Dear Congregation,
Thank you for your prayers for Joanne and me, and Steve and Susan on our recent trip to Bali. Pardon the belated nature of this report — I’ve needed a few weeks to pull my thoughts together. I’d like to share them with you now.
1. A Deeply Pagan Land
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Bali felt like the most pagan place I’ve ever been. I’ve been to the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Haiti, and various places in western Europe. All of them carry indelible marks of Christianity, even if only in empty churches and cathedrals. Bali has no evidence of Christianity at all. The landscape is dominated by a 400-foot idol depicting the Hindu god Vishnu, riding his mount, the mythical bird Garuda. Small idols appear everywhere you look, upon which small food offerings are piled up daily. In the heat and sun, these offerings soon begin to look and smell like refuse. The words of Psalm 115:4–6 came vividly to mind: |
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“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell."
This is a dark land that is in desperate need of the Light of the world!
2. A Warning Unheeded
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Though Bali is very Hindu, the rest of Indonesia is strongly Islamic. There is a sad story to tell here as well. Back in 1910, Samuel Zwemer, a world-famous missionary from Vriesland, Michigan, urged Christians from the Western world to send missionaries to Indonesia, saying that the land was very open to hearing the gospel. Zwemer was a graduate of Hope College (1887) and held a robust, Calvinist theology of missions. He believed that the glory of God was the primary goal, and God’s sovereignty in salvation was the great confidence. He spent most of his life oversees and was known as “The Apostle to the Moslem’s” (that’s how they spelled “Muslim” back then). |
“With God’s sovereignty as basis, God’s glory as goal, and God’s will as motive, the missionary enterprise today can face the most difficult of all missionary tasks — the evangelization of the Muslim world.”-Samuel Zwemer
Zwemer warned that Indonesia would become either Christian or Muslim, depending on who got there first. The church failed to respond and Indonesia currently has the largest Muslim population in the world — around 240 million people.
3. The Faithful Workers
For the sake of their security, I cannot share many details about the wonderful people I met there. But let me highlight some of what struck me deeply:
❖ They are young — the great majority between the ages of 25 and 35.
❖ Many are raising young families in remote villages and islands over 10,000 miles away from family and the comforts of home.
❖ They are doing extraordinarily difficult things: learning new languages, building friendships across cultural barriers, starting businesses from scratch, and bringing the good news to places where it is unwelcome and the risks are real.
I was humbled to be there. These are very ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the cause of Christ. Their sacrifice is real. And yet, so is their joy. They are doing something of eternal value.
4. Things We Enjoyed
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There was a beautiful path along the ocean that went for several miles. We rented some bikes and enjoyed several trips along the coastline. |
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The cafeteria was all open-air, right near the pool and the ocean. I greatly enjoyed coming here early in the morning, around 4:00 am, for devotions and reading while the world around me came to life. |
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The evenings were wonderfully warm, and we enjoyed several lovely dinners on the beach. It was a great honor to be invited and a joy to be there. We are so thankful for your prayers and support!
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