When I first started on the race, I first heard the phrase “Life is ministry, ministry is life.” If this is your first time hearing it, let me give you an example of what this phrase means to my team and I. The example comes in a story of how we were lead to a family that had never heard the name Jesus before. It all starts on a day when we decided to go white water rafting as a team with our contact family.
After rafting in between rows and rows of rice fields, we were given free lunch with our trip. As we were sitting and eating, one of my leaders wanted to pray for one of the workers who was pregnant. She had to have been due soon but she seemed to be on her feet all day. After praying for her, my teammate had caught the attention of another worker. She was an older woman but she was intent on listening to the prayer and she had the sweetest smile. Some of my teammates prayed with her and had a great conversation with her. We were on our way to a different café so we said our goodbyes and moved down the street. In the café, we ended up praying for the owner and his business but as we were leaving, the older woman was waiting outside on her bike for the teammate that had prayed for her. She got a hug and a picture before she hopped on her bike and rode away. The next day during prayer with our contact family, the older woman asked if she could see us again. She said that she felt different after the prayer and wanted to bring us to her house to pray with her family. We were so excited to be able to do a follow up visit the next week with Dia.* We had no idea the exciting things that the day had in store.
We drove two hours back to the rafting place and had lunch with Dia. She invited us to her house to meet her family and pray with them. She wanted them to understand what she was feeling after we had prayed with her. We explained to her that she could pray for her family as well but she explained to us why she could not. This might be TMI for some people so if it is you can skip the next 3 sentences. If you are Hindu, you are unable to go into the temple to pray when you are on your period. You are considered unclean and unfit to enter through the gate. When we explained that Dia could pray with us, she told us that she was on her period and could not pray. It brought me so much joy that we were able to tell her with Jesus, you can pray in whatever condition you are in. You could be sitting in a pig pen throwing poop and Jesus would love to have a conversation with you. We got to pray with her one more time before following her on her little motorbike up the mountain to her family. We kept going up and up this beautiful mountain full of lush green colors and steep steps of rice fields. The first house that we stopped at was where her mother and daughter-in-law lived. They had two adorable boys and the CUTEST puppy! We learned that the daughter-in-law had cancer so we immediately gathers in prayer together for praying for healing. As we were praying, you wanna know the best part? Dia was standing with us with her hands in prayer for her family, she was praying and believing with us! After prayer, we all got huge hugs from Dia as tears welled up in her eyes. The joy that the Lord brought Dia was contagious and so encouraging. In thanks, her mother brought out some durian. If you are unfamiliar with durian, I would say lucky you. Durian is a very VERY stinky fruit that has the consistency of rotten chicken and the taste of garlic. It is sometimes forbidden in places because the smell is so bad. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone but because it was a gift, I of course took a bite to receive the gift. And they gave us 10 durian for the road, that made for a stinky ride to the next house with Dia. She lead us to the house where was lives with her husband, two sons, and daughter. The older son had a wife and brand new baby girl. To our surprise the older son spoke great English. We were able to talk with him and hear about his faith before sitting down with all of Dia’s family for a chat about our beliefs. We had a chance to tell them the Good News and ask them if they want prayer to be forgiven. As we were chatting, I noticed that the father was sitting off to the side looking a little suspicious. When we asked if the family wanted prayer, he stayed kind of quiet but nodded his head yes. Our contact asked me to pray for the dad and I was honestly a little hesitant. I thought, “This is the patriarch of the family, he will pretty much decide what they will believe when we have even left.” As I was praying over him I felt the need to pray for healing. I wasn’t sure why I felt that way but I was obedient. After prayer, I called over my contact to ask the father in Indonesian if he was sick or had any pain that he needed healing for. The father explained that he had been having some lower back pain that was really bothering him. I called over some of my teammates to pray with me and we prayed healing over this man who had never heard of Jesus before. After praying for him he said that his back felt better and felt heat build in his heart. I was so excited to tell him that Jesus loved him and wanted to heal him. A smile grew on his face and I saw him relax for the first time since we got there. God called me all the way from Seattle to pray healing over this man. The atmosphere of the family shifted to joy after we prayed for each family member and explained to them a little bit more of how their life would change after this unforgettable decision to follow Jesus. The hardest thing to tell new believers here is explaining that they can no longer pray to the gods that they worship. There is only one true God and he is a jealous God. A lot of times when missionaries explain Christianity in Hindu nations, what ends up happening is that Jesus will just become another one of their gods and not the one true God that deserves all of the praise. This was difficult for the older son to be told, but it is necessary to hear. You have no need to pray to these small gods anymore. The prayer in my heart is that with this one family learning about Jesus, they will be able to share with others around them and then the story of Jesus will trickle down that mountain village. After learning more and talking together, they brought out a guitar and I was so excited. I started to play worship songs and the older son tried to sing along with us. He had no idea that he was worshiping God through what he was singing. After I played a few songs, I handed the guitar over to him and learned that he was a very good musician. All I kept thinking of was a service starting in this small mountain village with music and learning together about the Bible.
“Life is ministry, ministry is life.” Ministry has become a way of life for all of us on the race. We are here to serve people and show them the love that Jesus has for them. We are here to have random conversations with strangers that lead to prayer and hearts changing. We meet people where they are at, just as Jesus did when he came to earth. We meet people in coffee shops, massage shops, rafting adventures, hostels, taxis, English programs, and butterfly gardens. Those are just a few of the places that my team and I have gotten the chance to share the gospel in Indonesia. I am amazed by the curiosity of the people here and their willingness to listen to what you have to say. I still get butterflies in my stomach every time I get to share with them the good news that I came here to tell. God brought a girl all the way from the United States to them. We were brought together through a love that surpasses all understanding because I still don’t understand how my life brought me all the way to Bali, Indonesia. The conversations I have had here and sweet relationships I have formed will make it hard to leave but I encourage you to pray with me for the hearts that are touched by all of the racers as we continue our journey. Pray for the seeds that we planted to continue to be watered and cared for even after we’ve left. As we grow in this new way of life, pray for boldness to step out of that comfort zone to speak when God calls us to.
“Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”
Psalm 20:6-8
*name changed for privacy reasons
