Good News and Not-So-Good News

Let’s start with the Not-So-Good News…

Some of you may have heard us talk about returning to Indonesia soon. Unfortunately, we will not be able to return until April. Why the delay, you may be asking yourself. A few weeks ago we sent in our payment for our visas. For a Social/Cultural visa the turn around from there is 10-14 days. So we were actively preparing to leave soon. We were giving away the things that we had acquired over the year, putting books in storage and seeing family for the last time.

Instead of receiving an email last week with our visas in it, we received an email informing us that our work visas won’t be ready until April. Our sponsoring Indonesian organization applied for a work visa for us straightaway instead of having us enter Indonesia with a Social/Cultural visa and switching over to a work visa while in country. In the end, this is a smart call on their part. It will cost less, and it guarantees us that we can stay and work there for a full year with the ability to renew it each year while we stay in country.

Please continue to pray for us as we readjust our mindset and prepare to stay in the US for another 2 months.

---

Now onto the Good News…

Good News #1:

Matt began PhD classes at Concordia Seminary- St. Louis this month. While we are living on the Seminary campus right now, he is enrolled in the distance program. He will have two week long intensive classes in June and January for the next 18 months here on campus, but do most of the work for his classes on-line leading up to each in-person session. Once we return to Indonesia it will take a bit of traveling back and forth for Matt but it will be well worth it.

Please pray for Matt as he begins his studies again.

Good News #2…

For Christmas this year we found out that I am pregnant! While it wasn’t quite what we were expecting and the timing isn’t perfect, we’ve learned to just roll with things in the last 2 years. And a baby is the best blessing, no matter the timing. Baby is due early August and we won’t find out the gender until baby arrives. (But we’re guessing it’s a girl).

Good News #3….

The Nelson family has arrived in Medan after spending 5 days in quarantine in Jakarta. We are so thankful to have teammates join us on the field (even though we aren’t on our field right now). The are settling into their apartment and dove right into language classes. If you want to find out more about the Nelson family, check out their page:

Please pray for their adjustment to the new culture and for their success in ministry.

The New Bishop of the GKLI

GKLI central office in Sihabong-habong.

Just before returning to America I had the opportunity to meet with the new leadership of The Gereja Kristen Lutheran Indonesia (The Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church—GKLI). Bishop Saragih and a few other leaders from the GKLI made the long mountainous journey from the GKLI headquarters in Sihabong-habong to Medan and arrived at our house Wednesday morning, December 15. We had the opportunity to discuss their goals for the GKLI and the church body’s work with the LCMS. It was a very positive and encouraging three hours. Bishop Saragih is a man who understand the great commission! He prays that the Lord will bless the GKLI through strong congregations and intentional gospel proclamation to those outside the church.

An ulos being woven.

One challenge that weighs heavily on the GKLI is funding. It is one of the poorest church bodies in Indonesia and it serves some of the poorest people of Indonesia. Facing this challenge Bishop Saragih did not ask for money. He does not want the GKLI to rely on LCMS dollars. Instead he shared his ideas on how the GKLI could support itself. To that end Bishop Saragih has explored the possibility of educating the people in Sihabong-habong to create ulos for export. (An ulos is a traditional Batak garment typically woven by hand. If you have been to one of my presentations my table is generally covered with an ulos.) Indonesia has a strong textile economy and a lot is exported. A single ulos can sell for hundreds of dollars. He also shared the idea of teaching local communities pig husbandry. The GKLI already has a peanut roasting operation underway. I was delighted to hear that the new leadership of the GKLI is committed to standing on its own financially. There are, of course, ways that the LCMS can help get the GKLI to that strong independent position.

Our discussion also revolved around the GKLI’s efforts for outreach and growth. Again I was fascinated by the well thought out plans and goals laid out by Bishop Saragih. Here is a brief rundown::

• Go to the rural areas and establish relationships through teaching the local communities how to raise pigs. The wild hog population in the Sumatran Jungle is declining. So hunting and gathering is not a sustainable way to support a village. The GKLI can help, however, by providing pigs along with education to these communities.

• Establish a campus ministry center in Medan. Americans are familiar with the challenges college students face with regard to their faith. Indonesians also face challenges in college, they are different to be sure, but even in Indonesia college is a time where young men and women find themselves away from their families and their churches. The GKLI leadership would like to see a college ministry center established in Medan. This would be primarily to support and strengthen GKLI students while they are away at college.

• The GKLI wants to establish new congregations throughout Indonesia. They have the powerful message of the Gospel and they have the pastors. Right now they are trying to work out a model that would create sustainable congregations.

The topic of seminary education is also important to the GKLI leaders. We talked about what it takes to become a pastor in the GKLI. They have a seminary program that roughly mirrors the programs at the two LCMS seminaries in America. Two years of theological education, one year of internship, another year of education. One difference is that after the students are done with their education they begin a two year vicarage. After the successful completion of these two years they are ordained.

The challenge facing the seminary is one of resources in the Indonesian language. Most of the resources available in Indonesian come from reformed authors. Reformed and Lutheran theologians have significant differences in understanding the power of Baptism, the reality of the Lord’s Supper, the role and call of a pastor, and the list goes on. This is one area where the LCMS has a lot of experience. We can definitely help with this.

I am excited to work with Bishop Saragih. Please pray with me that God would bless him with the necessary leadership skills to work effectively toward these gospel centered goals.

Ministry Opportunities in Jakarta

While I was in Indonesia I had the opportunity to meet with Pastor Tumpak Sianturi and Mr. Yogie Prihantoro. These men desire to establish a faithfully Lutheran Ministry in Jakarta. They are part of a small, but very active group of people who have been actively seeking out resources to grow in their Lutheran understanding of the Gospel.

We spent almost 10 hours meeting together and brainstorming about how the LCMS might support their efforts to get this ministry off the ground. The biggest need right now is for a pastoral leader to take ownership of the ministry. Mr. Yogie is a candidate for ordination, but he is unsatisfied with the churches available to him in Jakarta. He expressed his desire to work with the LCMS. So we came up with a plan to get things started. Beginning when my family can get back to Indonesia, I will be meeting with Mr. Yogie on a weekly bases to get to know him better as a theologian and offer him guidance and instruction.

The ultimate goal is to see a new worshiping community in Jakarta. Pastor Tumpak and Mr. Yogie feel that there are already enough people to make this happen, but they lack the resources to establish a regular meeting space. One challenge is that those who are interested in the ministry live all over Jakarta and it can take hours to travel from one place to the next in the giant city. Finding the right location will be challenging. Then, of course, there is the matter of funding for the building and the pastor.

I would also like to see the GKLI involved in this ministry as well. They are an established and faithful church who can provide the necessary oversight to this project. The new Bishop, Jon Albert Saragih, expressed interest and excitement at the prospect of being involved in this ministry. Pastor Tumpak, while not a member of the GKLI, is a graduate of their seminary.

Once Mr. Yogie and I start our weekly conversations, the next step will be start a weekly bible study that focuses on a distinctively Lutheran interpretation. Both Pastor Tumpak and Mr. Yogie teach at Philadelphia Seminary in Jakarta, so the campus is the most natural place to start with the Bible Studies. What a joy to meet with these faithful men and may God bless our work together to increase His Kingdom.

Returning to Medan

I have already been in in Indonesia for about three weeks and just now finally sitting down to reflect on coming back to our house in Medan after over a year. My family isn’t with me for this trip so the feelings of returning home were significantly dampened. Nevertheless pulling up to our house opening the gate and seeing the familiar surroundings did bring memories and thoughts of the roots we had established during the year and a half we lived here.

However, memories, my favorite coffee mug, and the loud echoes of tile floors were not the only thing to greet me as I walked in the door. The first day also presented challenge and opportunity to exercise and test my language abilities. The electricity was dead in half the house, the electric meter was not taking payment (a cool thing you can do in Indonesia is pay for power through your electric meter), and the washing machine was not working. Three issues that needed to be resolved with… phone calls. Ugh. If you have ever tried to learn a second language you may already know that phone calls are the absolute worst. Often the sound quality is not great, you get no visual cues, and the person you’re talking to cannot see the panic in your eyes as you realize you haven’t understood a thing. But I really wanted air conditioning in the bedroom, the meter was almost out of power, and I had clothes from four days of travel that needed washing.

I called the land lord who came over with an electrician—a friend with a screwdriver and plyers—and we worked out the house electrical problems. I called the power company and successfully explained the problems with the meter. Either that or I successfully confused them so they just told me that they will come over and find out for themselves what the issue was. They arrived surprisingly fast and we chatted about life as they fixed the meter. Then I called the manufacturer of the washing machine and scheduled maintenance for besok which in Indonesian is the future of “the other day.” So even though the dictionary says it means tomorrow it more precisely means something more like “sometime in the next couple of days” In any event solving these three issues within hours of arriving at the house was a big boost to my language confidence.

The day ended with a video call to Kali and the girls back in America. Laurel and Eleanor were excited to see their room, even if through a smart phone. Caroline excitedly said “Ayah” (Indonesian for Father) over and over and over and kept wanting to hug the phone. It is great and important to be here in Indonesia, but I do desperately miss my family back in the US.

I fell asleep to the familiar rumble of the 30 year old AC unit in our bedroom and the neighbor hood watch letting us all know that they’re making their rounds by loudly banging a metal hammer on the light posts outside.

The repairman for the washing machine arrived four days later.

Sinode Agung Gereja Christian Luther Indonesia

While those of you in America were celebrating Thanksgiving the GKLI was conducting business at their convention, which they call a Great Synod. About 200 pastors and elders gathered to vote on leadership and decide the direction of their church body.

Pastor wood with the pastors of the GKLI at their synod convention.

On Thanksgiving day I began my travels up the mountains of Northern Sumatra. I stopped to rest beside Lake Toba on Thursday night and made the rest of the journey on Friday, arriving in time for the opening services of the convention that evening.

The theme verse of the convention was Ephesians 6:10, “Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” In his sermon, Bishop Sinaga reflected upon how God provided for the GKLI through the covid-19 pandemic and called on the members of GKLI not to be conformed to the world where there is no true power, but to rest in the strength of Jesus Christ who has shown his love to us through the difficult times of the pandemic. After the worship service I was invited to deliver a brief greeting from the LCMS.

From left to right: New Bishop Jon Albert Saragih, Bishop Emeritus Sinaga, Pastor Matthew Wood, Bishop Emeritus Aladin Siteo.

The following day was packed full of business. The sermon at morning worship encouraged the people to remember that God is not the God of GKLI only but the Father of all creation. Following the worship service reports were given from Bishop Sinaga and the GKLI treasurer. Then the elections began with each candidate for Bishop giving his five-year vision for the GKLI. At this point I excused myself because I did not want my presence to have any undue influence over the discussion or the elections. The elections lasted well into the night and finally at 1:00 a.m. they announced the election of a new Bishop and General Secretary.  

Newly Installed Bishop Jon Albert Saragih addresses the congregation after Sunday morning worship.

On Sunday morning the pastors and elders who attended the convention joined the congregation in Sihabong-habong for worship. Bishop Emeritus Aladin Siteo preached on the centrality of repentance and forgiveness in the life of the Church. It is in this repentance and forgiveness that we receive the strength and power of God. After the service the new bishop and leadership of the GKLI were installed.

In his remarks to the congregation Bishop Saragih said that while the leadership of the GKLI has changed the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, has not changed. The vision of the GKLI remains the same, "To be a mature, independent, missional church.” Bishop Saragih addressed the two Bishop Emeriti requesting their help and continued cooperation and asking for forgiveness over any offences and sins committed during the election process.

Thank you for praying for the GKLI convention. The decisions made here have a huge impact on our work with the GKLI and the future of our work in Indonesia. The new leadership remains committed to their identity as Lutherans and their continued work with the LCMS. Please continue to pray for the GKLI. Pray that God would use the decisions reached at the convention to strengthen the Church and spread the Reign of Heaven.

A Happy Return

Since leaving Indonesia in November 2020 I could not break through the frustration to write any updates here. Sending out updates via the newsletter and personal conversations left be too discontented and a bit defeated to repeat the exercise again with a piece on the family website.

Such times and displeasures have abated—at least for the time being—so my return to Indonesia warrants a return to The SEAside as well. In the coming day’s I’ll be posting about arriving at the house in Medan and the GKLI general synod, which was held November 26-28.

For now I will just offer a brief update on the experience of travelling into Indonesia during these times of heightened covid-19 protocols.

Kali and I loaded the kids into the car at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15th to get to the airport for my 6:00 a.m. flight out of saint Louis. After saying good-bye to Kali and the girls I checked in for my first leg of a 29 hour trip. Ultimately, I landed safely in Jakarta at 12:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 18. There was a small issue with my quarantine hotel, but after a couple of hours I got it resolved and checked into quarantine at 3:00 a.m. It was as boring as you can imagine.

Entering Indonesia alone has been a helpful experience as I will know more about what to expect when travelling with the whole family. I have also been able to send notes to Paul Nelson and his family who hope to be moving to Indonesia in January 2022.

Early on Sunday morning, November 21 I boarded a plane to Medan, and after an hour long taxi ride I finally arrived at the house one year and five days after our unfortunate departure.

Please give thanks to God with me for hearing our prayers and providing a way back to Indonesia according to His timing. Pray that He would also bless this trip and use it to strengthen his Church and extend His kingdom.

I return to America on December 20th. Our family will be able to celebrate Christmas and then we will be returning to Indonesia together. In light of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 of course nothing is certain. Please pray that Indonesia remains open and continues to issue visas.

Reconnecting in the States

Check out the latest newsletter for information about our reluctant return to the United States of America. We will land in Minneapolis on November 15, after the recommended time isolating and checking for COVID-19 symptoms we will be doing presentations. That is the first Sunday after Thanksgiving we will be available to reconnect with supporters and tell the story of how God is working in Indonesia. We will schedule presentations through the first part of January.

I will be available to preach on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. I also have a 45 minute presentation and a 15 minute presentation prepared for Bible Studies.

Check your calendar for openings beginning from Nov. 29 and let me know if you or your congregation would be interested to learn more about Indonesia.

To schedule a presentation here is my contact information:

US Phone Number: 952-491-0762

What’s App Number: +1-314-495-2623

Email: matthew.wood@lcms.org

Kitchen Adventures

Visiting an Indonesian restaurant in San Francisco.

Before I begin, let me tell you a story.

A few months before we moved to Indonesia we were visiting friends near the San Francisco Bay area. At that time we had been raising funds for our work in Indonesia for months and I was feeling tired. I wasn’t particularly excited about moving across the world and wasn’t sure what to expect once we arrived. We attended church with our friends and met an Indonesian family there. I asked the wife if there were any Indonesian restaurants in the Bay area. To my surprise, she rattled off an address to one of her favorites. That evening we made the drive into the city and my world was changed. We had no idea what to order so we just picked a few things. The food was amazing! It was deliciously complex and spicy. With the knowledge that the food was good, I was ready to begin this new chapter of our lives.

The delicious food that started my love for Indonesian cooking.

Fast forward to our time here.

We are blessed with having a helper come in and cook lunch for us during the work week. She cooks only Indonesian food for us and is a wonderful cook. When we eat at restaurants we often compare the food to hers, and hers is always better.

There are a few dishes that Matt and I would like to master because we would like to share them with our friends and family when we visit the States. My goal is to try to make one of these dishes each Sunday.

The first one is Beef Rendang. It’s a slow cooked beef in a spicy coconut milk. Our first attempt was pretty close but we lacked one ingredient. The next week we had all the right ingredients but I did something wrong and it tasted bland. Each week I talk to our helper to get tips and tricks on how to make it better.

My first attempt at beef rendang. Slow cooking the coconut milk, spices and beef together until almost dry.

One of the ingredients for Beef Rendang and many other Indonesian dishes is daun jeruk (kaffir lime leaves). We didn’t have any one week but luckily our neighbor has a kaffir lime tree. I knocked on her door and asked if I could pick a few off her tree. The situation made me laugh to myself because it’s the Indonesian equivalent of borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor.

We recently watched an episode of Gordon Ramsey’s Uncharted. In Season 2, episode 4 he goes to West Sumatra and makes Beef Rendang. Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

I’m going to take a break from making Beef Rendang this week and am going to try my hand at Nastar (pineapple cookies).

The finished product!

Back at It!

The travel restrictions in Indonesia loosened up a bit in August and September. I took advantage of that and traveled from Medan to Jakarta to work with our theological translator, Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan, on some of the new translations for the BIL. His translations are already quite good, but we both want these translations to be the best they can be. So we reviewed his translations and enhanced them a bit.

We developed a process. We sing Pastor Eben Ezer’s translation and smooth out any places that are difficult to sing. We then review the rhyming pattern and see where that can be improved. Then finally sing the hymn through once or twice to make sure everything still fits together. Using this process we have been able to get through six to eight hymns a day.

I also recently had the privilege of visiting the GKLI offices in Sihabonghabong, Indonesia. We were able to get most of the GKLI Hymnal Committee together and review the first draft of several portions of the BIL: the GKLI liturgy, the historic liturgy, Matins, Vespers, general petitions and thanksgivings, Luther’s Small Catechism, the Psalms, and the lectionary. We completed much of the needed proof reading and divided the hymns so members of the committee can complete a proof read before our next meeting.

This work is tedious and sometimes boring, but it is absolutely necessary. The GKLI desires to publish a quality hymnal that will strengthen the church for many years. They have asked for help and what a blessing for us to be able to respond. So we are working together to create a work that will endure for generations. I believe that we are on track to accomplish this goal.

Another blessing of this meeting was the opportunity to strengthen my Indonesian. There was no translator at these meetings which spanned over two days. I was able to lead about 8 hours of the meetings and discussions in Bahasa Indonesia. The meetings were not the most challenging part, because I was prepared for that. I prepared vocabulary, sentences, idioms, etc. The most challenging part was the meals. Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner full of Indonesian. It was challenging, exhausting,—I was ready for bed by 7:00 p.m. each night—and also tremendously encouraging. The societal and governmental response to covid-19 has made prolonged conversation in Indonesian difficult to find. But these meetings in Sihabonghabong revealed that even these difficulties did not keep my language from continuing to develop. Certainly there is much more to learn, but Kali and I both continue in the right direction, however slowly that might be.

The New Normal in Medan

The phrase “New Normal” is quickly becoming a part of everyday life around the world. Indonesia is no exception. In fact here in they don’t even translate it they just use the English, “New Normal” as they attempt to open up the country and reclaim their everyday lives.

In Medan life seems to be returning to a fairly regular routine. The outdoor markets are full of people, the traffic is back on the streets, the malls are visited, and there are people eating in the restaurants. Of course, key differences that make this a new normal do exist.

The most obvious is masks. The vast majority of people here wear a mask without comment or protest. A large amount of people wear it incorrectly under the nose, but I doubt that this is unique to Indonesia. No one can enter a public building without a mask.

Another new addition to normal is temperature checking machines at the entrances to many public buildings. These machines are located mainly in higher end malls and retail stores. The smaller shops have a security guard with a non-contact thermometer checking everyone’s temperature.

Hand washing stations have also made their way into everyday life. Whether you’re going to an ATM, an Indomart (a convenience store like 7-11), the mall, the office, or even the out door market, these hand washing stations are everywhere. I quickly learned that it is a good idea to make sure that the water is running BEFORE I get my hands full of soap. Once inside the store there is also an ample amount of hand sanitizer available. I have also learned to make sure it is actually hand sanitizer and not lotion samples.

The recommendation/requirement to social distance is all over. There are posters, billboards, tv & radio commercials, and various other public service announcements.
Special markings on the floor, escalators, and in the elevators help people keep their distance. However, all this is generally ignored by the people in Medan. In any event, I don’t think it would really be possible social distance. There just isn’t enough space and it’s not part of the culture anyway. For example if you practice social distancing in the checkout line most Indonesians will assume that you’re not actually in line and enter the queue in front of you.

Any sense of Normal “new” or otherwise has yet to return to the schools which remain exclusively online per the government’s orders. It matters not whether the school is public or private any in person education is prohibited. The movie theaters are also still shuttered.

Whether it be new normal, old normal, abnormal, differently insane, or whatever circumstances lie at the end of this covid-19 timeline we know that our Lord Jesus Christ reigns over all, and the ministry of the Gospel will continue. This truth is eternally consistent. Amidst the chaos of this world we pray for the Eternity of the New Creation to be revealed to us on the day Jesus Christ returns in glory.

Quarantine Blessings

Water gun fights are the best!

While most shops, restaurants, malls, and playgrounds have reopened here we still do not take the girls out much. One reason is that we aren't clear if most places will allow Caroline in because she cannot wear a mask and another reason is because Eleanor doesn't have the discipline to keep her mask on for more than 2 minutes at a time. Thus we spend most of our time at home.

Because of this, we have spent our evenings playing outside. The girls enjoy riding their bikes in the street or taking walks and counting all the stray cats we see.

Coincidentally our neighbors also spend this time of day playing outside so we have gotten to know them. They have two boys who are close to Laurel and Eleanor's ages. They have become fast friends. The boys (and their parents) speak some English and are very helpful in teaching us Indonesian.

Kali enjoys chatting with the mom as they watch the children play. This helps her improve her Indonesian while making a new friend.

The kids love having bike races, running races, water fights, nerf gun wars, playing tag or hide and seek. It's wonderful to see the girls play so freely and make new friends. They were feeling lonely after the pandemic started because their expat friends had moved back to their home countries to wait out the pandemic.

While I wish we had the freedom to go more places, if we did we might not have become friends with our neighbors.

Bike races with the neighbor boys.

These kittens appeared at the coffee shop next door. We visit them often.

First Grade Completed!

On Friday, June 12th Laurel completed first grade. It was our first year of intentional homeschooling. We began first grade on July 29th and in a little less than 11 months we finished. 11 months sounds like a long school year but she welcomed a baby sister during that time and had to deal with mom and dad taking bahasa classes for 6 months of that time.

Things that surprised me during this year:

Laurel made this poster on her own.

“Books can take you anywhere.”

1. She learned to love school and learning. She became proud of the the new information she learned and wanted to find out more.

2. She became more independent as the year went on. There were days where she picked up her school things and worked independently the whole morning.

3. She learned to love to read. When we started this year I wasn’t sure she’d be reading fluently by the end of it, but one day it clicked for her.

4. Eleanor wants to “do school” like her big sister. Instead of playing independently while I teach Laurel, Eleanor wants to pull up a chair and doodle on some paper and “do school” with us.

5. Being able to teach my child and see when concepts click, see her excitement and wonder as she learns something new, and being able to encourage her through difficulties is more of a blessing than I had anticipated as we began this home-school journey.

6. God is good! Yes, I knew this before the school year began, but He has proven it time and again as we journeyed through this year.

7. It has been a great blessing to teach her at home as we made this transition together as a family. It helped keep her feeling safe, loved and created a stronger family bond.

8. Since we were already home-schooling the worldwide pandemic affected our life in a very small way.

We look forward to taking a 4-6 week break from school and then launching in to second grade.

GKLI Feeds the Hungry during covid-19 Lock-down. The LCMS helps.

The congregations of the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI) serve some of the poorest communities on the island of Sumatra. These communities were severely impacted by the covid-19 lock-downs, which attempted to slow the disease’s spread. The Indonesian government was concerned about covid-19 reaching the smaller villages that do not have adequate medical facilities if any. Needless to say, much like the rest of the world, the people in these villages, while possibly being protected from a rapid spread of covid-19, saw their already difficult struggle with poverty aggravated.

The GKLI had the man power and the desire to respond quickly, but they lacked the financial resources. So they applied for a series of grants and brought food to the hungry in their communities. They received support from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The LCMS in particular sent $5,000 to the GKLI in order to assist them in their food distribution. With this money the GKLI was able to feed 370 families for one month. The food provided included 10 kgs of rice, eggs, oil, and sugar. Thousands of masks were also handed out in order to enable people to follow the government mandated order that masks be word in public.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Praise be to God for the on going relationship between the LCMS and the GKLI! Our work together continues to express Christian love in concrete ways. What a blessing! I am extremely excited to be working with this faithful church body and I look forward to seeing what our Heavenly Father has in store for the ministry here as we preach Christ with the full power of the Holy Spirit.

Work from Home

We have been finished with language classes for about a month. Our final presentations have been postponed indefinitely. So now Kali and I are getting used to life after language class which includes me working from our home in Medan. Of course with the self-isolation orders and social distancing measures being taken this isn’t exactly the regular routine that we will eventually be getting used to, but we must get used to it for the time being. This time has allowed me to focus on the Indonesian Hymnal, study, and look forward to the projects that are waiting at the other end of the isolation.

The plan was always to do a majority of work from my home study here in Medan. The self-isolation and social distancing efforts to slow the spread of covid-19 have provided ample time to focus on the Indonesian Hymnal project. Right now we are working through some of the nitty-gritty editing and formatting. At the moment there are two major editing and formatting projects that I am working on.

First is the proofing of all hymns that have already been translated and set to music. This is mainly checking for typos, and making sure the division of syllables is correct. If you think that doing this in Indonesian makes it more difficult for me. You’d be correct. It is not exactly how I imagined keeping up with my language learning, but it no doubt helps.

This task requires rudimentary knowledge of the Finale music program and knowledge of Indonesian. I have just enough knowledge in both to start working through it. Once the self isolation mandates ease up a bit I will be meeting with a local pastor in the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI) to double check and proof all the hymns again.

The second big task that I am working on is formatting the Psalms for the hymnal. The GKLI hymnal committee was adamant that the Psalms be included in this hymnal, all of them. So I am busy editing the Teks Alkitab Terjemahan Baru from the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (The New Translation of the Text of the Bible from the Indonesian Bible Institute). Thankfully much of this work has already been done by previous workers in Indonesia. We already have an electronic document with the text of all 150 Psalms, which I am formatting to the specifications of the new hymnal. It’s tedious and sometimes I wish someone else was doing it, but it is an important job for me because it helps to keep the GKLI hymnal committee focused on translation and obtaining all the necessary copyrights.

This is obviously not how I imagined ministry would look after language learning, but like most people around the world today, we must adapt and adjust expectations. It is important for me to remember that this new hymnal is important to the ministry of the GKLI. All the tediousness and editing will pay off as the GKLI uses this new hymnal as a tool to educate their members and bring people into the worship life of Christ’s church.

Nevertheless, I look forward to when the self isolation comes to an end and opportunities to teach at conferences and meetings return. The pastors and elders of the GKLI have a lot of questions about prayer so that might be in the future. The GKLI leadership would like to better understand the Augsburg Confession. So that is another possible topic of a future meeting or conference. This time of Isolation has provided ample time for study in both of these areas.

I also look forward to being able to work with Bishop Esra Sinaga and Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan on developing a Christian education podcast which will be able to reach the congregations in the smaller villages around Sumatra. These will be a series of podcasts focused on the Small Catechism and taught at about a confirmation class level. I will be working with Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan to produce each episode and with Bishop Esra Sinaga on the best way to disseminate each podcast.

Peace in the Midst of a Pandemic

Recently I have read many Facebook posts from my mom-friends in the States who are struggling with this new normal of their children doing part homeschooling and part distance learning. This pandemic has changed their lives drastically.

For us, it has calmed down our lives and brought us into a very stable place. Because Matt and my Bahasa Indonesia classes have finished, we are now home all the time with the girls. Matt can jump into his work full-time and I can focus on my vocation as mother/teacher/wife.

Now that I don’t have to focus on going to class and my own homework I can focus on teaching Laurel and Eleanor. With the extra time we have together we have been able to do some fun learning as well as our basic subjects. We have done science experiments, art and lots of extra reading.

While we miss seeing friends each week at playgroup or play dates, we are happy to be spending more time together. I have found time to cook more, try out new recipes and make things we can’t buy here (like homemade bagels). Matt and I have found time to pull out some of the board games we brought and have some in-home date nights.

We have been given a time to reset as a family, to explore our vocations that God has given us and to trust that He will continue to care for us as we go about our daily lives.

The Last Day of Language Class

We have reached a huge milestone in our life and work here in Medan. On Friday, March 20th Kali and I went to our last Bahasa Indonesia Class. When we arrived in Medan in May of 2019 we hit the ground running. In less than a week we had our first lesson scheduled and we have been working hard since then. We did take about six weeks off for the birth of Caroline and there were some major public holidays mixed in like Idul Fitri and Christmas, but we have finally made it! What a ride. It feels like just yesterday we started and at the same time like this has taken an excruciatingly long time. We are so thankful for everyone’s prayers and support through this process we were blessed and comforted to know that we were not alone.

There is definitely more to learn. Kali and I will see how the natural learning of the language comes along and then make adjustments as necessary moving forward. Right now though our life is going to change… again. Thankfully we don’t have to move, but the structure of our day is going to completely change. We had been dedicating six hours a day to language learning. Now that classes are completed it will certainly be less, even though we know that we still have to keep up with it.

We like much of the rest of the world are doing our best to self isolate ourselves against COVID-19. So our days wont look ‘normal’ for some time. For the time being, Kali will be dedicating much of the newly available time to homeschooling Laurel and Eleanor. I will be dedicating a lot of attention to working on the Indonesian Hymnal.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

COVID-19

According to the Indonesian Government there are currently 514 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 48 reported deaths in Indonesia. Up to five of the cases are in the Provence of North Sumatra where we live. The Island of Java seems to have been hit the hardest. The present situation in Medan, the city we call home, cannot be known for sure because the testing just isn’t available. The reaction here is much like the rest of the world. The Government of Indonesia has closed all points of entry for non-citizens. A foreigner can only enter after receiving a special visa from an Indonesian Embassy. The application for this visa includes a letter from the Health Department of the person’s home government. Schools have been cancelled. The streets are quiet. The people with whom I am in regular contact are concerned, but not panicked. So far there has been no run on toilet paper or any other essentials (except for hand sanitizer but that was always a little bit hard to find here).

We are currently all healthy and staying at home. This is important especially for our girls, particularly Eleanor. Because Eleanor is very blonde with very pale skin, her cheeks are pinched and her hair is touched by the people here when we go out into public. Caroline is also the target of a lot of physical affection, which is mostly hands touching her face. So, naturally, we are keeping them home. We are thankful that our home provides plenty of space and a yard where the girls can play.

Last Friday, March 20th, we finished up our last unit of language learning. The school would like us to do a 20 minute presentation as a final evaluation. We are going to wait two weeks, monitor the situation here, and then set a date. We would have liked to go out for a celebratory meal or maybe take a celebratory trip out of the city, alas all that will have to wait.

Fortunately, the work that lies ahead in the immediate future for the ministry here can be accomplished through working at home. We have set the publication goal of the Indonesian Hymnal (BIL) for Easter 2021. So I will be spending a lot of time proof reading and formatting that. We will have to delay the podcast that was in the works as I was planning to travel to Jakarta for that. Thankfully, we did not have any conferences or large group meetings planned. Of course we will not be able to plan any new conferences or workshops until this global pandemic passes.

Small Catechism Workshop in Taupejat, Mentawai.

From February 26–28 I lead a Small Catechism workshop in Taupejat, Mentawai. A chain of about seventy islands off the west coast of Sumatra comprise the Islands of Mentawai. The Small Catechism Workshop was held in the city of Taupejat on the island of Sipora. About 10 pastors and 70 church leaders were in attendance in addition to the leadership of the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI).

Travel to Sipora Island took 24 hours. I left my home at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25 and arrived at the hotel in Taupejat at 11:30 a.m. the following day. The islands of Mentawai are only accessible via a ferry that departs from the city of Padang four times a week. The ferry ride was enjoyable as it was the first time I have ever been on a boat with land completely out of sight. In Indonesian they call this laut lepas, which translates to open ocean.

Once the workshop began the schedule was intense. The days started at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and concluded at 9:00 p.m. after the post-dinner session. Our meeting room was on the top floor of a three floor hotel in a room with no air conditioning. It was hot! It was worth it though to be able to work through the catechism with the new GKLI congregations in Mentawai. We had time to work through each of the six chief parts of the Small Catechism: the 10 Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. I also had the opportunity to put my language learning to the test as I led Matins on Thursday morning completely in Indonesian, including the sermon!

I discuss the Small Catechism with the pastors and congregational leaders of the GKLI Mentawai congregations. Sitting on stage with me is Pastor Eben Ezer, my translator. There is another row of tables out of the picture on the right.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

One of the goals of this workshop was to get to know the pastors and congregational leaders of the congregations in Mentawai. Through paying attention to their interest, interaction, questions, and comments we can understand a little more about their context and the challenges that they face. One area that sparked a lot of interest and interaction was the Lord’s Prayer, the role of prayer, and how to pray. We were able to discuss Martin Luther’s letter to his barber titled A Simple Way to Pray. They were very interested in the pattern of prayer which Martin Luther discusses there: instruction, thanksgiving, repentance, and request. The pastors and lay people were also interested in very practical advice such as how do we talk to people about infant baptism? What should be done if someone gets baptized again? What is the best way to distribute the Lord’s supper?

In all the Workshop was a resounding success and as I departed for home on Friday my mind was racing with how to meet the needs of the people here. It is very clear that they very much appreciate the help and aid of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. They are so thankful to all of you who make time to pray for them and support the ministry here with your gifts. The Lord be praised for the growing relationship between the GKLI and the LCMS!

Indonesian Hymnal Progress

I recently returned to Sihabonghabong, a small rural village in the north part of the Island of Sumatera and the location of the GKLI central office. The journey begins with a 5:00 a.m. taxi ride to the Medan Airport, continues with a 40 minute flight to the mountains around Lake Toba, and finally concludes with a two  hour drive over about 40 miles of rough mountain roads. The difficult travel is eased by the sunshine and 70 degree weather, which is a welcome break from the relentless heat and humidity of Medan.

I met Deaconess Sandra Rhein at the Silangit Airport and we were greeted by GKLI Bishop Esra Sinaga and Pastor Sitepu. On the way to the offices in Sihabonghabong Bishop Sinaga was excited to show us us a famous site where Ludwig Nommensen arrived in “Batak Land”. The Batak people are tremendously thankful for the ministry of Nommensen, and the site reflects reverence to God for his gracious work of bringing them the Gospel through his servant. We also visited a site commemorating two Christian martyrs Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson and one of the first Churches on Sumatera. You can read more thoughts and reflections on these sights at theseaside.asia. From here we finished the journey to Sihabonghabong.

The goal of the visit was to help the GKLI make progress on the Buku Ibadah Luther (BIL), their Indonesian hymnal project. With hymns and worship services mostly translated, they have asked us to help plan for publication. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done. So the GKLI Hymnal committee has set goals for selecting and translating prayers, bringing the liturgical calendar into Indonesian, adding some commemorations that are important to Christianity in Indonesia, acquiring copyrights, and proofreading. Their goal is to publish by Easter 2021.

A Pilgrimage of Sorts

While traveling to Sihabonghabong, Indonesian Kristen Lutheran Church (GKLI) Bishop suggested that we visit three important sites along the way. These are sights remembering and honoring the beginning of Christianity among the Batak people on the Island of Sumatra.

The first was the place where Ludwig Nommensen saw the Batak people. On November 11, 1863 He was hiking down the mountain and saw the camps and smoke from the cook fires in the valley down below. He knelt by the rock pictured to the right and prayed in part, “O God, live or die let me be in the midst of the Batak people in order to spread Your Word and Your work.” He would then live and work with the Batak people until his death on May 23, 1918. At the time of his death God had used Nommensen to establish a church with over 180,000 members.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Bishop also brought us to the first Batak congregation which was planted by Nommensen. It is not the original building, but it is in the same location. The current sanctuary was build some time in the 1940s.

Our last destination before completing the drive to Sihabonghabong was a site commemorating two Christian martyrs from America, the Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson memorial. There is a mural that tells the story of the Gospel’s reception in Batak land.

The story is told with images as your eyes move from left to right. The Batak people are depicted going about their normal lives when Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson show up and beging to proclaim the Gospel to them. At this time the Gospel is not received and the two men are martyred. (It is not shown in this mural, but they were eaten by the Batak people.) Later Nommensen arrives and begins to proclaim the Gospel to the people again. This time the Gospel is received. The people are seen repenting, going to church, and raising up their own Christian leaders.

I was concerned about the image depicted on the lower right of the mural. At first it appeared to me that suddenly they were all wearing western clothing and I was a little concerned that ‘Westernization’ was being celebrated. But that is not the case. Rather this last image on the bottom right corner depicts the Lyman and Munson families reconciling with the Batak people. That is certainly a beautiful thing. The story of the Gospel among the Batak people is a story of God not giving up, but sending again and again the news of Christ’s death and resurrection. And that reality is realized concretely in the reconciliation between the Batak people and the Lyman and Munson families.

Thanks and praise be to God for His marvelous work in generations past. May He continue to use us as He accomplishes His will in this world!