Volcanos!!

Last night we were beat and really did not have time to share our exciting experience as we posted our blog entry. We went do Mt. Merapi, the volcano that has been active in Indonesia of late, and watched it spew lava from about three miles away. It was truly incredible to see the hand of God at work in nature. We indeed serve an amazing God. It was better than fireworks.

Today we went on sites for the first time. Angela and our other femail team members played games and sang songs with some children in a nearby village. They also spent time building relationships with some of the Indonesian volunteers here. She also slept late, it was nearly 7:00 am when she got up.

I say she slept late because me and about half of the guys woke up at 4:30. Since we were all awake, we went ahead and got our mondies (Indonesian bathing, no showers here, just big buckets of water and drains in the floor) and started eating and drinking coffee. By 8:00, I had eaten breakfast three times. I was concerned about losing weight, but Angela and I have both been very impressed with most of the food. In fact, there is a Dunkin Donuts right across the road.

We are really amazed that we have been away from home for five days already, it has flown by. It's amazing how much you can enjoy yourself and ministry even when sleeping on thin mattresses on the floor and sharing three bathrooms with 50+ people.

I spend my day in a nearby village demolishing and helping to rebuild a small baptist church. It was exciting. I also met a cute little four year old little girl named Ekka. Her parents wouldn't let me bring her home. I also ate some food from a street vendor, some sort of fermented fruit, it was terrible. But, what's life without risks...

We have been welcomed with open arms everywhere we have been and look forward to continuing to work and minister here. There are indeed needs and we are grateful for the opportunity to meet some of the needs.

Please continue to pray, and if you see my mom (Craig's) wish her a happy birthday from us.