Hey everyone! I cannot entirely express how thankful I am for each and every one of your prayers concerning the ministry my team is doing here—you say a prayer from your home and breakthroughs happen here in Indonesia! This past week we got to help with school, visit a different church and youth group, meet an expected visitor, spend a weekend with a Muslim family, and explore a waterfall and tea farm. The week was full of surprises which I’m still processing, and writing this blog has helped me come to the conclusion that after several weeks serving in Indonesia, I and the people are in need of some hope and renewal to flood our hearts.
TEACHING
Previously it was difficult to get to know the students since we only see them during class and they don’t speak English. But the day that you all received my blog post and prayed, we ended up having 15 minutes to chat at the end of class! A student asked what my goals in life were! Woah!! I was able to share that I wanted to love God and know God’s love with my whole heart, to have quality relationships, and to use my gifts to help those in need. She said she wanted to be a doctor because there was much room for improving the healthcare here.
Later with a class of boys, I asked them the same question and they all said they wanted to be police officers. They explained that their town didn’t have police, if it was an emergency they would come from a different town. They each wanted to be a police officer for different reasons, because they had been robbed or were terrified of being kidnapped. Apparently people are kidnapping children to sell their organs on the black market here. Absolutely INHUMANE. My stomach flips at the thought. These young boys want to see justice upheld in their town and protect others so they don’t need to live in fear. I admire these 7 year olds! I can only imagine what this town will look like in 10 years when this group of young men step up and right the wrongs!
There was also a Muslim teacher whom is pregnant, who allowed us to pray for her baby as she was leaving for maternity leave! She had a smooth delivery two days later, and it ministered to the other Muslim teachers who observed the prayer, because one woman opened up to Dessi about being abused by her husband and being ready to get help. Praise God that He is bridging the gap between the language barrier and our beliefs!
BIBLE STUDIES
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VISITING A YOUTH GROUP
We got to visit a local youth group, line dance and play some games with them, share our story of how we encountered and decided to follow Jesus, and praise God through some worship songs together! Afterwards they fed us chicken soup and traditional snacks. I spent most of my time talking to one girl, a junior in high school, named Ena. I asked lots of questions. She said she had many Muslim friends, but that not all Muslims were strong in their faith. A lot of them are just Muslim because that’s the right “ID” to have. She also informed me that Muslims attend Mosque on Sunday morning, like Christians attend church, but that Muslims don’t actually read the Qua’ran themselves. WHAT!? It’s true. The Qua’ran is written in Arabic and a verse in it says that it should not be translated to any other language (else there would be human error). So the imam (pastor) reads it to them, so a lot of Muslims don’t even know what’s in the Qua’ran. It made me think about how a lot of Christians have probably not read through the entire Bible. It sounds ridiculous! I’m reading the Bible cover to cover for the 3rd time this year. Ena said that when some Muslim’s actually read the Qu’ran and the Bible, they convert, realizing the truth about Jesus. It made me realize just how close many Muslim people may be to accepting Jesus if someone only took the time to walk them through what the Qu’ran says versus what the Bible says. They are such a devoted, peaceful, and caring hearted people.
MEETING THE CREATOR
Another special event from this past week, was getting to meet the man who created our route for the World Race. We found out the day of that he was meeting us for supper, and the restaurant was a rainforest indoors (literally bats and all)! His name is Patrick, and he had led a theology session for us at training camp and launch, but I had no idea he had organized the countries/hosts/ministry we’d be doing. It was surreal to sit across from him, and be asked, “So how did you like …? I especially thought you’d like it. And what about …? Did you have a hard time with …? I thought you would, but I knew it’d expand your perspective and help you grow closer as a team.” Guys! During that supper meeting, I couldn’t help but relate the conversation to what it’d be like to have a conversation with God someday. God planned out our life route: some moments to delight us and others to expand our perspective and draw us closer to Him. “Did you enjoy…??,” He’d ask. “I knew that would mean so much to you. I planned it just to see you smile!” What if more of our conversations with God were like this? Giving Him credit and praise for every detail.
ADVENTURES
We also visited a tea farm in a nearby town. When I saw the countless rows of tea for the first time, it took my breath away. I gasped, and blinked my eyes as I stared out the window—IT WAS UNREAL! The bright green leaves glowed in the sun, and the rows continued for miles. Ah. Besides admiring the tea, we also walked along the lake that was on the property where local fishermen were fishing on little rafts. When one had docked, Malysa, Stephanie, and I asked to climb aboard. They chuckled and waved for us to board! We didn’t go out onto the water, but we watched them throw out their nets. They have so much patience! If they didn’t catch anything, they’d just move to another spot and try again.
A few days after that, Lauren, Shauny, Raquel, and I, took the Indonesian equivalent of “Uber” to a nearby waterfall. I wanted to get as close to it as possible! We walked flights and flights of stairs down to the bottom, and then there were various faint paths in the grass or across rocks to get closer to the waterfall. I saw the wind moving the vegetation around the waterfall like Kansas wheat in the wind. The other women stopped to rest and visit, but I wanted to know what that wind felt like. So. I turned on my GoPro, and followed the faint path, until I got to a line of slick rocks that could lead me directly in front of the waterfall. The wind started to blow my hair back and sprinkles of water hit my glasses. I was thrilled. The line of rocks gave way to a big gap from the next rock to the next. I examined the distance, but turning back didn’t cross my mind. I jumped, both hands reaching out in front of me to cling to the next rock, my foot slipped when I landed but my hands clung tightly to that rock. I turned to see the waterfall right in front me. Breathtakingly powerful. Am I crazy or what? Haha. My heart is pounding hard reliving it as I write it! I enjoyed every second of sitting on that rock, singing the worship song “So Will I” in my mind. The footage I took of this will be in the summary video I post next week. : )
MY THOUGHTS
Today I was tempted to feel discouraged that our time is almost over here. I was reflecting on every missed opportunity and mistake I made this month. Realizing that the conversations I had and the help I provided wasn’t enough. Because I realized just how deep the roots of Islam are in this culture and in the friends I’ve made… and realized that planting a revival here could take the devotion of a Christian a lifetime to see any fruit. We had to exercise extreme caution in sharing our faith this month… to the point it felt like “not sharing” to me (it’s difficult to not compare my other missions trips to this one).
But then I listened to a song from my favorite Netflix series, “Once Upon a Time.” It’s the song that plays when the spell breaks, and the clarity rushes through the town, and the characters all remember who they were before the spell. That metaphor gave me hope today, as it mirrors our future. That maybe today and tomorrow this community doesn’t accept the truth about Jesus and themselves, but I don’t have to feel discouraged because that’s not the end of the story. Someday Jesus’s true identity will be revealed, and every knee will bow. God will make all things right. I don’t need to wonder if what we did this month mattered, because anything done with and for Jesus absolutely DOES MATTER. I am not God, and have to remember that He can do more in one day than I could do in a lifetime. Remembering His promise to return, renewed my mind today as I was focusing too much on the present and my limits.
Another World Race team is coming to this exact ministry as soon as we leave. Furthering the Kingdom isn’t always knocking on peoples doors and sharing the Gospel, or developing a really deep friendship and sharing my testimony. Sometimes it’s just living life with Jesus and being available to serve or counsel when I’m needed, and then moving on. Just being one solid witness that the Gospel does have the power to transform us, among a long line of people who are searching for what endures in life. That’s what I learned today.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Wednesday during lunch (late Tuesday evening for you) we will host a women’s event, with activities and a brief message to help the women encounter God and know they are loved.
- On Saturday (Friday evening for you), my squad and I will fly to Malaysia!
- That the Christians would be encouraged to not stop loving and sharing their faith with their neighbors.
- Goodbyes are hard. I want to leave everyone with life-giving words and express my gratitude for our hosts outstanding care of us!
It makes my day to hear from each of you! Ask ALL the questions–seriously, you can ask anything and if the answer needs to be secretive, I’ll ask to email you a response! There are so many stories and areas of being on the World Race that I had to leave out due to the simplicity of a single post. Comment below to let me know that you’re joining me in prayer! Sampai jumpa lagi!
