FASTING AND PRAYER

Fasting and Prayer has been a major event each year since I quit my job at the end of 1984. When I realized that the Lord was asking me to step out into the unknown, the question remained exactly when I should quit. I decided to take some water into the mountains and fast and pray for three days to get the answer.

On the morning I was to go, it occured to me that after I quit the job, I would no longer have a daily routine, that each day I would have to get directions on what to do that day. So I decided to start this day, before going into the mountains.

The Lord had me get out a paper, and began to dictate a list of things I should do. I ended with a list of some 30 items, mostly paying bills, writing letters, making phone calls, and such. I complained to Him "This is a listo of very worldly things, Lord."

He replied "I am a very worldly oriented God."

Since then I have had a new appreciation of how He really cares about the smallest things!

It took me most of the three days I had taken off work to complete the list, and I never made it to the mountains. Now I schedule at least one week away per year. This year I nearly missed it, so am getting it in on the week before Christmas, in Bali.

MORE TESTIMONIES FROM JAKARTA:

Instead of the usual pictures, in this posting I include photos of some of the various flowers we encountered on our way to and at the retreat center. The posting includes more testimonies from the retreat and from the ministry in Jakarta during my 10 days there.

‘I talked to T., one of participants wife this morning and she said that after they return from the retreat something happened, all the church members that have left their church now started to come back!

FROM PD RUTH:
1. Ibu D.. Do you remember the big woman with the back pain? She came to our fellowship meeting today and she can sit on the floor without feeling any pain. Praise the Lord!
2. Do you remember the man who spoke to you in English after the fellowship meeting? His wife is one of PD Ruth's members. She is very quiet, she was never able to speak in public. Today she gave her testimony how God works in her life though she has been through a very difficult time - a problem with her husband - but now he is cured. He's been out of job for ten years. And now God opened doors for them, they can buy a Ruko and they're going to start their own boutique shop now which will be opened on 27 Sept. Wow!

DREAMS FOR YOUNG COUPLES

In Jakarta in September we met with the Roman Catholic bishop and his committee. We will do a FLO retreat with them November 7-9. They will make all the arrangements, my team will conduct the retreat. Later, we will meet with them more and tran them to do the retreat themselves.

When I asked why they don’t use the Marriage Encounter vehicle, they said that in Indonesia it is controlled by the older folks and they don’t allow younger couples to participate in planning and leading, and the result is that there is no aim at the younger generation.

Their aim is younger couples, and the community aspect of FLO is exactly what they are looking for. I anticipate that this will be a great program for them.

ROMAN CATHOLIC FLO?

While in Jakarta last week I met with a RC priest who heard about our FOR LOVERS ONLY group and is interested in starting a program for his young married couples. He has around 100 young couples in his parish, and it seems they all need help! Changing culture has them confused and unequipped to cope with modern lifestyle in a Godly manner. I will meet with his planning team during my visit in July, and we tentatively plan for a retreat for 10 leader couples from the 5 major RC areas in Jakarta for November. If this goes as I hope, they will be able to develop their own program.

This is perfect because it will help the church to establish community that has been largely lost with the infusion of worldly values and culture and breakdown of family values over the past few decades.

The values decay has been less in Indonesia, but greatly accelerated since they only became open to these outside influences about 20 years ago. Before, there were strict censorship laws; movies, music and advertising were strictly controlled. One thing most of our terrorist enemies are right about is that we are exporting lots of evil stuff which destroys Godly values and culture!

FOR LOVERS ONLY COMMUNITY

After the March retreat with 9 pastors and their spouses, the participants requested us to form a ‘Community of Love’ to help them live according to the new life they had experienced during the retreat. I agreed to meet monthly with them as long as they are diligent. They settled on the third Thursday of each month (we move some because of national Holidays), and I arrange to be in Jakarta for them as best I can. For the March meeting two weeks after the retreat, only three of the couples were present, so I figured it was a safe commitment: they would soon loose interest.

But for the April meeting, I was surprised to see that all nine couples were there, and they had brought three couples along. I set forth the arrangement that every odd month meeting would be alumni only, and even numbered months would be open to potential participants in a future FOR LOVERS ONLY retreat.

This past week in Jakarta was a big test for them, as they are all Charismatic or Pentecostal churches, and here in Indonesia it is a ‘must’ to have 10 days of prayer and fasting, meeting each day, from Ascension day until Pentecost. Six of the couples made the sacrifice!

We are planning the next FOR LOVERS ONLY retreat September 4-6 at the same venue in the mountains outside Jakarta. This will be another test of the group’s resolve and dedication!

DREAM MAKER - FOR LOVERS ONLY

A DREAM IN PROCESS?

At the conclusion of our three day retreat, the participants repeatedly expressed their hope that we would enable continuation of the loving community experience for them, with get-togethers and communication.

It is my desire that couples begin to lead the retreat experience for other couples. This one was by myself (divorced for 26 years), a single woman, a widow, a woman whose husband allowed her to help (he also attended, but admits he runs away from these things usually), and a young couple married six weeks ago.

We plan to have another within a year. We will test their commitment to their enthusiasm with a gathering next month when I pass through Jakarta on my way back to Surabaya from Hawaii, and possibly with monthly gatherings thereafter.

The words 'loving community' came entirely from them, but it has been my unspoken desire to create such a community. The idea is that participants will continue to meet for refreshement on 'dates' perhaps monthly, participate in planning, praying for, recruiting participants, and leading the future retreats. For Lovers Only will become a loving community within the community of churches in Indonesia. First for pastors, then maybe specialty groups like businessmen.

Well, it is just the bud of a dream, but if it is God's dream, then it will happen. We will see.

--HWK--

GREAT ANTICIPATION

Get ready for a flurry of photos and stories. News has been sparse the last few weeks, but that is about to change!

I am looking forward with great anticipation to the next two months. This weekend I spend in a mountain retreat with my group of disciples. This keeps me young, as they are all under 30, though a couple of the gals are rapidly approaching that magical age (it seems to be ‘old maid’ age here in Indonesia, as it seemed to be when I was young in America) and prayer requests include a life partner. The photo in Walking with Jesus blog is from the area. Lots of mountain trails, so if it’s not raining, we will be hiking.

The next weekend I preach in the morning Sunday and in the afternoon am on the plane for Bandung, a city about three or four hours out of Jakarta in the mountains. There, I have three days teaching six hours a day on the Holy Spirit to students in a School of Missions. This is my favorite topic, and will be the fifth (I think) year I have taught. Every time something different, but something spectacular happens with the students. Last year, when I started teaching on the final day, the Holy Spirit himself showed up and people started falling out of their seats, some laughing, rolling around on the floor (now I know why they were called ‘holy rollers’ when I was young), others sitting or laying on the floor quietly, and all kinds of in between. There were dancers, there were swimmers . . . you need to have been there to understand, I think.

After that is Vertical Leap Seminar, a two-day event with about 70 key personnel of a furniture factory. I am in charge of the prayer team for the event. We are intercessors before, during, and after, and during the event we also pray for the participants individually. I would like to be a presenting Coach (title for leaders of this seminar imported from America see www.bossthemovement.com) but it’s all in Indonesian, fast-moving and I am not ready with my Indonesian language skills.

Then I head for Jakarta where I take a group of 10 pastors and their wives on a retreat. Theme is ‘For Lovers Only.’ These are pastors from smaller, poorer churches, and I hope to encourage and refresh them.
Directly from Jakarta without going home to repack, I head for Honolulu and then Las Vegas, where Maile awaits (with other grandparents, cousins and such also in line for an audience).

Back here a week, then off to the Philippines.