A Spirit of Yes

Quick heads-up: I am fasting blogging and social media for the rest of this month. Contact will also be very limited, but I can’t wait to share more of the pictures and videos I’m working on after the break! Until then, sending much love and I hope you enjoy what ended up still not being a short post even though I tried to condense it.  

A Spirit of Yes

How often do you say, “yes”?

Yes is scary. Yes opens doors. Yes may take you on an adventure you never thought you would experience.

My yes did that. In fact, it continues to do that every day. I’m honestly not even sure how to describe it right now… Maybe a story will help.

On second thought, maybe not. I started writing the story, and it ended up being 9 pages long! If you want to invest a good portion of your life in reading it, here is the link. For those of you who are like me with limited attention span and free time, I’ll try to condense our experience here. 

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Our squad finished 12 days of training and debrief in Bali, and then split off into our smaller teams to spread out across Indonesia. My team’s name is Rak Chazak. It’s composed of our team leader, Zach, and five team members: Scott, Clayton, Lauren, Alyssa, and myself. We also had Ari, one of the two squad leaders who rotates between the five teams, with us for the last two weeks. Through a variety of messages, we felt God leading us to the city of Malang on the island of Java. We took an overnight 12-hour bus and ferry ride to get there.

Photo credits to Lauren for capturing the above essence of our 7-hour bus station stop…

Monday, February 17, 2020

We made it to our beautiful Air BnB house and crashed for a bit. After naps and showers, we walked to the grocery store about a mile away. (Side note, we have done a TON of walking since leaving. I actually love it because we get to see so much more of the people and towns. Well, I love it ‘till I’m soaked with sweat after 2 minutes in the humidity or the daily monsoon rains… It’s great though!) During the walk, and all the rest of our time in Malang, the locals stared, waved and called to us as we walked by. Tons of people wanted to take pictures with us too. I kind of felt like a zoo animal. It wasn’t a touristy area, so seeing 7 Americans was rare. Blonde hair and blue eyes were even rarer.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Although we awoke to the startling 4:30 am Muslim prayer call over the town’s speaker, we were refreshed in the morning. We celebrated a restful sabbath day filled with naps, personal quiet times with God, and a movie night. With the decision to start ministry days at 9 am, we headed back to bed.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

As agreed upon, we gathered at 9 am the next morning for the team meeting. Since it was an ATL (ask the Lord) month of ministry, we didn’t have a host or specific ministry activity assigned to us. This is where living with a yes in their spirits really starts to come in. We took the time to pray and ask God to lead us and bring opportunities for us to serve.

We started with a prayer walk that afternoon. Prayer walking is literally walking through an area and praying. It’s a supernaturally powerful to lay a foundation for where we serve. God showed up in the absolute coolest ways everywhere we did it!

Our first encounter was meeting the sweetest elderly couple who invited us into their home as we walked by on our prayer walk. Although they only spoke Indonesian and we know maybe 10 words each, we had a conversation with them as they served us tea and crackers. Through Google Translate and signs, we found out they were Christians. We invited ourselves to their church and promised to try to return on Sunday to go with them.

Being invited into a local’s home was Zach’s prayer during that walk, especially because he never had that experience during his race last year. What are the odds that, out of 895,000 people and 87% of those being Muslim, we would find fellow Christians who would invite us into their home that first day? I’d say they’re pretty low! Unless, of course, you throw God into the equation. Then, as you will continue to see, anything is possible!

Thursday, February 20, 2020

The following afternoon, we split into two groups to cover more ground while we prayer walked. My group ended up in an upper-class neighborhood with very few people on the streets. Out of nowhere, a lady on a motorbike drove up and asked us if we needed any help. Apparently, three Americans walking around in the rain looked lost. Her name was Diana and she spoke great English. We had a brief conversation with her, during which she offered to translate or show us around town anytime. This was an answer to my prayer that day! I got her number and messaged her later that evening. She invited us all to her house for dinner the following afternoon. (Another home invitation!!!)

Meanwhile, the other group prayer unknowingly walked through the neighborhood where Diana lives AND the church is. They also rescued a kitten from the gutter. 

Friday, February 21, 2020

We all went to Diana’s house, and spent the afternoon cooking and talking with her and her two co-workers/friends, Sophia and Sandy. They were all so kind and taught us how to cook traditional Indonesian dishes. Although they are Muslim, they were open to conversations about God. Diana even said she thought God sent her to us on that rainy day!

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Diana took us to tour the colorful village and the central park the next day. The village used to be a dangerous slum. The government decided to solve the problem by providing brightly colored paint to the homeowners. It’s now much safer for the residents and even a fun tourist stop.

Afterward, Diana went with me and Zach to the hospital so I could get medication to treat the ulcer in my throat. I unwisely swallowed a Malaria med without water and immediately went to bed a week before. It dissolved in my esophagus and formed an ulcer. Since then, swallowing and major heartburn had been quite painful. Diana was a lifesaver in translating and helping us find our way around the hospital. I got some medication, and am feeling almost 100% better now.

That evening, we all went out to dinner. Ari got to have an open conversation with Diana about the freedom and love that is found in Jesus. It was sweet to watch God’s love overflow from her as she spoke.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

We got up early on Sunday to try to go to the 7 am service with the older couple we had met. We showed up at their house, and though they were surprised, they took us to church. Experiencing worship and a service in Indonesian, yet still so filled with passion for God was beautiful! They asked us to teach the children’s Sunday school in the next service (which started in 10 minutes). We put together a narrated Bible story skit. It was so fun!

We got to talk to the youth leader’s wife, Vichie, who spoke English. We offered to help around the church in any other way we could. She showed us part of the ceiling that had caved in from rain damage and asked if we could fix it. I have a little construction experience thanks to growing up working on projects in a woodshop with my Dad, but none of us had the professional skills to do such a big job. The church was able to find a worker to head up the project. We pooled together the money to provide the materials and returned on Thursday to do it.

Vichie’s 4yo daughter, Yemimah, quickly stole each team member’s heart with her bubbly personality and welcoming heart. She chattered on about Elsa from Frozen 2 and her favorite superheroes. She was particularly interested in my long blonde braid, which she thought looked like Queen Elsa’s.

Monday, February 24, 2020

We observed Sabbath the next day. After a full week and some sickness, most of us took extra time to rest. The daily afternoon monsoon rain provided soft white noise for a refreshing 4-hour nap. Sleep is a beautiful gift from God!

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

I invited Diana and her friends over for dinner and a card game. Scott and I cooked a traditional American meal of hamburgers and fries. Then we taught them how to play rummy. At the end, Lauren offered to pray for Diana because she had a cold. Diana asked that we also pray that the cataract in her eye would be healed. We surrounded her and prayed. It was so sweet to see how she was already willing to ask us to pray for something!

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

On Wednesday, we worked on logistical tasks and grocery shopping. We booked the next leg of transport and lodging. We would take a train to Jakarta on Saturday to meet up with the rest of the squad, and then a plane to South Asia on Wednesday. It was hard to believe our time in Malang was nearing its end. The thought of leaving was already a sad one.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

We headed back to the church to work on the ceiling. We purchased the materials and then helped the hired worker however we could. The old ceiling and wood framing had to be torn out and replaced. Since they didn’t have any power tools, the handsaw was fun to try out! We were able to finish the project and clean the church by mid-afternoon.

Friday, February 28, 2020

For our last day in Malang, Diana took us to a nearby waterfall called Sumber Maron where we could also go river-tubing. It was like a natural waterpark, complete with rock pools and falls we could climb. We rented innertubes and floated down the river. It was great to spend a fun, adventurous day together!

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Saturday morning, we finished packing and cleaning the house before heading to an early breakfast at Vichie’s house, which we found out on Thursday was just two streets over in the same neighborhood (what?!). Vichie woke up before 4 am to prepare us a special Indonesian breakfast of yellow soup complete with all the accompanying toppings. Then we crossed the street to pray for their senior pastor who had been sick in bed for days.

We headed to the train station where Diana met us to say goodbye. Many tears and hugs were shared. This was the hardest goodbye so far for me. I’d gotten close to her in such a short time. Throughout the week, we had messaged each other daily, and even continue that now. I see God already doing so much in her life and heart!

We boarded, said a final goodbye, and sat down for our next 16-hour trip. Malang drifted into the distance as the train rumbled down the tracks.

Malang, Indonesia, and its people will forever hold a special place in our hearts. The way God knit together each opportunity continues to blow our minds. We now know how beautiful it is to live with a continual yes in our spirits. We learned to follow wholeheartedly wherever God leads, even when it doesn’t make any sense. Those moments of feeling lost and confused led to the most extraordinary encounters. God was orchestrating each and every moment, growing our hearts and faith in ways we couldn’t even fully comprehend.

This was just two weeks of an unforgettable 11-month adventure. What other treasures will the future hold for us? I can’t wait to find out!

Prayer Requests:

• Seeds we planted to come to fruition
• Diana’s cataract to be completely healed
• Funding for the church’s summer youth program (they need to raise about $17,000 and find volunteers to run the event for 700 youth)
• Protection and new opportunities as we head to our next location

Thanks for joining the journey with me!