Almost two weeks since leaving Ann Arbor, but I feel like two months has passed by in the process of settling into our home in Lippo Karawaci, Jakarta - especially in light of Friday's events. Southeast Asia teems with shopping malls, and within them abound people - and air conditioning! I am sitting inside Supermal Karawaci, writing at Indonesia's version of Krispy Kreme (I just inhaled a green tea frosted donut!) on this national holiday, the Ascension of the prophet Mohammed, I have to say that today appears to be just like any other day.
It has been interesting, however, as an outsider to observe the reactions of the nationals to the bombings in South Jakarta. Yesterday, my teammates and I attended Gereja [church] Bethel Indonesia, a fellowship with over 500 churches all over this vast island nation. The service was held in Senayan City, a super mall near Central Jakarta, and conducted entirely in Bahasa Indonesia - with the exception of the song "I am a friend of God." At one point, the worship leader halted, and spoke to the congregation for a few moments, after which everyone placed their hands over their hearts and began to sing, "I'm not afraid anymore" instead of the chorus "I am a friend of God." This man was speaking to the people about Friday, and how we do not have to be afraid of anything if we place our complete trust in the Lord. What a comfort, especially in the face of circumstances that we cannot control.
On Saturday, we spent some time with a Michigan/HMCC alumnus Eunice, at Plaza Senayan (across from Senayan City), who has been working for the Singaporean Embassy here in Jakarta for the past month - located very close to the two hotels bombed on Friday. She shared with us that she was actually supposed to have lunch at the Ritz Carlton on Friday, and that if the bombers had waited, she may have perished that day were it not for God's protection and care.
What else can I say about life here? Irene and I start work tomorrow with Ruth and Sarah at Yonasindo, a Human Resources Management company that trains maids and domestic workers to be sent overseas. We actually have no idea what we will be doing, but I know that God has already thought of each task. Our higher ups speak English, but the majority of people at the firm speak Bahasa Indonesia. I am looking forward to this intense language immersion, especially after my first impulse purchase, Welcome to Indonesian - an English linguistic explanation of Bahasa Indonesia and comparisons between it and other Austronesian languages (such a nerd, I know).
Off to shop for blankets, peroxide, and other necessaries that we've forgotten - and then hanging out with Grace Liu tonight, hopefully for dinner and Harry Potter! I'll share more about that and other adventures later. Thanks for reading!
Dear Iris,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are safe. The Babes have been praying for you. What is your address? Can you receive mail? Love, JaneDuhan