Today was another eventful day. We met up with Louisa’s mom and she showed us around a local market, where Christina finished off her Christmas shopping. Now I know where some of the name brand products in the U.S. are produced from.
We then headed out to one of the universities in downtown Jakarta. It is hard to imagine that there are so many universities all within one international city. We met up with another para-church leader from a ministry that is focused on missions for the students. As Christina and I were talking with him, it was just another reminder that having a local church on campus for the students is a paradigm-shifting concept that is hard to conceive. So many of the campuses here in Jakarta (and I am assuming for many campuses on international cities) are stuck in the para-church model.
Then as we were visiting some of the student activities centers, we happened to run into a student leader for another one of the para-church ministries on campus. It was great hearing from her some of the various needs that are on the campus as well as getting her insight into the possibility of seeing a local church that is for students on or near the campus.
After talking with some of the students, I realized that students are students wherever you go – whether it is in the States or in an international city. It really got my blood pumping as I thought about the possibilities of starting up an international church near these campuses in this city. The possibilities are endless.
Then we reconnected with Pastor Young and Annette in the evening. We headed out to dinner together along with Engel and Louisa. It was great getting a taste of Indonesian food one last time. My taste buds were forever grateful. Now Indonesia food has definitely bumped up on my all time list of favorite food – it is a close 2nd to a medium cooked steak 🙂
We finally got around to doing a session of pre-marital counseling for Engel and Louisa. Even though it was brief, we covered some of the major principles of marriage. I am excited for them and the life that they will be starting together.
In about 3 hours we will have to head out to the airport to get back to the States, therefore I have decided to pull an all-nighter and get back on Eastern Standard Time Zone.
Ayen was nice enough to sit down with us and share about the situation on her campus
Activity room filled with some students – as you can tell on the right side the TV was displaying a soccer game on a PS2
Yofie gave us some insights to the campus life and how ministries got started on campuses
Christina and I are standing by “the rock” which is similar to the rock in AA where people paint on – I think ours is better
The University of Tarumanagara – a top notch university in the city of Jakarta
We had some seafood for our last meal. It was one of those places where you can actual choose what you want.
As you can tell, Pastor Young is very happy. It feels different when you see the fish before it is cooked
Our last supper. It always looks better when it is cooked and ready for consumption.