Indonesia

Hi everyone!

This is going to be a relatively brief update. A month ago, my squad split up for our last country. Two teams went to Malaysia, and I traveled with my team and two others to Indonesia! Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world, with 87% of the population being Muslim. Given this, it is illegal to convert people to Christianity here, ie evangelize. So, sharing about Jesus here looks very different than it has in our other countries. It includes lots of relationship building and sharing my own personal experience and testimony. A major goal of our hosts here is long-term discipleship.
Another part of how we are serving here is teaching English and sports to children at a community center. This center is a safe place for children to come and be loved and learn English, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, music, crafts, literacy, and receive counseling. It’s also a way to bring discipleship to kids. Something I’ve learned here is that discipleship doesn’t start once someone believes, it starts from day one of meeting someone.

This country has been very growing for me, I’ve learned a lot about the power and importance of prayer, and about the importance of building relationships when it comes to sharing good news with people. We don’t have such a structured schedule as our previous countries, so I’m getting to experience more of how to live out the phrase “life is ministry, ministry is life”.

This country has also been the hardest. While I’ve come to know God in a whole new way here, I’ve also been struggling. As my adventure is coming to a close, it’s been easy to want to just check out and wish away the time until I get home. Living here is not the same freedom I have in the States, from dress code, to limited transportation, to sharing good news with people I meet, which at times makes me feel trapped, going a little stir-crazy. Often it’s been a mental battle every day to choose to continue to give my yes to him, to choose relationship, to choose to love and serve. It’s given me a new gratitude and appreciation for the long term workers in unreached countries, where this is part of their everyday lives.

Please continue to join my squad and me in prayer. God’s heart is for all people to know him, and prayer is a way he invites all of us into his mission. Pray for softened hearts of Muslims around the world, pray for them to have dreams and visions, and pray for the long-term workers, that they would be given strength, endurance, and provision for their physical needs as well as spiritual.

In a few days, I’ll enter my last two weeks overseas. So much of this trip has felt like a dream, but I’m filled with gratitude for my squad, my team, all the friendships, and the way God just keeps drawing me closer to him.