The opportunity to teach English in Indonesia came out of the blue for me. However, as I believe God has done several times throughout my life, it seems I was being prepared for the experience in the weeks prior. A few days after looking into moving from pre-school teaching to teaching English, Pastor Matt Anker […]

The opportunity to teach English in Indonesia came out of the blue for me. However, as I believe God has done several times throughout my life, it seems I was being prepared for the experience in the weeks prior. A few days after looking into moving from pre-school teaching to teaching English, Pastor Matt Anker approached me with an offer from HKBP – a Lutheran church in Indonesia. Although there were many uncertainties, I decided to take the opportunity, trusting in God’s will, wherever it leads.

My role was to teach English to 18 participants. Twelve of them were pastors who have been selected as missionaries to Africa (Tanzania, Botswana, and Rwanda for a term of three years). The remainder were volunteers who are recent graduates looking to improve their English to acquire jobs. I worked with two Filipinos, Shem Peroy and Ephraim Arcino, to plan and teach English lessons. The program was intense, with six hours of lessons Monday to Friday, morning and afternoon chapel, and full weekends of curriculum preparation, tours of local community and sights, and other activities. Although there were few opportunities to sightsee, I was able to visit some local towns and see the work the church is doing, such as the deaconess school, and a local church school.

The primary reason for my visiting Indonesia, our ‘Village English Camp’ or Kampung Ingriss was held at a church run conference campus Jetun Silangit, situated in the mountains surrounding Lake Toba, North Sumatra. I was provided with a private guest house, with my colleague teachers from the Philippines next door. The participants lived a hundred metres away, in dorm rooms, next to the study buildings and dining hall. The close living was a blessing, as it quickly created a sense of community between us. Another blessing was the setting – a beautiful, gardened space surrounded by woods and jungle, with water holes and streams; a peaceful juxtaposition to the busy surrounding city/towns.

Indonesia is an exciting land to visit, with thick humid jungle and rice fields, however I was most impacted by the people and their culture. The Lake Toba region is inhabited by the Batak tribe, a fiercely friendly people. They are predominantly Christian, which means there are thousands of Lutherans worshipping each Sunday in the churches just in my area. The worship singing was a special experience; to hear familiar hymns sung with especially beautiful voices was a stand-out experience. Another notable characteristic of the Batak is their respect for family and heritage as they quickly formed close bonds with each other and found immediate connections to others through family names. I was welcomed warmly and certainly felt a sense of belonging within the community. It was a blessing to be able to get to know each other more deeply as we shared our fears, desires, and personal challenges in daily, small-group, life talks. The encouragement and prayers shared during these groups was one of the most meaningful aspects of the camp. I shared my own experiences of culture shock and learning new languages and having only God to rely on (particularly during my one-year of teaching in Papua New Guinea), and it blessed me to see how God spoke through my experience to encourage some of the missionaries.

My own culture shock was not too overwhelming, perhaps as I have had some Indonesian connections since childhood, and some prior southeast Asian travel. There were some confronting times, from the busyness of the towns, the near-death traffic, to the food (I was prepared for plenty of rice, but not hot chilli for breakfast!). There were of course other difficulties including different expectations, and limits to our resources, as well as differences in theological doctrine and practice that were challenging. However, the result felt worthwhile, despite the challenges.

The English program concluded with final exams and public speaking presentations in front of distinguished guests. It was rewarding to see how each participant had grown in skill and especially in confidence speaking English. The program ended as it had begun, with a worship service giving thanks and praise to God, led by the HKBP Bishop Robinson Butarbutar and other church leaders. As expected, I learned and received as much from the participants (perhaps more!) as they did from me, and I was greatly blessed by the warm hospitality of members of the body of Christ.

If you would like to consider the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in mission, serving in practical ways, teaching English, teaching in the seminaries and institutions of our partner churches, or in local churches, you are invited to phone LCA International Mission on (08) 8267 7317 or email lcaim@lca.org.au. For more information, go to https://www.lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/volunteer/

Read more stories about volunteering at https://www.lcamission.org.au/category/join-gods-mission/volunteers/