Andrew in Indo

Settling In

2008-09-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

Selamat Pagi Teman-Temanku di Indonesia!

Saya sudah pulong ke Indiana dan sekarang sudah siap untuk sekola. Hari ini, classes begin.

I am taking:

Classical Political Thought, Economic History of the United States, Public Finance and Government Spending, Health Economics, and the Politics of Genocide.

It will be a busy semester with lots of reading. But I am really excited to start!

Adik RRRRRRRRRRRRia!!!! I forgot to mention your name in my last email to Kak Wen...sorry :P I know what you are thinking... "Andrew, why are you so kind???" :)

It sounds like things are going well in Calang. Congratulations to Esron for the opportunity to lead the project in Setia Bakti! I pray that it goes well for you.

Ronal, my brother, I hear you are still alone out in Lhok Gelumpang. I am there with you in spirit! Maybe you can leave the light on when you go to bed to remind yourself of my time out in Lhok Gelumpang, haha! Say hello to Mamak for me. And if the workers from Java are still there (doing "blasting") tell them I said "apa kabar!"

I would love to hear from the rest of you. I will email you all individually soon.

Jadi Bang Jim! I have a friend here in Bloomington named Jimi. He is Indonesian too. So I can still say 'Jadi Bang Jim!!!!' :) I hope your mom and "HORAS Rooooooooose Marie HORAS" enjoyed those videos!

Pray for me as I begin my semester! I hope to do well in school this year. Also pray for David Strivings. It sounds like he has a mild case of typhoid over there in Nias.

I miss you all and look forward to hearing back from you!!!!

In His Love,
Andrew

Transitioning

2008-08-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay on this one folks :P

Those who know me well are familiar with the struggle that I've had finding direction for my life. My interests range from economic development to writing to ecclesiology (church-y stuff) to music to entrepreneurial ventures...adding to the breadth of my interests my propensity to indecision complicates the situation.

This summer, I hoped, would encompass many of those interests and help provide some direction for life after undergrad. Well, I'm pleased to report it did. And I am eternally grateful to those who made this experience possible; supporters (financial, prayer, emotional, intellectual, and morale), those at FH who organized everything, my home church (Central Christian) and my other home church (ECC).

In Indonesia, in some form or another, I was able to dabble in missions, church life, development, entrepreneurship, writing, leadership, followership :), agriculture, dirt bike driving, jungle trekking...you get the point. So I couldn't have asked for a more fitting opportunity.

What I learned this summer really will be life changing...direction altering...mission focusing....

The unifying factor in all these interests of mine is the Gospel. The direction that God wants me to head is straight towards the cross of Christ (Phil 3:14). His plan for me is the same as His plan for you (Heb 9:12). He plans to, and will, restore our broken souls to glory (2 Pet 1:3-4).

Phillipians speaks volumes to this. Paul opens the letter by sharing how his suffering in prison has "really served to advance the gospel". And at the close of the same chapter he lays it out clear and simple in this line,

"to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (1:21).

In case you tend to favor the left side of your brain...

Life = Christ
Death = Gain

Pretty simple.

The lines that follow flesh out this incredible Truth; "If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose (life or death) I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart (DIE) and be with Christ for that is far better."

Lord willing I will be graduating this December. That's about four and a half months from now. So what's next, Andrew?

For me, it's His glory...my Joy (Psalm 119:111 et al).

As I mentioned in my previous entry I will be transitioning away from this blog. I intend to use this address to keep my friends in Indonesia posted on life in Indiana. Feel free to check it out for those updates.

I also plan to set up a more substantial blog to share my walk in a more personal and more participatory way with those who are interested. If you'd be interested in following along with me there, send an email to andrewhhughes@gmail.com and I will let you know when I get the details ironed out.

Until Then...

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you." Titus 2:11-15

: )

2008-08-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I just wanted to throw up a quick post letting you know that I have arrived in Indiana safe and sound.

I hope to post tomorrow a sort of transitional post...update on what's next for me, how you can hear more about my time in Indo (seriously, we're all friends/family...just give me a call!), and what's next for 'Andrew in Indo'.

In short I intend to transition this blog into a blog to update my brothers and sisters in Indo! I will occasionally post about the goings on here in Indiana and maybe some pictures of people and places that I talked about in Indo.

I am also planning to launch another blog devoted in some way, shape, or form to my personal musings. Once I map that out a little better I will let you know :)

Until then, it's been a blessing and a pleasure.

Check back tomorrow for my 'farewell' post!

His,

Goin' Home

2008-08-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

***Note: This blog is a few days behind...I fly out from Medan in 9 hours :)***

Throughout my time here in Indo, one particular musician has proven a consistent source of encouragement (ask David, he'll tell ya!)

And as I pack my bags (both the 'way too big for just two months away' green duffel bag as well as the emotional baggage I've been unpacking with gusto)to head out, the words of his (Josh Garrels, of course) song "Going Home" have faithfully accompanied the process...

I, I’m going home

she, she’s going home

we, we’re going home

going home

when we die

going home

in the sky

going home

by and by

going home

to live with Christ

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Amen

...It really is a beautiful song.

As I process through the weightier parts of this trip (relationships established and left behind...souls who don't know the hope to which we have been called...the body of Christ...missions...the Gospel) God keeps bringing me back to the simple Truth in the words of this song. My home is in Christ.

The other day I was perusing the blog of a dear friend of mine when I stumbled across a post that had been tucked away in his Archives. He is preparing to move from Indiana to New Jersey to work with a church plant next month and writes about leaving home.

I encourage you to check out the whole post (by clicking the words "a post")...but the hope that it pointed me to was this:

I am leaving Calang tomorrow morning around 7 am (for those who are worrying about my travels, I will fly from Meulaboh to Medan tomorrow, from Medan to Phoenix on Tuesday the 5th and then from Phoenix to Indiana on the 9th...and I'll do my best to keep you posted throughout). I'm going home.

When I get there I suppose there will be a week or so of rejoicing, relaxing, and rejuvenating. I have scores of friends and family to update, Thank You letters to write, presentations to plan and schedule, I have to find housing for this Fall (pray for that!), and then there's all the hustle and bustle of the forthcoming semester.

Before long, however, my restless soul will feel that deep down itch for a new place. Home (Bloomington, Indiana, the US...Earth) will have provided a much needed sanctuary. But the satisfaction fades. There is a place prepared for me in my Father's house to which no worldly wind, no matter how full it fills my sails, can carry me.

The blog post ends with this exhortation:

We must shape our lives around the reality of true hope, our home in Christ. Else we have no hope. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, you too will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4). God is our portion, our heritage. So we die to ourselves and live for Christ. Why New Jersey? I don’t know. :)
But my Father does.

Pray for safe travels. Pray that I don't miss any flights.

Pray that as I head back, get things settled in for my last semester and plan steps for after graduation, I would shape my life around the reality of true hope. My hope and my home in Christ.

Resolved

2008-07-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Today we had farewell party for Yono and me. We were going to head over to Lhok Geulumpang to this sweet beach…but because ‘rainy season’ here is in full swing and it’s overcast again today, we just stuck around the posko. But the rain didn’t stop us from buying nenas (pineapple)! So I was happy : )

After the party was over I sat down to write a little update post for you all.

I have been reading through Ephesians this week. And to supplement the Scriptures I am reading through Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions and a John Piper book that was given to us through FH called Don’t Waste Your Life. Between Piper’s consistent message that “God being glorified and God being enjoyed are not separate categories”, and Edwards’ Resolutions such as his fourth, “Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it…” I have had some edifying food for thought.

And rather than try to summarize all this amazing stuff in one giant disheveled mess of a blog post like I had originally intended...I'm just going to share with you a few more of Edwards' Resolutions.

I hope that they feed your soul like they've fed mine. And I would encourage you to really dive into them. He leaves plenty of room for exploration :)

"BEING sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

12. Resolved, if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

64. Resolved, when I find those “groanings which cannot be uttered" [Rom. 8:26], of which the Apostle speaks, and those “breakings of soul for the longing it hath," of which the Psalmist speaks, Psalm 119:20, that I will promote them to the utmost of my power, and that I will not be weary of earnestly endeavoring to vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of such earnestness.

70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak.

49. Resolved, that this never shall be, if I can help it."

As Edwards himself highlights in his introduction to his Resolutions, the only power by which we can have the slightest hope of the all-fulfilling joy which comes from living a life pleasing to the Lord is the saving name of Jesus Christ.

2008-07-23T02:36:00.004-07:00

Selamat Sore All!

Last night David and I made the trek (ok, so it’s only a 5 minute walk…) to the BRR office to use their (awesome) internet connection. I decided it was the opportune time to post a blog entry. “It’s been a few days,” I thought, “and I’ve got so much I could share!”

But as I sat staring at the blank entry and blinking cursor…I just couldn’t write.

This experience has been incredible. Challenging on so many fronts and I am learning a love for God that only two short months ago I was begging for. And it’s down right perplexing how to share every essential input that has shaped, refined, and directed me these past few weeks.

I could tell you about the people here…my love and respect for the two gentlemen that I spent last week with in LG; the amazing camaraderie God has established between David and me (a serious blessing); the time I've spent trudging through communication breakdowns, team dynamic issues and other struggles that come from this type of work environment...being stretched further than ever; and in the midst of the frustrations the hours spent with FH staff laughing over a game of Mexican train, worshiping God in song on a Saturday evening (the warm tone of a classical guitar and Tio’s inspiring voice… “It Is Well” indeed!), praying over His work here in our morning devotional time (ibadah is the Indo word for ‘devotion’); the simple joy in the face of a child as he watches his homemade kite soar over the cool green ocean; the foretaste of Glory I see in the eyes of passing acquaintances in the fields, the market, the mechanic’s shop, the engagement parties…

Or I could take some time and walk you through all the things I have been processing…about the Gospel (seriously, read Ephesians through in one sitting…amazing), about missions (haha I can’t summarize that one in parenthesis), about the Church (oh, how I love the church!), about development (you gotta see the forest in the seed my friends…the mustard seed that overcame the mountain…small is beautiful), about discipleship (*hums* “Where He Leads Me I Will Follow”), about Creation (both His creation and the desire to create that was given us as we were crafted in His image. If you have some good poetry or song lyrics, please send them!)…

Or I could post more pictures and share with you the sheer beauty of this place. You could see how it has been so easy to meditate on the Glory, the Sovereignty, the Beauty, the Grace, the Majesty of our heavenly Father here. And even how living amongst the raw splendor of Aceh Jaya has helped me to seek out the beauty in even the simplest, most mundane, and even the straight up ugly corners of this world. God is everywhere! And where He is His love and glory abide.

But instead I decided to humbly admit my inability to effectively communicate the work of God’s hands without being able to use my smile, my hand gestures, words like ‘awesome’, ‘soooo good’, and ‘I don’t even understand…’ with proper inflection, and some hot Acehnese coffee and fried bananas.

So I hope that this snippet will suffice for now. I hope that you will be encouraged by the way God is being glorified here in my heart and through me. And I hope that this sneak peak will wet your appetite for more about His renown!

Ephesians 1:16-23

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

I'm Back!

2008-07-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hey-o!

I just got back from LG this afternoon (Friday). What a blessing this week has been.

I had a great time with Ronal and Yono. For real, these men are some true studs.

They have been working with three women who have done some incredible work. The three of them, with the help of Ronal's agricultural expertise re: organic farming, composting, etc... have started an organic garden. It's like the Acehnese Golden Girls or something. One of the ladies is in here 60s, and the other two are, in their 30 somethings.

The garden has become one of my favorite places here. We walk in (if Ronal didn't forget the key at the posko : ) ) to check on the vegetables (rich purple eggplant, refreshing cucumbers, long bean [green beans except they're about 1 meter long], and some spinach-like leafy plant). Ronal disappears for a second and then pops up smiling with two freshly plucked cucumbers. AMAZING. We just ate them like you would an apple. Bite off the ends and away you go : ) sooooo tastey.

And there is this great place to sit. Ronal is teaching the women how to make their own organic compost using the chaff left from the padi (rice) harvest. They have a little shelter to house the compost and with the tarps covering the compost it makes for a perfect lounge. The view; jungle covered mountains on one side and the mighty ocean on the other.

On Wednesday the ladies had a 'garden party'. They spent the morning preparing some delicious (some of which was a tad spicy) Acehnese food. We carried it from their homes to the little shelter in the garden and shared it with their families in celebration of the garden. It was beautiful.

Life here is so simple. It's going to be hard for me to reintroduce myself to western society...

It's normal here to walk around barefoot (awesome) and it’s not uncommon for your feet to rest in the soft dirt as they hang down from a wooden bench made of mismatched pieces of scrap. Houses aren't really houses but more like drafty shacks. The funny thing is: these villages look just like the ones we see on the news and on brochures for organizations like FH. The ladies we ate with in the garden, the children we teach at the posko, the farmers we helped to clear their land, the men we drink coffee with at night…these are the faces of the ‘dollar a day’ people.

So often we frame life in these simple villages as total depravity. When was the last time you saw a photograph from sub-Saharan Africa where the children were smiling, playing, just being normal children? Instead we get the shots of the broken down mother and her four children staring soullessly into the lens, their emaciated arms clinging to a splintering wooden stake which holds their shack stationary and their swollen bellies bulge out with hunger.

But things are not always what they seem. These people are genuine, happy, friendly people. They're certainly more sociable than the average American. At night in Lhok Geulumpang everyone (15 people or so) congregates at the little shop right next to (seriously, I could fall off of our front porch and into Mamak's kitchen) our posko. We sit around sipping the AWESOME coffee, playing chess and shooting the breeze. Of course I do more listening than speaking...but I speak up when I can.

And so generous! Every family we visit implores us to come in a join them for some coffee and these amazing little banana chips; at least!

Mamak (or mama) spends the day cooking and socializing with her customers. You just walk over, grab some food that she's made, sit down for awhile and enjoy. Then before you leave you just slip her what you owe her and head out. It's so casual and homey.

It's going to be hard for me to wear shoes when I go to the coffee place back home : )

I'm still having a difficult time processing things...but am learning so much. This week I started a new 'devotional technique'. I have a hard time remembering things (as I am sure some of you can attest to) and so I thought "maybe if I just read one Pauline letter every morning throughout the week...I'll remember more". So I spent my first 20 minutes or so of every morning this week reading Galatians. It's been really great! I've been able to really think about things and flesh out the big picture of the letter. I'd definitely recommend it for the smaller letters. Next week…Ephesians.

Be praying for Ronal and Yono. They've been here for a year or so together and Yono is leaving for good in two weeks. He's headed back to Java to get married. It's going to be hard for him to leave and hard for Ronal to be without him for support.

Also pray for the people of Lhok Geulumpang. Specifically for the three women and the farmers who are working the 20 hectare plot.

And pray for the unity of the team here. We celebrated Julius's birthday tonight and watching the team laugh, sing, and love together was such a huge encouragement. Pray that the bonds being formed here would continue to grow further in and further up.

I am really missing ‘the Church’ and from a spiritual measurement I would say my brothers and sisters here are too. I think we might go get some Grape Fanta and these biscuit things for communion this Sunday. Hopefully that will help move us in the right direction.

Acts 2:42-47

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Saya Ke Lhok Gelumpang Untuk Satu Minggu!

2008-07-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hello again wonderful brothers and sisters in Love!

Wow. What a great weekend we had here in Calang! Following my news I will share with you a detailed outpouring of my thoughts from the weekend:

Since I’ve been here in Indo I have been processing: ‘What’s my role here? What’s FH’s role here? How can my time be best spent?’

And since that first week I’ve come up with a score of responses: ‘Oh! I can be a blessing to the Calang team…I can help with the big picture piecing together this business plan stuff…I can be an example of Love to the Acehnese people by focusing on learning their language and culture…I can… I can…I can…’ Well the Truth is, as I’m coming to realize and as David Curtis and the rest of the Phoenix staff informed us before we left my time here is not about what I can or will do in these two short months. It’s about (sorry for the cliché) what God will do.

God most certainly is doing here in Calang. I’m learning much about living intentionally both at home and abroad. I’m learning about community and fellowship. I’m learning about rice farming and salat (Muslim prayer). He’s bending, breaking and shaping my heart. He is moving in and through our staff here as they set out to love the Acehnese people.

And every day He reminds us of His glory, His grace and His sovereign reign with amazing ocean views, beautiful sunsets, rugged jungle-covered mountains, morning praise and fellowship in a mixture of Indonesian and English, seasoned conversation with Acehnese security guards, ‘maids’, farmers, children, co-workers, friends and neighbors…with torrential downpours, the blazing sunshine, a gentle breeze…a laugh shared, a smile offered and received, ‘hello mister’ and ‘puhaba buh’…rice planting and soccer games, Josh Garrels and traditional Batak flute…He was and is and is to come…Alpha and Omega…in your heart and mine. He is everywhere always and so are His people and His plans.

My prayer is for humility. My prayer is that I might be here to serve, not just be served.

So with that heart I will set out this week into the jungle with Ronal and Yono, both of whom have encouraged me tremendously recently. I will live with them in their posko for a week doing all I can (or rather getting out of the way of His work as best I can) to make it easier for them to live and love as they have been amongst the rural Acehnese farmers.

That said I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be away from internet access for the week. And my plan for this coming weekend will be to read all of your wonderful emails and comments of encouragement 

And with that, I will leave you with a little raw ‘journaling’ I did about my Saturday here. Enjoy!

Today was awesome. In fact I shared that with ban Jim on the back of the motorbike as we rode out to the fellowship time.

It started around 8:30 when I finally rolled out of bed. I headed straight for the kamar kecil (sweet relief) and then ate some wonderful rice. I've been eating significantly more than when I first got here and am actually afraid of missing the grub when I head home. *sigh* the bitter sweetness of travel...

I read for a spell (a book that Uncle Steve got me) and was happy to see the discernment the Lord is building up in me. Wisdom to follow? This 'Devout' as he so pompously refers to himself has some funny hermeneutical methods...anyways, it's been a good read.

After that we played our usual 2 hour or so long game of Mexican train (a domino game that takes two hours but lasts for what seems to be two weeks). I gotta say...it was fun at first...but I find myself losing patience after the double 8 or so.

Then we all headed to the kitchen for a surprise batch of nasi pati (that sticky rice stuff and coconut/brown sugar). It's alright...but a bit too sweet for my tooth.

I dinked around on the guitar for a little while with Tio. I love listening to him play/sing. Especially 'I Surrender All'. I asked if I could sometime record him and Kak Wenni before I leave. They agreed : )

After that, the crew busted out the badminton net. On Saturdays this usually doesn't happen until 4 or so at the earliest. Throughout the day it's just 'too hot' : )

David asked if I wanted to go for a run. I apologized (sort of casually) the other day for being a terrible running partner. I think this was his way of asserting that we stick with our routine : ) plus I know he really enjoys it and running alone is only fun sometimes.

Reluctantly I agreed to go and slipped into his extra pair of tennis shoes. Seriously bro those shoes have been a lifesaver!

We decided to head RIGHT out of the posko rather than taking our usual route. We'd talked earlier today (on our way to Logica for the internet! That's what I forgot! I was able to copy a bunch of Josh Garrel's lyrics, download another one of his songs and email mom and dad requesting that they preorder a copy of his new album for me haha) about how AMAZING the view of the ocean was as you round the bend leaving our encampment. So I grabbed my camera just in case it was photo-worthy.

To our dismay we made a brief stop only to peer out over a dull ocean blanketed by a drab grey sky. I snapped a few quick shots, pointing out all the equipment I would need to take some 'good' pictures and we hit the road again. It was such a good run...down to Logica, around the bend and back to the posko over the back side of that hill. I'd say it was a good 5 km.

By the time we got back to the posko it was about 5:15. I told Jimi we'd try to be back by 5:10 so he and I could go to the 'store' to buy some soap. I've been critically low for a few days now *blush* But before I had the chance to cool down and re-hydrate Ronal reminded us that he had hoped to go to the beach tonight. I think David and I were both a little hesitant at first. But out of tremendous respect for Ronal and what I can only say was a little nudge from the Helper...we peeled off our sweat-soaked running garb and slipped into our swim shorts. (if you don’t have board shorts…get some, they’re amazing)

I'm telling you this beach is unbelievable. I promise at some point you will see pictures and or video of it... : )

Anyways, we swam for a little while but, as Ronal put it "nothing special". Then some Acehnese hoodlums (haha any male between the ages of 15-18 can be up to nothing but trouble :) ) came down with a soccer ball. I asked Ronal if it was ok for me to ask if we could play. So he said "sure, ask!" Hiking up my trousers I confidently strolled their direction. "Bole kami bermain?" I asked as naturally as I could. "Ya, bole!" was the response.

For the next hour and a half we played some AWESOME barefoot sand soccer with a size 3 soccer ball and some bicycle kicking Acehnese dudes. David later commented that that was the most incredible field he'd ever played on. The occasional wave would come in further than expected and haul our bola out to sea. It became a skill to be able to dribble in the ebbs and flows. Crosses had to clear the large rocks that jutted up out of the sand perpendicular to the two dried out branches which marked the goals. And when someone scored, both teams would retreat (about 10 steps) to the ocean to wash off all the grainy sand.

Once my team had been sufficiently destroyed by 4 or 5 goals they said "Ayo bercan di laut!" And who could say no to that refreshing water after a tough game of football? So swim we did. David and I were both afforded the opportunity to exchange a few words with the boys before we headed out. Not only was I encouraged by the way my language skills are progressing. But more so it was an awesome opportunity to churn my heart for another side to the gem that is the people of Aceh. Until today most of our interaction with the locals has been with older folks in the community. But today I got to interact with an age I can relate to. These boys are just like we were...much more independent, but still they talk about silly things...wonder about the western world, Michael Ballak (and his 'pretty wife'), listen to Bob Marley and I'm sure smoke the occasional ganja.

*disclaimer* When I say “they are just like we were” I mean that these teenage boys are no different than any teenage boy I grew up with 

As the call to prayer rang out through the town the boys decided it was time to head in.

So the three amigos (Ronal, David and I) were left to enjoy the most incredible sunset I’ve seen here. As much as I would love to describe it to you, words really don’t do it justice.

We headed back to the posko just before dark to clean up a bit and grab a bite to eat. I had forgotten that two Americans who had befriended the FH staff were holding a fellowship time at 8pm. So I scurried around the posko showering and dining as quickly as I could. Ban Jimi and I headed out together about 2 minutes after the rest of the team 

The fellowship time was really encouraging. The American couple hope to facilitate conversation about working in this area. I think in a deeper place in their heart they just want to provide a place for like hearted folks to come and share/encourage each other to keep loving, learning and leading in their work with the Acehnese. It’s great to know that there is someplace where the staff can go to be reminded about and supported in the ultimate reason they are here.

David and I are planning on having dinner with the American couple this Wednesday. He and I have been bouncing some thoughts off each other and are anxious to get the perspective of foreigners who are living and working here long term.

Ok, I’d say that’s enough to read for one week 

Please be in prayer for my time in Lhok Galumpang. Pray for Ronal and Yono because they have to live with me for a week 

Also pray for the American couple. Their work here is important to the success of FH and their work.

: )

2008-07-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello!

Progress on our internet connection with Canadian Red Cross is moving, slowly but surely. They are just waiting for confirmation form HQ back in the motherland ;) So keep praying for that! It would be a huge help with research (requirements for organic certification, alternative rice varieties...you know, typical Indonesian rice farmer stuff)

David and I are able to drive ourselves to the internet place finally. I gotta admit, it's liberating! And yes Walter, while I do enjoy the ride in the shade of the jungle, I can imagine it would not be too pleasant in the dead of Indiana winter!

Our meeting with the country director went...well...we have a lot to pray about! Things are going well, we just landed right in the middle of a rather transitional period for FH Indo. I will share more details as I am able. Please pray for David and me and the rest of the FH Indo team. With budget adjustments and organizational restructuring...feelings could get hurt. Pray for unity amongst the team, that, like in Acts we would be of the same heart...loving, understanding, humble, gracious...and that by His grace we would unite under His gospel to share the love of Christ with the people of Aceh.

Things in Nias (where Craig, the other Indo intern is) are better! We were able to talk with him briefly over the phone and he said the spiritual attacks have subsided but there are still some tensions amongst the team. Continued prayers would be appreciated. From his text messages, phone conversations and blog posts it sounds like Craig is doing some great work over there in Nias. Lanjut terus brother!

Relationships here in Calang have been good recently as well. I spent some quality time with one of our Muslim staff members as we got rained out of some work Wednesday. We planned to head out to one of our sub-villages but the rain pouring down the steep mud hill prevented us from deliver more cocoa trees to our beneficiaries. It worked out well though as we spent some time in the truck (and then at the invitation of a typical friendly Indonesian...sipping Acehnese coffee in a little shack by the ocean) talking about Islam. This particular staff member spent four years in Islamic school. He's rather devout which, honestly is quite rare amongst the people here in Aceh. Considering it is the most conservative Muslim provinces in Indo, thus far I've not seen more than a handful of Acehnese in the Mosques during salat (prayer times).

I would really appreciate prayer for him. He was born and raised here in Aceh and really has a heart for the people here. He also seems to be open to receiving the gospel. Pray that God would continue to work in his heart and surround him with Christians who are willing to speak truth in love to him.

Well David and I are getting ready to head back to the posko. I think we have another swim lesson scheduled for this evening :) Thanks so much for all your support. It is always an encouragement to read comments from all the different people who are lifting me up in prayer.

And stay tuned! I hope to get some more photos/video posted soon!

A Little on the Lighter Side

2008-07-09T02:53:00.000-07:00

In one of my earlier posts (before we left for Indo) I wrote about things I might experience here; specifically rambutan and rupiah. And as I thought through my more recent thoughts/entries I decided I wanted to dive back into the light hearted child-like excitement for Indo that I had in previous postings.

I finally tried rambutan the other day. In case you've forgotten it's that crazy lookin' "hairy fruit" as the locals call it. Like many of the favorite fruits here in Indonesia, inside that wild outer shell is a large seed covered in a rubbery fruit. It was actually pretty darn tasty. To get to the juicy innards you have to first bite through and break off the hairy 'jacket' that encases the seed. Then you just pop the whole thing in your mouth and chew and suck until you've cleaned the fleshy goodness off from around the seed. Of course there is always the chance that you grabbed a not-so-stellar rambutan from the bunch which tends to be relatively flavorless. But in general it is a mildly sweet and typically juicy experience.

The other foreign object I wrote about was rupiah, the currency here in Indonesia. I always enjoy greeting friends that have returned from trips abroad and scoping out the cool bills and coins they bring back. So this particular experience held a special place in my heart :) The going rate for a US dollar in rupiah is about 9,100 (unless you try to exchange in Meulaboh...you can only squeeze 8,500 rupiah/dollar out of them). That tends to make the math quite interesting. After our first afternoon in Medan I wasn't sure I'd pick up on the language quickly enough to understand the pricing system. It's one thing to learn "satu, dua, tiga, empat, lima, enam..." (one, two, three, four, five, six...) But when prices are all in THOUSANDS of rupiah?!?!

Thankfully the language has come faster than I thought it might. Now a trip to the market or a conversation about annual family incomes is not quite so intimidating. The money system has actually provided a unique system by which I have been able to monitor my progress in learning the language. I can keep score in a game of badminton, bargain for a sack full of passion fruit, or even calculate and discuss rice yields and income per farmer with our lovely staff. And since the exchange rate is so excellent I'll be sure to bring home a few thousand to show and share with you all :)

A pleasant surprise I've had since my arrival here has been the motor bikes (that's Indonesian-English for dirt bikes or mopeds). The only word that can accurately (yet inadequately) describe the terrain here is "rugged". And traveling all around Aceh Jaya on dirt bikes is certainly no walk in the park. But man is it fun! I've had the opportunity recently to practice driving and let me tell you...there's no "training wheels" option available here. My first drive was from one of our paddy (rice) fields. I started it up in the choppy grass leading up to the field, traversed a nearly impossible stretch of dirt and gravel and hopped a gap between the dirt and the asphalt about 4 inches across. Even then it's not exactly smooth sailing. Huge trucks that were brought in to haul rocks and dirt out of Calang as they build new roads take their toll on the simple road that USAID built through the downtown area. The way is riddled with pot holes (and even sections of road that are simply missing...), violent bumps, unmarked detours, crazy 12 year old boys on scooters, random piles of sand and rock...I'd love to get a dirt bike when I get back to the states. It would cut down both of gas costs and my 'carbon footprint'. And the feel of the wind in your hair and the purr of the bike beneath you is so liberating! I would say that after the practice I've had here even the worst roads and trails the States have to offer would prove to be a drive in the park. And don't worry mom...I always wear a helmet :)

Well, I think that's enough for today's blog. It's been raining here all day so we've been trapped in the office with nothing to do but blog, read, and pray (oooooh sweet release. I've been longing for some good downtime like this.) So now I will go do the latter of the three.

Praise be to God that the past few days have been filled with wonderfully challenging (yet encouraging) conversations and work assignments. Tomorrow morning we chat with the country director and the Calang staff about the 'co-op' and future of FH Indonesia. So keep us in your prayers!!!

:)

Letting My 'Yes' Mean 'Yes'

2008-07-08T02:21:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Sorry it has been a few days since my last post...you know how it is :)

I promise, that this is the last time I write a blog promising things to come (I did get some sweet video today that I hope to share soon though...*blush*). From now on I will post the good stuff when I have it...which is not today. Things have been going really well for us here in Calang. I've got lots of 'deep' stuff to process and have been spectacularly busy. So as soon as I get a chance to piece together a few of my thoughts you'll have some more material to chew on!

Maybe my desire to post 'blog worthy' material stems from a proud heart. Or maybe I just love being in contact with my loved ones from home...and when I don't have anything to say I, with mucho enthusiasm, share that I am at LEAST experiencing some 'blog worthy' stuff!!! :)

Since I'm at the internet place for the next 30 minutes, am done with emails, and have nothing 'fully processed' enough to post on here...I want bullet point the last few days or so in prayer request form!

- Wenny: One of our wonderful wonderful staff. She's been given a compassionate heart for the people of Aceh...but a stomach that deals poorly with the stresses that come from ministering here. She's been a bit under the weather recently and would appreciate prayers.

- BAN JIMI!!!!: Definitely the awesomest (Indonesians don't know it's not a real word...) connection I've made thus far. He's been doing wonderful things in a village called 'Genung Menasa'. Pray for Jimi and the women of Genung Menasa as they continue steadfastly in their sewing projects and prepare to plant the small area on either side of the FH building. Jimi wants the building to be an example to the community of a well kept, fully utilized property. So he had each of the beneficiaries bring a potted plant for the front yard and has prepared some of the extra land for a garden. The plan is to plant this Friday. Pray for just enough rain to moisten the ground...but not enough to flood it! Also pray that the hearts of the women. Pray that they would be softened to the gospel message that Jimi lives out for them every weekday. The women of Genung Mensasa (like every local here) are Muslim. Conversion from Islam comes at the risk of being disowned or even killed by your family and community. But all things are possible through Him who strengthens us!

- David (my fellow 'Buleh' intern): David has been a huge encouragement. After reading the previous Indo intern's blog I can really appreciate the availability of a native english speaker for processing the experience. Pray that God would continue to push David and me deeper and deeper into fellowship. We've had some great times of prayer together. Pray that that continues and even becomes more frequent/natural.

- Craig (the 'Buleh' intern in Nias): Craig and his FH team in Nias could definitely use some prayer. His previous blog post (which is linked on the right side of my blog) mentioned some spiritual attacks (nightmares and even physical ailments) that have hit his team recently. In a text message he shared that things have gotten better. Pray that the Lord would continue to shelter and protect Craig and the rest of the FH staff.

- David Chang (our fearless country director): David will be flying into Calang tomorrow (Wed). He will discuss with Pak Udin (base coordinator), Pak Esron (Director of Ag. Programs), Kak Wenny (Finance/Admin), David (Buleh intern #1) and myself (Buleh intern #2) the plans/prospects for the future of FH Indonesia. In a previous post I briefly explained the dilemma we're facing here. Find a way to financially support our work when Indonesian Government funding leaves or pack up and head out with the other NGOs. There have been some frustrating communication issues surrounding the planning of our next steps. So I think that Pak David aims to eliminate those by coming directly to Calang. It will be a busy day filled with information. Pray for safe travels for Pak David. Also pray for unity in heart, mind, and communication for our team here. Pray that Kak Wen wouldn't get too stressed when she hears the word "co-op" ;) and that God would use this time to generate some ideas for 'next steps'. Also pray that we would be diligent in covering the time in prayer.

Ok, that's all for now! Oh...it looks like it might storm outside and we still have to motor bike it home from the internet place. Pray that we stay dry!!!!

I love you all and hope to post again soon!!!

Check out the last paragraph of Acts 2 when you get the chance. And Sim, congrats on Isaac's baptism :)

Some Pictures to Hold Me Over

2008-07-02T02:55:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you've all noticed by now I've been quite anxious about sharing my pictures with you. It's been really frustrating. So I'm going to try to just put a few up here and hope that helps!

This first picture is from a trip into the jungle we made. I think I blogged about the man with the monkey...well this is the place! In it you see his family, me, and the younger looking Indonesian lady is Imelda, one of our Meulaboh staff.

This next one is of one of the children's library at one of our satellite poskos. The village kids love coming here to read with our staff and check out books in Indonesian. The program really helps to encourage rural children to learn Indonesian rather than just their native dialect.

And this is a zoomed out picture of the posko and library. On the right is where our two staff members live during the week. On weekends they head on into the main camp where we stay in Calang. On the left is the library.

This beautiful place is en route to one of the villages we work in. If the river is low enough on the other side you can pay $.50 to have a ferry (two john boats with some barrels in between and boards connecting the whole mess) carry you, your motorbike or your 4 wheel-drive pickup truck across this gorgeous area of the jungle. It saves about 45 min of drive time.

This last shot was taken while we did some casual fishing. Handmade poles using some bamboo from our backyard and shrimp made for some great tackle. We didn't catch anything but the view is worth the wait!

A Bit of Conflict

2008-07-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

There is a village here called Lhok Timon. If you live in Lhok Timon you have two vocational options; fish or farm. Since the tsunami much of the farmable land has been destroyed leaving nearly 100 residents without a steady stream of income. So the leader of the village has petitioned the Indonesian government for permission to relocate their village. Unfortunately this requires the slash and burn removal of about 100 hectares of the most beautiful jungle I've seen yet.

So yesterday David and I tagged along with Rizol and Esron to scope out the lay of the land. About 15 minutes off the beaten path we are greeted by a tragic wasteland. What once was flourishing jungle had been cut down mercilessly and set ablaze. The remains of this incredible natural sanctuary was still smoldering (and in a few places still burning)...evidence that those responsible were not far off. In fact, they were closer than we realized.

Esron explained to us that the leader of Lhok Timon (sort of like an informal mayor) approached him to ask for his help. Out of desperation he had asked the Indonesian government for permission to destroy some jungle so he could relocate his village onto farmable land. The government reluctantly agreed when GAM (a freedom movement that has been fighting the Indonesian government for Acehnese independence for the last 30 years or so) became hostile again, attacking area palm oil plantations. The people of Lhok Timon were allotted 100 hectares of jungle to relocate around 80 or so villagers. But that is all the budge the government afforded.

The villagers are asking FH to supply them with cocoa and rubber tree seeds so that they can reestablish their livelihoods. Without our help 100 hectares of jungle is simply lost. As Esron did his best (which is actually quite commendable) to explain in his broken english; FH faces a dilemma. We do not under any circumstances want to encourage the ravenous slashing and burning of the jungle. We hold firm to our relationship and responsibility to the resources we have been given to steward. But these people have very little choice. So do we supply the seed, or not? Rizol, having grown up in Aceh, had some feelings to share.

The first reaction he saw out of David and me was utter disgust. "Why would the government agree to allow this? This is terrible!" And on and on we went, if not out loud at least to ourselves. David mentioned the alternatives like shade grown crops. The government could have allowed them to 'thin out' the jungle and still farm the land. What about water supply? How do you get water to a village of 80 in this rugged environment? On and on... He (Rizol) calmly (but firmly) told us to imagine ourselves in the shoes of the villagers.

For years they have been delt the short end of the stick from the Indonesian government. And from the top of the hill (with such a beautiful view...I really can't wait to share pictures) that we stood on underneath the makeshift tree house which a handful of these villagers now call home, just 5km away, you could see a large scale palm oil plantation. Just before the tsunami hit the Indonesian government gave permission to a Chinese company to log 8,000 hectares of this very jungle. The company built a road through the jungle to haul out the valuable logs and used the clearcut area to plant their oil palms. And the least the company could do, from Rizol's perspective, was employ the local Acehnese people. But instead the company brought in (for the most part) workers from Medan and Java to work the plantation.

GAM rose up as a movement of desperation and began to threaten and even attack the plantation. In one confrontation between GAM and the Indonesian military, Rizol's uncle was killed. The company had no choice but to suspend operations. We drove through the temporarily abandoned plantation on our way out.

So Rizol challenged us and said "if you were in the shoes of the Acehnese, what would you do? You have no money. There is no land to farm. And the government says 'yes' to big Chinese corporations and 'no' to its own people?!"

I've had all of 12 hours to process this dramatic trip into the jungle. And honestly I'm going to need more time. While I often times rail on about injustice instigated by capitalist democracies etc.etc.etc. this time it's real. It's one thing to discuss this type of thing in a classroom...but to see the people, to smell the burning jungle, to feel the anger in the heart of a real person that has been so directly impacted by the conflict...this is very new to me. I'll keep you all posted on my thoughts.

Until then, pray for the people of Aceh. And pray for the government of Indonesia.

Also pray for our staff...those working with the Acehnese and those who ARE the Acehnese. Pray that David and I would approach this issue with humility and refrain from carelessly ladling our western perceptions/ideals into the ears of those who are living the conflict. Pray for Esron. Pray for Rizol.

And also a pray of praise for stable health. For David and I this place is riddled with health risks (mom...never mind this section :) ) But God has kept us 100% (more or less) You can imagine how much of a bummer it would be to fall sick for a week or two out of only seven.

Thanks again for all your support. It sounds as though we may have a deal worked out with our neighboring NGO (Canadian Red Cross) which would allow us to share their internet connection. Pray that that would go through as well.

2008-06-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, this one is gonna be short, but sweet :)

And actually a few days delayed. It is now Monday and we finally were afforded access to the internet. I wrote the following post on Saturday!

All is well here in Calang. We spent the morning (Saturday morning) crafting some fishing poles out of some bamboo we had growing behind the posko and trying our hand at fishing at the beach just down the road...no luck.

Saturdays are pretty slow here. Everyone is tired from the week and typically just lounge around until everything cools down a bit. Then the badminton rackets come out and the fun begins! So I have that to look forward to this evening.

We also have some sort of 'cross cultural ministry' meeting tonight at 8 (which was actually moved to next week...) From the sound of things some other area Christian NGOs will be meeting to discuss ministering in a culture that is different than your own. Should be good :)

Yesterday we spent alllllll day (9-12 and then 3:30-7) planting one of our bigger rice fields. Friday is sort of a sabbath for Muslism. So we had to take a long lunch from 12:30-2 to honor their prayer time. Planting was a blast though. It's neat to see the community rally together around FH staff who are here to love and help them. I am admittedly a little sore today ;)

So I spent my day making a powerpoint for all of you. I've been frustrated at not being able to share pictures because of horrible upload speeds. So I pieced together some powerpoint slides with pictures and commentary. I will email them to mom and dad (hughes3@insightbb.com) So that I only have to upload once I will ask that you email them if you'd like to see my pictures. I'll have them forward the files around! *I'm actually not sure this is going to work but I will try. So email mom and dad anyways if you'd like a copy and if they have it, they'll send it...if not I will do my best to get it to them!!!

Assuming it works out alright this time I will continue to update you with pictures this way.

Ok, it took me 2 hours to put those pictures together. I'm going to get going for some R&R with the rest of the gang!

Prayer requests before I go:

David and I chatted the other night. I expressed some curiosity about the spiritual condition of some of our staff. After the discussion I committed to involving myself in some discussions geared specifically towards 'spiritual things'. I'm not sure what exactly that looks like...I just want to go deeper with some of the staff and be more vulnerable myself with them. Pray that those conversations go well and are fruitful!

Also pray about this co-op thing. It looks like things are slowly coming together for the better. Miscommunications between Calang and Medan have been a bit frustrating I think but we're pushing through. It's difficult not having consistent internet...

Oh and speaking of internet. We're working on talking with our NGO neighbors, the Canadian Red Cross about sharing their wireless connection. If they would allow us that would be a HUGE blessing! So pray that we would be welcomed!!!

Alright, keep the comments/emails coming. I love hearing how things are going back home!

Sampai nanti!

That Spiritual Healin'!

2008-06-26T02:03:00.001-07:00

Selamat Sore Friends!

This post is going to look quite intimidating at first glance. But please don't let that scare you! The bulk of it is a 'devotional' style blog post that I read today that really rocked my world.

Today was such an awesome day! To those of you who may not know me well enough...sometimes I get in the moods (attributed entirely to the overwhelming movement of the Spirit) where I cannot contain my smile. I just sit in amazement as a goofy grin stretches across my face. Often times I laugh out loud at inappropriate times because I just can't suppress the spirit of worship moving inside me.

To those of you who know this part of me I experienced that twice today! AWESOME :)

Jimi and I took the motorbike out the village where he oversees livelihood programs in which they teach women to sew and embroider. It was neat. We were invited to the house of a boy who was celebrating the Islamic tradition of circumcision. Jimi and I joked about bailing before the 'ceremonies' started, drank some sweeeeeet Acehnese coffee (for my coffee lover friends I'm doing my best to bring some home for you!) and enjoyed the company of some wonderful hosts. It was encouraging for me to see the impact Jimi has made on that community.

Afterwards I came back and made some helpful additions to our analysis of the co-op situation. Then I read the attached blog post.

A few days ago Mom emailed me a link to the website of an Indianapolis church that she read about and thought I might be interested in. While I was doing the email thing I stumbled onto their blog and found this entry.

Trust me, it's worth the read!

...

My friends at Vineyard Central have been reflecting on Isaiah 58, during the season of Lent, so I took their cue and have been doing likewise and these thoughts that have been kicking ’round my head spilled out in words today.

For me, the striking thing about Isaiah 58 (and a similar passage, Micah 6) is that they are written to a specific people in a specific time and place. I point out the specificity of these passages not to dismiss their message as irrelevant to the Church today, but rather as a key to understanding how they apply to us. My tendency in reading these passages (and I know this applies to others as well) is to read the call to action (Is. 58:6-7) as an inspiration for getting engaged in the struggle against the largest global injustices of our age (hunger, poverty, AIDS, slavery, etc.). While I do believe that such struggles are important, I don’t believe that they are primarily what the prophets are addressing in these passages. I am particularly wary of this sort of large-scale interpretation of these passages in an election year, when the political parties co-opt the Church into believing that a vote for their candidate is a valuable expression of one’s desire for justice.

In contrast, the message of these passages seems to be a call for a just people, a community that embodies justice in its daily life in the place and time that it finds itself. It is important to note that the audience is a community, not an individual. It is, I believe, our good-ol’-American individualism that leads us to jump to interpretations like the one I have described above. Given the assumption that I am an isolated individual, what can I do to stand for justice? Well, I could vote for this candidate or that one, or give money (or even time) to this service group or that one. This tendency to interpret these passages individually stands in contrast to the warning in the text itself to “[desist] from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word” (Is. 58:13). Perhaps we jump too quickly into the “doing justice” parts of these passages and miss the prophet’s point that the sabbath fast to which we are called begins with self-denial, a setting aside of our own agendas, desires and even our own convenience. We cannot ultimately live justly with our brothers and sisters if we cannot prefer them and their needs over ourselves. And, of course, the words of Isaiah serve as preparation for the way of Jesus, which also began in self-denial. If, however, the primary audience of these passages is a specific community and not individuals, what is the meaning of the prophets’ message for that community. First and foremost, I believe that the call is to be a community shaped and characterized by just living. Are there hungry people in our church communities? Are there homeless ones? Are there people enslaved by drugs or debt or workaholism, etc.? As we struggle to be a people marked by justice, we inevitably will come into conflict with the injustices of our local environment. Although it is perhaps easiest to see the injustices of an urban neighborhood, injustices abound in any locale. The planned environment of suburbia that inhibits community, isolates people and requires frequent gasoline consumption is the origin of a host of injustices. In rural places, the rape of the land by big businesses (coal mining in
Appalachia, agribusiness in farming areas) reaps both poverty and a host of environmental injustices.

The German theologian Gerhard Lohfink often refers to the Church as a “contrast society,” and I think this language is useful for understanding the prophets’ call to justice in these passages. As we strive to live justly together, we demonstrate that another way is possible, a way that stands in stark contrast to the pattern of the world (Rom. 12:2). The tendency of individualistic interpretations of these calls to justice is that we often are trapped into pursuing good and just ends through the world’s channels. What then typically happens if we are persistent enough to follow these paths for some significant amount of time, is that we begin to make compromises and our ends get more and more watered down until they are swallowed up by our pursuit of the means. Let me be clear, I am not advocating isolation for the church, but rather that church communities engage the powers of the world as communities and not individuals. Furthermore, our engagement can and should be formed by the shared life of the community in which we are seeking to live justly together. I see more hope of discernment and resistance in this way than in that of individualism. It is interesting that the language of bearing witness that Paul uses throughout Ephesians 3-4 is that of the church bearing witness to the powers, not individuals.

Frankly, being a community of justice is hard; it demands that we know our brothers and sisters and daily give of ourselves to make sure that they are taken care of; the closeness of life together brings out the worst of our brokenness, which we would much rather keep hidden away (Thanks be to God that “where sin abounds, grace abounds even more”!). But despite the difficulties, this is the way in which we have been called to follow: to live justly with each other, with our neighbors and to watch the justice of Christ flow outward from our communities into our states, our nations and the uttermost parts of the earth.

Lord, have mercy upon us, may we heed your call to live justly together and may your justice flow through us and heal our fallen and rebellious world!

...

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!!!

PRAISE HIM!

Hari Lagi (Another Day)

2008-06-25T03:04:00.000-07:00

Another day has passed here in Calang, Indonesia. But this day was different than the others.

Until today we have been in a state of cultural acclimation. From the weather, to the language, even the food...everything is foreign here. Thankfully we've had a bit of time to adjust. During this process our 'work load' has been relatively light. As I've mentioned in previous posts I've spent the bulk of my time traveling around with the staff and learning the lay of the land.

But today David and I began work on our first 'real' (real is a very relative term...you think there's nothing real about leaving everything familiar for an extended period of time like I used to think, you've got another thing comin'!) assignment.

To be brief and a little bit confidential (cool, huh?!) fh is brainstorming options for future operations here in Calang. I may have mentioned this in a previous post as well so I'll keep it light. They've narrowed it down to two choices; wrap up operations along with all the other NGOs who are packing up and heading home, or develop a way to be financially self-sustaining.

In 2009 the government organization responsible for tsunami relief will be disbanding. The bad news for fh and other NGOs is that they will be taking grant money etc. with them. FH is considering establishing a co-op. The co-op would help farmers that we have been working with (training, consulting with, assisting etc.) market and sell the excess rice they have been growing. The hope is that through a profit sharing system (built in reinvestment) would return some of the profits to the community through FH programs (education, agriculture and livelihood trainings).

David and I are working with the Calang staff and country director to better understand the inner-workings of such a project.

It's been fun! I really enjoy this type of problem solving. However before we dove in to the spreadsheet making, document writing, email sending 'go mode' of such a project...we spent some time walking around the posko and praying about the project.

As we were warned before getting to the field, it is easy to lose focus of our purpose here (as individual interns and even as an organization). The last thing we want to do is engineer a program supporting machine and lose all contact with the reality of the hope that we are here to share; the everlasting hope of Jesus Christ.

Please pray that we (David and I) wouldn't be blinded by the excitement of development work. Pray that our hearts would remained focus on God and His truth. Also, it seems like it will take a miracle for things to work out so that FH can continue operations in Indonesia after exhausting its funds in 2009. Pray for that miracle. The staff here really have a heart for the people of Aceh (and I'm sure of Nias and Medan as well). They are doing great things in great ways and reaching people for His cause. Pray that they would be able to continue that work into the future.

And thanks Sim, for that reminder :) It's tough not getting you "Daily Bible verse" text messages!

I love you all! Put in an order for me next time your at Applebee's! Man I would kill for a BBQ Burger............*sigh*

Peace for now!

Hari Ini (Today)

2008-06-23T02:59:00.001-07:00

Quick update...it wasn't 'too much time in the sun.' I definitely had some sort of 24 hour bug. After a terrible night spent huddled under a thick blanket (one degree north of the Equator) and a looong morning, I perked right up! I have no idea what it was but I'm feeling 100% again. I wanted to thank you Aunt Julie for your suggestion. My physical sickness didn't help my emotional state at all and I was feeling down in the dumps. So I asked Jimi to teach me a few songs on the guitar and the next thing I know Ronal is playing Bataknese flute while Jimi accompanies him! It was a blast and the music lifted my spirits.

I also wanted to invite you all to send specific questions my way. Every time I sit down to write these I sigh at all the AMAZING experiences I leave out. But if you send specific questions I would love to share more!

For now I want to walk you through a day in the life of an FH Indo intern :)

It's Monday. The night before, I slipped into the safety of my hot pink mosquito net (yes Dad, they had one ready for me!) around 10pm. After 8 hours of sound sleep I begin to stir on my own accord around 6am. Ban Jimi (Brother Jimi) gets up around 6:30 two doors down and turns on his favorite mix of English worship music. What a great way to start the day.

Breakfast is served around 7:00 as we all gather around the open air kitchen table. Maknyak and Juli, our housekeepers extraordinaire (it's a cultural thing to have help around to do the cooking/cleaning) have served up some wonderful nasi (rice) and inak (fish) and usually some vegetable or fruit to accompany.

After breakfast we file into the "living room" for worship and devotions. We're supposed to start around 7:15 but that time is subject to flex :)

After a round of worship songs (in English and Indonesian) we pray, read scripture, have a short devotional and then get down to business. Each staff member rattles off his or her progress from the day before and what it is he/she has planned for the day ahead. I seem to have found myself in the position of tag-along, leaving base camp with Esran (in charge of our Agricultural programs), Udin (Calang base coordinator) or some other staff member to visit our satellite poskos and assist with various activities.

You can plan on at least 30 min. of driving once you leave the posko. But you can also bank on an adventure! Today we floated a four door Ford Ranger down the river (pictures to come...) on a makeshift ferry. It has been a great way to see the sites and get to know FH and the work they are doing here in Indonesia on an intimate level.

After 'work' the group rendezvous as base camp for dinner, badmitton, beach, guitar, laughing, and bedtime...or some combination of the above. The people here are so much fun. Rarely is there a dull moment. I suppose last night when some of the guys spent an hour or so tweaking the satellite dish so we could pick up the Spain/Italy Eurocup game things were a little slow...but for the most part it's a fun bunch :)

Well, I hope this helps you while your sitting around during the week wondering, "what is Andrew up to over there in Indonesia?" And if you just happen to be wondering "what does Andrew need prayer for now over there in Indonesia..." I will tell you!

This weekend was AWESOME for me. I was sick and felt terrible and went through this "What am I doing here...why do we even do 'short term missions'...what is my purpose here..." whoa-is-me phase. Winni went out and bought me some bread and what would equate to 'Nutella' thinking I didn't like the food. And Ban Jimi, Ria, Lilis, Esran, Ronal and Monica were all constant sources of encouragement..."Where is Andrew? I miss his smile." Oh, and Julie...your suggestion really helped. After feeling terrible all day Friday, Jimi sat down with me and played guitar and sang "How Deep the Father's Love". Since then we've (me, David, and the rest of the staff) have spent hours playing, singing...we even exchanged dance lessons! Indeed, if music be the fruit of life...play on!

And since this weekend I've been more confident than ever in my time here. So pray a prayer of praise for my friends here in Calang. Also pray that God would continue to humble me and teach me. And, if He could...let me know next time before He breaks me down :)

I love you all and look forward to your comments!!!

Oh, and as anxious as I was to post some of my pictures...my internet connection is just TOO slow. I will do my best to get some up soon!

Dari Calang...

2008-06-20T02:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Again All,

This post is coming straight from Calang! My apologies for the delay...our connection is quite inconsistent.

I wanted to first thank you all so much for your comments. They have been an AWESOME encouragement.

Ok...now for the good stuff.

Publishing blogs when your heart is bursting with emotion, experience, love, joy, hurt, struggles, and all in an environment that is nothing less than 'foreign'...can be difficult.

There is an overwhelming amount of blog worthy news but I have to be choosey are you all may stop reading ;)

So I will dish it out in doses. Today I'll share a bit about what I've done and what I'll be doing. Once I've had some time to chew on things I'll post my thoughts/feelings thus far :)

This place is incredible. I've seen the jungle (in tact and deforested...), a beach that would blow your mind (think National Geographic), community (real, small, intimate, involved), and the FH staff here I'm convinced are God's answer to a mother's prayers. So know that I am in loving hands :)

The past few days have been a hodge-podge of hands on orientation. It might help if I lay out the basics of Calang operations. Calang is used as a home base for FH operations in and around the area. From there they operate in a handful of nearby villages running various programs from basic literacy and numeracy training for children, sewing and embroidery skills for young girls, and an increasingly popular agriculture program aimed at walking alongside of local farmers and sharing with them a new method of rice farming.

Yesterday we ventured over some treacherous terrain (I have a newfound respect for Ford Rangers) and into the heart of the jungle. There is a village on the outskirts of the jungle that has no jobs to offer its already impoverished (poverty is also working a new definition in my mind) members. So the Indonesian government flattened a few hectare in the jungle, built a sort-of-road to it and are hoping to develop it as farmable land for some of the villagers. Right now there is just one man and his family living out there trying to get things going. FH supplies the man with cocoa plants...we delivered them.

And today we spent time a little closer to home base celebrating with a village as we helped plant in one of their rice fields. I spent a little too much time in the sun *blush* and got a little sick...but your encouragement and an unexpected dose of really good American music here in the internet building is helping me recover :)

Even though I have soooo much more to share, I am going to leave you with this for now. I will get back on here as soon as I can!

Things are going really well. I love the people and the place that is Calang Indonesia. And honestly (and unexpectedly) I'm missing home :)

I love you all and will post again soon!

Until then...

Please pray for the padi (think rice paddy) that we planted today. Successful implementation of the SRI method (check out www.indelibleindo.blogspot.com for David's blurb about SRI farming) is of utmost importance for FH's stay here. It is central to their...our ministry :)

Also pray for David and me. David got a cold (seriously, one degree from the equator??) the first day and is still a little under the weather. And I'd like to shake this dehydration or whatever it is before our first weekend here. We're clicking really well with the staff and I'd love to be an encouragement to them. I can't do that with a raging headache though!

In devotionals Esran shared how he begins and ends each day and it's slowly working it's way into my daily routine. In the morning, write down what your responsibilities are wherever your are. For me my responsibilities include BEING here as best as I can, learning about FH Indonesia, and loving the staff and community. And then write God's responsibilities...in my case I need to rely on Him to help me stay focused while I'm here, give me patience and sharpness of mind to learn about FH within the language barrier (which is breaking down quickly!), and grow a heart in me for the staff and community here.

And then in the evening you can gauge where you fell short and where you took on too much. I've been feeling a bit of the 'white man's' burden. Feeling guilty for every 'luxury' I enjoy back home and feeling bad for being inclined to do things the way I'm used to. This has been getting in the way of me being here. As backwards as it sounds I'm trying too hard to BE me...here :)

Ok ok ok...I promise there is more to come. Thanks again so much for all your support. And PLEASE keep posting comments. It helps a ton.

Peace for now!

Call to Prayer

2008-06-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Five times a day like clockwork the loud speakers mounted outside of area mosques send out an ethereal call to Muslim devout. You would think that with such a pesky reminder I would be quicker to bow down myself. But honestly, prayer has been a struggle for me recently.

This wouldn't come as such a surprise if I was finding myself distracted from prayer by the outrageously stimulating environment I am in. New sites, smells, sounds (I think we went through this two blog posts ago...), thoughts...a new language (which I am happy to report I have been picking up quite naturally), a new culture, a new perspective, new ideas about 'relief and development'...and MOST distracting, NEW PEOPLE. And lots of them!

Last night my brothers in arms (Craig and David) and I eagerly accepted the humble invitation of our two-doors-down neighbor Das to "drink kopi (coffee) at his house." Two and a half hours and countless cups of glorious tea later we added three unique (one Indian Indonesian, a Chinese Indonesian, and a Malay Indonesian...a motley crew to say the least) gentle men to our list of Indonesian acquaintances.

But I cannot with a clear conscience blame this fascinating place for my lackluster prayer life.

I think about praying...often in fact. I LONG for REAL, GENUINE, HUMBLING communion with God. But for some reason I can't find my way through the crimson curtain engulfing the Holy of Holies.

Please pray. Pray that the Father would come to the end of the yard and welcome home his prodigal son. And, more importantly, that this prodigal son would rest assured that God is there 'with arms wide open' if I would just turn to Him.

This internship has been such an incredible blessing...and the work hasn't even started yet! Day 3 and the spiritual growth (starting with a bit of a valley) is in full swing : ) I love it here. Here physically. Here spiritually. Here professionally. Here casually. Here.

And I'm doing well. I just gotta lanjut terus!

Saya Di Sini (I am here)

2008-06-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

We have arrived! It's 7pm here which puts all those in Phoenix around 5am and Indiana close to 8am and we've just finished up our first full day in the Indonesian Archipelago. What a sweet place! I'll get some pics/video up here as soon as we can take them. Until then I wanted to let you in on a more personal side of Medan. (Scroll to bottom if you want the basics)

There are so many things here that I'm experiencing and would love to describe to you; the sites, the smells (and trust me...open sewage has a unique odor), the food...but I know none of you want to read 86 (give or take) pages of blogging ;)

So instead, I will leave you with this short journal entry:

"...It's penas (hot) here...and muggy. Sweating is as natural as breathing. There isn't a dry spot on my body and everything I sit on, I stick to. But the intense humidity and uncomfortable stickiness make bucket showers unbelievably refreshing. Unlike showers back home you don't wait until the water is JUUUUST right...dip your toe in to make certain...step back in preparation and then EEEEEASE your way in one leg at a time.

As evening wears on and bed time (jam delapan tigapulu) draws near, I climb the glossy stairs to the bathroom. I can feel a lustful grin stretch across my face. Pulling the tin door behind me I can almost hear the cool water splashing all around. My arm glistens as I reach for the handle of the bucket. With a steady head, care not to lose a drop of that sweet refreshment, I raise the bucket to my head. And then it hits me...like a rushing avalanche that bucket full of NOT-QUITE-RIGHT-YET water consumes me. From my forehead it spills around my face and down my back, taking with it layers of sweat and dirt...and all the tensions that come from being a simple sojourner in a foreign land."

As I wrote I couldn't help but hear A.W. Tozer singing "As the deer panteth for the water..." and applying this feeling to my approach to the Gospel. As they say, you must experience the depths of the valleys to appreciate the vistas of the peaks. I hope that while I'm here drudging through the heat and rejoicing in the bucket showers I can by His grace understand a little better what it means to thirst after Him, His word, His truth, His Gospel.

THE BASICS:

We're in Medan, Indonesia where FH Indonesia is headquartered. The three of us will be here until Tuesday when David and I fly out to Calang and Craig heads for Nias.

I love it here so far. It's hot but the food is enak (delicious). I will have consistent Internet until I make it to Calang. I'll have to update you from there about our connection.

God is good and His truth is refreshing.

Salam!

This is It!

2008-06-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today was my first (of 3) day of training with FH. AWWWWWWESOME! I don't think I can put in words my excitement for this summer, this adventure, this organization...this family.

Training was fairly typical 'first day of training' stuff. We did a little meet and greet with the rest of the interns. Rest assured that I am in some pretty incredible company. Then we went through a breakdown of the vision and mission statements of FH. After lunch we crossed over a bit of red tape 'sexual harassment seminar' etc and then had a Q&A with last year's Indo intern, David Curtis.

Throughout the day I couldn't help but smile. Imagine, going to work in the morning (ok, so maybe I'm a little ahead of myself...imagine going to intern training) and praying over lunch, discussing with your colleagues Biblical conflict resolution, and reading Micah 6:8 on an arched entry way as you head out of the building.

I love FH...and today solidified the confidence I have in the way I fit with this organization.

It is my hope that this bit of gushing over FH and the experience that I've had thus far will comfort those who worry about me (*ehem*, mom :) ) and encourage my other supporters.

Tomorrow is another day of training and then dinner at the house of FH's vice president. And then Wednesday, more training during the day, dinner with our wonderful support team...then off to Indo Wednesday evening.

I'm not sure that I will have a chance to post again before I leave. So this will be goodbye for now. As soon as I get a chance I will send you a hello from Indo!

The other international interns will be heading out within the next few days as well. And the domestic interns start officially on Wednesday. Please pray for safe travels for those who are leaving and a good start for those who are staying. Also pray for the hearts of all of us interns. A consistent theme today was that we are going to be challenged and changed. Pray that God would soften our hearts to His people, open our eyes to His world, and lift our teachable spirits for His glory.

Thank you all so much for your support. It's been such a blessing sharing this experience with so many different people who have played such varying roles in my life. I love you all and can't wait to update you from Calang!

Until then, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

Oh, and for some bathroom reading...check out this publication printed by FH in 2006. The cover story is on Meulaboh, Indonesia, a place I am likely to visit. It's kind of tricky to navigate but if you head to pages 10-14 you'll find the story I'm talking about :) Enjoy!

Quick Update

2008-06-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Selamat Siam!

I just wanted to throw up a quick post letting everyone know that I made it to Phoenix ok. Also, there has been a bit of a scramble to get our visas in on time. Long story short there was some miscommunication and lots of overnight shipping between Phoenix and Washington D.C. :)

But God is faithful! And it looks like my visa will be arriving here in Phoenix JUST in time. Keeps things interesting, right?

Your support has been a huge encouragement. Being only three hours behind my normal biological clock (Phoenix is 3 hours behind Indiana) I am already feeling out of my comfort zone. It's nice to sort of 'ease' into things though. And everyday I am reminded of the wonderful family I have supporting me on both sides of the ocean (Indo and here).

Well, I'm off to run some errands with Ashley now. But stay tuned. I start training on Monday and will certainly have LOADS to share!!!!

Until Then!

Oh, and check out the FH website. They updated the format a bit and it's pretty cool :)

Parting Thoughts

2008-06-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it. The first leg of my journey begins tomorrow. Mom and Dad took the day off so they can drive me to the Indianapolis airport. My flight leaves at 7pm for Phoenix.

I'm starting to feel the physical effects of anxiety about the trip. While the unknowns are exceedingly exciting...they're still unknowns. I'm ready to get settled in at my posko (base camp). Until then I'm doing all I can to keep my spirits up.

Last night my home church had a prayer meeting to send off a group of kids/parents to New York City for a missions trip. I went to show my support for the missions-mindedness of the church. Those brothers and sisters at Central Christian have been a huge encouragement recently. It was so nice to come together with them in prayer and really FEEL a part of the Body. As the past few weeks have been spent home alone during the day I have felt a bit drained. I'm realizing just how EXTROverted I am.

Just so you have an idea of my agenda I will be spending the next week in Phoenix. I'm going to spend some time getting to know some of the FH people as well as the other two guys who are going to Indo on Thursday. And then some miscellaneous moving stuff with Ashley and Santi...Church somewhere on Sunday...and then three days of training at FH headquarters and flying out on the 12th.

David, last year's Indo intern has reaffirmed me countless times that this is going to be an amazing experience. I'm confident that I will not return unchanged. And it is an honor and a pleasure to be sent in such good company.

I'll be updating the blog as often as I can. Keep praying! (1 Thess 5:16-18,25) I can't wait to post my first entry from Calang.

Sampai nanti (until later), grace and peace to you all from god our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, and I'd really appreciate any encouragement/prayers/thoughts/jokes/correspondence of any positive nature...just pass it along to andrewinindo@gmail.com

Terima kasih! (Thanks!)

John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

A Bit of Culture

2008-05-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

Selamat Siang!

Sorry for the delay on this post. I spent the weekend in Ft. Wayne with Lauren and her family to celebrate her brother's graduation. And then a friend of mine and I celebrated his birthday by camping. But it's not been all fun and games :) I have found some great stuff since then. First is this traditional Indonesian dance:

What I find most interesting about this is the cool running-together of so many different cultures. The music has a hint of Middle Eastern dialect, probably due to the Muslim culture. But the dance and location seem very Polynesian. Anyways, I thought this might provide the opportunity for you to experience some of the culture.

I have also spent some time reading the blog of last year's intern in Calang. He kept a pretty regular account of his time there. I thought reminding you of it might encourage you to check it out :) I can't wait to get to Phoenix for my briefing!

I am set to leave from Indy to Phoenix on the 4th of June (next Wednesday!!!) There I'll spend the week with Ashley and Santi, helping them move into their new house and checking out more of the city. I'm also planning on getting together with the other two guys who are going to Indonesia with FH. That should be a good opportunity to get to know some great men.

Needless to say I'm getting antsy!

Prayers right now are mostly prayers of praise for this opportunity and prayers of preparation. Pray that I would get to Phoenix in one piece. Pray that I would have a great time with the folks at FH headquarters. And pray that God would continue to reveal to me His will through this trip.

Also pray for Ashley and Santi. They're going to have to put up with me for a few days. I think I'll be helping them move, digging some hole for their landscaping...and some other odd jobs they need done around the house. I suppose you could pray that none of us would die from heat exhaustion!

Your partnership is deeply appreciated. And keep the comments coming! I love to read them! If it's easier you can email me at andrewinindo@gmail.com

Peace!

Rambutan dan Rupiah

2008-05-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hello again friends!

These past few weeks have been surprisingly enlightening. When I finished up school for the summer I knew I would have a few weeks to prepare myself for this trip. But never did I imagine that my passion for South East Asia could become so deeply rooted so quickly!

My reading list became about 300 pages longer yesterday when I made a trip to the library. I'm reading up about some of the corruption in Indonesia, specifically in the province I will be living in. It's really fascinating. For a 15 min synopsis of some of the political turmoil faced by the Acehnese people you can watch this Journeyman video from YouTube. Filmed in April of 2000, it is an infomative view at the situation and also allows a neat glimpse of the people, language, land and culture of Aceh. There are a few clips that may be disturbing to some.

In 2005 rebel members of the Free Aceh Movement signed a peace agreement with the Indonesian government and disarmed much of its forces. Recently however, emotions are again running high.

While I have been delving further into the contextually thicker experiences that lay ahead of me I wanted to share a bit about the simple things I will encounter during my stint in the archipelago.
The first of which is this crazy lookin' fruit. It's called rambutan (RAHM-BOO-TAWN). In Malay the name 'rambutan' literally means 'hairy' for its wild looking outer covering. Other than their other-worldly curb appeal, the edible innards of a rambutan are typically consumed raw, like you might an orange. I've heard only good things about this wacky little fruit and can't wait to try one!

Another part of Indonesia that I had hoped to introduce you to is the rupiah, Indonesia's currency of choice. As of May 2008 one US dollar is worth about 9,200 rupiah. Bank notes are printed in values of 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000. Can you imagine a $100,000.00 bill??? I suppose that's what a financial crisis as catastrophic as the one that hit Indonesia in the late 90's can do to a national currency!

To provide some perspective, a hamburger from McDonald's would run you about 27,600 rupiah (about $3 in US terms).

And while we're on the topic...I wanted to thank you all in advance for your abundant financial support. I am happy to say that FH will be purchasing my plane tickets sometime today or tomorrow and it looks like I should be able to pull together the last $1,400 in time.

Offer up a prayer of praise for the provision, but don't stop there! Pray for my final 2 weeks of preparation. As my time here at home comes to a close I hope to solidify my basic grasp on the language as well as soak up as much family time as I can. Also pray for the two other guys heading to Indonesia with me, David Strivings and Craig VanKorlaar. David and I will be living together in Calang while Craig is headed to the small island of Nias. I have gotten to exchange a few emails with these guys and they certainly sound like studs!

Pray for David Curtis (he went to Indo last summer with FH) as he is on the front lines in the Phoenix office processing all of our intern stuff. He's been a huge help and encouragement and I pray that he would be similarly blessed by me.

Pray for the team that eagerly awaits its intern support in Calang. I am excited to be working with some truly awesome people over there.

Light Hearted but Heavy on the Ears

2008-05-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

This afternoon when we got back from church I sat down at the computer to go through what Lauren and I call "the routine". I check my email...peruse Facebook a bit...and then usually check out the FH website for any disaster updates, especially with the recent cyclone in Myanmar and Earthquake in China.

Once I'm through meandering...I like to look up resources for Indonesia. Today I found something particularly entertaining and surprisingly practical. As I am expanding my Indonesian vocabulary (slowly but surely) I have begun training my ear to hear the subtleties in the language that can be readily used to pick out common words.

A Google search of "bahasa Indonesia" which literally means Indonesian language returned the following reel of cartoon clips which are, I believe dubbed over in Indonesian.

Enjoy!

Down Time and Updates

2008-05-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

I emailed my contact at Food for the Hungry yesterday. I explained that I am settled in now until I head out for Phoenix on the 4th of June and was wondering if he could recommend reading material for me to better prepare myself. *Sigh* It seems like every time I post one of these I am gushing with excitement. Well, this time is no different :) Admittedly I had a hard time as school came to a close as I just wanted everything else to fall away so I could focus 100% on Indonesia. Well that time is here.

Pray that I would be diligent with the few weeks of preparation that I have. I have committed to spending an hour every day practicing the language. As previously mentioned I hope to make a large part of my trip about learning the language. So far so good! The world wide web has proven to be an invaluable resource. Last night I made flashcards of some basic words and phrases :)

Also, I receive an update every Monday from FH on my support raising situation. So far I am at about $1,300 which is a steady third of my budget. I am still waiting on a response from my church in Bloomington and another church in North Vernon. I am confident that the Lord will provide. Pray that this peace would stay. As time runs out it will become easier to fret...and worry...and to control. Also pray that the support would come in quickly! The sooner the better for the sake of those at FH. They have the responsibility of processing all the funds, buying plane tickets, connecting with the team on the ground in Calang etc.

As I prepare mentally (language practice and area research) and spiritually (prayer, prayer, prayer) a constant source of encouragement has been the music of an amazing man of God, Josh Garrels. Since you can't be here with me jammin' to Josh and flipping through flashcards I thought it might be cool for you to at least join me in spirit. Josh's song Restless Ones captures my heart for this trip, ministry in general, and ultimately my soul-deep thirsting for His Coming Kingdom.

In closing I would like to ask that you continue in prayer for the people of Asia. The recent earthquake in China that has thus far claimed 12,000 lives has only added to the suffering in the area. And the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate. Pray that brothers and sisters in this part of the world would rise up and love in this time of desperation. That as the world around them is falling apart (quite literally) they would hold fast to the peace of God...and those who don't yet know that peace would see it and long for it.

Check out the FH website for updates on their presence in the area.

Grace and peace!!!

Myanmar in May

2008-05-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

On May 3, 2008 Myanmar was rocked by what is reported to be one of the world's deadliest storms. 22,000 dead and over 40,000 still missing...and that's just the beginning. I have provided links to two different news sources, a video, and a link to the Food for the Hungry homepage where they have posted their reaction to the disaster. Read up! :)

International Herald Tribune
The Guardian
CNN Broadcast
Food for the Hungry's Response

The map at the top of this post shows where Myanmar is in relation to Calang. One reason I felt this post was relevant was because of the geographic and cultural proximity to where I will be serving. More importantly, however, I think that this catastrophe will help shape our idea of both the need and the opportunity brought on by natural disasters like Cyclone Nargis.

As I mentioned earlier, this storm is being called one of the deadliest in history. Compare the death toll in Myanmar to the counts from the 2004 tsunami and you will start to gain some perspective on the work that Food for the Hungry is undertaking in Indonesia. In this piece about Tsunamis posted by National Geographic the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) projected that the "earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs." Apply this force to an already deteriorating infrastructure and you've got quite the cleanup ahead of you.

While most of the work I will be doing in Calang is beyond cleanup efforts and into rebuilding lives...this little history on the nature of the disaster to which FH responded should help paint a broader picture of my Indonesia.

Pray for Myanmar. This horrible tragedy has taken tens of thousands of lives already and threatens to take thousands more. Pray for the hearts of the military junta leaders, that they would welcome foreign aid. And pray that Christian relief organizations like FH would take full advantage of the opportunity to love an area which is otherwise closed off to Christian efforts.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would be with the people of Myanmar in this time of desperation. I ask Father that you would make yourself known to the superstitious and the cynical. I pray that they would see the sovereignty of an almighty God in the midst of this terrible calamity and that they would turn and put their hope in you. Send your people to the fields in Myanmar to share your Gospel in word and in deed. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Fin

2008-05-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

As of 6:45pm Thursday, May 1 I am done with finals! Since school is over with for now I can really focus in on my pre-trip preparations. I just tried adding a fun little slideshow to the blog comprised of pictures of various ministry work I have done...but I haven't quite worked all the bugs out yet.

With most of May to prepare myself for this adventure you can expect more frequent postings and that the content of each post will be a little richer.

Beyond the blog I will be presenting my internship to a few churches for support, packing and repacking, finishing up on my immunizations, researching more, spending some time with the Food for the Hungry folks in Phoenix...and hopefully squeezing in a little family time! But things are really looking up. I can't WAIT to get started!!!

Thanks so much for your support! And stay tuned :)

And if you have some free time on your hands, pick up a good Dr. Suess book.

Anticipation Rising

2008-04-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since my last post and a LOT has happened. Finals week has arrived in a hurry. And with this week comes the hustle and bustle of final papers and exam prep. But as an FH intern that's not ALL that's coming due.

I received an email this morning notifying me that $2,500 of my support is due 6 days sooner than I originally thought. Needless to say I spent all morning scrambling about putting the finishing touches on my support letters! Hopefully you all will be receiving one soon!

Admittedly I am about 1,000 times more excited about my trip now than when things first started happening. I have a better understanding of where I am going and who will be there when I get there. Last night I asked Lauren to say something in Indonesian. I can't wait to start learning the language! I have also made plans to head out to Phoenix about a week before I have to be there for training. I will be staying with Ashley and Santi, and have arranged to meet up with last year's FH Indonesia intern, who now works for FH in their main office. He said that we could do lunch and he would introduce me around at the office. I think I'm really going to like this organization.

I have also been Googling Calang, Indonesia like its my job! I'm so anxious to learn about the area, and the people...their culture, their langauge, their geography...their lives! *Sigh*

Until next time here is an insightful article published in 2005 by the Washington Post.

House Keeping

2008-04-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I promised to offer up another enthralling entry...but before I do that I wanted to provide some basic info on my trip, how you can learn more, and how you can get involved.

First things first. Below I have listed some links that may be of interest to you. Included are the Food for the Hungry homepage. It's always good to find out more about the group that is sending me :) Also, I have included a link to the "Support an Intern" section of the website. I will be sending out a more formal support letter in the next few weeks. But should you be perusing my blog and feel lead to support my trip financially, you can do so quickly and easily online. Remember, all donations ARE tax deductible ;)

I have also included some simple links such as more information on Indonesian culture, cuisine, and spiritual composition as well as a link to my current ministry involvement, Renovo Ministries (bear with us on the website...it's very much a work in progress)

Food for the Hungry
Where I will be
Support Me

Renovo

I will share more resources as I get further along with my research! Enjoy :)

Off to Indonesia

2008-04-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! Here you will be able to find frequent updates concerning the opportunity I have been given to live and work in Indonesia this summer. I will do my best to keep you as informed and up to date as possible!

For this first post I wanted to share with you a little bit about the process of application, placement and pursuit of this crazy adventure.

This fall I began considering different ways to spend my summer. I thought about staying here in Bloomington again, working and hanging out with the friends I have grown to love in the town that has become my home. I even considered heading back to good ol' Jasper. I could make more money staying with mom and dad and would finally have the chance to work with the band. "Ok Andrew," I thought to myself, "this is your last summer before you graduate. Why don't you DO something with it."

So I began looking into some mission organizations. I started with groups that work in Latin America. Given my LOOOOOVE for the language and culture of hispanohablantes I thought it made perfect sense that God would send me somewhere down there! But I was still coming up short.

And then Google directed me to the website of a group called Food for the Hungry. Perusing the website I saw that they do work in some pretty sweet places; Bangladesh, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan...but no Spanish speaking countries.

I chalked this one up as another failed attempt. Until I saw the verse that guides their organization, Micah 8:6.

"What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

In the spirit of internship searching I had been reading a lot about serving the poor and the oppressed, fighting injustice and the like. Isaiah 1:17 became a verse that held onto me for awhile. But I couldn't shake how perfectly Micah 6:8 suited my passions.

With a new found excitement for this organization I spent time looking deeper into what they do and where they do it. By December I had decided to apply for FH's summer internship program.

And this is where things REALLY start happening...

During the application process there was an issue with my faculty references. I didn't know that FH hadn't received the reference from him until the deadline to apply had passed.

Meanwhile I had been pursuing a backup plan with a group in Pittsburgh. I even had the opportunity to visit the organization over spring break. So with a sigh I took this as a sign from God that FH wasn't for me.

As time passed I became more and more unsettle about all of this. So I called FH. "Better late than never!" was the response I received.

I talked with a professor that I loved from my freshman year. With only a day's notice she wrote and submitted a flattering (from what FH told me) recommendation letter (thanks again Nicole!).

Within 2 weeks I did my phone interview with FH and before I knew it was starting a blog to share the progress of this amazing opportunity.

Stay tuned! In my next post I will divulge a little on the significance of my placement in Indonesia and share more about what I will be doing there.

Cheers :)