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 18

Final Day in Palu

Waking up on our final day in Palu was a little surreal after three very busy weeks working alongside three shifts of amazing team members who have fully engaged with our mission trip.  Not only have we accomplished what we came to do but have been richly blessed by generous hospitality, good friends and a number of unplanned ministry opportunities. One of these unplanned ministry opportunities was to participate in the Youth Meeting at Towua Corps, an invitation we received earlier in our trip.

Before the Youth Meeting we ventured one last time out into Palu for a motorbike tour with Nyoman and Tato, who took us up a mountain that overlooked the city.  Half way up the single trail track Nyoman's motorbike overheated leaving us stranded on the side of the track.  Tato and Neville continued up the mountain while Nyoman and I rolled back down the mountain to get help.  Fortunately, part way down the bike restarted and we avoided a long walk back home!  Unfortunately, Nyoman lost his phone where we had broken down somewhere back up the mountain!!

After our little misadventure I finished preparing my sermon for the Youth Meeting and we then joined a very eager youth team for a great night of worship.  Throughout our trip we have observed a vibrancy and passion among Indonesian Salvation Army youth in a number of locations and the Towua Corps youth were no exception tonight.  Their worship team, dancers and timbrelists expressed a joy that transcended language, uniting us in spirit as we worshipped together.  Once again we were deeply moved to see the Spirit of God minister in the lives of these young people who responded to the message.

Dongi Dongi Mission Trip - Day 13

Unity in Worship

Worshipping in Indonesia brings with it an interesting paradox for me.  On the one hand it is steeped in tradition and a familiar form everywhere we go.  Yet on the other hand, there is a tangible presence of the Holy Spirit and a deep hunger for worship.  It is not difficult to connect with the heart of Indonesian Salvationists as we unite together in songs of praise in both Bahasa and English.

Today, I had another opportunity to preach, following on from last week's message in Joshua with the theme - 'What Next?'  God had prepared Joshua to take over the leadership of Moses and lead the Israelites into the promised land.  In the reading today we picked up from when Joshua told the people of Israel to "go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own" (Joshua 1:11).  Joshua was READY, the plan was SET, all that was left to do was for the people to GO!

At the conclusion of the service, after a moving altar call that saw many in the congregation respond to the call to 'go' and take possession of God's promises, I was confronted by the final prayer of the Corps Officer.  He prayed for Christian churches in Aceh that had been burned down last week.  Knowing there had been fires across some parts of Indonesia, I asked Nyoman if these churches were affected by the fires, but was informed that they had been burned to the ground by militant Muslims.  There is something very sobering about worshipping in a country alongside Salvationists who don't pray for the persecuted church from a distance but from a very real position of vulnerability.

 

After two previous attempts to get home, we accompanied Stav to the airport in the afternoon for his third attempt.  And yet again, his flight was cancelled!  Even with boarding passes in hand and baggage checked in, Stav was grounded for another night.  It seems Garuda didn't listen to my message - READY, SET, GO!  

"What next?"  We try again tomorrow morning on the early flight.

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 6

Power of Testimony!

Our team expanded early this morning with the arrival of Stav to Dongi Dongi.  It is great to have him on board and I know he is as eager as we were to engage with the Dongi Dongi School project.

Today we had the opportunity to worship at two Salvation Army Corps in Central Sulawesi.

This morning, before leaving Dongi Dongi, we worshipped at the Boya Lentora Corps alongside the officers who had been our hosts, Major Paulus and Felma.  It was a privilege to be invited to preach at their meeting and an incredible joy to see God at work in the lives of their congregation.  The highlight for me was seeing Tony give his testimony and  share his journey of faith and how God prompted him to be a part of our mission team.  I can't help marvel at the alignment of circumstances that God orchestrated to bring Tony and his family to Cranbourne Corps and use him in such a mighty way on this mission trip.

This evening, upon our return to Palu, we worshipped at the Towua Corps situated on the site of the Palu School.  It is always a blessing to see the youth so involved in worship through music and dance, and a particular joy to be led in worship by Ruth Frisca Pandjaitan.  She has a passionate heart for the Lord and together with her fiance Ratno Harinei, they are exceptional Salvationists!  During this service Jill gave her testimony, which had a great impact on the congregation.  Jill's love for God and people was clearly evident as she shared about her family, church and service activities.