bali...a little late

we only spent 8 days in bali, but it was such an amazing experience that i could probably go on and on about it. that would make this entry entirely too long, so i'll just give you some highlights...

just a little background first...a team from mosaic went to bali to put together a conference for some of our overseas workers. most of these workers have been on the field for 6-10 years, so this was intended to be a time of rest, refreshment, reconnecting...

overall, God so greatly exceeded our expectations and did above and beyond what any of us imagined. throughout the trip, i just had the sense that this trip was so much bigger than what i understood it to be. God spoke powerfully to each person that was there - both the workers and the la team - and all of us came away from bali changed.

my personal experience: i really didn't really know what to expect...i just wanted to get to know the workers and serve them. but throughout the conference, God spoke to me in some incredible ways. He opened my eyes to some of my weaknesses and challenged me to change, affirmed my vision to work overseas with public health, and, through conversations with the workers, both inspired me and gave me a sobering dose of reality about life abroad. it was such a blessing to talk to like-minded people and have significant conversations with people i just met about their vision and passion for overseas work.

the team experience: our team was such a blessing. we had a large team, with so many amazingly gifted people - i feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to get to know them. i got such a sense that God brought our team together so perfectly, with each of us playing a role in putting this trip together and encouraging each other and the workers.

the conference/workers: things went so much better than we ever could have expected. my take on this is that...1) we had many people praying over this trip (bless you guys!), and 2) this was a gift God gave to our cross-cultural workers...an outpouring of God's love for these faithful servants. i think most of our team felt that we didn't do that much, but God used what little we offered to do some amazing things. in one of our last sessions, we gave the workers the opportunity to share whatever they wanted...some shared their passions, some their failings, and some expressed such gratititude and praise for the conference, for the love they felt they had received through our time together. all in all, i am in awe of how God works to so lovingly bless His children. many of the workers really needed this time, and God so graciously provided it.

this is such a brief overview of the trip...so many amazing things came out of our time in bali, and i am looking forward to witnessing how they develop and produce much fruit in the near and distant future. all glory and honor to God!

some pics:

the hotel's backyard...yup, we were roughing it!
children from a nearby orphanage came and performed traditional balinese dance and music for us...
our conference meeting room where we had our daily sessions...
our last night, our team went to this beach lined with restaurants...had candlelit dinner with our toes in the sand.