“Thanks for the reminder that my plans can easily change, Lord God! I am thankful that Your ways and thoughts are above mine and that we still had an opportunity to visit some interesting sites with much of the World Relief team on Saturday.”

I was pretty disappointed when Norm and I found out that we could not climb Mt. Merapi on Friday morning, but we still had a great day on Saturday. And it provided an opportunity to talk about James 4:13-16 as I led our devotions this morning. Isaiah 55:8-11 has also been on my mind since last night’s church service-God is uncountable and we cannot fully fathom all that He is and all that He thinks. I also shared some encouragement from Philippians 3:7-17. We should not boast in our plans or who we are in the flesh, but we should press on to know and be found in Christ. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted, just as precipitation is effective in providing water for living things to grow.

As Norm and I wait in the airport for our plane, which is running over two hours late, it is raining the hardest it has since we have been in Jogja. The dreary weather fits with the mood of having to say goodbye to the Jogja World Relief team. We had a special dinner with most of them last night at one of the fanciest (international food) restaurants in Jogja, and then we met for one last time after lunch before the Community Development Facilitators headed to a village for another “triggering session.” My thoughts and prayers will be with them and the technical team as they continue the task of training and then providing for better sanitation. I think they have a good plan and are approaching the challenges that lie ahead with a great attitude.

I am thankful beyond words for their hospitality and their effort to learn what Norm and I were able to teach the staff. Praise God that we were able to find a hand sight level and even a hand sight inclinometer at a local office supply store today! Now the team will need to work out the finances to purchase one of the sight inclinometers. Even though no new latrines have been constructed yet, I think the team has made some major strides in moving forward in that effort. They should be well-equipped technically, and they were able to take some good elements of approach from Project Concern’s CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation) training.

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

(Psalm 111:1-10)

The preceding posts (and probably the following posts) detail some of my thoughts and prayers during my time in Indonesia. It has been a productive and fruitful (in technical training of the World Relief staff) trip. Norm and I are excited about the plan of approach that the World Relief staff has decided upon, beginning with community development training and getting the community to take initiative. They plan to follow this up with readiness to provide latrine and septic system designs and materials with some skilled labor. I pray that they will be successful and that Christ would receive the glory.

For pictures from this trip, you may visit my two Google PicasaWeb albums, Indonesia and IndonesiaTrip. You may also view photos from Norm Lewis, with whom I traveled here.

After a night of tossing, turning, and shivering on Sunday, I was able to shower and make it outside in time to ride to the World Relief office on Monday morning. Norm led a great devotion on being close to God as opposed to just serving/obeying Him based on Micah 6 (verse 8 ). I continued to feel worse throughout the devotion, and I had to lie down. I rested (feeling feverish and making fairly frequent trips to the bathroom) for several hours as Norm presented to the staff and pointed out some technical aspects on a field visit to one of the villages. I was sad to miss this portion of our time here, but I trust that God had His purpose in allowing me to be ill on Monday.

I know that I was extremely excited to be feeling mostly healthy again yesterday, and I’m thankful that I will be able to climb the volcano as planned tomorrow night. Norm and I were able to tag along on a couple field visits yesterday, which made the day go by quickly. We continued to look at wells and some latrines with septic tanks and seepage pits that World Relief built in one of the Muruh villages. I think our time and investment with the staff here has been beneficial, but they have a challenging task ahead of them in getting the communities to agree to improved sanitation, especially when it means that some of the existing systems might need to be changed or existing wells abandoned as drinking water sources. It is my prayer that the believers in these villages would recognize the benefit and lead the way for Christ’s glory and so that lasting change might be attained, because of their example in faith and sanitation.

“Thank you for being faithful to heal me in my time of sickness, Mighty God! I praise You for health and good nourishing food!”

I’ve had some more interesting food since Friday morning…spicy chicken & vegetable & chili soup with rice, crispy fermented soybean, fried fermented soybean cake with a shrimp on top, yellow melon, and crispy rice/cream flatbread for lunch on Friday; baked fish & seafood with rice for dinner on Friday; baked fish & rice with Sprite and a lime squash; fried rice with goat meat on Saturday night with melon juice; fried rice with egg on top with coffee and an avocado/chocolate syrup drink for breakfast Sunday; chicken, vegetables, rice, and bottled iced tea for lunch on Sunday at the Flamboyan restaurant next to the apartment Norm and I are staying at (I think this is the meal which made me sick); fried chicken teriyaki with rice, a lime squash, and strawberry ice cream at Parsley (bakery/international food restaurant) for dinner on Sunday; fried chicken, spicy vegetables, rice, a small orange, and crispy rice flatbread on Monday for lunch; “terrible American-style” meat-lovers pizza with very sweet Pepsi at Pizza Hut on Monday night; coconut-covered fish with vegetables, rice, watermelon, and crispy rice flatbread for lunch yesterday; and fish with rice and iced lemon tea for dinner last night.

Norm and I just ended up staying around the office on Friday afternoon, but we were able to take a walk with Widi (the newest Jogja World Relief Community Development Facilitator staff member who was formerly a tour guide) through a couple of rice fields, in one of which Norm fell, to see the nearby Hindu temple complex with one large temple and thousands of smaller temples. I joined the World Relief staff for their follow-up meeting with a Muruh village after dinner on Friday. I couldn’t understand much, but I was told that three families agreed to participate in stopping their “open defecation” and working toward a sanitary solution (latrines). I was thankful that I had my GPS with me on the way back to the apartment because I had to help Widi (who was driving) find the apartment.

Widi drove JoJohn (Jogja World Relief Community Development Facilitator Supervisor), Eka (Jogja World Relief Project Manager), the two guys from Project Concern, Norm, and me to a post station around 1200 meters in elevation on the north side of Mt. Merapi for some information about our planned climb on Friday night/Saturday morning. We then stopped by the Buddhist Borobudur Temple, which is the most major tourist trap that I have seen so far in Indonesia. We had to almost constantly say no to individuals trying to sell us trinkets/souvenirs outside the temple.

Norm and I were on our own for dinner Saturday night, which was an interesting experience…We selected a very good restaurant called Mix ‘n Match down the street from our apartment building. Our server did not speak any English, but I was able to recognize melon juice (jus melon) and goat fried rice (nasi goreng kambing). Norm ended up ordering a strawberry juice and chicken fried rice. We returned to Mix ‘n Match on Sunday morning for brunch after we found out from Eka that the international church service at the Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel was not until 5 p.m. On this visit we met the owner, who had spent a few of his younger years in Illinois while his parents were there. His English was very good, so Norm and I talked with him as we drank our coffee and juice. He said the restaurant was a hobby for him and his wife, as his real job is teaching at a university in Jakarta. He is in the process of transferring to a university in the Jogja region, his home (and birth) city.

While I was at the internet café after lunch on Sunday, I began to feel chills, which I knew was not a good sign in the heat of the day. I enjoyed the English international church service on Sunday evening, particularly the hymns sung by a local Christian college group. As we ate dinner, my health deteriorated. I was trying hard not to shiver uncontrollably, and I had some stomach pain.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,” (Psalm 105:1-5)

My heart sings to You this morning, Abba! I have been so blessed in the opportunity to live here in Jogja for the past five days, and I praise You for giving me patience and peace in either waiting for translation or not knowing exactly what is being said. I’ve enjoyed learning some phrases and look forward to learning some more throughout the remainder of my time here. I praise You for languages and how people are able to communicate and relate to each other through them. And I praise You that Your Word has been translated into the two primary languages spoken in this region of Indonesia! Please continue to convict and encourage through Your Word, as You are so faithful to do, Mighty God.

Wednesday afternoon and most of yesterday were both quite eventful. After a morning snack of rice with meat and chili sauce wrapped in a banana leaf and a lunch of chicken with chili sauce, rice, noodles, crispy rice flatbread, and a small orange; Norm and I met with the technical team (architect, Wimbo, and engineer, Agung) to teach about septic system practices and groundwater movement. We then went to a sate restaurant for grilled goat sate with rice.

Yesterday morning, we visited the Kragilan village, where several unlined canals run above the village ground elevation, causing the groundwater table to be very shallow and a high flooding potential especially in the rainy season. Agung and Wimbo will ultimately need to determine how to address a soak-away system for this village, but Norm and I were able to provide some guidance. We also showed them a little about determining soil type with a hand test, but soil will likely not  be a major issue for percolation since most of the soil is so volcanic (sand/ash). After this site visit, we ate a lunch of shrimp, rice, hard-boiled egg with chili sauce, spinach/coconut milk soup, crispy rice flatbread, and watermelon back at the World Relief office. We then proceeded to the Muruh village and watched the Community Development team practice their Community-Led Total Sanitation presentation. While they were presenting at the local mosque, the Muslim lady asked me about the other languages on my “Jesus Saves” (English, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek) shirt. I was able to tell her that I believe Jesus is the only one who saves, but we were both distracted by activity from the presentation to continue that conversation. We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where I had fried rice and pork cooked in soy sauce, as well as some small clams with a Coca-Cola.

Today Norm and I have spent the morning at the World Relief office, reading and watching portions of the final day for the Project Concern CLTS training. I think we will make another site visit to a different village this afternoon as we continue trying to pass on site investigation knowledge to Wimbo and Agung. I pray that they are learning and that they will be able to do a better job with the varying design needs because of our time investment with them.

In all that I’ve seen so far, God’s creation and His people continue to amaze me. I am in awe of the God who created and continues to sustain fruit-yielding plants, animals and bugs, and volcanoes. It humbles me more and more as I am blessed by tremendous hospitality and esteem. Why should I be so abundantly blessed and in a position of such superiority? I know that I am only a sinner saved by God’s grace. Yet He has given me a burning to share His message with a people who have never heard the name of Jesus and of the hope that can only come from Him. I’m so thankful for opportunities to see Him at work, such as here in the lives of many of the World Relief staff.

After one day of training with Project Concern, listening to the Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Javanese languages and receiving some translation, I feel more strongly than ever that the best agent of change is the Holy Spirit. We can do our best to shame, disgust, and convince people that their ways are wrong, but their hearts can still be steadfast causing them to continue in their old ways. As John Dallmann, one of the most influential men in my life, says, “a little bit of Jesus goes a long way.” The more I see of the world the more vividly that phrase comes alive. There is no one else and there is nothing else that bridges gaps, brings conviction, stirs up hope, and ultimately effects sustainable change.

It is my prayer that this type of change would happen in the villages of this region of Indonesia. I wonder how this will happen without a clear message of the gospel, and I ask that any believers in these villages would have the boldness and conviction to proclaim the gospel-I doubt there would be a more effective way to reach the others if believers indeed inhabit some or all of the villages. I’m not certain how this will tie in with the training for community-led sanitation that World Relief will likely begin, but I trust that God has a purpose through it all.

I have truly enjoyed the food here-it is mostly a mix of spicy and sweet. So far I have had an avocado chocolate drink on Sunday afternoon; quite spicy Thai spaghetti on Sunday evening with a berry mango smoothie drink; chocolate peanut butter and bread with orange juice for breakfast; fish, rice, crispy rice flatbread, coconut milk with spinach soup and a small orange for lunch on Monday; grilled ocean fish (kakap) with tasty butter sauce and rice on Monday for dinner with a lemon squash; small hot peppers with fried tofu and vegetables, a bright pink jello made with coconut milk, and sweet & crunchy peanuts for morning snack on Tuesday;  spicy beef chunk with rice, noodles, “snake” fruit, and “sour” (spicy) star fruit & vegetable soup for lunch on Tuesday; rice, vegetables, grilled fish, grilled squid, and sweet shrimp with a lime squash on Tuesday for dinner; and a peanut butter/strawberry jelly sandwich for breakfast this morning.

As much of the food burns with spice, it reminds me of how my sin burns in the presence of a holy God. I desire to be holy, but I am so far away from being there. My heart longs for heaven, but I desire to live that others might see Christ in me and hear of Him through my words. I cannot boast in my presence here in Indonesia, or anywhere else that God places me. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:15-18, “[my] hope is that as [the faith of those who are close to me] increases, [my] area of influence among [them] may be greatly enlarged, so that [I] may preach the gospel in lands beyond [home], without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

“Abba, I know that I need You and a strong group of supporters for what You have impressed upon me. Please grant them and me an amount of faith that brings You alone glory because of our trust and dependence upon You. May we be satisfied in You above all else and enjoy your presence so that we might overflow with Your joy and Your love into lives that You sovereignly place around us.”

Song To Be Titled (written by John on May 2)

Your gift is unexplainable, inexpressible; uncontainable!
I will lift my voice, proclaiming your fame
To the nations, the peoples You place around me.
Lord, an agent of Your grace let me be.

I give You glory, Righteous One;
Seeking Your splendorous Name!
You rule over all with Your steadfast love;
Always and forever You’ll be above!

(based on Psalm 103; 2 Cor. 9:13-15)

A couple weekends ago, my heart was especially longing for an opportunity to serve in a foreign country. The following Monday I received an e-mail from John Dallmann, who I visited in Cameroon and who is now heading the Baptist General Conference’s Compassion Ministries. John told me about World Relief’s urgent need in Indonesia
for a water engineer or someone with water/sanitary construction experience to help with design and education for 350 proposed pour-flush latrines in the Jogjakarta region.

The more I learned about and prayed about this opportunity, the more God compelled me to go. I feel that I have little to contribute in many ways, but I trust that Christ will shine through my weakness. Another comforting aspect is that Norm Lewis, who has significant survey/construction experience and is from the Evergreen, CO area, will be accompanying me on this trip. I got to meet Norm in Baltimore when a group of us from BGC churches met with World Relief to discuss the potential partnering together in worldwide relief/missions work. It will be great to get to know him better and minister with him during this trip.

By God’s grace, my boss approved my unpaid leave at very short notice. I leave for Indonesia in two weeks, on Friday, April 27th, and I will be in-country for 15 days. I still have quite a bit of preparation for the trip, but I’m excited to see God’s faithful provision over the next couple of weeks.

I would appreciate your prayers as I research technical specs, prepare to travel, fly over the Pacific Ocean (21+ flight hours each way), examine construction, provide technical training for local World Relief staff, and share the love of Jesus with those I come in contact with. Please join me in praying that lives would be changed and that the Lord would draw hearts closer to Himself as a result of this trip. May He alone receive the glory!

I’ll continue to keep you updated on this surprise, last-minute trip, and I look forward to sharing pictures upon my return to the U.S.
Praise God for impressing upon my heart a desire to share His hope across oceans and cultures! I hope you can join me in proclaiming what Isaiah wrote:

“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will
say in that day:

“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.”

(Isaiah 12:2-5)