BALI, Indonesia - I was fortunate this summer to participate in the first Orthodox Christian mission trip to Bali, through the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. After a three-day training session at OCMC headquarters in St. Augustine, I arrived in Bali after 25 hours of flying with four other team members. I could instantly tell it was a much simpler life. I didn’t know what to expect for my first time to Southeast Asia, but I was excited to meet new people and spread the Christian faith. Since I had already traveled to 26 countries, I didn’t have a problem adjusting to a new environment.
Indonesia is a beautiful country full of rice fields, beautiful beaches, and tourists. Their main food staple is rice, which they have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (With an area of about 2,240 square miles (more than twice the size of Rhode Island) and a population of some 4.2 million (nearly that of Kentucky), the island is home to most of Indonesia’s Hindu minority). Six religions and Christian branches are officially recognized in Indonesia: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism and Protestantism. (About 83.5 percent are Balinese Hindus, followed by 13.4 percent Muslim, Christianity at 2.5 percent, and Buddhism at 0.5 percent). Islam’s strength and influence in numbers and power allow it to exert itself on the religious scene, giving itself preferential treatment and limiting Christian activities and public presence.
The Orthodox community in Bali is much smaller than I expected. There are two churches on the entire island but only one priest. Both are under the name All Saints Orthodox Community. Fr. Stephanos Boik lives in Singaraja, where the main (bigger) church is located. Singaraja is on the northern tip of Bali, three hours north of Kuta, the tourist center of Bali, where the other church is located. This community has fewer than 20 people who attend services in an office room at a hotel once a month. In Singaraja, the Orthodox community is comprised of about 40 people. Since the Orthodox community is much larger in Singaraja, that’s where daily Divine Liturgy takes place. They have Liturgy three times a day, every day. The community in Kuta has Divine Liturgy once a month, because the drive is very long for Fr. Stephanos. The Orthodox Balinese community prays to find another priest soon to help out, especially because Fr. Stephanos is getting older.
They also did a lot of things differently than our church, like females had to be covered in long skirts, long sleeves, and a scarf around their heads. I asked them why and they told me that they need to because that’s how the Virgin Mary looks and they need to be respectful. I didn’t bring enough long clothing so I had to borrow from someone. Also they had females on one side and males on the other side. They also were singing the entire time during the liturgy as a group in Balinese.
Dangerous situation
One problem that they face is that most of the island is comprised of people with different religious values so it is almost dangerous to become an Orthodox priest in Bali. It is possible that the people of other religions may perform hateful actions towards them. There have been incidents of fires set and other hate crimes, which make it dangerous to live. On a day-to-day basis during my mission trip, we woke up and went to morning prayer at 8 a.m. Immediately after we ate a nice full breakfast including rice, eggs, meat, fish, vegetables, which was freshly prepared by Presvytera. She is a very sweet kind lady. After breakfast we had a morning lesson. Since I am only 21 years old I preferred to work with the youth group, which was about 15 people. I was in charge of the youth to bond with them and teach them about prayer and tell them stories about my faith. I was also their English teacher. We had English lessons every day. We also did lessons on the Bible (how to read it, when to read it, why it’s good to read), praying (how to pray, different prayers, meanings of prayers), and their favorite lesson, which was English. Thankfully, we had two English translators so it was easy to communicate.
After the morning lesson we had an afternoon Liturgy which was followed by lunch, then nap time and free time. Later on in the day we had another lesson followed by Evening Mass. We ended every night with a delicious family dinner. In my free time I went for jogs every evening. I also went shopping one day at a local market and visited an amazing waterfall. In their free time they sing and play acoustic guitar. They told me they wish to play soccer but they don’t have a soccer ball.
A small church
The church in Singaraja is small but very beautiful because they are currently working on new iconography. The church is connected to Fr. Stephanos’ home and his orphanage. He and his Presvytera are very beautiful, kind hearted people, who teach their family in a very loving yet disciplined way.
I had the chance to meet so many amazing people in Bali which I am very grateful for. I met one older lady who was in her 70’s and has a very strong faith in God. When I met her I immediately thought she was the happiest looking person and I was intrigued to get to know her better. She told me that for the last few years she had been extremely ill, and close to dying. One day she was on the street and she saw a homeless lady with a baby. This homeless lady could not provide food or a life for her baby so she asked the elderly lady to please take the baby to provide her with a life she deserves. The elderly lady then took the baby and cared for her, fed her, and loved her unconditionally. As the baby grew she became healthier and she is no longer suffering from malnutrition.
The baby was not the only one who was healed. Ever since the elderly lady took the baby she slowly began to feel less sick and healthier. Today the baby girl is 5 years old, healthy and happy, and the elderly lady is also older and she has never felt healthier in her life. The two of them attend Liturgy three times a day and they love each other so much; they gave each other life. Every time I looked at them they both had smiles from ear to ear, and they play and have fun together all day long. The elderly lady told me she prays to God every day for what he has done for her and for giving her a daughter. She also said that since she was blessed with her daughter, she never felt sick again. This story will stay with me forever.
There is one man from Greece in Bali. I don’t remember much about him. His name is Vangeli and is married to an Indonesian woman. He lived in Athens and now owns a hotel called Restu Bali in Kuta. He also owns another one called Kalimera in Denpasar.
I think the community enjoyed our visiting because we taught them a lot about Orthodoxy and the Orthodox way of living but I also learned a lot from them. They treated me as if I was part of their family and it made me feel so loved and comfortable. The people in this community don’t have much money or things like iphones that we rely on in America. What makes them strong and happy is their family and close community, and their relationship and love for God. They pray every day and they are the happiest kindest people that I have ever met. I am extremely blessed and grateful that I was able to embark on my Orthodox mission trip to Bali.
Isabelle is a May graduate of the University of Miami (Fla.) with a degree in psychology and minors in marketing and public health. She was part of a four-person team sent to Indonesia June 30-July 11. Isabelle is a member of St. Demetrios Church in Merrick, N.Y., where her mother, Theoni, is parish council president.