Eventful first because it was the first day since arriving here that had absolutely nothing scheduled. Nothing at all. A day off. Woohoo. And rather than squander such a day sitting around and resting and such, I joined to of the other team members for a day around Jakarta. We began by attending the church service at Gereja Santapan Rohani Indonesia: Diam Kasih near Blok M. It’s a small protestant church, very similar to an Evangelical Free Church with a more definite liturgy and less intensity than some other churches we have visited. After the service we walked across the street to Satu Khodus, a chicken soup joint ( a common genre of restaurant here) for some soup and various meats and tofu. (including cow lung which after Saturday was somewhat pleasant) After the meal we hung around the church and talked with the Pastor and his family. His daughter and one of our team had been on a previous trip together and are great friends. After dropping of the Pastor we went through town and picked up the leader of that trip who had been in Indonesia for a couple of weeks, and was flying out this evening. His name is Dan Bradbury, from Melbourne, Australia and is one fo the coolest people I have ever met. Besides teaching at a school in Melbourne, leading trips in Indonesia he is also an amateur photographer. Check out his website: http://www.inspiredmedia.com.au/ On our way towards the airport we stopped by RA Sushi for lunch. It was fabulous. Definitely some of the best food I have ever had. After dropping off Dan at the airport we kicked back at Ciladok Town Square for the rest of the evening. We had dinner at A&W (pronounced “aa-wey”), which along with KFC, Popeye’s and Dunkin Donuts, is very popular here. I picked up a couple of cool maps from a bookstore and swung by Starbucks before heading back to the guesthouse. It was a wonderful and refreshing day off, despite all the activity. And we needed refreshed for tomorrow we begin preparing to head out to the villages. The team I am on flies out of Jakarta on Friday morning for Kalimantan, part of the island of Borneo which Indonesia shares with Malyasia. We’ll be leaving all the modern conveniences and most of the western influence behind. Pray for us though, as our travel arrangements have not yet been finalized. An aviation gasoline shortage has led to most organizations suspending flights in the region we are going to. The difficult terrain and lack of roads make driving hazardous and very expensive. And it is too long to walk in and back out in the time we have available to us. We know God is in control of all things, but pray that this situation is worked out as soon as possible.
Today was another eventful day
