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Better than the Beach

As many teachers can testify, it’s sometimes difficult to fill the six-week break in summer or justify lying on a beach doing nothing for the duration!

So, for summer 2007, I felt it was time to do something completely different and was utterly humbled and amazed at what the Lord showed me during my time in East Asia.

To cut a (very) long story short, I found myself nervously boarding a plane to Jakarta on 2 July, accompanied by five other ‘intrepid explorers’. We were part of an OMF short-term team, sent to Indonesia to assist an already established work in Kalimantan and meet the OMFers working long-term there.

Somehow I managed to become the ‘team leader’ of our merry little band and was astounded by the way the Lord used this unexpected position to give me strength and patience – a necessity as I was the only Scot in the group (the other five from south of the border undoubtedly felt the same toward me!).

As soon as we arrived we were assaulted by a myriad of sights, sounds and smells that took days to get used to: seeing a whole family riding the same moped isn’t something that sits easily with anyone who’s heard the term ‘health and safety’. It also took quite a while to adjust to the heat and humidity.

But, as we hadn’t come for a holiday, we had to quickly get our bearings and settle into our work, which was to teach English to first year students who were studying to be pastors. (Although Indonesia has the highest population of Muslims in the world, it is not a Muslim state and freedom of religion remains part of the country’s constitution.)

All the students came from Christian families and their passion for the gospel was heartening. The graduates we met were eager to talk about Jesus at any opportunity God provided and I began to reflect on how little I did this in comparison back home, where proselytising isn’t discouraged.

As well as teaching English – something we all found challenging – we had many opportunities to witness. Some of the students, in keeping with the Indonesian tradition of following the religion of one’s parents, assumed they were Christians simply because their parents were, and we urged them to make a personal commitment to Christ.

We also tried to explain that following God affects every aspect of our lives and that the animistic traditions of their ancestors were not compatible with biblical Christianity.

Highlights of the trip included being present at the ordination of 18 pastors who had completed their training, and witnessing the dedication of a newly built church in a small rural village.

We also met ‘Pastor Tom’, a 25-year-old in charge of a number of rural ‘parishes’. He is a shining example of someone who relies totally on God for his strength, and his passion and joy were contagious. Contrary to some of our preconceptions, God is moving powerfully in Indonesia.

We returned home changed by our month in the beautiful and vibrant country of Indonesia. Despite the poverty of the people we met, we experienced a kindness and generosity we’d never come across before.

It’s almost a cliché to say that, despite the poverty and the dominance of the majority religion, Indonesia remains a place where Christianity is thriving. It certainly put some aspects of the greedy, materialistic West to shame.

Joining a short-term team is something I’d recommend everyone to do – whatever your age. It’ll open your eyes, enlarge your heart and expand your horizons.

Please join us in praying for God’s Church in Indonesia and for everyone working tirelessly to further the gospel there. Pray too for the West. When I returned home I found parts of my own country palpably darker than the cities and jungles of Kalimantan.

Short-term worker, Indonesia