I am in month four and currently in the country of Indonesia. FUN FACT: Indonesia is the highest Islamic country in the world. Our entire squad was in Bandung with our mentor and coaches for our second debrief. We also found out this month was going to be structured a little different. Surprise, Surprise. Our leadership wanted to shake it up so they split the men and the women into two teams!
The guys got together and began to pray and ask the Lord where He wanted us to go and what He wanted us to do. God told us Jakarta, rooted and hospitality so we began to plan. We found an apartment in the Slipi area of the city where we could stay together for the rest of the month. Rewind quickly to last month when we went to Singapore. Our team was trying to find a place to stay in our budget but everything was way too expensive. Shocker. We all downloaded the Couchsurfing App which is used by travelers to find places to stay. Many generous people open up their home and let you sleep in their couches or extra beds. It isn’t only used for lodging but to hang out as well. I didn’t use it much in Malaysia but when I heard the word Hospitality the Holy Spirit reminded me of Couchsurfing. I logged in and started inviting people over to our apartment. God is so creative frfr.
At first, I met Alfin who is a local that loves Spanish and is currently learning it. We went out for coffee and I had a great time getting to know his story, his hobbies, and his beliefs. One thing I noticed was his love for this country. He was telling me all about the beautiful places and the good food I needed to try. He wanted to meet my friends so I invited him over the next day and we all went out to eat. He spent the whole afternoon with us and we got to love on Alfin.
Then I met Windra, his profile on Couchsurfing said he loved swimming so I invited him over to the pool. I got to hear his story and ask him a million questions about different things. After that, we went back to the apartment and I cooked him some noodles and we watched Baby Driver [My favorite movie in case you weren’t aware]. I realized that these interactions come with a lot of small talks at first but you have to be patient and consistent. We continued to text and planned to hang out again. The more we talked the deeper our conversation got.
Since the Holy Spirit had placed hospitality on our hearts we decided to host a dinner at our apartment. I invited Alfin, Windra, and others on Couchsurfing. I had no idea who would show up but we had an open heart to receive anyone who entered our doors. That night we hosted 7 locals and we taught them how to play spicy UNO. The cool thing about that night was that it was Good Friday! FUN FACT #2: In Indonesia, employees get off work for all religious holidays including Christianity. We began asking our friends if they knew the meaning of Good Friday. They were honest and said they had an idea but didn’t know the full story. CMON! WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY! Throughout the night many of us got to share the gospel with them. Makes me happy to know that they walked in not knowing the goodness of what Jesus did for us in the cross but they walked out knowing.
Keep our team in your prayers. That God will continue to give us boldness in situations and conversations like these. That we wouldn’t hesitate for second to share the gospel with the people God places in front of us. That the city of Jakarta and the nation of Indonesia is for Jesus! We are currently studying the book of Acts and reading how Peter did life blows my mind! That man was fearless, strong and BOLD for Jesus! I WANT THAT! Are you being bold for Jesus? What does it take? What does it look like walking in that? So many questions that I’m currently living through.
Thank you for taking the time to read this! Your support means the world to me so keep me in your prayers. Also, let me know how I can be praying for you by text, email, facebook, Instagram, etc…
Peace
