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Oasis Higher Ground Trainings Draw Near Others - Chinese - English Languages
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Opportunity Amidst Adversity
by Tang Sook Yee, 21 July, 2000
Greetings in the name of our Lord Yesus Kristus! We have been on mission in Indonesia for the past 15 months. Our base is in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, situated east of Java Island. As you may all know, during this period, various crises and calamities - famines, demonstrations, riots, civil wars and bizarre massacres - have ravaged Indonesia. But we feel most humbled and privileged to be sent here precisely at this time to play a small part in the Lord's divine plan for this country. Throughout our stay here, one thing we are very thankful for is the Lord's faithfulness to us in His love, protection and provision for us. In the midst of the many difficulties we have faced, we have also constantly experienced a quiet joy in Him and are able to testify that our God is indeed the Living God! We have seen the graciousness of the Lord in the many possibilities of work that have opened up to us here, mainly in terms of training the local Christian groups, both in the city and in the village.
We got to know a small group of Christians in a village about two-and-a-half hours away from Surabaya. They are full-time students undergoing a 3-year training course (inclusive of a 1 year practical training) to be servants of God at this village's small Bible school. The first group of 20 students and 5 members of the staff finished the Commitment Training [hereafter referred to as the "CT"] last year and the response was very good. One of the students shared that it is his desire that he can bring back this same training to his home island when he returns there one day. Many also testified how the CT had encouraged, rebuked, challenged and also inspired them to really surrender their life totally to the Lord as they finally (after all these years) began to understand the true meaning of Christianity and what it means to serve Him.
The principal of the school was also very excited over the CT that he kept asking for more training. He told us that this CT is what every Christian needed in order to endure and stand firm, especially during this critical time of chaos in Indonesia. That is why for the new batch of students, he requested that the CT be given to them in their first semester because he recognizes that this should be the foundation on which to build up their spiritual life and service for the Lord. So we are currently giving the CT to this new batch of 20 students and another 4 members of the staff.
In return we have also learned many things from them - their faith, their prayer life, and their simplicity. Staying overnight with them, once a fortnight at least, we learned to wake up as early as 4 A.M. (sometimes earlier) to prepare for morning devotion and worship together before they begin lessons for the day. Despite their heavy academic schedule, they also have their daily chores like cooking, washing, cleaning, feeding the animals, farming, etc., on top of their personal study and prayertime, assignments and exams, as well as preparing for their weekend ministry in the nearby churches. At times they go without much sleep, taking turns to intercede and keep night watches, especially during the periods of religious unrest and threats from the "ninja" killers. Though it is a tough life for them, we could see that many of these young people are determined to serve with courage and willing spirits.
Through this group, we were introduced to another group of Christian professionals from Surabaya who support the village work financially as well as with other means. Some of them are experienced businessmen who sometimes serve in preaching, sharing and leading cell groups for the "pribumi" (indigenous) workers. At first we had a bit of a hard time dealing with them especially concerning parts of the CT, but finally, they accepted it when the truth was shown to them from the word of God. At one stage we were a little discouraged by their "response", or lack of it, but the Lord encouraged us on. The turning point came when the Lord showed them that He is Lord of this Training by giving a new song to this brother who is a well-respected member of the group. He was worshipping the Lord one morning when both the lyrics and the melody of this song came to him. It was about the seed that had to die in order to bring forth abundant fruit. This was just before the CT session on the exact same topic. It was as if the Lord was preparing everyone's heart to focus on this very session. I do not know who were more amazed at this - we or them - including the song composer! But one thing we were all certain of - that the Lord is indeed the Living God and He was reassuring us that He is and has been with us all throughout the CT!
By the end of the training, we had established a deeper friendship with them and they have since requested us to give them regular Bible studies during their weekly meetings this year. Seeing the need there, we felt moved to help and follow up in this manner, particularly because they also have a burden to expand the outreach work to other villages in East Java. Their hope is that the Gospel can be spread more quickly to the other unreached tribes in the region who are still in poverty, both physically and spiritually.
We have also given training to a Javanese couple who felt God's calling to start a full-time mission training work in East Timor Island. They have quite a few years' experience in training and discipling undergraduate teachers who wish to be sent out as teacher-missionaries to different parts of Indonesia. Even though this couple is quite well-trained in the word of God and has even taught about commitment to their disciples, they are very humble to admit that there are still so many aspects of commitment that are lacking in their own training, and so they really appreciated the CT. Despite the very volatile political situation in East Timor at this moment, they still hope to go by the end of this year and have requested help in the training over there.
Other than these training groups, occasionally, when invited, we do take up preaching assignments at small churches where we feel the need is greater. There are also some other small groups in Surabaya to whom we have been giving training and Bible studies, including a group of university students who were involved in village ministry. In fact, they were instrumental in setting up pipelines and electrical generators to bring in fresh water supply and electricity to some of the villages which have never had such facilities all these years because the government had never bothered about them. The students' sacrifice of time and effort serves to open up avenues to share the Gospel with the local folks and this has proven to be quite fruitful. In one of these villages that we visited, we witnessed God's power in triumph over the evil spirits that had possessed five of the male "kuda kepang" dancers during a celebration performance. As we all prayed together, the people saw for the first time how the spirits that the "dukun" (witch doctor) had often used to enslave the dancers were being cast out almost instantaneously at the mighty Name of Yesus! Today, 10 of these villagers have already made a commitment to follow Christ through water baptism.
Sometimes we have to travel far to do visitation, and each time we experience the Lord's protection in more ways than one. During one incident, we traveled more than 6 hours to mid-Java to visit one sister who was in need. On the way back, we met with a group of Muslim political supporters who created quite a scene with their painted faces and long hair, circling on their bikes and trucks the compound within and without the bus terminal. For half an hour or more, they were on their noisy motorbikes, shouting slogans, waving flags and sticks, etc., making the whole atmosphere quite tense and oppressive. Then another group of supporters from a rival Muslim political party started coming into the bus terminal and "did their rounds", too! On seeing this, the people there commented that fighting could erupt at any moment. I prayed in my heart that it might not come to that. There were not many passengers waiting at the bus terminal and I think we were the only Chinese there. So you can imagine our anxiety to get onto our bus as quickly as possible, but it was nowhere in sight! As I looked at the scenario, suddenly I could identify to some extent with what the people in Jakarta must have faced during the terrible riots in May and November of 1998. This mob seemed to be possessed with a different spirit, as if some evil force, unknown to themselves even, was propelling them in their unruly actions. As I prayed, the reassurance came that nothing would happen to us - since our mission here is not finished yet anyway! So thanks be to God that we finally managed to hop onto a bus that went towards Surabaya before any fighting erupted!
One thing that touches my heart very much still is the love of the Indonesian brethren (the Chinese as well as the "pribumi" or indigenous workers that we have come to know) for their own country. Day and night in their prayers, they often intercede for their beloved country and for a God-fearing government. Day by day as I stay on, my heart too begins to feel a love and compassion for the people of Indonesia. I saw the Lord Jesus' deep love and tears for them in the "great shaking" that He has allowed to happen so as to produce a spiritual awakening in this country. That is what moves me to want to give my best to Him and to the people whom He loves here. My co-worker, Stephanie, feels the same, too. So each day spent here is very precious to us. May the Lord grant to both of us the courage, strength and wisdom to serve Him faithfully in the days ahead. Tuhan memberkati! (May God bless you all!)
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Missions List:
- Faith in Mankind, is it Possible?
- Is There Anything More Important than to Know Christ Jesus and to Make Him Known in this Life?
- Opportunity Amidst Adversity
- Preparing for the Great Work ahead
- Reaching out to our Neighborhood
- The Service would Start at 1:00am!
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