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2003：印尼 短宣報告
新加坡 2003 | 印尼 2003 | 印度 / 新加坡 2002 | 香港 2002
Location: Indonesia
Date: June 16 - July 3, 2003
Team: Anthony & Isabella Chan
Indonesia... we knew very little about this country. It was an unknown territory to us. We knew it was a Dutch colony. We knew it has the largest Muslim population in the world. The Mosque in the city of Surabaya is the largest in all of Southeast Asia. We didn't know that Buddhism had its influence in the history of this country. The Borobudur monument in central Java (built before 800 AD) is standing proof of its influence. We sure didn't know Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the Chinese community in Indonesia. We knew a little about the restrictions on the Chinese but we didn't know that the Chinese language was banned from schools since the late 1960's and only until a couple of years ago that the Chinese language could be taught in schools again. We knew a little about the attacks and lootings on Chinese homes in Jakarta in 1998 (through forwarded emails), but we didn't know the details and the extent.
My wife and I were wonderfully blessed with the opportunity to minister in Indonesia by the invitation of a synod of Gereja Kristus Tuhan - the Church of Christ the Lord (45 Chinese Presbyterian churches) in mid June 2003. It took us 26 hours and 4 connecting flights before we arrived in Semarang in central Java, but we were excited to see what God had prepared for us. We would first minister in Semarang, and then we would travel to East Java for the Music Camp in Batu, Teens Camp in Lawang, and church in Surabaya.
We were greeted by Elisafan (Lee Fen is her Chinese name), the wife of Rev. Yusuf (Joseph) Gunaman, who was the chairman of the synod. Along with her were two deacons from their home church, Henry and Anna. Lee Fen spoke English, Mandarin and Indonesian. She was my liaison, interpreter and pal for the next ten days. Even though Chinese had been banned, it was still allowed in the church. That's how she kept up her Chinese. But a whole generation was affected and as a result, many didn't know how to speak or read Chinese. Henry and Anna were part of that "lost generation". Henry did speak some English (I thought he did great) but was not very confident in speaking, and Anna didn't speak English at all. Though there were some barriers in communicating directly, our bond through the love of Christ was evident.
Rev. Yusuf is very energetic and genuine. It's such a blessing to stay at the Gunawan's home! He is the youngest minister to be elected chairman of the synod and the first one to introduce contemporary worship in the whole synod. He started using a praise band in his church a couple years ago and he faced a lot of criticisms in the beginning. Most churches in the synod are still very traditional in their style of worship. Soon after we arrived, we got together with their band to rehearse - I would use the band to lead worship and workshops at the music camp in Batu.
One thing that has struck me is that wherever I go (in the US or in different parts of Asia), I always meet extremely gifted musicians. This time was no exception. En-En, the keyboard player, had taken years of lessons with a legendary jazz pianist in Indonesia. He was very attentive and focused, and would go the extra mile to make sure the band played right. Rudy, the bass player, was a multi-instrumentalist and actually taught guitar. He came from a very poor family and supported himself through college to become an architect. Iwan, the drummer, was solid and attentive. After a few practices, he had adapted to my styles and played with great sensitivity according to my emotional and dynamic changes. Daniel, the guitarist, had just graduated from high school. In fact, his graduation ceremony happened on the same day of our second rehearsal! He had been taking classical guitar lessons and was a great player.
I was asked to preach and sing in the two Sunday Services and the first service was at 6 am - a very new experience for us!. I was up at 4 am praying and preparing. By 5:30 am we were leaving for the church. Their usual practice was to serve breakfast for the speakers and co- workers between the two services. But I would normally have a big breakfast to get me going in the morning. I thought I would just go with the flow so I did not ask for any food. During the first service, I was singing a solo and in the middle of the song, I felt dizzy and lost focus. I felt like I was going to pass out. I closed my eyes and slurred that line. By the grace of God, I was able to regain my focus and sustain it through the rest of the service. Now everyone knows Anthony needs to have a big breakfast!
Even though it is primarily a Chinese church, everything is conducted in Indonesian; some members in the congregation are also indigenous Indonesians. Semarang is not as developed as Jakarta in the west or Surabaya in the east. Some members in the church are very poor. For one of the choir members, it would cost her literally a fortune to attend the Music Camp, but she had so much faith and joy in the Lord, she was determined to go and be blessed. I prayed that God would meet her needs and her desire.
One of the highlights of this trip, of course, was the Music Camp held in Batu from June 24 to 27. Over 300 participants from different churches all over Indonesia joined this 4-day training event. I had the privilege of giving one teaching on The Biblical Basis of Worship, and 6 workshops on Team Dynamics, Contemporary Singing Techniques and Contemporary Keyboard Techniques. Everything needed to be translated into Indonesian. Lee Fen had done a marvelous job in translating all my notes and handouts and songs; and a superb job in interpreting for me at the camp. I even got to learn how to lead a couple of songs in Indonesian! Lee Fen was a good singer and she really helped me a lot.
After almost 18 years, I got to conduct choir again! At the camp, they divided the participants into 4 choirs. Each instructor (Junus Sutandio and Esther Nasrani , who were local, Dr. William Lock from southern California, and myself) would rehearse and conduct one choir at a concert in the last evening of the camp. Being the only guy teaching contemporary stuff, I decided to make the choir sound more "contemporary". I used the band to accompany and the two songs we did were "Come Now is the Time to Worship" and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" (in the original Garo dialect as it was first written by in the Garo hills of North East India). It was a lot of fun and the audience responded enthusiastically and clapped with us. There were some people in my group that sang in the choir for the first time, and they loved the experience. Praise God.
After the camp, we traveled on to Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. We ministered at the Church of Christ the Lord Hosanna Congregation (Gereja Kristus Tuhan Jemaat Hosana). I shared at their youth fellowship, gave a teaching at the prayer meeting, and sang and preached in 3 Sunday services (6 am, 8 am and 4 pm). This was a more traditional church but we saw people's hearts and love for God all the same. The first and the third service were bilingual (Mandarin and Indonesian) so I got to teach in Mandarin. Due to the different demographic make- up of the people coming to these 3 services, I picked a different topic to preach for each service. I really appreciate Pastor Silas Liman for opening the pulpit.
We had the privilege of getting to know Anita (first at the Music Camp) who had contributed tirelessly for the music ministry. Her husband is a very successful businessman and she donated the money to build a 3 unit 3 story building opposite the church. Two units were for used as living quarters for the pastors; one unit was devoted for music ministry. She used her private funds to hire 2 full time staff to help develop the music ministry work for the church. She gives free singing lessons. The top floor is for guests and we stayed there. We also had the pleasure of getting to know Ripkah (Rebecca). She and Anita had showered us with blessings through their warm hospitality.
We had met some rich people, but what stood out was that they gave generously to the church, not just financially but also through their hands-on service to the needs of the church and the people.
Another highlight of the trip was ministering at a Teens Camp. When I was asked to speak at a Teens camp, my first thought was: Am I too old to be an effective speaker to teenagers? The topic was: Good and Bad Influences of Music on Teenagers. It was held at a seminary, Aletheia Theological Institute in Lawang. 300 teenagers from all over packed the hall. I thanked the Lord for speaking through me and touching these young hearts. At the end of the first session, I invited the drummer and the bass player of their praise team on the spot to play with me as I led them to sing a jazzed up version of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". I decided to make the second session more interactive so I opened it up for them to ask questions. And they really asked questions! We had a very fun session and I was able to address some very challenging issues. I was blessed to have a very animated interpreter, Pastor Amos Winarto.
For most of the time in Indonesia, I only had 50% of my voice. We were very well taken care of and very well fed. The hospitality was phenomenal and we were deeply grateful. The food was tasty but my body system (my wife's too) was not used to so much deep fried, spices and garlic in the Indonesian cooking! That greatly affected the condition of my voice. Again, God showed me it's all about Him - what He could do, not what I could do.
As always, my wife Isabella worked late into the night everyday, making changes for the PowerPoint, getting things ready for the meetings the next day. Most people only saw me up front leading worship, singing or teaching. Very few people understood how much she was working behind the scene. I thank God for her humility in serving quietly, seeking only for God to be glorified. Please do remember her in your prayers.
In conclusion, God showed up every time when we ministered. We feel a close bond with our brothers and sisters in Indonesia and we are looking forward to going back in 2004. We pray the Lord will protect what He has started there. The band in Semarang that I worked with will be helping to train new and developing teams in the synod. I got a very encouraging email from En-En (the keyboardist) in which he wrote:
I am now starting to teach at the church, thanks to you once more that I now get the idea how to teach them. And I want to write a theory book for the churches... Not for my church only but to any church here in Indonesia... I have no problem in designing and writing the music theory, but I wonder if you can add some article about worship and ministry, it would be much better... [sic]
Of course I would. It's an honor and privilege.
His donkey,
Anthony
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