Yesterday we had a great opportunity to worship together with other English speaking people at a well-known international church in Jakarta. The familiarity of the songs helped us engage in worship.
Afterwards, we went out with a handful of people who knew about us wanting to start an international church. It was great just fellowshipping with them and having some good conversations. Then in the evening we had an informal meeting for the church plant. It was great to see all the people who came out. I had the opportunity to share the vision and mission that God placed in our hearts.
Then, we ended up sharing in a meal and building more relationships with one another. This is one of the benefits of starting a church. It is all about the relationships and the connections.
Today, Christina and I went to Jakarta to take care of various logistical things. It was quite an adventure for us because we were trying to make our way to Jakarta without knowing the language. We decided to take the bus into the city. Wow, it was quite an experience in trying to purchase the tickets, find the right bus, knowing when to get off, taking the right taxi and stopping at the right place to meet the person that we were supposed to meet. I think I have mastered the art of body language. I am pretty fluent in it.
In Jakarta, we located a used car for our team. God also provided for us in a huge way with other items for our housing. It is just humbling to see God give us this much favor with people.
As we were getting ready to purchase some furniture for the house, we got a phone call from one of our alumnus. They mentioned that they know of someone (it is all about the connections) who rented out apartments and that they were going to get rid of the furniture that the previous tenants have left behind. When we went to the apartment complex, we were humbled to realized that the furniture were very good quality and in good condition. But the biggest praise of this was that they gave it to us for FREE! It was close to $7,000+ worth of furniture. Not only do we have everything set for our place of residence now but we saved a lot of money. God is truly our Provider.
There are still a lot of things that we have to take care of, but as we are depending on God, we are learning that He is leading us every step of the way. God is good.
I had the privilege of sharing the vision and mission of this international church plant
It was a great group of people who gathered for our informal meeting
We shared in a meal together after the gathering. Our kids are enjoying Indonesian food!
Homemade shaved ice dessert!
People building community with one another
It has been encouraging to see our team members reaching out to people