We're almost finished with the last few days of our time here in Batam. Part of us feels so relieved and the other part feels so saddened. It's like having a best friend move away to another state--they're still your best friend, but at the present time you don't know how you're going to function without them. It's going to be hard to leave.This past week has been FULL of services--we've done 10 in the past 7 days. One of the most impacting experiences we've had happened after a women's cell group Missy was speaking at. They had Missy and I sit on two chairs next to each other and then they wrapped us together in a large hand-made blanket. It symbolized their acceptance of us into their family and heritage. To put it simply, they made us honorary Indonesians :) We felt so humbled that God would bless our hearts in such an unexpected way.
Really that experience sums up one of the greatest things I've learned here: The only thing that makes me different from these precious people is my "financial status." Jeremiah 29:11 still applies to them despite the number of zeros on their paycheck. Of course they are faced with daily challenges I could never imagine, but they're people with wants, needs, hopes and desires just like me.
We've had a lot of people ask us our feelings about the way American's spend their money now that we've seen the opposite side of the spectrum. I will respond this way...
Instead of protesting against what we don't believe in, let's invest in what we do believe in. A few weeks, a few minutes,
a few dollars, whatever. Turning our attention to the voice of God will surely lead us to His plans for our lives. And His plans can/will influence people in ways our lives alone never could.
God is real and He is moving in hearts across the world through simple acts of love--because God is love. I wish this revelation sounded more poetic or theological. It's simple, like the lives lead by our newfound friends in Batam. Maybe that's why even though there's a lack of resources here, there's a beautiful abundance of love in every church we enter.
