Dongi Dongi Mission Trip Reflection

Feeling Accomplished

One of the common critiques of short-term mission trips is around the immediate and long-term impact of the mission activity.  Some wonder if anything of lasting significance can be accomplished in a couple of weeks.  Others question if the money spent on the cost of the mission trip could be better utilised by sending it directly to the mission field.  While these are valid questions that should be given reasonable consideration, at the end of our three weeks in Indonesia I am left with the following reflective conclusions:

• We have mobilised a team of Salvationists from our Corps to actively engage in the international mission of The Salvation Army.
• We have evoked a spirit of generosity in our Corps and community to resource the vision of an overseas Corps and community.
• We have invested into the lives of 180 children and their families by helping to establish a school building more appropriate for the needs of the local community.
• We have partnered with a community by participating alongside them in a project that has laid the foundation for ongoing relationship beyond the end product.
• We have shared life with other Salvationists through local hospitality, mutual encouragement and pastoral ministry.
• We have been mutually enriched by exchanging broader perspectives of Salvationism through our respective cultural expressions and experiences.
• We have responded to unplanned ministry opportunities adding value to and alleviating stress from local leadership and discipleship initiatives.
• We have followed-up relationships established during previous trips through ministry engagement that continues to sow into the faith journey of other Salvationists.
• We have returned home better equipped with a higher level of cultural intelligence to more effectively engage cross-culturally in our Corps and community.

It is one thing to contribute to a mission by sending money but quite a different experience to commit to a mission by going and personally engaging with those on the mission field.  Both can be valuable, but approached with right attitude the latter fosters a level of engagement that puts relationships ahead of the task and helps to develop a level of cultural intelligence that can integrate into mission and ministry back home.

Dongi Dongi Mission Trip - Day 15

Eager Young Minds

One of the many joys of this mission trip is the diversity of unplanned ministry opportunities that have added value to our primary mission activity for both our team and hosts.  Last week I was asked to present a seminar on 'Problem Solving' to a class of high school students.  Today I was asked to present a seminar on leadership to a class of vocational school students.  Both seminars excited me as they appealed to my passion as a leader to equip others!

With the arrival of Neville last night, Nyoman seized the moment by offering Neville one of the topics he was required to teach to the same group of students.  Despite the late request, Neville stepped up to the plate and willingly accepted the offer.  So, Neville taught on 'Healthy Relationships', I taught on the 'Nature of a Leader' and Nyoman taught on 'Drugs and Sexuality.'  What a team!

One of the funny moments of the day was driving to the location of the seminar.  Due to an interruption by one of the Palu teachers as we were about to leave, we were running very late and the morning Palu traffic didn't help matters either.  Just as we were about to make a right turn at a main round-a-bout a police motorcade with sirens blaring entered the intersection stopping all traffic to allow them through. Except Nyoman!  He saw it as an opportunity to tag on the end of the last police vehicle and use it as a police escort. It worked!! The normally heavy traffic pulled aside to allow the police vehicles (and us) through, giving us a clear run all the way to our destination in a fraction of the time. Genius!
 

Dongi Dongi Mission Trip - Day 11

Cleaning & Cancellation!

After two days working on the School in Dongi Dongi, we shifted our attention back to the Student Dormitory in Palu.  As the deadline for the completion of the dormitory closes in, the stress levels are increasing for Nyoman to have the building finished on time for the benefactors of this project.

Before setting to work, Nyoman and I attended an early morning birthday celebration for Ibu FiFi Bolo, one of the kindergarten teachers, at her home.  We were joined by a large contingency of school staff and shared in devotions and breakfast together.  Once again, I was asked to share a devotional thought and spoke from Jeremiah 29:11-14, which seemed apt for the occasion.  Nyoman seized the opportunity to recruit some of the teachers to assist us to finish cleaning out the Student Dormitory.

It was an encouraging sight to see half a dozen teachers take up the challenge when we arrived back at the dormitory armed with our cleaning implements.  With everyone on deck we knocked over the cleaning of the ground floor in a couple of hours!  Once the dirt, concrete dust and splattered plaster was cleared, the deadline didn't seem as daunting...at least to us.  Like with the students at Dongi Dongi, it was really good to see the staff from Palu School get involved and shoulder some of the burden of completing this project for their students.  

 

Later in the afternoon we took Stav to the airport for his departure home.  It only seems like a couple of days ago that we picked him up from the airport.  Unfortunately, due to heavy smoke lingering over Palu from fires on Borneo, his flight was cancelled.  This is an unwelcomed disruption to Stav's travel plans, with him missing out on seeing his newly born niece and attending a renuion.  The joy and unpredictability of international air travel!

Dongi Dongi Mission Trip - Days 7 & 8

Student Dormitory

 

Over these two days we got to work on cleaning out the new student dormitory in Palu, which is still under the final stages of construction.  This facility needs to be completed by the 5th November and there still is a lot of work to be done.  Nyoman hoped that by us cleaning out the completed rooms it would create a sense of urgency and motivation for the builders to pick up the pace with a vision of the final product in front of them.  

The feedback we received from Nyoman afterwards was that our hard work on the dorms created some positive chatter among school staff and the builders who were surprised by our willingness to do the 'dirty' work.  This has provided Nyoman with a good platform for coaching the locals involved with this building.  Our work has also saved Nyoman a considerable amount of money and time on a project that is already way over budget and behind schedule.  While not the focus of our trip, these two days work have been of great assistance to the Palu School.

 

The night before working on the dorms I was asked to prepare and present a 1.5 hour seminar on 'Problem Solving' to a class of 40 high school students at the Palu School at 7:00 in the morning.  You can imagine that meant a late night of preparation!

 

The night after working on the dorms we were invited to visit a group of 50 students at a scout camp on the outskirts of Palu.  We got to observe a traditional bonfire ceremony and campfire singing by the kids.  This was another unexpected opportunity to engage in a familiar activity in a very different cultural setting.

 

Our mission team changed shape again with Tony and Jill departing for home, leaving Stav and I behind to continue work on the Dongi Dongi Project until Stav returns home on Friday and Neville arrives to join the team on Monday for the final week.

Dongi Dongi Mission Trip - Day 5

Army of Workers!

We arose early to greet the children as they arrived at school.  It was one thing to see the state of the old buildings empty last year, but quite another to now see the classrooms jam packed with excited kids.  The sight of this school in use increased the value of every dollar raised for this project!

 

After leaving the kids to their classes we got straight to work digging a metre wide path around the parameter of the back and one side of the building.  In some spots we were clearing soil up to half a metre deep. Tools and equipment in the mountains are scarce, so armed with a couple of shovels, one wheel barrow and a stack of buckets, we began digging and moving dirt.  

 

Yesterday, Nyoman mentioned that the kids would join us after their assembly to get involved with the project to encourage a greater ownership of their new school.  We were not expecting the army of enthusiastic kids that swarmed us with empty cement bags to help move all the dirt.  They were simply extraordinary!!  And innovative!  Some kids carried bags of dirt clutched to their chest, others on their shoulder or back.  Some used a bamboo pole to carry two buckets between them, while others also paired up using an open cement bag like a stretcher to carry a load together.  

 

Jill had a group of helpers using rocks as hammers with sticks to pry loose large rocks that were buried in the dirt.  At one stage Tony could barely keep up with dozens of kids presenting him with bags to fill all at once.  I was amused to see a couple of young boys mimic me by lugging heavy buckets of dirt on top of their shoulders in an attempt to show me how strong they were.  All the dirt moved was used to fill a large hole at the front of the building in what will become their courtyard and assembly area.  It was incredibly inspiring to see the level of enthusiasm and endurance of these kids and their teachers as we worked alongside each other. Once the kids finished school it was back to reality for our team with some extremely hard work in the heat to finish the rest of the excavating by hand.  By lunchtime we had finished the longest stretch at the rear of the building, exceeding Nyoman's expectations. We all agreed that this would not have been possible without the help of the students and their teachers.  It was difficult to get moving again after a well earned lunch break, but we were determined to finish the side pathway.  Our energy levels dropped rapidly by late afternoon, but we soldiered on and got the job done, despite encountering a stubborn tree root half a metre from the end!

Is it possible to be exhausted and exhilarated at the same time?  Well we were.  It was great to finish a hard day of manual labour with a deep sense of satisfaction.  Even the cold shower (aka trough of water and scoop) felt great!!