Baliem Ballet
One Girl’s Quest for the Rest of the Story
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Baliem Ballet
One Girl’s Quest for the Rest of the Story
Preface
The Baliem River dances its way through the tropical island of Papua, Indonesia. Its headwaters, high in the mountains—some snow-capped peaks higher than 16,000 feet—are fed by melting snow and artesian springs. Dancing the reel, the Baliem River passes through highland villages of aboriginal peoples speaking many different languages while having similar cultures. Reaching the central high valley area near Wamena, the Baliem tangos through ever-ripening fields of fruits and vegetables and around the city of Wamena, which serves as the government, commercial, and aviation center. The few roads in the high valley extend only a short distance in each direction. Then the Baliem jitterbugs through the deep and rocky gorges, collecting flow from several tributaries, to the flat lowland jungle on the south of Papua. Finally, weaving and turning, it quietly waltzes to the coast. Through the lowland it becomes a highway for boats, barges, and canoes, serving the villages along its banks. The Baliem truly is a river of life for many in Papua.
A ballet tells a story. The Baliem River has thousands, maybe millions, of stories. Here is one.
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About the Book
Born and raised in the jungles of Papua, Indonesia, Deena Fuchida questioned everything. Baliem Ballet is the story of how God provided answers for her most amazing questions.
“Author Dave Scherling, former Oak Hills Christian College student, board member, and staff administrator, creatively weaves together the story of Deena, fictional heroine of Baliem Ballet, with source documents and scriptural interpretation to form an intriguing story that sheds light on God’s sovereignty in the ups and downs of life.”
—Steven Ware, PhD, dean of education, Oak Hills Christian College, Bemidji, Minnesota
“As one who has spent his life researching for evidence that supports the veracity of the Sacred Scriptures, I have pondered the possibility of documentary finds that could shed light on aspects of Scripture that we often wonder about. The Baliem Ballet heroine, Deena, finds a document, though fictitious, which portrays the exciting reasons why we continue.”
—Bob Cornuke, PhD, president of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration (BASE) Institute, author, and speaker, Monument, Colorado
“Baliem Ballet reminds me of our ministry among the Sawi people of southern Papua. The story is fiction, but not farfetched. It describes how one girl, Deena, exemplifies the call God is placing on the native people there. The church today is sending missionaries, not only to other areas of the island, but around the world—trained missionaries who do admirable work.”
— Don Richardson, Author, Missionary/Minister-at-Large (World Team), Conference Speaker
About the Author
Dave Scherling grew up in northern Minnesota and is a retired engineer from Florida DOT Aviation and the US Navy Reserve. He served as a missionary in Brazil and in Indonesia. Dave and his wife, Delores, live in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, enjoying volunteer mission work and their twelve grandchildren.