Hey Family!
Ok so don’t freak out the title is a little misleading ;). We are not actually back home in America but we have just arrived a few days ago in the first country Kalyn and I were in together: INDONESIA!! It feels more familiar than any other place we have been yet so we call it home!
I (Matt) am putting together a special video that will be posted in the near future about the special time we experienced in Malaysia but we have to tell you how great God is so far here in Indonesia. So, hold on because here is a good story for you!
A few days ago we arrived on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. We flew into the town of Makassar, which is a totally new region for Kalyn and I to visit here. We found a place to stay for a few nights before we headed more north from Makassar where we are. Our team is now on an organic farm helping a small local family provide food and English lessons to the extremely rural town of Rembon. More on this will be explained in a later blog and video as well 🙂
Never the less, in the few days we had to rest before heading to Rembon we decided to take a little day trip to tiny (less than 60 people on the island kind of tiny) to relax and get to know our new team members.
On the island there is great snorkeling so the girls grabbed their masks and headed for the reefs as I (Matt) stayed back to watch our stuff and planned to spend a little time with Jesus. As I sat down, a cute as can be little kid begins to play in the sand, so I start to play with him and bury him in the sand. He is having the time of his life, don’t tell too many people, but I was having a grand time myself. Sitting near us and watching on was a young Indonesian man in his mid 20’s. A few minutes later after I had buried the child in the sand he came up and asked if we could take a picture together.
After we took the picture he looked at my right arm and saw my tattoo. He looks at me and says, “That is Hebrew, Yes?” I was so taken back because many people do not know English in Indonesia but no chance that someone knew Hebrew I thought. So, I shared with him what it meant and how God loves when we wait on Him and trust His promises. When I finished my story he looks at me and says, “Wow, I really needed that right now.” I was so curious as to what he meant by that so we sat down and began to talk. 2 hours later I had learned that he was a former Christian and son of a Pastor in Makassar. He moved away to college and there he “found himself.” He shared with me how he discovered and come to terms with his homosexuality and cross dressing lifestyle. He poured out his heart and his struggles with his family and he began to let me speak back into him to the love of God and his identity as a son of God before anything else. He began to realize that God loved him and that he sent someone all the way to meet him on this random island to remind him of his Fathers love and desire for him to come home. I personally felt like every word that was coming from my mouth was piercing his heart with love and truth. It was incredible. He looked at me halfway through our time together and said, “You are the only person who has ever shared the Bible with me and never judged me.”
*Side note: Please do not take the last two sentences as a boast but as a reminder that if we are open to all people being God’s children then we will speak and love them the same way we believe He loves and speaks to us! I do not have it all together nor even close but God is opening me up to see that the Kingdom and His children are not mine to chose but mine to love and show God to!*
At the end of the conversation he was so encouraged and so torn. He knew the truth of God was chasing after him and he had even been asking God for answers. We read the story of the prodigal son together and it hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked at me and said, “Wow this story really touched my heart. Followed by laughing and saying “This really makes me want to go home right now.” He finished by saying, “Matthew, you are really dangerous. I came here just to party but I know God sent you here. You know I am not going to be able to be sleep tonight.” I laughed back at him and said, “The way that God is pursuing you, you must be really dangerous to the world as well.” We parted ways shortly after this and though he was not quite ready to come back home, the Holy Spirit did a greater work in his life that day than I can ever share with you. Continue to pray for him!!
Here is a short video of interview with him from Kalyn when he came and sat with us after our long conversation. Only you can view this with the link. It is not public!
He was not the only one touched by that interaction. God taught me so many things this day. He showed me that all people just want and need love. We are all struggling with and discovering our identity as sons of daughters of God, some just experience and express the struggle in different ways. God wants all His children to come home and our job is show people how God sees them not how we see them. Also, I MUST KEEP MY EYES OPEN AND MY SCHEDULE INTERRUPTIBLE. We did not pray or ask God if we should go to this island. This was not a “day of ministry.” We did not ask God to show us where to go, but we just went to enjoy each other and look what God did. So often I thought that I had to have an intentional prayer session before knowing where I was supposed to be. None of that took place yet I wound up in the middle of one of the most obvious God ordained relationships that I have been in for quite a while. Just go. Just be. If we keep our eyes open we can be a walking divine appointment everyday. Just being where you are is divine because you are, and I am, divine and carry the very Spirit of God. Lastly, I learned to be interruptible. I was just wanting to relax and have time with Jesus and this is a great thing but God had more. Choosing people will never go against God’s heart.
God has moved so greatly so far here in Indonesia so far! So many other conversations have taken place since then and God is getting His glory here! Keep praying for us!
Love you guys and so grateful to share in the glory of God with you!
