Living the Dream

These Riau Malay young men are living the dream. They are all members of the Provincial soccer team. If they do well on this team, they may have the chance to play for Indonesia’s national soccer team. In pursuit of this dream they all discipline themselves and devote huge amounts of time and energy into playing soccer. Every Indonesian boy at some point dreams of having this opportunity.

While these men waited for the soccer field to open up for their practice match, a worker had the opportunity to sit with them and share about God’s method of having their sins forgiven. Just as the worker finished sharing, the soccer field opened up and the men had to go.

The worker watched the men run off to their practice and thought of the nursery rhyme – Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream. Life slips by so quickly, and gently if we are chasing a dream, but after the dream we call life is over everyone will have to wake up and stand before Holy God. On that day our ability to score a goal on the soccer field will not help us answer the problem of sin.

What these young men were pursuing was not wrong or sinful, but the pursuits of this world don’t lead anyone to life unless the ultimate matters of seeking peace with God are dealt with. Too many times the pursuits of this world seem more important and more pleasant than matters of faith and life slips gently by us until it’s too late.

Pray that as the peoples of Sumatra chase their dreams they will wake up to the reality of sin and receive God’s payment before it’s too late.

Pray for workers not to lose heart as they call the spiritually dead to new life.

Pray for the apathetic to clearly see the spiritual danger of sin and judgement. 

Photo from Kayu Agung Area

Stars & Stripes Forever

This Muko-Muko man was sporting a hat with the stars and stripes. It’s not uncommon to see pro-United States clothing on Sumatra. A worker met a Tamiang man who was over 100 years old. This man told stories about the U.S. military helping to liberate Indonesia from Japanese occupation in World War II. It’s also common to have Indonesians talk about President Obama, because of his brief time in Jakarta as a child. While terrorist propaganda paints a picture of all Muslims hating the West and especially those from the United States, the reality here is most Sumatrans have a positive view of Americans.

If a Westerner is willing to sit and talk, most Sumatrans are willing to listen. They want to know what you think. This openness does provide a unique opportunity for sharing the Gospel, especially for workers from America who have taken the time to learn Indonesian. There is almost always an open door to share if you are willing and able to take it.

Sumatrans are also willing to listen, because they think of Americans as being wealthy. There is a saying on Sumatra – There is always a shrimp behind the rock. This saying refers to hidden motives that cause people to act in a certain manner. This is one of the difficulties for American workers. It’s often difficult to tell how much of a person’s attentiveness is actual interest in what you are sharing, and how much is a hidden hope that they are going to get something out of the Westerner.

There are many layers to crossing cultures in order to share the most important story in the world. It becomes an intricate dance of give and take, and of connect and disconnect. It’s both frustrating and exhilarating. Because of all of this emotion, the work of cross-cultural witnessing is often stressful.

Pray for American workers on Sumatra to make the most of open doors to share the Gospel.

Pray for these workers to have wisdom to discern the shrimp behind the rock.

Pray for Holy Spirit power to enable these workers to handle the stress of the cross-cultural dance.

Mandailing People Group Focus

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14, ESV).

The 800,000 Mandailing primarily live in the South Tapanuli Regency of North Sumatra Province. The Mandailing are related to the Batak people groups, who are primarily Christian. The Mandailing are often quick to clarify that they are not Christian; they are Muslim. If a Mandailing person follows Jesus, they are no longer called Mandailing; they become Angkola.

Most Mandailing work as rice farmers. “Look for children and look for land” is an oft quoted Mandailing proverb. If you own your own land and have children, then you are a success. Not having children is a disgrace to the family. While individual families work the land as if they owned it, they cannot sell the land without permission from the community.

The Minangkabau introduced the Mandailing to Islam, and most Mandailing adhere to a form of folk Islam. Many traditional Mandailing ceremonies have been adapted to fit a Muslim context. They believe a person’s spirit can be taken; special ceremonies are done to reunite a person with his spirit.

There are several Angkola churches, but still, less than 1% of the total population is saved.

Pray that:

The Holy Spirit will convict of sin among the Mandailing people.

God will burden Angkola believers to pray for and share the Gospel with the Mandailing.

Believers will live in a way that shows the Mandailing that Jesus is stronger than any other spirit.

Angkola believers will obey Christ’s commands and not just put Christianity on top of animistic beliefs.

God will send out workers to serve the Mandailing.

Revival will break out among the other Batak people groups. Many Mandailing people reject Christianity because of what they see in the lives of their Batak cousins.

Equipped, obedient believers will be led to people of peace among the Mandailing.

Risk & Reward

This muscular Duano man is a lobster diver. He makes his living by diving down to catch lobsters with his bare hands. This is a dangerous profession. These men are diving deep enough to experience decompression sickness or the bends. Common symptoms of this malady include joint pain, paralysis, and even death. Because of these risks the work is seen as brave and manly, which is why many young men take it on. Oddly enough, they don’t make that much money. Perhaps for them, the payoff is in the respect they receive from other people in the village.

Many people on Sumatra suffer from the desire to be admired by other people, more than the desire to be applauded by God. This creates one of the biggest barriers to the Gospel on Sumatra. People reject the Gospel because they fear the reaction of other people. To them, it is better to risk the disapproval of God in order to receive the admiration of the people in their village.

The reward of pleasing God is of far more value than any wealth or power that this world can offer. The risk of displeasing God is worse than the consequences of decompression sickness. God is the One who can kill the body and cast the soul into hell (Matthew 10:28). The risks of rejecting the Gospel are considerable.

Pray for the peoples of Sumatra to fully understand the risk and reward of the Gospel.

Pray for Sumatrans to care more about the approval of God than of man.

Pray for lobster divers among the Duano and Simeulue to seek approval from God and leave this dangerous profession. Some risks aren’t worth the reward.

The White Hat

This Riau Malay man was tending a shop that sold Muslim clothing. The hats in the foreground are called peci [peh-CHEE]. It is the national hat in Indonesia, and it’s a hat strongly connected with the Muslim religion. Those who wear a white peci are supposed to have already been on the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj. Those who wear a peci are often seen as being better, more holy people.

Jesus warned about people who make a display of their righteousness in Matthew 23:1-7. True holiness is not a matter of what you wear or how you appear. True holiness is revealed by deeds and actions, but is rooted in something deeper. Those who put on a show to be seen by others are often the very ones whose life is less than exemplary. They preach, but they don’t practice. Such people are hypocrites. Every religious group has their share of this type of person, because religion alone doesn’t make anyone right with God. It doesn’t make anyone holy.

Many Muslims will admit that they know people who have been on the hajj, wear the white peci, but have lives that are far from holy. They sometimes get drunk, gamble, visit prostitutes, and cheat in business; their lives are a mockery of what the white peci is supposed to represent. This is not universally true, but it happens often enough that most people in Sumatra have a name of someone they know to go along with the story of being a religious hypocrite. But even the very best representative of wearing the white peci in a worthy manner is still far short of the righteousness of God.

We’d all agree that holiness is more than just wearing a special hat, but what is the essence of true holiness? Paul suggests that true righteousness does not come through works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. This is universally necessary because everyone falls short of God’s perfect standard (Romans 3:20-25). To the Philippians Paul shares that everything else is garbage compared with the surpassing goodness of being found in Jesus, for in Jesus alone mankind can receive true righteousness or holiness that is by faith (Philippians 3:8-9). As Paul reminded the Ephesians, this faith that imparts salvation and holiness is a gift of God and leaves mankind no room for boasting other than in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Many people prefer to wear the hat than to humbly admit their sin and receive God’s gift of forgiveness through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Anyone who truly receives this gift will not only be saved, but will be transformed. This is God’s work and it is marvelous to behold!

Pray for those on Sumatra, who are trusting in the good deeds that the white hat is supposed to represent, to see the futility of salvation and holiness by works.

Pray for spiritually blind eyes on Sumatra to be opened to see Jesus lifted up so that all the peoples of Sumatra will be drawn to Him.

Pray for humility on Sumatra that is willing to take the place of a helpless sinner in order to receive the gift of righteousness and salvation that is in Christ alone.

Photo from Kerinci