5-20-2017
We finished our time in Indonesia and arrived in Thailand on Monday, May 15th. This past week has been a transitioning time for the entire squad. Our squad leaders are preparing to head back to the US at the end of May, and they’ve raised up new squad leaders to take their place. We also had team changes this week and my new team is: Molly, Christa, Anna, Alisha, and Rebecca (I got to stay with two of the girls from my original team). My team and I arrived in Phuket Friday the 19th and will be participating in Ask the Lord ministry in the area for the next seven days before traveling to Bangkok to go to our next destination: Myanmar.
Our last week in Indonesia was a blessing. I loved serving with YWAM, and I really hated to leave Indonesia. We spent our time with YWAM participating in various forms of ministry. A YWAM team from Costa Rica was staying at a nearby base at the same time we were there, so we were able to partner with them during some of the time as well. We visited churches, and some of my teammates either shared their testimony or preached, we visited a YWAM run orphanage one afternoon, led Bible Study to the staff one evening, we went to local schools to play games with and teach the children Bible stories on several mornings, we evangelized in a local park one night, we went to what YWAM calls their prayer tower (a room in a hotel, that overlooks the city of Surabaya) and we interceded for the country, on our last night we spoke at a youth event then went to a church and Alisha shared her testimony.
During our stay at the YWAM base in Surabaya, the reality of the conflicts of being a Christian in a predominately Islamic community hit me.
One morning, as we sat around the breakfast table our ministry host, Wenne, (a full-time YWAM staff who has lived in Indonesia her whole life) sat down with us asking for prayer. The Christian governor of Jakarta had been accused of blasphemy against the Islamic faith. The judge ruled not in his favor and sentenced him to two years in prison.
“These political conflicts happen all the time between Christians and Muslims,” Wenne said.
It’s one thing to know the facts about a country, and what it’s like to be a Christian there, but it’s another to see it and live in it. I ask for prayer for the former governor and for Indonesia as a new governor takes his place. It’s a humbling reminder that for some, faith in Christ comes with a high cost.
During one of our afternoons in Surabaya, we planned to go to an orphanage to visit the Costa Rican team, but it turned into our team visiting the kids there instead, and I think that’s what was supposed to happen.
I remember sitting on the floor, seeing two older girls nearby. When I asked them what their names were they immediately sat down with me, their faces beaming, like they were just waiting for an invitation to talk. Before I knew it there were about half a dozen boys and girls sitting around me. It clicked. I don’t why it took this long to click but it did.
All they wanted was for someone to spend time with them, and want to talk to them; they wanted someone to care. So I began what has been one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had on the race so far. I found out they were all between the ages of 13-16, I found out their names, I found out their hobbies, and when they said they didn’t know what Mexican food was I decided to tell them about tacos (one girl thought it was strange that you put meat inside of a flat piece of bread). I couldn’t help but notice that one of boy’s English was better than the others and he would help his friends understand me by translating. I asked him how he learned English and he said he reads books and watches movies in English, but nobody ever taught him. When I looked around the room, I saw that the rest of my team were also sitting in circles with the kids and talking with them. It seems so simple, but all these kids wanted was our time, and I could’ve spent hours with them.
That being said, I felt like the word God kept giving me for Indonesia was “lighthouse”. I believe that team God’s Magnolias was used as a light to consistently shine where God led us throughout Indonesia. During our three week stay we visited a total of five cities and had several encounters with people at just the right time and God reminded me of how powerful it is to build relationships with people and show them their worth through your time.
As we begin our stay in Thailand, I’m asking for prayers as we transition into a new team and seek the Holy Spirit in Phuket. The religion in Thailand is Buddhism. When we flew into Bangkok earlier this week, the amount of strip clubs and prostitution that occurs is difficult to process. Just a few minutes from our hostel we were staying at were streets lined with gay bars, and strip clubs. In front of the family convenience store were about 100 girls sitting in chairs waiting, while an older woman would make deals with potential customers (most of whom were western men). Pray for Thailand, and our time to be spent wisely and for us to be intentional.
Much love,
Ariane
