Scavenger Hunt

This Saturday one of our staff (Jennie) put on a staff scavenger hunt in Bandung (the major city that we ive by).  Now you have to understand that we basically live in the suburb of Bandung and mostly only go into town on Sundays for church.  Our knowledge of the ins and outs of Bandung is pretty wimpy, especially the new staff.  So, in order to get us out of our comfort zone, have a little fun, and create some great memories we find ourselves on a city-wide scavenger hunt.

Here are the rules:
1. Only ride public transportation (angkot or bus).
2. Take a picture as proof of everything you do.

Here are some things on our list to accomplish.
1. Find a man named "Agus."
2. Eat snake or frog.
3. Eat durian. (A fruit that smells and tastes like dirty socks)
4. Buy food for a beggar.

Kelly, me, Rachel, Su Bin

5. Dance Gangnam style with a group of people.
6. Take a picture with a monkey.
7. Drive a becok (bicycle carriage).
8. Teach little kids Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
9. Help fix a tire.
10. Climb a tree.
11. Wear a jilbab (head covering).
12. Hold a baby.

My team consisted of me, my roommate Rachel, and two high school students from our school. We had no idea where we were going or what we were doing, but boy did we have a blast!

During our first angkot ride of the day, we sat next to a lady with a baby.  If you could only see how big our eyes got as she crawled into the angkot with her child.  Disappointingly, the baby saw right through us and did not cooperate with our efforts.  Mission #1-FAIL.

We did, however, score our first point by driving beceks, or bicycle carriages.  There happened to be three becoks ready to be driven by some rookies, sitting in front of an open parking lot.  The drivers were thoroughly entertained by our driving skills and thankful we did not crash their vehicles.  We tipped them and then asked if they would like to join us in a casual dance of Gangnum Style!  They pleasantly obliged.  Two tasks complete!

Our progress heightened from here.  We found a street musician, with which we sang a classic Indonesian tune: Topi Saya Bundar  (also known as My Hat is Round).   We tried on head coverings,  found a centrally located mosk, and even played with bubbles!  The most challenging task came when we had to eat with our hands!  What was our choice of cuisine?  None other then Wendy's!  Check! We searched endlessly to find a coffee shop, took a picture of a metal statue, and ate the dreaded DURIAN!  Su Bin barely got it down, but she did it!  Another task marked off the list.


Probably my favorite memory from the day came from teaching two little girls how to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  They were so precious.  After teaching them to sing they wanted to try on my sunglasses.  Their smiles were beautiful!

On the way home, we stopped to mark off one more task: a picture with a monkey.  Having no fear of monkeys, I stepped up near the little boy holding the monkey on a leash.  To my surprise and everyone else's the monkey leaped up on my side and gave me a nasty snarl.  The little boy just stood there quietly as if nothing had happened.  I couldn't even tell you how or why that monkey finally got down but eventually he did.  Never doing that again.  Check.

The attack monkey!

Recovering from our panic, and racing against the clock, we returned to the meet point with a minute to spare.  For the next two hours we laughed and gasped as we swapped stories and pictures with the other groups.  The scores were added up and the winners were announced.  My team did not win, but it was really great to explore and have such great experiences with the girls.

Indonesia is beautiful and the people are gems.  Their smiles and willingness to help is endless.  Unfortunately, as you and I know, a happy people does not mean a saved people.  Please be praying for the hearts of this people group.  Their devotion to their religion and the lie that we are serving the same god makes it hard to minister to them.  Please pray for this nation.