My Batik Shirt Collection

My collection of Batik shirts. I wear them over here from time to time because they are considered formal wear or at least semi-formal wear and relieve me of the discomfort of wearing a suit and tie. All my current shirts are cotton but I've been given several silk ones in the past. I prefer the cotton. It's cooler. Batik is printed in a very special way using wax to separate the colors and the pattern markings. The material is dyed and the wax boiled away then re-waxed and new dye applied. Years ago it was all done very tediously by hand but now "chops" are made of copper or other metals to fashion the design desired and then dipped in the wax and pressed unto the cloth. Batik is found in many countries of the world but Indonesian Batik is especially famous. Modern Western patterns have become very popular among quilters in America and my wife has made a ton of quilts from Batik many photos of which I've posted at various times on Facebook. You can go to my timeline and visit my photos to see them. For more information on Batik, do a Google search. Enjoy.

Burial of Stephanus

One of our church members passed away yesterday morning, Sunday, June 29th, 2014 and was buried the same day. His name was Stephanus and he was 70 years old. He had been in the hospital for a few days last week, but they sent him home since there was nothing that could be done for him. I'm posting one photo of the burial here on this blog with a link where I hope you will be able to see all of the photos taken of the graveside service if you desire to do so. From the link you can get an idea of how Christian funerals are conducted here in Indonesia. My co-worker, Daniel, was in charge of the service and is the minister for the congregation of which Stephanus was a part. We send our condolences to the family and continue to pray for them in the loss of their loved one and our brother in Christ. Kami ikut berdukacita bersama dengan keluarganya dalam meninggalnya saudara Stephanus. Kami tetap mendoakan keluarganya dan kiranya Tuhan akan melindungi mereka dan menguatkan iman kepercayaan mereka agar mereka tetap berpegang teguh kepada Tuhan kita Yesus Kristus. Amin. Click on this link to see all the photos.

Walking to Worship June 2014 Jakarta

On the street where I live. Just leaving the gate for worship. The street isn't as busy as usual since it's Sunday and it's a beautiful day for a morning walk. It's about 8:00 AM.

As I get nearer the circle around the Hotel Indonesia, the streets begin to change into parking lots. The main artery of the city from North to South for this section of the city has been blocked to all automobile traffic except the busses so that people can come on Sunday mornings and exercise by walking, riding their bikes, running or whatever. So people drive to these streets, park their cars in the middle of the side streets to get some exercise. I fit right in as I walk with everyone else.

Here you can see how the side streets will fill up with parked cars as more and more people join the parade.

We are entering the traffic circle in front of the HI now which is straight ahead of me. In 1968 when I first came to Indonesia this was the tallest building in the city or at least this part of the city. A friend and I used to get on the elevator and ride it all the way to the top and then walk along the access way to the eastern end of the hotel complex and look out over the central part of the city. Jakarta is filled with many very tall buildings now which make this building look very small by comparison. The restaurant in this former Intercontinental Hotel was a favorite of our family for American style hamburgers and real American style milk shakes and ice cream sundaes. I brought the kids here as a treat for their birthdays. I occasionally used to go there for lunch to watch Monday Night Football films. I wasn't alone.

I'm still walking to the West but looking to the North and to the street where I will be walking in a few minutes. On the left is the Grand Hyatt Hotel and just beyond that is the Japanese Embassy.

Indonesian National elections are coming up and there is no end to the campaigning and demonstrations. Last Sunday as I walked here I could hardly take a step without stepping on someone in front of me. Very crowded. Today not so crowded. Maybe they are just getting a late start.

Whoa....nearly got run over by a bus. Stay out of the bus lanes. They stop for no one between stations.

In 1968, this was the other tall building in the heart of the city. This is Toko Sarinah and has been a kind of department store since it first opened back in the '60s. I've shopped there many times over the years. It also houses one of my favorite restaurants while I'm in Jakarta -- Chili's. It's funny because I almost never eat at Chili's when I'm in America; but, I guess this is a little taste of "home" when I'm almost 12,000 miles away from home. There is also a McDonald's, a Dunkin Donuts, and a KFC in the building as well.

They are a little hard to see in this photo unless you blow it up, but across the street North of Sarinah's is a building where you can choose between Pizza Hut, Starbucks, or Burger King. There is also a very nice theater for some not so nice movies.

Approaching another traffic circle with fountain. To the right is Merdeka (Freedom) Square. On down the road to the East is the American Embassy. To the North is the Indonesian Presidential Palace, In the center of this huge park is Monas - the National monument which happens to be just a foot or two taller than the Washington Momunent in Washington, D.C.....!

On the Western side of Monas is a fountain statue of Arjuna the hero of Mahabharata. Indonesia now has 6 recognized religions -- Islam, Christianity (Protestantism), Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

MONAS the National Monument

Looking back to the street down which I just walked.

On the South West corner, opposite the Arjuna statue and MONAS is the National Bank of Indonesia. I guess it would be kind of the equivalent of the Federal Reserve System in America. I used to volunteer as an English teacher here for some of the bank officials. I could at least help them with their pronunciation even if I couldn't always answer all the why's and wherefore's of their grammar questions. I remember once they asked me why we sometimes pronounce the as "the" and sometimes as "thee". I didn't have a good answer for them then, but I do now. Embarrassing.

Still on the way I passed an old Dutch era house without much change from it's original construction back long before the 2nd world war. If you look closely you can see that the floor of the house is several feet below the level of the outside land around the house. I didn't go in, but I'm sure the house still has the original Dutch tile floors. A bit of history that won't be there too much longer, I'm afraid.

This is where we meet for worship. This building has a history but I won't go into it right now. Anyway, it is provided to us free of charge from the family that owns it. Several of the family members are folks I baptized back in the 70's.

There is another religious group that meets in the main auditorium pictured here.

Our group meets in this side room. Another building is being built in back of this building and our group will meet there when it is completed. There will also be a free apartment for my use.

As usual several of our members got away before I remembered to take photos. Anyway, this group went to lunch together at Outback after worship. I had Salmon and Coke Zero.

The street on which our worship center is located.

A very large denominational church building I pass along the way.

Large screens like this one are all over the city, or seem to be. Some are much larger than this one I passed this morning.

There are other options available, but most people, I think, purchase their gasoline (petrol) from the National Oil Company called Pertamina.

"Wish to take a buggy ride around MONAS?" "Well, maybe not this morning, I'm on my way to worship."

Looking South on the main boulevard from the circle HI

Police and other units are out in force to maintain order.

A view of MONAS in the foreground with the Istiqlal Mosque behind it. This is largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Interestingly, the Catholic Cathedral is right across the street and is dwarfed by the much larger mosque. Right down the street to the east and south is a huge Protetant church building which was used by the Japanese during their occupation of Indonesia during World War 2 as a memorial for their war heroes. All citizens were obliged to bow their heads when they passed it. It has since been returned to the protestants but it too is small when compared to the mosque.

A small marching band with followers promoting their choice of a candidate for the Presidential election coming up in July.

"Come on, Robin, to the Bat Cave! There's not a moment to lose!" - Batman

After my return to Jakarta, I became immersed in my work and haven't had much that I could post. However, I do visit the malls of Jakarta on a regular basis where I walk to get exercise. I can walk miles in these malls in air conditioned comfort where I'm protected from the rain and lightening and can sip an iced coffee from the ever-present Starbucks while I'm doing it (no sugar). What's not to like? It gets me out of my apartment and out among the folks. For the past several months, I've been walking in the mall nearest me and I've posted photos of this mall and the things I see around it in previous postings; but, yesterday I walked in a mall farther away and much larger. They were having a Batman promotion to celebrate 75 years of Batman and lo and behold, he even showed up along with Catwoman...! Many in the audience were coming up to have their photo taken with these two Superheros. I didn't know that Batman could speak Indonesian, but he's fluent and his pronunciation is perfect...! Amazing..! Anyway, I took some photos of the event. I saw people all over the mall carrying Batman bags full of stuff. I would guess that it was a very successful event. Anyway, it made me happy. I'm grateful to see others being successful and I'm always made happy to see Indonesia developing a middle class.

A few days in Singapore

I'm currently in Singapore soaking in the incredible beauty and efficiency of this 1st world country. Lord willing, I'll be continuing on to Indonesia soon. Following are a few photos of my stay here so far:

This one isn't a photo of Singapore but I'm posting it here anyway. It's a photo of part of the beautiful airport in Hong Kong

This is Bailey and her fellow interns being interviewed and introduced to the congregation Sunday morning in Singapore.

Since I happened to be in the audience, I was also interviewed by my long term friend, Dave Hogan - missionary to Singapore and whose father and mother also served as missionaries in Pakistan and Singapore before him. I have worked with the Hogan family in one way or another since 1968. They are great people.

Lunch at the American Club after worship and other meetings.

Dinner and very pleasant conversation Monday evening with Beng Chuan Tan, Administrator and one of the Elders of the Pasir Pangang congregation in Singapore. Henry Kong started this congregation in 1968 or maybe 1967 and it has grown through the years to be one of the largest, if not the largest, congregation in the city. I remember when they met in a store front building with an open front. My wife and I stood outside on the sidewalk and participated in the worship because there was no more room inside. We were not alone outside either. There was a crowd of people there participating along with us. No one can replace Henry, so until April 2017 he will continue to be part of a team ministry while Beng has been chosen to administer the day to day affairs of the congregation and the Elders provide leadership and many of the members take active parts serving the Lord both publicly and privately. They are now in the middle of their 50th year celebration or Jubilee - looking both backward and forward. The congregations in Singapore have great days ahead of them.

Out of the local treasury....

Daniel just reminded me of several other projects where members and outsiders were helped out of the local treasury. He cautioned me not to post to brag about ourselves but to post it only if I truly thought it would bring GLORY TO GOD. Matt 5:16 So I post it only to encourage others to be generous in reaching out to those in need no matter where they may be living realizing that “God loves a cheerful giver.” 2Cor 9:6-7 What Paul said of the churches of Macedonia could also be said of our small congregation: “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” 2Cor 8:2 I pray that what follows will encourage you to glorify our Father in Heaven today. Two mothers needing financial help when bearing a child. Two families in need of motor bikes in order to make a living $1,200 each. Money to help a widow with rent and weekly out of pocket expenses. Helping another member with monthly rent money plus food and tuition expenses for his child. Providing a water pump for another member to keep his house from flooding.

Helping out with the radio program

For the months of March and April, I was able to join Daniel on our Indonesian language radio program (sponsored by World Radio) each Sunday evening. It is a real joy to be able to share the Gospel with the 28 million people in the greater city limits of Jakarta, Indonesia. Our congregation continues to grow in number, in love for others, and in our knowledge of the word of God. Almost all of our new students come to us because of the radio program. We still feed at least 20 street children a day and house 5 children permanently in our permanent facility for that purpose called Connor's House. Widows without family are being provided for as well as families who because of health problems cannot adequately provide for themselves. Some of these activities are being funded from the States but others are being funded out of the local congregation's treasury. This latter funding is most rewarding to me personally because I see it as spiritual growth on the part of our Indonesian members. God gave his only begotten Son. Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And James tells us that "Pure religion before God is to take care of the widows and orphans in their troubles and to keep ourselves uncontaminated by the world." (1:27) To see our own brethren in Indonesia taking on some of this responsibility of their own volition and will is deeply encouraging to me personally. I praise God for it.