INDONESIA: Mission Trip 2011 Day VIII

May 28, 2011

Jagalan, Surakarta

I am a very curious person. When curiosity strikes my conscience, most of the time following through becomes compulsive. That is what happened to me today. This morning I braced myself to actually visit the slaughterhouse in the flesh. I had been waiting to do this since the second day I got here (because on the first day, I arrived after they had finished butchering the pigs). I hope my photo-taking skills were subtle enough as not to have offended the workers there. The experience was more emotional and psychological rather than physical. But of course, I dared not making any tangible contact with the animal's dreary and gruesome remains. Still, my insides were churning as I allowed my mind to conceptualize the notion of consuming this animal as tonight's dinner, and the fact that back in Canada, I had been indulging in the scrumptious, mouthwatering tang of this animal in the form of a succulent rack of BBQ Baby Back Ribs. Now it has definitely given me the heebie jeebies. Here are some visuals to feed your lingering curiosity. May I warn those devout pork-eaters, however, that after seeing these pictures, you might not be as big of fans of pork anymore (or not, if you've got "less of a heart" for "that kind of stuff"). Proceed at your own discretion.

Yes, they are piglets. No, the butchers don't care.

Organized: each pig is numbered.

*Caution: Gory photos ahead, not vegetarian-friendly.* I promise this post is not all about pigs.

"Batok" Babi – Pigs' skulls?

Enough discussion about slaughtered pigs. On a lighter note, tonight we had a joint youth service. I had been set to share/deliver the sermon during the service. I talked about being faithful doing God's work and ministry, that everything good we do is an act of worship towards God – including studying well in school and doing simple actions through friendly gestures, such as comforting others with your smile and motivating them with words of encouragement. Honestly speaking, I did not prepare my message until an hour prior. "Procrastination, we meet again." Nonetheless, the youth were incredible. Some of them comprised those from the orphanage "Anak Seribu Pulau", which I talked about in this blog post. I especially liked the idea that we held our service outdoor, in the evening, when it was cool, dark, mysterious, and fun! The people living around the area also did not seem to mind to hear us sing and praise our God. Fortunately for me, I had NO encounter with mosquitoes whatsoever. Pretty amazing, I suppose. I mean, it is Indonesia after all.. the infamously known home of tens-of-million kinds of mosquitoes.

Notice the light in the sky, which is not present in the next 2 pictures

Children of one of the staff members

Silly faces

At the end of the service, I took pictures with one of the kids. Her name was Unam. She stole my heart tonight.

With Unam

After the service ended, the mission team from Jakarta was rushed to leave quickly. I did not know why. It turned out that Ka Sonny and Ka Dita were taking us out and treating us to dinner at an Indonesian steakhouse. Alas, I cannot recall the name of the place. We then went to a night festival in the area. I loved it! Little did I know the people in Solo would be VERY live at night, considering the streets here are much quieter and emptier at night compared to those in Jakarta. There were all sorts of games, though they were mostly carnival games (throwing rings, bottles, balls, etc). I don't remember whether there was a ferris wheel, but there was one roller coaster ride (there could possibly be more than one, but I didn't get to ride any). The prizes they offered were unique and different from the ones I'm used to seeing in Canada. Prizes for the winners consisted of either packs of snacks or pops (or sodas as the Americans call them). We won a considerable amount of pops to take home. The highlight of the night, though, was the BOOM BOOM Cars or what we would typically call 'Bumper Car'. It was Ka Ester and Ka Elyda's first time riding and they loved it. It was hilarious to see them getting so excited. I, on the other hand, have been so much better... in avoiding other cars and steering clear of other people's way. 

Nevertheless, today was a fun yet exhausting day. Tomorrow I will be sharing twice: one for the morning service at 7AM and the second one for the afternoon service at 5PM.

I find it slightly odd that on the first day I arrived, I thought I would not be able to stand even 2 days here, let alone 9 full days. But now that I've shared a room with my 2 hysterical, God-loving, exuberant, and energetic teammates, and that we've shared our stories and experiences, I have somehow grown very fond of this place. In addition to that, I have also made great friends with the people here. As much as I am homesick, a part of me is wanting to stay a bit longer. Upon returning home, whether it is to Jakarta or Toronto, I will always, ALWAYS remember this entire experience. I will reserve a special place in my heart and gratefully live with it for the rest of my life.

 

8th day lesson: WORKING FOR THE LORD
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men," ~ Colossians 3:23

LESSON 8: We must always strive for excellence, as working diligently for the Lord and serving Him wholeheartedly embodies a life of steadfast and favourable worship.

Each one of us has been given a call in life long before we were born. Whether we choose to act on that call is completely up to us. When we are talking about a life's "call", it does not always necessarily mean giving up all our wealth and become missionaries, traveling around the world while living on alms. It could be something as simple as studying, as a short-term objective. Take students, for example. Their call is to finish how ever many years it takes to finish their education, and do it well. That, specifically, is the call for every student in their academic life. Secularly speaking, studying well in school does not only benefit the student, but also the parents, who may or may not be financially supporting their education. Spiritually, our diligence pleases the Lord. He wants us to do our best in every task that has been handed to us.
For the general public, the workplace is a mission ground. Our performance in the field determines our tenacity and resolution as a person. Surely, the Lord knows our heart way better than we know ourselves, therefore he is foolproof. As working people, we are well aware that those sporadic dreadful, unproductive, ineffectual days are inevitable. There must come days when we would feel the urgent need to sulk and lash out on our employer(s). One of the things I have learned from this mission trip on this very day is that HOW we live our lives reflects our worship and service towards the Lord, regardless of how 'well' or 'poor' we do. As Christians, it is established that our body (mind, heart, and soul) carries out a living act of worship. Even on days when we sulk, every action and attitude we poorly commit still counts as an act of worship, though it is evidently not an acceptable one. Modestly put, when a task is done well, the Lord accepts. When it is done poorly, He will say, "Let's try that again."

At the end of the day, what we do is a form of sacrifice towards Him and how we do it determines the overall quality thereof. Naturally, we want to give God the best of our effort. We want Him to be pleased with our achievements. And most of the time, it is not about how much we have achieved, but how well we achieved them. That is why we must be consistent in striving for excellence in every task we undertake, both physically and spiritually. Look not to the earthly superiors above us and complain not of the inadequacies we may encounter because continually doing our best and pushing our abilities in the finest way possible bring joy to the Lord. Now the question is, are you doing what the Lord has intended for you to do and are you executing your objective just as how He would expect you to do it?


Love,