ahora

The group in the Philippines

We arrived in Jakarta at around 11:00 in the evening. None of us had any problems with immigration, including Anne (from Egypt) who breezed through the line as quickly as the rest of us. Rev. Untung was waiting for us outside the airport, and once we had exchanged our greetings he went to get his vehicle and two others. When he pulled up the cars, a hoard of young boys helped us with our luggage. I’m not sure if they expected a tip, but I had not exchanged much money and I was not yet familiar with the exchange rate. And I’m Dutch. So I didn’t tip, and it seemed okay.

Our accommodations at the guesthouse were more than I expected. After the week in the condo-tel in Manila, I was prepared for spartan condition. The guesthouse, however, had open-air gardens and small but comfortable rooms. After a brief conversation together about our initial reactions to Jakarta and a details about the day to come, we each went to our own room to sleep. Fortunately, no jet lag to deal with this time.

More than the drinks, though, I enjoyed eating the meal with my hands. At first, this struck me as a kind of primitive approach to sustenance, but I was quickly proven wrong. Getting the food from the plate to my hand to my mouth involved dropping food everywhere along the way and smearing food all over my hands and face once I had reached my established goal of eating. But eating in this way is an art. Our Indonesian friends somehow managed to remain clean and never used their napkins.

After we left the restaurant, we drove another 50km or so to reach the conference center. We were now far outside of Jakarta and well inland on the island of Java. The scenery changed along with the demographics, as plains and cities gave way to poor villages and lush jungle. The traffic deteriorated as quickly as my stress level increased; I sat in the front seat of a four-seater [name of car] and did my fair share of backseat driving.

The weather is Indonesia is somewhat different from what I expected. The afternoons and evenings are hot and humid, nearing 100 degrees every day. But the nights and early mornings feel like Washington - they are cool and dry. I often wake up cold and I wear multiple layers as I eat breakfast.

None of the worship – as I found out in the opening worship service the night before and morning worship this morning – is in English, but a few of the songs are familiar. Most of the worship services are led by a small choir. We sing a blend of traditional Indonesian songs, Western hymns and choruses, and a few taize pieces. Some of the choral anthems are in English, but for the most part, I find myself speaking words I do not know in a language completely unlike my own. Still, I fell a strange bond with my brothers and sisters in Christ, with whom I can only communicate in a rudimentary way, if at all.

More things he mentioned:
- waking up at 4:00AM to the Muslim call to prayer at the local mosque
- Jay losing his passport...and then finding it
- most/all worship services were not in English
- new and interesting foods and drinks

Please continue to pray for their safety in travel as well as continued stamina and enthusiasm as they finish off this (almost) 3-week journey. Pray for the relationships they have formed and the ones they have yet to form. Pray for families of those who are away - I think especially of Anne as she has 3 small boys waiting for her at home. Pray for God's Church everywhere - that it may continue to grow and unify with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at 11:19 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.