Ministry Journey in Bali – Testimony and Thanksgiving (English version)
Juni 2025,
This ministry began in 2016, when God led me to Bali. There we met a married couple from the Netherlands who just started a small ministry in the villages and slum area.
Having previously served in Manado, we believed this island was a new field entrusted by the Lord to be reached with His love.
2016–2019
For several years, we ministered together with this Dutch couple. We built relationships, sowed seeds of faith, and served hand-in-hand until around 2019. When the pandemic hit, the Dutch couple returned to their country. Before departing, they entrusted the ministry they had pioneered to me. From then on, I continued serving alone, leaning fully on God’s grace.
2020-2024
I settled in Denpasar and began free English classes in a slum area near Benoa Port. There, the seeds of love for children started to grow. With encouragement from a friend, I began visiting two remote villages every six weeks—despite the exhausting 6–7 hour round trip and knowing only two families at first.
In the middle of the pandemic’s challenges, children started approaching me during each visit. A longing arose to teach them English—and praise God, they welcomed it joyfully. That year marked the expansion of the ministry. Two wonderful staff members joined, and together we taught in the two villages.
The ministry blossomed into four active locations:
• Pesanggaran in Denpasar, near Benoa Port
• Amed in East Bali, 90 km east of Denpasar
• Sembiran in North Bali, 90km north of Denpasar
• Bugbug in East Bali, 59 km to East
Around 100 children became actively involved, with another location in preparation. Spiritual fruit began to emerge:
- In Amed, an old sick man asked, “Who is Jesus?”—a sign they had never heard the Gospel before.
- In Sembiran, three families came to believe, including a family and one with dreams of meeting Jesus twice.
- In Bugbug, which had previously been closed off, the community opened up and invited us in. We have to rent the car garage to be able to get a space to run the English class.
Behind this growth, there was deep sorrow. Our beloved pastor—a native Balinese with a heart for missions to his own people—was called home to the Lord due to COVID-19. His loss left us not only without a leader, but without spiritual covering.
The church could no longer support us. We felt like spiritual orphans, serving without shelter. We continued to pray earnestly, asking God to send workers into a field that was clearly ripe.
Now we already have established an mission organization on our own to legally cover the ministry we do here.
And God answered.
When we heard from our COOS pastor, who is a humble man of God that we personally met for the first time in Manado back in 1995, that the COOS team would be coming to support our ministry, our hearts rejoiced. They didn’t come only with hands ready to work, but with hearts full of mission.
Most of all, the prayer support from the COOS team truly strengthened us. Their presence made us feel adopted again into the body of Christ—we are no longer alone.
Last week, when the COOS team visited, we witnessed seven children tangibly touched by the love of the Lord Jesus. That moment shook our hearts and confirmed that this ministry belongs to God—and He continues to move.
From a small longing in 2016, through seasons of grief and struggling, to the arrival of new hands that carry the vision forward—we’ve witnessed that God’s love never stops.
Thank you, COOS. Thank you, Lord. Out of loss, God gave birth to new hope.
