Five times a day like clockwork the loud speakers mounted outside of area mosques send out an ethereal call to Muslim devout. You would think that with such a pesky reminder I would be quicker to bow down myself. But honestly, prayer has been a struggle for me recently.
This wouldn't come as such a surprise if I was finding myself distracted from prayer by the outrageously stimulating environment I am in. New sites, smells, sounds (I think we went through this two blog posts ago...), thoughts...a new language (which I am happy to report I have been picking up quite naturally), a new culture, a new perspective, new ideas about 'relief and development'...and MOST distracting, NEW PEOPLE. And lots of them!
Last night my brothers in arms (Craig and David) and I eagerly accepted the humble invitation of our two-doors-down neighbor Das to "drink kopi (coffee) at his house." Two and a half hours and countless cups of glorious tea later we added three unique (one Indian Indonesian, a Chinese Indonesian, and a Malay Indonesian...a motley crew to say the least) gentle men to our list of Indonesian acquaintances.
But I cannot with a clear conscience blame this fascinating place for my lackluster prayer life.
I think about praying...often in fact. I LONG for REAL, GENUINE, HUMBLING communion with God. But for some reason I can't find my way through the crimson curtain engulfing the Holy of Holies.
Please pray. Pray that the Father would come to the end of the yard and welcome home his prodigal son. And, more importantly, that this prodigal son would rest assured that God is there 'with arms wide open' if I would just turn to Him.
This internship has been such an incredible blessing...and the work hasn't even started yet! Day 3 and the spiritual growth (starting with a bit of a valley) is in full swing : ) I love it here. Here physically. Here spiritually. Here professionally. Here casually. Here.
And I'm doing well. I just gotta lanjut terus!
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Indonesia and back...in blog form
- In a Nutshell
- I am a child of God with a passion for people and an education in the liberal arts. This summer marks my first steps towards full-time ministry as I take on an internship with Food for the Hungry in Calang, Indonesia.
Contact Me: andrewinindo@gmail.com
3 comments:
Awesome. I enjoy your honesty :) Always have. You can count on me for prayer.
Things have been going good here... very mentally and spiritually challenging, it's been awesome.
Peace
Andrew,
What an amazing story you are living and sharing! We are certainly proud of you and what you are doing.
We are praying. And you know that the Spirit continues on your behalf! God is faithful.
Thank you for your amabassadorship to Indonesia on behalf of FH and Christ.
Here is an idea you might try to help with your prayers. (I read this in a devotional, so it is not original. Maybe David used this method. Who knows?) Just praise Him in song. That should be easy for you since you are so musical yourself. Just try humming Jesus Loves Me or Hallelu, Hallelu each time you hear those calls to worship throughout the day. Or you may have a different hymn or praise chorus (as you are more likely to have)to help you with your prayer life. Just keep it simple. Remember He already knows your heart. He created it.
Blessings to you in Indonesia from Indiana!
Hey, I know what you mean. I've had countless hours this last week. I feel like my prayers are pointless ramblings with out real conviction. I've been thinking a lot about the outside of the cup vs. the inside of the cup and who God is. The "fear" of God. I feel like I don't understand how to approach God with reverance. Most of my prayers are these half hearted requests for things that I think I want and expressed desires for change (that I'm not sure I can follow through on). How am I supposed to view God? How am I supposed to pray? What is the point of praying when I have no power to follow through on anything I were to promise God? This inability to really make anything happen or to know what is the best thing to desire in a circumstance are often my justification for not praying. How sad is that? I think I'd say do it anyways, kinda like repenting for that sin that we constantly choose over God. We do it because he is holy and deserves us to come, even in the humility of one who fails. I love you :) And I know that you desire to please God, don't let Satan convince you that you aren't or that you can't. :)
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