January 19, 2014

Indonesian Church Service

Malang English Service

Today was a Sunday, so we had another opportunity to visit an Indonesian church.  This church was a much larger church than the first one, but the people were just as friendly and welcoming as before.  After the service we went to the house of one of the congregants for a men’s meeting.  The service was all in Javanese, and it was cool to hear a different dialect of the language here.  They also had traditional music, and I got to play the gamelon, which is an Asian instrument similar to a marimba but with metal keys.  It was so great to interact with some church members and learn a new instrument and cultural style.  I also got to share my testimony at the men’s meeting, which was a new experience as well.  It was much harder to share a testimony through a translator than I imagined, because I had to interrupt my thoughts and use simpler language.  Regardless, I could tell many of the men enjoyed my story, and I praise God for using my story to minister to the people there.  After we ate a traditional meal and were given many gifts, the pastor took us home.  Sunday afternoon was the Malang English Service, where all of the Messiah team was allowed to lead.  It was a powerful time of worship where God was truly there in our midst.  I really missed leading worship at my church throughout this trip, so it was a joy to be able to lead a new group of people towards God in a powerful worship experience.  As one of the girls said at our night meeting, “The Holy Spirit worked through Luke…that worship was a spiritual experience.”  Praise be to God for using me to lead people into His presence in a powerful way.  Although it was a busy day for everyone, we had a great time to connect with friends and get closer to God in a special way.  God is so good!