I thought that perhaps some of you might be wondering about my safety because of the bombings of the two luxury hotels in Jakarta yesterday. Actually, I'm safe for 2 reasons: (1), I'm not in Jakarta at present and (2), the bombings occurred about 15 miles from my current apartment. I have often driven by these two beautiful hotels and admired them from a distance but I've never set foot in either of them. They can easily be seen from the toll road which I have used a lot in the past.
The war in Iraq, and to a lesser extent in Afghanistan, has made our work more difficult. It has made Indonesian Muslims less tolerant of Christianity than they formerly were. Women especially have more frequently adapted a Muslim form of dress where before they were more drawn to western dress styles. A terrorist group called Islamiah has made itself evident with several bombings in recent years. The government has taken a very harsh view of these terrorist activities and several terrorist were executed last year, a result of previous bombings. Nevertheless, I think it's safe to say that Indonesians see these wars as attacks upon Islam and this causes an emotional reaction which results in harding their hearts against the Gospel. They are not anti-American. They are just more defensive of Islam than they might have been in the past.
We continue to preach the truth without compromise even on a prominent radio station in Jakarta, but we do make every effort to keep from offending our listeners. We continue to draw students from the radio program and we make every effort to open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel, but we are careful not to do it in a way that offends.
Please continue to pray for our success. Thanks.
Steve Cate
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