In mid October the pastors of the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI) gathered in Sihabonghabong, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia for their annual Pastors’ Convention. The Lord had blessed Kali and Caroline with health after Caroline’s birth in August. Kali and I were also still on a maternity break from Bahasa Indonesia Class. So I was able to travel to Sihabonghabong to attend the convention. The last time I was with all the pastors of the GKLI was in June for the Hymnal Workshop. At that time Kali and I had only taken one month of Bahasa Indonesia classes. I could say good morning, talk about the food I liked, discuss the weather, and have a surface level conversation about family. Now, four months after that initial meeting at the Hymnal Workshop I met with all of them again.
The pastors’ conference was a great opportunity to measure how far Kali and I have come since we last met with these pastors. At that time I could not understand much of anything that was being said around me. Unless someone was using the simplest words in response to a direct question, I had no clue what was being said. The pastors convention in October put our Bahasa Indonesia classes and learning to the test. My time in Sihabonghabong showed that we have indeed made progress in learning Bahasa Indonesia. Rather than having no clue, I could track along with the general topic of conversation, but lost almost all of the particulars. For example, I could tell that the pastors were talking about new members in their congregations and something about Roman Catholics and their need for teaching. We have indeed come along way, but I also realized how much more work is ahead of us!
Still, the Pastors’ Convention was a great opportunity to get to know the pastors of the GKLI. They graciously set aside five hours of their convention for me to teach from Luther’s Small Catechism. On Thursday, 10 October, I started with the Ten Commandments and spent five hours reading and teaching from Dr. Luther’s Small Catechism. The pastors were engaged, had good questions, and good conversation. We made it through the Lord’s Prayer before we ran out of time.
The pastors were most interested in the numbering of the Ten Commandments. There are three traditions for numbering the Ten Commandments. Lutherans have historically used the Augustinian tradition which is reflected in the Small Catechism. However, the missionary that brought Christianity to Indonesia, Ludwig Nommensen, used a different tradition. So a different numbering is used in the Small Catechism that is familiar to the GKLI.
As we walked through the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer I focused on the certainty of the work of God in Christ Jesus. We know where we stand before our Father in Heaven because He sent His Son to die and rise again. We know that we stand in the righteousness of Christ because the Holy Spirit has called and gathered us through Word and Sacrament. Certainty in our right relationship with the Heavenly Father is the gift of the Gospel.
For this convention GKLI Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan translated for me. Having such a knowledgeable translator is a great blessing. Pastor Aruan knows his theology and he knows the GKLI. He not only translates, but also helps to point out what needs more explaining. Still, using a translator means that everything has to be said twice. Thus 5 hours of instruction becomes 2.5 hours. Kali and I work hard to learn Bahasa Indonesia, and an important goal for me is to be able to teach and present in Bahasa Indonesia. So we are always asking for prayers that the Lord would bless our language learning.