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Here are some stories from students that are currently on DTS outreach in New Zealand. They have just come back from their trip to Indonesia.

"Bulei! Bulei! That’s how the kids at Jembatan, a Muslim slum area we adopted from the team before us, welcomed us. Some would stop their badminton game; others would run to us to shake our hands. I remember that the first time in this community it felt strange and foreign, and I was happy to have a person from the other team to show us around. I thought I would never be able to find out on my own. By now we have been there several times and it feels like home. It is amazing how God has opened up the doors in this Muslim area. Sometimes we taught English, painted nails, or a wall, or we would just do prayerwalks in the area.

On one of our first walks we stopped at the house of an older man sitting in front of it with his legs up on a chair. He seemed not well and we talked to his daughters and family around him. He could not speak but allowed us to pray for him. He was smiling afterwards. Everyday when I pass his house, I get a big smile from this old “cousin.” The smile talks louder than words. Also, with our smiles we could overcome all language barriers and plant some seeds here in Indonesia. I’ll keep praying for the people in Jakarta when I go home."

Silvia

"Everywhere we go the appreciation of the people that they have for us. Even if it seems that we didn’t do anything, the blessing it has on the people.
Teaching English has turned out to be a blessing for me, to see the eagerness of the kids, regardless of age, to learn English, even to practice on us small phrases. It is even neater to hear a nine year old teaching a four year old, “My name is…” To see that young people can make a difference, even if this means teaching or supporting others. Just to see the concept being carried even when they don’t know who could be watching or listening. Just like a mustard seed planted in good soil.

We visited a village to pray for people. People with strokes, diabetes, and other illness. About a week later we, Kristian, Kat, Annemiek, and myself, (Colleen) we catching a Taxi to get back to the house. We talked about many things in the taxi ride back. Once we arrived in front of the gate, Kristian started counting out how much to pay, but the taxi driver refused, (didn’t speak much English.) He recognized us from the village. We had prayed for his wife who’d had a stroke several years earlier leaving her left side paralyzed. None of us recognized him at first, then after awhile I vaguely did. Talk about a blessing in disguise. Later when visiting the village for the last time, he shared the story and wanted to thank the team for the prayers and visits. Then they fed us lunch, another blessing, a poor area feeding people lunch with cheerfulness.

When I first went into Jembatan, it was a bit awkward. I, a white person, walking into a slum didn’t feel right. Being called Boulai with awkwardness. Slowly, over time, the kids warmed up to us and the “Boulai” call seemed more sincere. From the beginning the kids were just staring and pointing at the new white people they’ve never seen before to now. They see us coming. They run to us in anticipation to see what we have or are going to do with them that day. It is something I look forward to when walking into the area.
The friendliness of others here is more amazing than I imagined. Just to smile and say “Hi,” brings a smile on their face."

Colleen

"At one day during our stay in Jakarta we went to a village. I think most of the inhabitants were Christians, but there were also some Muslim families in the community. When we arrived at the village we sang some songs together with the people there. After that we would go out to people’s homes and pray for them. So me and two others did that. We went to a Muslim family. We found out the father of the family was blind since birth. We asked if we could pray for him, but we wanted him to agree with what we were praying. So, we shared about Jesus and what He had done for us, that He loved them, and He could heal the man. We asked the couple if they believed that. They said, “Yes!” Praise God! So they gave their hearts to Jesus. After this we started to pray for healing for the man, and I felt that God was saying that He wanted to heal the man, through the prayers of his wife. So, I asked her, but she didn’t know how to pray. So we taught her how to pray. After a little while she started praying. When she was done, we asked her husband how he was feeling. He told us that his eyes felt a lot better, and that was amazing. Jesus started healing by the prayers of someone who didn’t know how to pray! God is amazing!"

Annemiek

"One evening, we went with a local Indonesian, Baiyu, to an area prostitute’s conduct their business. We met Jenny, and sat down on some unused railroad tracks. She told us a heartbreaking story of how her younger brother had taken her share of the family inheritance. She left home and had come to Jakarta, working on the street the past twelve years. Baiyu shared God’s love for her. Jenny’s voice softened and she would smile at times. While sitting there on the tracks in the dark, Jenny asked Jesus to come into her life.

Spending time in Jembatan, I came to see that ministry is not only speaking the gospel, but developing relationships and making friends. I have always enjoyed playing chess, but have never before used it as a means to reach out cross culturally. I saw the beginnings of friendship starting in the few games I played, mostly lost. The goal was, not to win the game, but to reach out to the world. Also, I spent time taking blood pressure measurements. Meeting such a simple need led to other talk of other health issues. I saw a fundamental Muslim, a leader of the neighborhood; start warming up so that further ministry could take place."

Ron