Day One (late post): Christmas Distribution under a Tol Bridge.

No, we have not fallen off of the planet. Since mom and dad have arrived we've been going non-stop though. The days are full and passing quickly. I have posted one blog since they first arrived, full of photos, but our connection was weak and I lost my 1/2 hour of typing and uploading. Baah!!!

Within less than 24 hours of being together, mom, Abby and I accompanied a few other Lippo Ladies on a ministry trip where we delivered gifts (purchased and arranged by Lippo Ladies) to children and babies who live under or near one of Jakarta's tol bridges. Living Faith church has a regular ministry to this area and they were gracious to let us come along for the experience. Of course mom, not knowing a stitch of Bahasa Indonesia, and quite honestly butchers the language when she tries (that is written with permission), somehow uses body language and simple english words to get across what she's trying to say. Somehow people understand.

There were so many things to see. Some of them were shocking, like this bed crammed up next to a pillar and in a small ravine under the tol bridge. This is someone's house... If you look at the background of the guitar photo you'll see the the garbage pile...for some reason it didn't smell nearly as bad as I'd expected, especially in the heat. Some of the things were wonderful, such as the laughter of these ladies who came to hear the Christmas story with their children and grandchildren. At one point mom and I ended up talking to a group of young men nearby to where the church and ladies were celebrating Christmas with the moms and children. Sometimes I find that young guys get a little offended if we take their photos, but these ones were asking and were quite happy to sit and chat with us. While we sat and got to know them with our limited language skills, Abby helped hand out the backpacks. We missed out on that but I didn't mind. I think we were all where we were supposed to be that day.

One of my favourite photos of the whole event is this one, where a little girl just received her backpack filled with school supplies, a sleeping mat (to keep her off the dirt and mud at night), goodies and some water.

Later that evening we decided to not head to Jakarta for church since 1/2 the family had been to the big city earlier that day. Instead we hung out at home and went to bed early.

Thanks for reading.