Last year we (Nancy, Jim and son Jacob) researched various short term missionary opportunities presented by the ELCA Board of Global Missions and decided on Siantar. This opportunity allowed Jacob, our 15 year old, to be part of our team. Except for a few photographs of the living quarters and a website for Nommensen University, our primary mission site, we knew very little about what we were getting into. We Skyped with Phillip Baker, the Regional Director of Missions in southeast Asia, and he assured us that our “job” was simply to be there and walk alongside the students, teachers and residents, offering a tangible Christian witness and pragmatic information and advice as requested.
We are public school teachers, and much of our efforts in Indonesia revolved around education. At Nommensen we led countless workshops for teachers and students preparing to be teachers of English to Indonesian classes. The educational model in Indonesia is based on the teacher lectures/students listen style and our presentations on the more interactive American model were very well received. In addition we led several workshops on computer basics and also tried to explain life in America (as we know it).
We had the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops with Lutheran Sunday School teachers and church leaders, to learn more about their situations within the churches and out in their villages. We traveled often into the community and rural surrounding areas, to visit students in classrooms and meet with teachers at regional workshops.
The part of our experience we treasure most is the deep friendships formed with the students, teachers and staff at Nommensen University. They introduced us to how life works in Siantar, patiently helped us at the markets and in situations where what was obvious to them was mysterious to us.
Some of the basics of our life in Siantar: the temperature is always between 75 and 90 degrees, the humidity around 99%, air conditioning is the exception, water is one temperature, usually luke warm, showers are enjoyed with a bucket, food is spicy and includes great mounds of rice, eaten with your fingers. Indonesian fried chicken is just as good as the Colonels. For 20 cents you can hop on a microbus and travel all over town. The nearby mosque has prayer call at 4 o’clock each morning, every day. In churches they collect an offering three or four times per service and the Gospel is proclaimed from a pulpit perched at least 20 feet above the congregation.
The most difficult challenge of our experience was yielding control of our lives. Though we had an influence in some situations, generally we had to accept things that in America you would work very hard to control or change. One example is time management. In America, punctuality is expected. When a meeting is scheduled for 9, you start at 9. Not in Indonesia. When one of our workshops at Nommensen started at 9, the room would be empty. Over the next 45 minutes, the room would fill to overflowing with interested and beautiful Indonesian students. Then everyone would hang out for an hour or more afterwards, asking questions, getting to know us personally, and taking many, many pictures. We learned that you cannot say no to a picture, even if it is the thousandth one to be taken. We learned to be flexible and spontaneous and treasure every moment, whatever that moment may bring. We learned not to be disappointed or shocked when what we thought should happen didn’t.
We learned to accept that sometimes our meager communications skills simply couldn’t carry us across the cultural divide, and it was OK to simply not understand what was going on. Such as when we asked our neighbor if he could help change a light bulb in the ceiling that was well out of our reach. We expected him to bring a ladder but instead he started removing books from our bookshelf. We stepped back and watched as he stacked several items of furniture on top of each other, then climbed on top to change our light bulb. He could not understand why we were standing there with our mouths open. But he knew we were thankful for the gift of more light.
We ask for your support in many ways. Pray for the Christians of Indonesia as they live out the Gospel and coexist in a predominately Muslim nation. Pray for our safe travel, good health and patient spirit. And help multiply our presence through emails, Facebook messages, and letters expressing the simple fact that you are thinking about and praying for these friends who live on the other side of the world yet read the same Bible and know the love of the same Christ.
