Hallo! Nama saya Kaitlynn. I’m completely healed from the illness I had last Friday! Terima kasih for all your prayers concerning me! I experienced God’s surpassing peace through it all. This week we got to help with school, attend multiple Bible studies, organize a Health Clinic, and attend some cultural events! Through these activities God pulled back the “veil” that was hindering my ability to see the injustices and corruption around me.
Teaching
We assist the teachers for their morning and afternoon classes. The school is made up of 95% Muslim teachers and students. At the beginning and end of each class, they say a Muslim prayer. I graded math assignments and helped children learn to pronounce and write the alphabet (Indonesian and English use the same alphabet). The students and teachers do not know English, so I’ve made an effort to learn multiple phrases in Indonesian so I can communicate with them. I’ve realized that our ministry will be most effective with the teachers. The children’s mothers sit at the entrance to the school for hours until class is over. Loving and caring for the mothers and children is equally important.
Bible Studies
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Health Clinic
One day our team went with Dessi and several doctors to a different part of town. Again we walked turning right and then left down a narrow maze of a street. The women there greeted us, then we set up tables and chairs, and an assembly line for people to first sign in, get their vitals checked by a nurse, then be diagnosed by a doctor, and then receive medicine.
My job was to package medicine for people to pick up when their name was called. At the beginning, the woman I was partnering with set several pieces of paper in front of me and scissors, then showed me how to cut them into little squares. She left me to do that as our assembly line was in motion, and friends, I felt like an idiot. Haha! People were showing up with all kinds of ailments, and I’m just over here cutting little squares of paper! Once I had a pile accumulating, the woman motioned for me to stop and took a square of paper and started writing medicine instructions for a patient on it. I packed the medicine and put the instructions inside. Oooooooooh! I was furthering the Kingdom by cutting up squares of paper.
The role gave me an opportunity to observe the people who were at first shyly then enthusiastically pouring through the doors. I noticed when one woman’s name was called to see the doctor, she got up so excitedly that she knocked over her chair and the one beside it! I got to hand many grateful, hopeful, desperate, and sorrowful brown eyes their cure. It was incredibly humbling, my heart could have just burst with the love I felt God had for them. But as I observed those sitting in the waiting chairs too, I felt a deep sadness. Each of them so precious, not forgotten, waiting to be seen. I just wanted to jump up and hug all of them and tell them how beautiful they were. Greasy hair, smelly clothes, sores, unkept nails, limping, but the most stunning smiles. Aaaaaah, I’m tearing up again! We got to help around 50 people that morning!
Cultural Events
Our team got to attend a Candle Light Christmas Eve Service—whaaaaaatttt??—because the Christians here wanted to celebrate Christmas instead of the huge Chinese New Year celebration that the rest of their culture was celebrating last weekend. They wore their traditional clothing, did a traditional dance to welcome the presence of God, and held hands during several worship songs. After the service, we got in line for the potluck meal. My teammate Shauny loves to dance to music, so when some upbeat traditional music came on, one of the older women there noticed her dancing and pulled her out to dance a traditional dance with her! It wasn’t long before someone was grabbing my hand too, and everyone on my team was dancing in a circle with the older women!
On Sunday morning we attended a church service, and I got to help lead a song for worship! Their worship time was so upbeat and celebratory! Their lead singers were dancing and their bright smiles had the whole world smiling back at them! Though I never understand what’s being said during Bible Study or sermons, I do study the passage for myself, I pray, and I observe.
What’s HIDDEN?
If you read my previous blog post, you know that our introduction to the Indonesia people and culture was very romantic. Lots of smiling and generosity. But this week God opened my eyes to the realities of what’s hidden behind those smiles and the loud colorful stores that line the streets.
One day, during our break for lunch, we bought picnic items and settled inside a nicely manicured park. During our meal, we were reflecting and joking around, when the Muslim call to prayer began to be broadcasted over the loud speakers (which can be heard anywhere in the city). I was so distracted and unsettled by it, as my teammates continued to chat and eat. I became really fidgety and looked across to see my friend Morgan also clearly distracted. So I started praying. I didn’t feel fear. I felt an overwhelming sadness listening to the cry of prayers, the human voices (many praying at once) that wailed was so sincere and devoted. The sky slowly darkened, and it started to rain so we had to leave. As we walked back to the school, I couldn’t help but imagine the rain as God’s tears.
One evening as I was walking down the stairs, carrying all my toiletries to take a bucket shower, I stopped to visit with our host, Dessi. One of the stories she told me, was about a Muslim woman she had prayed for that day, and whom had revealed that her husband had been beating her for years. I asked Dessi if that was common among Indonesian marriages, and she said yes. It clicked in my mind that the mothers who sit for hours downstairs on the floor while their children are in class—the women with beautifully patterned hijabs and dresses, gentle smiles, always wearing lipstick and asking for a picture with me—may go home with their children to be beaten… perhaps every night. It was a shocking realization, but true. Their clothing covers their entire body except their face and hands.
Also, though the local people are usually kind and smile and wave at us, this week the younger men started being harassing since they got used to our group of women walking the same path everyday. It opened my eyes to how women are viewed here. We also were driving back from the Christmas Eve Service when we passed through a Red Light district, and saw prostitutes waiting below each street light. It’s one thing to hear about it, a totally other experience to see these situations. We pass by a lot of karaoke bars, and many of those women work there. Nothing makes me more angry seeing the destitute lifestyle these girls are living.
I’m so tremendously thankful to be a part of furthering God’s Kingdom here in Indonesia, and keep in mind each day that our time here is brief. The teachers interest in us is such a blessing, and I’ve loved getting to know them and their families as well as our other many new friends (Dessi, the guys who work at the local coffee shop, the lady who works at the laundry facility, the janitor who always smiles at me in the morning, etc). I’ll always feel grief when I hear the prayer call five times a day–their devotion is very impressive–but I know God passionately and actively desires to reveal Himself to them as the one true LORD.
Prayer Requests:
- That the women and children we interact with would feel so seen and loved, and notice that it’s different.
- For unity and grace among our team.
- That the teachers would feel supported and encouraged in their role and through friendship.
- That the local Christians would be encouraged and strengthened in their fellowship and faith by our team’s presence.
- That during our Bible study, God would nudge the hearts of those who don’t know Him to seek Him and reveal their minds to “more.”
It makes my day to hear from each of you! Ask ALL the questions! 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!
