Monday, April 30, 2018

Al Williams in Indonesia: Week 2

Indonesia Week Two – Bali Sunday, April 15, 2018

BACK IN THE AIR AGAIN

Early Sunday morning, April 8, I was in a taxi on my way from the Yayasan Suluh office to the Jakarta airport. Dodi and his Blue Bird Taxi got me to the airport in about an hour and I was soon checked in. After a short Garuda Airlines flight (only 1 ½ hours; really short compared to the 14 hour 40 minute flight last week), I arrived at the airport on Bali, Indonesia. By the time I arrived, I could tell something was not quite right in my stomach.

Indeed, by the time the taxi dropped me off at the Grand Inna Bali Beach Hotel, I could tell it was not going to be a good day. I rarely get sick on these trips, but something I ate in Jakarta was letting me know that this was going to take a while to get over. I spent the rest of Sunday getting some rest, and wondering how I would be able to work on security for the meetings and still be near a restroom.

One of the things I do on a regular basis is give pre-travel briefings to new members before they leave for an overseas assignment. I try to live what I teach in those briefings and this time it certainly paid off. I travel with a small bottle of Kaopectate caplets and I’m sure glad I had them.

By Monday, I was up and moving and getting to work, though not over that stomach bug yet. Gary, who lives in another Indonesian city, joined me on the security team for this conference. We are also assisted by Tiar and Yusak, two men who were in the training I led in Jakarta. Tiar and Yusak have been very helpful in interfacing with the hotel staff. They are also assisting with the logistics team for the meetings. Gary is very interested in becoming much more involved in security and contingency leadership in Asia, and this has been a great time for him to gain experience and for me to get to know him better.

Tuesday found me much more functional. I was sure glad for that. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Most of the 160+ participants from across Asia and the Pacific, and a few from farther away, had arrived by Tuesday morning. About one half were with me in a leadership training program Tuesday and Wednesday, while the other half were meeting with Asia and Pacific church and partner organization leaders.

The impact of Bible translation in Indonesia became very clear Tuesday as I was talking with one of my friends here. She told me that some years ago, she and her husband were involved in a translation project in Indonesia. Much has happened in that people group since that time, and one of the men she knew from those days is now a Pastor and significant church leader. He is here attending this conference, representing his church and their strong interest in Bible translation and reaching other Indonesian groups with the translated Scriptures.

Thursday, all 160+ of us met together to hear from our senior leaders and to discuss very significant topics related to the Bible translation movements in Asia and the Pacific. Topics, like the Indonesian Church, MUSE (Multilingualism, Urbanization and Scripture Engagement), and Localization (the encouragement of local leadership and participation in the Bible translation movement) filled our days. There were some times of extra excitement too.

FIRE

At our break times, the hotel staff provides us with some snacks along with hot tea and coffee. The drinks come in nice urns with alcohol-andwax-fueled burners underneath to keep them hot. Unfortunately, Thursday afternoon, when one of the meeting participants decided to tip the tea urn forward to get the last little bit of tea from the urn, the can of burning alcohol and wax underneath tipped over and poured the flaming fluid down the front of the table and skirting which all erupted in flames. It made for some exciting moments as several people immediately fought to beat out the flames. Thankfully, no one was injured and little damage was done. Before the meetings, Gary and I had prepared a fire evacuation plan for the room as well as checked the location and condition of the fire extinguishers, which, in this case, were not needed.

Thank you for your prayers for safety. The Lord answered with protection from what could have been much worse. When some hear that we are focused on security, they ask if we really think there will be an attack on our meetings. I tell them that although it is a possibility, it is very unlikely. A fire like this one is a much more likely threat to our group, and that is why we seek to be prepared as much as we possibly can to meet a wide variety of threats.

I would like to send pictures and introduce you to many of my friends who are here with me working through these meetings and topics, but many of them are working in very sensitive locations and cannot have their names and pictures published. This is always a reminder to me of the risks they are taking (carefully) to serve the Lord and reach people in difficult places.

Friday and Saturday, we continued to work on our planning and strategy sessions (Gary and I made sure the flames under the tea and coffee were put out before break time started). We made good progress, and I was able to build some new relationships with the people in my table group. One of them is a Bible translator in a small village in Vanuatu that is served by a road built by some of my friends from Pennsylvania. It really is a small world.

On Sunday, we spent the morning in a time of Bible study, reflection, and worship. We finished the morning with Communion led by a Pastor from Timor. It was a very good day. Your prayers are great blessings, and very much appreciated, as I participate in the next two days of meetings and then take to the skies for my next stop which is Sentani, in Papua province to the East. I’m sure there will be much more to tell you of that part of the journey next week.

Blessings, Al

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