters and take your first left.  Travel that road for 500 meters and at the first intersection will be the Era Jimbaran Music Academy.  Park inside the covered area and you will be welcomed warmly!  Please contact me at mitchdumke@gmail.com for more help or contact the local second counselor (speaks English), Polimon at lopo78@gmail.com or call him at +(62) 81210664200. Also Branch President Heru can be reached at +(62) 8311828700.