Less Trash, Returned Smiles, Cow Less Streets, Familiar Faces, Church Connections, American Food, Malls, Hotter Weather, New Language...some of the more noticeable differences between India and Indonesia...
We arrived in Indonesia Wednesday 5 November. We were greeted by a friend of a friend at the airport and it was such a blessing to not have to seek out a seemingly trustworthy taxi driver or wonder if the hotel we were heading to would feel "safe" As we drove through the capitol and the biggest city of the country, Jakarta, already Indonesia felt warmer - weather wise and people wise! It started at the airport, when we paid our $25 and got the visa with no questions and the immigration man smiled after he stamped my passport - the first time a smile had been returned for a while. Few tuk tuk's (auto rickshaws) many American restaurants, bigger cars, decent highway, many American Restaurants (everything from McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, KFC and A&W) and MALLS...
This growing city feels much like America. I find myself wondering if this is for the best. Fast food really isn't healthy and Indonesian food tastes amazing. Malls seem to focus on style, success, and every material object imaginable. We spend our first day in Indonesia perusing two really huge malls and catching the new James Bond 007 movie (English, with Indonesian stubtitles) After India this feels more luxurious than Vermont! Maybe God is here in similar fashion as the US? How will we find the differences here?
Enter Troy. Troy arrived in Indonesia on Thursday night. What a glorious time to reconnect with an amazing brother, mentor, and friend. He tried to show us 14 months of his life in Jakarta in about 10 hours - he was very successful - we met some church friends, drove to a village orphanage and were blessed to worship with 10 adolescent boys (keep your eye out for video coming soon) learned more Indoneisan Food, went to Prump Pung to see Troy love and be loved by poorer children in a less wealthy area of Jakarta and lead Baby Shark (BBC is going international!). We ended the day with Saate (tasty meat on a stick) Iced Shang Hi (really colorful sweet drink/dessert) and a time of fellowship, conversation, pondering, laughing and relaxing with my older single brother and husband, a first for me. For a brief moment, I forget about all the crazyness that makes up this world and enjoy the present. It's good to be with family. It's good to explore what God is doing here. And even better to pursue our unique purpose in this wild kingdom...
More to Come Including:
Mennonites in Indonesia
Indonesian Wedding
Indonesians in America
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Absurd World
What a rediculous place this is - Earth. I can see why so many religions focus on getting outa here. Let me paint what I'm seeing in my minds eye as I write:
India. A country of 1.2 +/- people. Dirty, tons of corruption, extreme disequity and corruption. Picture all the bad stuff you've ever read or heard about the states, multiply by 10 and then display it all, on every street, in most establishments, all day long.
Bosnia. A poor place wrought with civil war and so much conflict. Now, they've got pirates. Imagine that, pirates!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/world/africa/31pirates.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/africa/02pirates.html
Pakistan. Top Government official encourages Pakistani citizens to kill Taliban.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/world/asia/02pstan.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
I could go on and on with stories like this, it seems. Then, we have somewhat encouraging news:
Russia and the USA plan to diminish some nuclear arms
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D7123BF933A05751C1A964958260
One thing that continues to strike me across the face. Self. It's all about self. Why do the pirates do what they do in Somalia? For money. Why do police personnel in Pakistan switch to the Taliban... they get paid more and hey, if you can't beat em, join em. Why does Bush push for reduction in nuclear arms before leaving office? I'm guessing because he wants to achieve one last thing (a good thing I might add. Others might say to achieve one thing - omit the word "last.") And India... sheesh. I have no way to know all the details and haven't been here all that long but everyone has got a pimp. From the rickshaw driver to the hotel manager, most people are working for someone else who allows them just enough cash to eat and live. So, they take advantage of the foreigners who can pay lots more than the rediculous price they ask. Point is, so many places... everywhere actually. We're about self. We're about getting ahead. And, when resources are scarce, we put self above other more noticably.
I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. It remains clear to me that what I'm observing is true and it also seems clear that there are many more layers I don't understand. Regardless of how many layers there are, the apparent issue that we most often serve self instead of other seems to me to cause great distress on the human race. I'm reminded again of this belief I hold - the things God asks of us aren't only best for God, they are best for us.
And so the model of Mother Theresa stands out. We finished recently with a day + at Kalighat. Kalighat was Mother Theresa's first mission (of which now there are more than 130 world wide). It's a home for the destitute and dying. This woman loved God so much, and followed Christ into loving God. She devoted her life to God and was led to love the many, many extremely injured and struggling people of India.
Lord, lead us. Teach us to love you and heal the world.
India. A country of 1.2 +/- people. Dirty, tons of corruption, extreme disequity and corruption. Picture all the bad stuff you've ever read or heard about the states, multiply by 10 and then display it all, on every street, in most establishments, all day long.
Bosnia. A poor place wrought with civil war and so much conflict. Now, they've got pirates. Imagine that, pirates!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/world/africa/31pirates.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/africa/02pirates.html
Pakistan. Top Government official encourages Pakistani citizens to kill Taliban.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/world/asia/02pstan.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
I could go on and on with stories like this, it seems. Then, we have somewhat encouraging news:
Russia and the USA plan to diminish some nuclear arms
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D7123BF933A05751C1A964958260
One thing that continues to strike me across the face. Self. It's all about self. Why do the pirates do what they do in Somalia? For money. Why do police personnel in Pakistan switch to the Taliban... they get paid more and hey, if you can't beat em, join em. Why does Bush push for reduction in nuclear arms before leaving office? I'm guessing because he wants to achieve one last thing (a good thing I might add. Others might say to achieve one thing - omit the word "last.") And India... sheesh. I have no way to know all the details and haven't been here all that long but everyone has got a pimp. From the rickshaw driver to the hotel manager, most people are working for someone else who allows them just enough cash to eat and live. So, they take advantage of the foreigners who can pay lots more than the rediculous price they ask. Point is, so many places... everywhere actually. We're about self. We're about getting ahead. And, when resources are scarce, we put self above other more noticably.
I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. It remains clear to me that what I'm observing is true and it also seems clear that there are many more layers I don't understand. Regardless of how many layers there are, the apparent issue that we most often serve self instead of other seems to me to cause great distress on the human race. I'm reminded again of this belief I hold - the things God asks of us aren't only best for God, they are best for us.
And so the model of Mother Theresa stands out. We finished recently with a day + at Kalighat. Kalighat was Mother Theresa's first mission (of which now there are more than 130 world wide). It's a home for the destitute and dying. This woman loved God so much, and followed Christ into loving God. She devoted her life to God and was led to love the many, many extremely injured and struggling people of India.
Lord, lead us. Teach us to love you and heal the world.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Vote for Hope
OK, I've been trying hard to post a video file and can't. It's not working and until I recreate the file and post, it's going to take forever.
(in case the video worked, try clicking here - http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=895845007&k=XZEZPZU3355MZDA1XCXTY)
So, here's what I was trying to say on the video. Vote for hope. We have spoken with about 9 (maybe it was 8, maybe it was 10) people from all different places (Europe, Asia and Australia) about the upcoming US election. A few things seem extremely clear to me now after those conversations:
1) US policy has a significant impact on the rest of the world (this I knew and was reminded of).
2) The point above is so true, that many follow our presidential election more than their own (in most cases, prime minister).
3) Out of the 9 (8 or 10) we talked to, all wanted Barak Obama as president.
One guy followed me on the sidewalk and tapped my arm. He asked me who I was voting for. I told him, Barak Obama. He said, good. He wanted to know what everyone else will do. I told him that America is a diverse place and that I couldn't know the answer.
I hope you choose hope. Whomever you vote for, consider the impact that our leadership has on the human race.
Tuna
(in case the video worked, try clicking here - http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=895845007&k=XZEZPZU3355MZDA1XCXTY)
So, here's what I was trying to say on the video. Vote for hope. We have spoken with about 9 (maybe it was 8, maybe it was 10) people from all different places (Europe, Asia and Australia) about the upcoming US election. A few things seem extremely clear to me now after those conversations:
1) US policy has a significant impact on the rest of the world (this I knew and was reminded of).
2) The point above is so true, that many follow our presidential election more than their own (in most cases, prime minister).
3) Out of the 9 (8 or 10) we talked to, all wanted Barak Obama as president.
One guy followed me on the sidewalk and tapped my arm. He asked me who I was voting for. I told him, Barak Obama. He said, good. He wanted to know what everyone else will do. I told him that America is a diverse place and that I couldn't know the answer.
I hope you choose hope. Whomever you vote for, consider the impact that our leadership has on the human race.
Tuna
The Roller Coaster Continues...
India is similar to a roller coaster. One minute I feel confident that God is here, I feel comfortable and am able to appreciate a different culture and all that comes with that. The next minute I’m wondering how this society exists, why did we come here and wondering how fast we can leave! For the most part I find myself somewhere in between these two extremes.
In Kolkata, volunteering at the mother home was very encouraging, a beacon of light in a dark place. I was also inspired by the sheer number of other westerners coming to volunteer, esp Italian Catholics. Many were spending their holiday in Kolkata volunteering. Yet at the same time, I didn’t have a desire to stay. Maybe spending a day with the destitute and dying wasn’t enough of a honeymoon for me. Maybe I didn’t feel like I could really make an impact there. The day spend at Kalighat, mother Theresa’s first love, the home for the destitute and the dying, was a day for much thought and reflection. I didn't get to right away as we spent much of the evening dealing with the train schedule...
Varanasi also exemplified this roller coaster ride…we saw bodies burning on the ghats, had an interesting interaction with our rickshaw driver, observed many aspects of Hindu prayer and worship and I was told to go back to our country by a boat driver….the very next day we witnessed another beacon of hope at a Asha Bhavan, a widows home in Northern Varanasi with a wonderful couple from Ohio volunteering there. We bought brownies and cookies from their store, spent some time with Indian church planters and left wishing we could spend more time helping them.
We visit the Taj Tomorrow then take our final train to Delhi before flying to Indonesia. I have no doubt the rollercoaster will continue and I’m just thankful I really like roller coasters and 2 really great riding partners....
In Kolkata, volunteering at the mother home was very encouraging, a beacon of light in a dark place. I was also inspired by the sheer number of other westerners coming to volunteer, esp Italian Catholics. Many were spending their holiday in Kolkata volunteering. Yet at the same time, I didn’t have a desire to stay. Maybe spending a day with the destitute and dying wasn’t enough of a honeymoon for me. Maybe I didn’t feel like I could really make an impact there. The day spend at Kalighat, mother Theresa’s first love, the home for the destitute and the dying, was a day for much thought and reflection. I didn't get to right away as we spent much of the evening dealing with the train schedule...
Varanasi also exemplified this roller coaster ride…we saw bodies burning on the ghats, had an interesting interaction with our rickshaw driver, observed many aspects of Hindu prayer and worship and I was told to go back to our country by a boat driver….the very next day we witnessed another beacon of hope at a Asha Bhavan, a widows home in Northern Varanasi with a wonderful couple from Ohio volunteering there. We bought brownies and cookies from their store, spent some time with Indian church planters and left wishing we could spend more time helping them.
We visit the Taj Tomorrow then take our final train to Delhi before flying to Indonesia. I have no doubt the rollercoaster will continue and I’m just thankful I really like roller coasters and 2 really great riding partners....
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