If I haven’t mentioned it yet, following Jesus is always an adventure and just so much fun! Indonesia was never a part of our route, but when God wants you somewhere, He’ll not only show you, but also ensure you get there.
My teammate Rosa has an Angolan passport and was only allowed a 14-day Malaysian visa (which came in the day we left Ethiopia for Malaysia which was a miracle!). After many attempts to get an extension or special pass, it was clear we would not be able to stay in Malaysia for the month. We learned that we could all enter Indonesia for 30 days without applying for a visa beforehand. So flights were booked and our team of six was off to Indonesia!
During check-in at the Malaysia airport, we were told we could not travel to Indonesia without having return tickets already purchased, that Indonesia would not let us through customs. We didn’t have time to purchase tickets before boarding, but talked to the manager and he agreed to let us fly anyway.
Once we landed in Indonesia, we were frantic to get on wifi to try and quickly purchase return tickets before going through customs, but we were running out of time. When we reached the front of the line, all we could do was attempt to go through customs without tickets and see what would happen.
One by one we walked up to the counter and handed over our passports. “Why are you visiting Indonesia?” they asked. “Tourism” was my answer. With a stamp in my passport and a “enjoy your stay!” I was through customs without a ticket out of Indonesia, and without a problem. God is so good!
The Lord has shown up in amazing ways as we have gotten free housing for our entire time here, which is extremely helpful in offsetting the cost of extra flights. We are also plugged into a few schools here helping students with their English.
It’s been incredible to see the Lord direct our every step as He moved us from Malaysia to Indonesia. And it turns out Indonesia has become my favorite country of my trip so far, and so is hard to imagine it was never a part of “our” plan, but I know it was always a part of His. Praise be to the Lord for miracles in getting us here and meeting us here!
