Indonesia Week Three – Bali to Sentani
Monday we had our last large group meetings. Some of the 160
participants had to leave over the weekend, but those of us who
remained carried on with the work. We focused on how the
future planning for SIL and Partners in Asia will look in our regions
of Asia and how we can best adjust to be the most effective in
reaching the minority peoples with the transforming Word of
God. We did have time for a group picture, but you will notice
that some are facing away from the camera because they are
working in very sensitive locations.
My meetings Tuesday were with a much smaller group (about 25) focused on support services for Asia
and the Pacific. These were great opportunities to discuss face-to-face the challenges we face in our
roles and how we can best help each other across this vast area.
My day didn’t end with these meetings; it had really just begun.
After the meetings ended and we had a bite to eat, Liz and I headed
to the airport for the flight to Sentani, Papua province at the far
eastern side of Indonesia. Mickey and I have known Liz for about ten
years. She lives in Manila where she assists with the Information
Technology needs of the group. She was going to Sentani to lead
several workshops focused on software that is being used in Literacy
programs across that region.
As we left for the airport, I wondered what to call a flight that leaves at 1:25 AM? Is that a late flight or
an early flight? Either way, neither Liz nor I were able to sleep much before we arrived at Sentani at 8:30
Wednesday morning.
As we were preparing to leave Bali, word reached us that the undersea
internet cable serving Papua province was broken. There were quite a few
rumors or stories as to what happened. Was it an undersea earthquake that
broke the cable? An undersea volcanic eruption? My favorite is that a shark bit
and damaged the cable. I guess that really does happen. Whatever the cause,
Liz and I arrived in a true crisis: internet withdrawal was full blown. Every time I
mentioned the internet, everyone laughed. It was sort of fun being
“unplugged” for a while. There was a backup internet connection for the
province, but it was extremely slow-to-non-existent most of the time, but I was
occasionally able to get a brief message home.
Alice is the leader of the Field Security Committee for Papua Province. She picked Liz and me up at the
airport and took us to where we would be staying. This gave me some time to settle in and get the
training materials ready for the morning. After a nice supper with one of the families working in Sentani
and a good night of sleep, I was ready to begin the Crisis Management Team training. This one day
seminar is to prepare individuals to join a Crisis Management Team which will assist the Field Security
Committee in dealing with significant crisis situations involving Wycliffe members. SIL is no longer
working in Indonesia, so the Wycliffe members working in Indonesia are sponsored by local
organizations. There are currently seven non-government organizations, three church organizations, and
one mission school sponsoring these Wycliffe members. Each of these organizations, as well as the
Wycliffe organizations these individuals came from, are looking to the Field Security Committee to care
for their Wycliffe members in case of a crisis. It is a big job.
Twenty five years ago SIL Aviation turned over leadership of the
aviation program in this region to a new non-government
organization known as YAJASI. The program has grown significantly
over those years and is under the leadership of an Indonesian
Director and a majority Indonesian Board of Directors. Several of the
families Mickey and I went to Moody Bible Institute and Moody
Aviation with have worked with YAJASI throughout those years. The
YAJASI leadership offered the use of their facilities for the training
sessions and this served us very well.
Twenty five people attended the Crisis
Management Team training including
several Indonesian members of the
sponsoring organizations. It was a
stressful day for many (that is part of
my job to make it as life-like as
possible) and the comments I received
told me that many left with a new
appreciation for what is involved in
managing a crisis to resolution.
Friday was the first of two days of training for the Field Security Committee. This committee is
composed of a representative from each of the sponsoring organizations. We focused on developing an
actual Risk Assessment of Papua Province as the Committee members felt this would be the greatest
help for them. This was a review for two of the Committee members and quite a new process for the
rest. They did a great job and by the end of the day had identified and ranked seventy-one potential
crisis events they felt needed to be addressed. We discussed how to reduce the likelihood of these
events affecting the members, and how to reduce the impact these events would have should they
occur. We also discussed what other help is available to deal with these outside of the Field Security
Committee and possible Crisis Management Teams. It was encouraging to see that there is other help
and support available. Friday ended with a lot more work to be done to finish the Risk Assessment and
begin working on Contingency Plans. That will be the focus for our Monday sessions.
Friday night was an opportunity to get out of the
classroom and visit Hillcrest International School
which most of the Wycliffe children attend. This
was the final night of their big basketball
tournament. There were boy’s and girl’s teams
from Hillcrest and several other area schools. It
was a very loud and fun night of basketball and
burritos. I was able to see quite a few other
friends at the games and had a few conversations. Did I mention it was really loud? The Hillcrest girls
won and the Hillcrest boys came in second. Everyone had a great evening.
After all that fun, I was off to find some sleep and get ready for Saturday. Some friends invited me to
join them for a day at a beach and I really did not want to turn that down. Imagine leaving snow in
Pennsylvania and finding yourself on a tropical beach. There are a few perks to this work.
Early Saturday, Tim and Tammy picked me up and we joined a fourvehicle
caravan over some amazing roads (four-wheel drive would have
been nice) to get to the place where we could take some boats across the
bay to a very nice, private beach. (Well, it was a bit private - four other
families joined us, so there were lots of us.) It was a very nice break from
traveling and teaching. It was also a great opportunity to get under the
water again. Sever families brought scuba equipment, and when they
heard I had not been scuba diving since we left the Philippines nine years
ago, they insisted I join them. I didn’t resist very much. I borrowed some
scuba gear from Jason and Erin and joined Jason for a very nice dive out
on the coral reef.
After such a day of fun, we braved the road back to Sentani.
Frans, the Director of YAJASI, invited me to join his family for supper that
evening. It was a very nice opportunity to get to know him and his family
better, and to hear of his history with YAJASI and his dreams for the future.
It was a great week, and I found myself pretty tired by the end. This trip is also quickly coming to an end,
but that is a story for my next, and last, letter on this journey.
Blessings,
Al
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