After the worst night sleep I have had in ages, we woke to our room barely cool enough to manage. Last night when we switched rooms into one with a view the AC hadn't been turned on, we assumed once it got going it would cool down. Oh my heavens it didn't. The AC must not have been working well or it was just too hot and muggy out to be effective. I took a shower and layed down wet into bed and that helped but both Sam and I woke up at midnight dieing of heat. I pulled off the canopy and flipped us around so the ceiling fan would blow down into our faces. It helped enough to make it through the night but my heavens, AC I am convinced after the internet is the greatest invention!
We enjoyed breakfast on the beach. The hotel prides itself on wherever you want to eat your meal on property they will do it. Tempted to have tried breakfast in the pool :) Our driver took us to where the LDS Church was supposedly meeting, about 30 mins away in a hotel conference room. When we got there no one was there. We started wondering if we were in the right place. About 5 minutes before the starting time a man showed up with a rolling suitcase. It was the Branch President and he had hymnals and sacrament trays and cups,... Sam helped set up the Sacrament and I offered to help in anyway I could. He asked if I would give the opening prayer and a talk. Well, like I have mentioned before, we are a church of active members and that is a verb. We have no paid clergy so each member contributes to the church and honestly we are happy to pitch in.
The Branch, the name for a small group of LDS Members, consisted of 9 adults today and 3 children. All but one were Indonesian born. After I said the prayer, Sam passed the Sacrament and due to technology we were able to sing hymns accompanied by the LDS App on the President's phone which played the music. I spoke about how the Lord is aware of each one of us, no matter where we are or who we are. As we live the commandments and communicate with God and his Son Jesus Christ through prayer we are promised to be supported in all that we stand in need of. That support usually comes through the hands of others and others listening and responding to promptings. I testified of the truth that as we are obedient we can receive blessings and as we are strictly obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ we can experience miracles.
During Sunday School we all participated and Sam was asked a lot of questions and was great about responding. We felt that we had tried our best to support their branch and we gained a lot from our experience and the lessons taught.
This afternoon we took pedal bikes from the hotel and rode over to Deus, a restaurant recommended by our friend Diane that had lived in Bali. It was so so delicious!! Thank you Diane. We then rode bikes to a popular surf beach and there is such an ex-pat surf culture here it is really amazing. Not sure where everyone is from, but lots of surfers here! After purchasing a few necklaces from a woman who was making them on the side of the road next to Echo Beach we made our way back to the hotel with lightening striking behind us. When we got to the hotel we were so hot and jumped straightway into the pool- seemed quicker than a shower. We then accepted the complementary welcome massage. Sam had his first massage and loved it. It was so relaxing and the storm seemed to break the heat. Following we went back to the room and Sam got caught up on his blogs.
In the evening we walked the beach. It was packed! There were hundreds of people on the beach playing in the water, playing soccer, all kinds of street vendors selling food on the beach and then almost like carnival rides set up at one part where a big river was feeding into the ocean and tons of kids were playing in the stream before it leads into the ocean. It was almost like a city pool with kids just wading in the river. There were horses galloping down the beach and tons of surfers out too. It was really entertaining watching all the families out, it being Sunday and the only day that kids don't have school- they go 6 days a week.
We enjoyed the sunset sitting on the beach outside Hotel Tugu and then asked for dinner on the beach. What a perfect night watching a spectacular sunset while sitting on beach chairs and eating dinner. It was a bit of heaven and the heat had gone done dramatically. As we made our way to our room, our room was thankfully cool and we enjoyed watching a film in our room before bed. Grateful to have Sam with me. He is such a pleasant traveling companion and as we waited for dinner tonight we played backgammon and cards on the beach. It is just so nice to enjoy his company while taking in the painted skies, as the sunset was glowing orange tonight.
We enjoyed breakfast on the beach. The hotel prides itself on wherever you want to eat your meal on property they will do it. Tempted to have tried breakfast in the pool :) Our driver took us to where the LDS Church was supposedly meeting, about 30 mins away in a hotel conference room. When we got there no one was there. We started wondering if we were in the right place. About 5 minutes before the starting time a man showed up with a rolling suitcase. It was the Branch President and he had hymnals and sacrament trays and cups,... Sam helped set up the Sacrament and I offered to help in anyway I could. He asked if I would give the opening prayer and a talk. Well, like I have mentioned before, we are a church of active members and that is a verb. We have no paid clergy so each member contributes to the church and honestly we are happy to pitch in.
The Branch, the name for a small group of LDS Members, consisted of 9 adults today and 3 children. All but one were Indonesian born. After I said the prayer, Sam passed the Sacrament and due to technology we were able to sing hymns accompanied by the LDS App on the President's phone which played the music. I spoke about how the Lord is aware of each one of us, no matter where we are or who we are. As we live the commandments and communicate with God and his Son Jesus Christ through prayer we are promised to be supported in all that we stand in need of. That support usually comes through the hands of others and others listening and responding to promptings. I testified of the truth that as we are obedient we can receive blessings and as we are strictly obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ we can experience miracles.
During Sunday School we all participated and Sam was asked a lot of questions and was great about responding. We felt that we had tried our best to support their branch and we gained a lot from our experience and the lessons taught.
This afternoon we took pedal bikes from the hotel and rode over to Deus, a restaurant recommended by our friend Diane that had lived in Bali. It was so so delicious!! Thank you Diane. We then rode bikes to a popular surf beach and there is such an ex-pat surf culture here it is really amazing. Not sure where everyone is from, but lots of surfers here! After purchasing a few necklaces from a woman who was making them on the side of the road next to Echo Beach we made our way back to the hotel with lightening striking behind us. When we got to the hotel we were so hot and jumped straightway into the pool- seemed quicker than a shower. We then accepted the complementary welcome massage. Sam had his first massage and loved it. It was so relaxing and the storm seemed to break the heat. Following we went back to the room and Sam got caught up on his blogs.
In the evening we walked the beach. It was packed! There were hundreds of people on the beach playing in the water, playing soccer, all kinds of street vendors selling food on the beach and then almost like carnival rides set up at one part where a big river was feeding into the ocean and tons of kids were playing in the stream before it leads into the ocean. It was almost like a city pool with kids just wading in the river. There were horses galloping down the beach and tons of surfers out too. It was really entertaining watching all the families out, it being Sunday and the only day that kids don't have school- they go 6 days a week.
We enjoyed the sunset sitting on the beach outside Hotel Tugu and then asked for dinner on the beach. What a perfect night watching a spectacular sunset while sitting on beach chairs and eating dinner. It was a bit of heaven and the heat had gone done dramatically. As we made our way to our room, our room was thankfully cool and we enjoyed watching a film in our room before bed. Grateful to have Sam with me. He is such a pleasant traveling companion and as we waited for dinner tonight we played backgammon and cards on the beach. It is just so nice to enjoy his company while taking in the painted skies, as the sunset was glowing orange tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment