The following stories are from Jeremy and April Langley's Blog http://aprilandjeremy.blogspot.com/
Jeremy and April served in the Greater Toronto Area leading collegiate ministries there until they moved July 2007 to follow God's call to foreign missions. These stories are of ministry opportunities they had in Indonesia.
And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 "And whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' 6 "And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 "And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 "And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' Luke 10:1-9 (NASB)
Pictured above is a sunset in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Makassar is famous for it's sunsets, but not much else. That might have been the reason not one single foreigner was on our flight from Jakarta. But it was more likely because no one else was crazy enough to fly one of Indonesia's infamously dangerous airlines - in fact, some German backpackers had warned us not to go. Just a few months ago a plane crashed on our same route, killing nearly a hundred passengers - including three Americans. But we already had our tickets in hand, and there was no safer option or we would've taken it. Another challenge we faced in heading to Makassar was that we were told very few people spoke English - and we didn't speak but a few basic phrases of Indonesian. We had no contact there to meet us and show us around. I was told that there was a need for someone to come to Makassar to reach the Bugis people (historically famous pirates from which the name "boogeyman" was derived), and that we currently had no personnel in this outpost. It was my hope to just see the place, do some prayer walking, perhaps meet some people who spoke a little English, and hear a word from the Lord. In Jakarta we almost got on the wrong flight headed to an island with a name I can't pronounce - but it sounds kind of like Makassar. It was then that we caught the attention of a very kind Bugis man named Basrah. He was amazed that we were traveling to his city with no contacts and felt compelled to help us out. After a smooth flight he helped us reserve a hotel, then drove us in his own car to his favorite restaurant and paid the bill. We tried to give him money, but he wouldn't take it. He was a huge help us to us over the next five days while we were there. He was undoubtedly the "person of peace" mentioned in Luke 10:6, which proves that even in the most unheard-of outposts and in the most unlikely situations our Lord still watches over us and provides for our needs. Please remember Basrah and his people, the Bugis, in your prayers. Pray also that the Lord will call out some people to go and live among them and share the truth with them. Pray for April and I as we continue to pray and seek the Lord's direction for our lives and future.
This picture is of my friend, Doug, prayer-walking on our trip in Indonesia. Beautiful, isn't it? But it was also one of the most oppressively dark areas we've ever visited. We visited two areas in Indonesia: Padang in West Sumatra (pictured) and Makassar in Sulawesi. Both areas see very few foreigners, especially in light of recent earthquakes, tsunamis, and terrorist threats. Padang was otherworldly, surrounded by mist-shrouded mountains, waterfalls, and the thickest jungle I've ever seen. There was also the ocean, dotted with hundreds of uninhabited islands covered with palm trees and surrounded by coral reefs. We took a drive up into the mountains one day to fish in a volcanic lake (we didn't catch a thing!), and the whole drive up we saw monkeys and breath-taking scenery. I still can't get over how beautiful it was! But in the midst of this paradise I sensed a powerful spiritual darkness - an intimidating beast called Islam that to this day holds the Minang people of West Sumatra in its oppressive grip. The Minang are neglected - forgotten - and I'm going to assume that very few prayers are lifted up on their behalf by God's people. Please take a few minutes and pray for them. Pray for a young family (we met with them during our time there) that will soon be moving into that area to share the truth with these people. The last family to serve in this area left due to overwhelming spiritual warfare. In light of this, we should probably pray often for this young family! And pray that the Lord will call out others to serve alongside them.
