Sinode Agung Gereja Christian Luther Indonesia / November 30, 2021 by Matthew Wood

While those of you in America were celebrating Thanksgiving the GKLI was conducting business at their convention, which they call a Great Synod. About 200 pastors and elders gathered to vote on leadership and decide the direction of their church body.

Pastor wood with the pastors of the GKLI at their synod convention.

On Thanksgiving day I began my travels up the mountains of Northern Sumatra. I stopped to rest beside Lake Toba on Thursday night and made the rest of the journey on Friday, arriving in time for the opening services of the convention that evening.

The theme verse of the convention was Ephesians 6:10, “Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” In his sermon, Bishop Sinaga reflected upon how God provided for the GKLI through the covid-19 pandemic and called on the members of GKLI not to be conformed to the world where there is no true power, but to rest in the strength of Jesus Christ who has shown his love to us through the difficult times of the pandemic. After the worship service I was invited to deliver a brief greeting from the LCMS.

From left to right: New Bishop Jon Albert Saragih, Bishop Emeritus Sinaga, Pastor Matthew Wood, Bishop Emeritus Aladin Siteo.

The following day was packed full of business. The sermon at morning worship encouraged the people to remember that God is not the God of GKLI only but the Father of all creation. Following the worship service reports were given from Bishop Sinaga and the GKLI treasurer. Then the elections began with each candidate for Bishop giving his five-year vision for the GKLI. At this point I excused myself because I did not want my presence to have any undue influence over the discussion or the elections. The elections lasted well into the night and finally at 1:00 a.m. they announced the election of a new Bishop and General Secretary.

Newly Installed Bishop Jon Albert Saragih addresses the congregation after Sunday morning worship.

On Sunday morning the pastors and elders who attended the convention joined the congregation in Sihabong-habong for worship. Bishop Emeritus Aladin Siteo preached on the centrality of repentance and forgiveness in the life of the Church. It is in this repentance and forgiveness that we receive the strength and power of God. After the service the new bishop and leadership of the GKLI were installed.

In his remarks to the congregation Bishop Saragih said that while the leadership of the GKLI has changed the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, has not changed. The vision of the GKLI remains the same, "To be a mature, independent, missional church.” Bishop Saragih addressed the two Bishop Emeriti requesting their help and continued cooperation and asking for forgiveness over any offences and sins committed during the election process.

Thank you for praying for the GKLI convention. The decisions made here have a huge impact on our work with the GKLI and the future of our work in Indonesia. The new leadership remains committed to their identity as Lutherans and their continued work with the LCMS. Please continue to pray for the GKLI. Pray that God would use the decisions reached at the convention to strengthen the Church and spread the Reign of Heaven.

A Happy Return / November 29, 2021 by Matthew Wood

Since leaving Indonesia in November 2020 I could not break through the frustration to write any updates here. Sending out updates via the newsletter and personal conversations left be too discontented and a bit defeated to repeat the exercise again with a piece on the family website.

Such times and displeasures have abated—at least for the time being—so my return to Indonesia warrants a return to The SEAside as well. In the coming day’s I’ll be posting about arriving at the house in Medan and the GKLI general synod, which was held November 26-28.

For now I will just offer a brief update on the experience of travelling into Indonesia during these times of heightened covid-19 protocols.

Kali and I loaded the kids into the car at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15th to get to the airport for my 6:00 a.m. flight out of saint Louis. After saying good-bye to Kali and the girls I checked in for my first leg of a 29 hour trip. Ultimately, I landed safely in Jakarta at 12:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 18. There was a small issue with my quarantine hotel, but after a couple of hours I got it resolved and checked into quarantine at 3:00 a.m. It was as boring as you can imagine.

Entering Indonesia alone has been a helpful experience as I will know more about what to expect when travelling with the whole family. I have also been able to send notes to Paul Nelson and his family who hope to be moving to Indonesia in January 2022.

Early on Sunday morning, November 21 I boarded a plane to Medan, and after an hour long taxi ride I finally arrived at the house one year and five days after our unfortunate departure.

Please give thanks to God with me for hearing our prayers and providing a way back to Indonesia according to His timing. Pray that He would also bless this trip and use it to strengthen his Church and extend His kingdom.

I return to America on December 20th. Our family will be able to celebrate Christmas and then we will be returning to Indonesia together. In light of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 of course nothing is certain. Please pray that Indonesia remains open and continues to issue visas.

Reconnecting in the States / November 13, 2020 by Matthew Wood

Check out the latest newsletter for information about our reluctant return to the United States of America. We will land in Minneapolis on November 15, after the recommended time isolating and checking for COVID-19 symptoms we will be doing presentations. That is the first Sunday after Thanksgiving we will be available to reconnect with supporters and tell the story of how God is working in Indonesia. We will schedule presentations through the first part of January.

I will be available to preach on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. I also have a 45 minute presentation and a 15 minute presentation prepared for Bible Studies.

Check your calendar for openings beginning from Nov. 29 and let me know if you or your congregation would be interested to learn more about Indonesia.

To schedule a presentation here is my contact information:

US Phone Number: 952-491-0762

What’s App Number: +1-314-495-2623

Email: matthew.wood@lcms.org

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Kitchen Adventures / October 20, 2020 by Kali Wood

Visiting an Indonesian restaurant in San Francisco.

Before I begin, let me tell you a story.

A few months before we moved to Indonesia we were visiting friends near the San Francisco Bay area. At that time we had been raising funds for our work in Indonesia for months and I was feeling tired. I wasn’t particularly excited about moving across the world and wasn’t sure what to expect once we arrived. We attended church with our friends and met an Indonesian family there. I asked the wife if there were any Indonesian restaurants in the Bay area. To my surprise, she rattled off an address to one of her favorites. That evening we made the drive into the city and my world was changed. We had no idea what to order so we just picked a few things. The food was amazing! It was deliciously complex and spicy. With the knowledge that the food was good, I was ready to begin this new chapter of our lives.

The delicious food that started my love for Indonesian cooking.

Fast forward to our time here.

We are blessed with having a helper come in and cook lunch for us during the work week. She cooks only Indonesian food for us and is a wonderful cook. When we eat at restaurants we often compare the food to hers, and hers is always better.

There are a few dishes that Matt and I would like to master because we would like to share them with our friends and family when we visit the States. My goal is to try to make one of these dishes each Sunday.

The first one is Beef Rendang. It’s a slow cooked beef in a spicy coconut milk. Our first attempt was pretty close but we lacked one ingredient. The next week we had all the right ingredients but I did something wrong and it tasted bland. Each week I talk to our helper to get tips and tricks on how to make it better.

My first attempt at beef rendang. Slow cooking the coconut milk, spices and beef together until almost dry.

One of the ingredients for Beef Rendang and many other Indonesian dishes is daun jeruk (kaffir lime leaves). We didn’t have any one week but luckily our neighbor has a kaffir lime tree. I knocked on her door and asked if I could pick a few off her tree. The situation made me laugh to myself because it’s the Indonesian equivalent of borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor.

We recently watched an episode of Gordon Ramsey’s Uncharted. In Season 2, episode 4 he goes to West Sumatra and makes Beef Rendang. Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

I’m going to take a break from making Beef Rendang this week and am going to try my hand at Nastar (pineapple cookies).

Back at It! / October 2, 2020 by Matthew Wood

The travel restrictions in Indonesia loosened up a bit in August and September. I took advantage of that and traveled from Medan to Jakarta to work with our theological translator, Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan, on some of the new translations for the BIL. His translations are already quite good, but we both want these translations to be the best they can be. So we reviewed his translations and enhanced them a bit.

We developed a process. We sing Pastor Eben Ezer’s translation and smooth out any places that are difficult to sing. We then review the rhyming pattern and see where that can be improved. Then finally sing the hymn through once or twice to make sure everything still fits together. Using this process we have been able to get through six to eight hymns a day.

I also recently had the privilege of visiting the GKLI offices in Sihabonghabong, Indonesia. We were able to get most of the GKLI Hymnal Committee together and review the first draft of several portions of the BIL: the GKLI liturgy, the historic liturgy, Matins, Vespers, general petitions and thanksgivings, Luther’s Small Catechism, the Psalms, and the lectionary. We completed much of the needed proof reading and divided the hymns so members of the committee can complete a proof read before our next meeting.

This work is tedious and sometimes boring, but it is absolutely necessary. The GKLI desires to publish a quality hymnal that will strengthen the church for many years. They have asked for help and what a blessing for us to be able to respond. So we are working together to create a work that will endure for generations. I believe that we are on track to accomplish this goal.

Another blessing of this meeting was the opportunity to strengthen my Indonesian. There was no translator at these meetings which spanned over two days. I was able to lead about 8 hours of the meetings and discussions in Bahasa Indonesia. The meetings were not the most challenging part, because I was prepared for that. I prepared vocabulary, sentences, idioms, etc. The most challenging part was the meals. Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner full of Indonesian. It was challenging, exhausting,—I was ready for bed by 7:00 p.m. each night—and also tremendously encouraging. The societal and governmental response to covid-19 has made prolonged conversation in Indonesian difficult to find. But these meetings in Sihabonghabong revealed that even these difficulties did not keep my language from continuing to develop. Certainly there is much more to learn, but Kali and I both continue in the right direction, however slowly that might be.

The New Normal in Medan / September 3, 2020 by Matthew Wood

The phrase “New Normal” is quickly becoming a part of everyday life around the world. Indonesia is no exception. In fact here in they don’t even translate it they just use the English, “New Normal” as they attempt to open up the country and reclaim their everyday lives.

In Medan life seems to be returning to a fairly regular routine. The outdoor markets are full of people, the traffic is back on the streets, the malls are visited, and there are people eating in the restaurants. Of course, key differences that make this a new normal do exist.

The most obvious is masks. The vast majority of people here wear a mask without comment or protest. A large amount of people wear it incorrectly under the nose, but I doubt that this is unique to Indonesia. No one can enter a public building without a mask.

Another new addition to normal is temperature checking machines at the entrances to many public buildings. These machines are located mainly in higher end malls and retail stores. The smaller shops have a security guard with a non-contact thermometer checking everyone’s temperature.

Hand washing stations have also made their way into everyday life. Whether you’re going to an ATM, an Indomart (a convenience store like 7-11), the mall, the office, or even the out door market, these hand washing stations are everywhere. I quickly learned that it is a good idea to make sure that the water is running BEFORE I get my hands full of soap. Once inside the store there is also an ample amount of hand sanitizer available. I have also learned to make sure it is actually hand sanitizer and not lotion samples.

The recommendation/requirement to social distance is all over. There are posters, billboards, tv & radio commercials, and various other public service announcements.
Special markings on the floor, escalators, and in the elevators help people keep their distance. However, all this is generally ignored by the people in Medan. In any event, I don’t think it would really be possible social distance. There just isn’t enough space and it’s not part of the culture anyway. For example if you practice social distancing in the checkout line most Indonesians will assume that you’re not actually in line and enter the queue in front of you.

Any sense of Normal “new” or otherwise has yet to return to the schools which remain exclusively online per the government’s orders. It matters not whether the school is public or private any in person education is prohibited. The movie theaters are also still shuttered.

Whether it be new normal, old normal, abnormal, differently insane, or whatever circumstances lie at the end of this covid-19 timeline we know that our Lord Jesus Christ reigns over all, and the ministry of the Gospel will continue. This truth is eternally consistent. Amidst the chaos of this world we pray for the Eternity of the New Creation to be revealed to us on the day Jesus Christ returns in glory.

Quarantine Blessings / August 12, 2020 by Kali Wood

While most shops, restaurants, malls, and playgrounds have reopened here we still do not take the girls out much. One reason is that we aren't clear if most places will allow Caroline in because she cannot wear a mask and another reason is because Eleanor doesn't have the discipline to keep her mask on for more than 2 minutes at a time. Thus we spend most of our time at home.

Because of this, we have spent our evenings playing outside. The girls enjoy riding their bikes in the street or taking walks and counting all the stray cats we see.

Coincidentally our neighbors also spend this time of day playing outside so we have gotten to know them. They have two boys who are close to Laurel and Eleanor's ages. They have become fast friends. The boys (and their parents) speak some English and are very helpful in teaching us Indonesian.

Kali enjoys chatting with the mom as they watch the children play. This helps her improve her Indonesian while making a new friend.

The kids love having bike races, running races, water fights, nerf gun wars, playing tag or hide and seek. It's wonderful to see the girls play so freely and make new friends. They were feeling lonely after the pandemic started because their expat friends had moved back to their home countries to wait out the pandemic.

While I wish we had the freedom to go more places, if we did we might not have become friends with our neighbors.

These kittens appeared at the coffee shop next door. We visit them often.

First Grade Completed! / June 13, 2020 by Kali Wood

On Friday, June 12th Laurel completed first grade. It was our first year of intentional homeschooling. We began first grade on July 29th and in a little less than 11 months we finished. 11 months sounds like a long school year but she welcomed a baby sister during that time and had to deal with mom and dad taking bahasa classes for 6 months of that time.

Things that surprised me during this year:

Laurel made this poster on her own. “Books can take you anywhere.” — Laurel made this poster on her own.
“Books can take you anywhere.”

She learned to love school and learning. She became proud of the the new information she learned and wanted to find out more.
She became more independent as the year went on. There were days where she picked up her school things and worked independently the whole morning.
She learned to love to read. When we started this year I wasn’t sure she’d be reading fluently by the end of it, but one day it clicked for her.
Eleanor wants to “do school” like her big sister. Instead of playing independently while I teach Laurel, Eleanor wants to pull up a chair and doodle on some paper and “do school” with us.
Being able to teach my child and see when concepts click, see her excitement and wonder as she learns something new, and being able to encourage her through difficulties is more of a blessing than I had anticipated as we began this home-school journey.
God is good! Yes, I knew this before the school year began, but He has proven it time and again as we journeyed through this year.
It has been a great blessing to teach her at home as we made this transition together as a family. It helped keep her feeling safe, loved and created a stronger family bond.
Since we were already home-schooling the worldwide pandemic affected our life in a very small way.

We look forward to taking a 4-6 week break from school and then launching in to second grade.

GKLI Feeds the Hungry during covid-19 Lock-down. The LCMS helps. / June 8, 2020 by Matthew Wood

The congregations of the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI) serve some of the poorest communities on the island of Sumatra. These communities were severely impacted by the covid-19 lock-downs, which attempted to slow the disease’s spread. The Indonesian government was concerned about covid-19 reaching the smaller villages that do not have adequate medical facilities if any. Needless to say, much like the rest of the world, the people in these villages, while possibly being protected from a rapid spread of covid-19, saw their already difficult struggle with poverty aggravated.

The GKLI had the man power and the desire to respond quickly, but they lacked the financial resources. So they applied for a series of grants and brought food to the hungry in their communities. They received support from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The LCMS in particular sent $5,000 to the GKLI in order to assist them in their food distribution. With this money the GKLI was able to feed 370 families for one month. The food provided included 10 kgs of rice, eggs, oil, and sugar. Thousands of masks were also handed out in order to enable people to follow the government mandated order that masks be word in public.

Praise be to God for the on going relationship between the LCMS and the GKLI! Our work together continues to express Christian love in concrete ways. What a blessing! I am extremely excited to be working with this faithful church body and I look forward to seeing what our Heavenly Father has in store for the ministry here as we preach Christ with the full power of the Holy Spirit.

Work from Home / April 22, 2020 by Matthew Wood

We have been finished with language classes for about a month. Our final presentations have been postponed indefinitely. So now Kali and I are getting used to life after language class which includes me working from our home in Medan. Of course with the self-isolation orders and social distancing measures being taken this isn’t exactly the regular routine that we will eventually be getting used to, but we must get used to it for the time being. This time has allowed me to focus on the Indonesian Hymnal, study, and look forward to the projects that are waiting at the other end of the isolation.

The plan was always to do a majority of work from my home study here in Medan. The self-isolation and social distancing efforts to slow the spread of covid-19 have provided ample time to focus on the Indonesian Hymnal project. Right now we are working through some of the nitty-gritty editing and formatting. At the moment there are two major editing and formatting projects that I am working on.

First is the proofing of all hymns that have already been translated and set to music. This is mainly checking for typos, and making sure the division of syllables is correct. If you think that doing this in Indonesian makes it more difficult for me. You’d be correct. It is not exactly how I imagined keeping up with my language learning, but it no doubt helps.

This task requires rudimentary knowledge of the Finale music program and knowledge of Indonesian. I have just enough knowledge in both to start working through it. Once the self isolation mandates ease up a bit I will be meeting with a local pastor in the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI) to double check and proof all the hymns again.

The second big task that I am working on is formatting the Psalms for the hymnal. The GKLI hymnal committee was adamant that the Psalms be included in this hymnal, all of them. So I am busy editing the Teks Alkitab Terjemahan Baru from the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (The New Translation of the Text of the Bible from the Indonesian Bible Institute). Thankfully much of this work has already been done by previous workers in Indonesia. We already have an electronic document with the text of all 150 Psalms, which I am formatting to the specifications of the new hymnal. It’s tedious and sometimes I wish someone else was doing it, but it is an important job for me because it helps to keep the GKLI hymnal committee focused on translation and obtaining all the necessary copyrights.

This is obviously not how I imagined ministry would look after language learning, but like most people around the world today, we must adapt and adjust expectations. It is important for me to remember that this new hymnal is important to the ministry of the GKLI. All the tediousness and editing will pay off as the GKLI uses this new hymnal as a tool to educate their members and bring people into the worship life of Christ’s church.

Nevertheless, I look forward to when the self isolation comes to an end and opportunities to teach at conferences and meetings return. The pastors and elders of the GKLI have a lot of questions about prayer so that might be in the future. The GKLI leadership would like to better understand the Augsburg Confession. So that is another possible topic of a future meeting or conference. This time of Isolation has provided ample time for study in both of these areas.

I also look forward to being able to work with Bishop Esra Sinaga and Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan on developing a Christian education podcast which will be able to reach the congregations in the smaller villages around Sumatra. These will be a series of podcasts focused on the Small Catechism and taught at about a confirmation class level. I will be working with Pastor Eben Ezer Aruan to produce each episode and with Bishop Esra Sinaga on the best way to disseminate each podcast.

Peace in the Midst of a Pandemic / April 5, 2020 by Kali Wood

Recently I have read many Facebook posts from my mom-friends in the States who are struggling with this new normal of their children doing part homeschooling and part distance learning. This pandemic has changed their lives drastically.

For us, it has calmed down our lives and brought us into a very stable place. Because Matt and my Bahasa Indonesia classes have finished, we are now home all the time with the girls. Matt can jump into his work full-time and I can focus on my vocation as mother/teacher/wife.

Now that I don’t have to focus on going to class and my own homework I can focus on teaching Laurel and Eleanor. With the extra time we have together we have been able to do some fun learning as well as our basic subjects. We have done science experiments, art and lots of extra reading.

While we miss seeing friends each week at playgroup or play dates, we are happy to be spending more time together. I have found time to cook more, try out new recipes and make things we can’t buy here (like homemade bagels). Matt and I have found time to pull out some of the board games we brought and have some in-home date nights.

We have been given a time to reset as a family, to explore our vocations that God has given us and to trust that He will continue to care for us as we go about our daily lives.

The Last Day of Language Class / March 23, 2020 by Matthew Wood

We have reached a huge milestone in our life and work here in Medan. On Friday, March 20th Kali and I went to our last Bahasa Indonesia Class. When we arrived in Medan in May of 2019 we hit the ground running. In less than a week we had our first lesson scheduled and we have been working hard since then. We did take about six weeks off for the birth of Caroline and there were some major public holidays mixed in like Idul Fitri and Christmas, but we have finally made it! What a ride. It feels like just yesterday we started and at the same time like this has taken an excruciatingly long time. We are so thankful for everyone’s prayers and support through this process we were blessed and comforted to know that we were not alone.

There is definitely more to learn. Kali and I will see how the natural learning of the language comes along and then make adjustments as necessary moving forward. Right now though our life is going to change… again. Thankfully we don’t have to move, but the structure of our day is going to completely change. We had been dedicating six hours a day to language learning. Now that classes are completed it will certainly be less, even though we know that we still have to keep up with it.

We like much of the rest of the world are doing our best to self isolate ourselves against COVID-19. So our days wont look ‘normal’ for some time. For the time being, Kali will be dedicating much of the newly available time to homeschooling Laurel and Eleanor. I will be dedicating a lot of attention to working on the Indonesian Hymnal.

COVID-19 / March 22, 2020 by Matthew Wood

According to the Indonesian Government there are currently 514 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 48 reported deaths in Indonesia. Up to five of the cases are in the Provence of North Sumatra where we live. The Island of Java seems to have been hit the hardest. The present situation in Medan, the city we call home, cannot be known for sure because the testing just isn’t available. The reaction here is much like the rest of the world. The Government of Indonesia has closed all points of entry for non-citizens. A foreigner can only enter after receiving a special visa from an Indonesian Embassy. The application for this visa includes a letter from the Health Department of the person’s home government. Schools have been cancelled. The streets are quiet. The people with whom I am in regular contact are concerned, but not panicked. So far there has been no run on toilet paper or any other essentials (except for hand sanitizer but that was always a little bit hard to find here).

We are currently all healthy and staying at home. This is important especially for our girls, particularly Eleanor. Because Eleanor is very blonde with very pale skin, her cheeks are pinched and her hair is touched by the people here when we go out into public. Caroline is also the target of a lot of physical affection, which is mostly hands touching her face. So, naturally, we are keeping them home. We are thankful that our home provides plenty of space and a yard where the girls can play.

Last Friday, March 20th, we finished up our last unit of language learning. The school would like us to do a 20 minute presentation as a final evaluation. We are going to wait two weeks, monitor the situation here, and then set a date. We would have liked to go out for a celebratory meal or maybe take a celebratory trip out of the city, alas all that will have to wait.

Fortunately, the work that lies ahead in the immediate future for the ministry here can be accomplished through working at home. We have set the publication goal of the Indonesian Hymnal (BIL) for Easter 2021. So I will be spending a lot of time proof reading and formatting that. We will have to delay the podcast that was in the works as I was planning to travel to Jakarta for that. Thankfully, we did not have any conferences or large group meetings planned. Of course we will not be able to plan any new conferences or workshops until this global pandemic passes.

Small Catechism Workshop in Taupejat, Mentawai. / March 9, 2020 by Matthew Wood

From February 26–28 I lead a Small Catechism workshop in Taupejat, Mentawai. A chain of about seventy islands off the west coast of Sumatra comprise the Islands of Mentawai. The Small Catechism Workshop was held in the city of Taupejat on the island of Sipora. About 10 pastors and 70 church leaders were in attendance in addition to the leadership of the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI).

Travel to Sipora Island took 24 hours. I left my home at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25 and arrived at the hotel in Taupejat at 11:30 a.m. the following day. The islands of Mentawai are only accessible via a ferry that departs from the city of Padang four times a week. The ferry ride was enjoyable as it was the first time I have ever been on a boat with land completely out of sight. In Indonesian they call this laut lepas, which translates to open ocean.

Once the workshop began the schedule was intense. The days started at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and concluded at 9:00 p.m. after the post-dinner session. Our meeting room was on the top floor of a three floor hotel in a room with no air conditioning. It was hot! It was worth it though to be able to work through the catechism with the new GKLI congregations in Mentawai. We had time to work through each of the six chief parts of the Small Catechism: the 10 Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. I also had the opportunity to put my language learning to the test as I led Matins on Thursday morning completely in Indonesian, including the sermon!

I discuss the Small Catechism with the pastors and congregational leaders of the GKLI Mentawai congregations. Sitting on stage with me is Pastor Eben Ezer, my translator. There is another row of tables out of the picture on the right.

One of the goals of this workshop was to get to know the pastors and congregational leaders of the congregations in Mentawai. Through paying attention to their interest, interaction, questions, and comments we can understand a little more about their context and the challenges that they face. One area that sparked a lot of interest and interaction was the Lord’s Prayer, the role of prayer, and how to pray. We were able to discuss Martin Luther’s letter to his barber titled A Simple Way to Pray. They were very interested in the pattern of prayer which Martin Luther discusses there: instruction, thanksgiving, repentance, and request. The pastors and lay people were also interested in very practical advice such as how do we talk to people about infant baptism? What should be done if someone gets baptized again? What is the best way to distribute the Lord’s supper?

In all the Workshop was a resounding success and as I departed for home on Friday my mind was racing with how to meet the needs of the people here. It is very clear that they very much appreciate the help and aid of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. They are so thankful to all of you who make time to pray for them and support the ministry here with your gifts. The Lord be praised for the growing relationship between the GKLI and the LCMS!

Indonesian Hymnal Progress / March 4, 2020 by Matthew Wood

I recently returned to Sihabonghabong, a small rural village in the north part of the Island of Sumatera and the location of the GKLI central office. The journey begins with a 5:00 a.m. taxi ride to the Medan Airport, continues with a 40 minute flight to the mountains around Lake Toba, and finally concludes with a two hour drive over about 40 miles of rough mountain roads. The difficult travel is eased by the sunshine and 70 degree weather, which is a welcome break from the relentless heat and humidity of Medan.

I met Deaconess Sandra Rhein at the Silangit Airport and we were greeted by GKLI Bishop Esra Sinaga and Pastor Sitepu. On the way to the offices in Sihabonghabong Bishop Sinaga was excited to show us us a famous site where Ludwig Nommensen arrived in “Batak Land”. The Batak people are tremendously thankful for the ministry of Nommensen, and the site reflects reverence to God for his gracious work of bringing them the Gospel through his servant. We also visited a site commemorating two Christian martyrs Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson and one of the first Churches on Sumatera. You can read more thoughts and reflections on these sights at theseaside.asia. From here we finished the journey to Sihabonghabong.

The goal of the visit was to help the GKLI make progress on the Buku Ibadah Luther (BIL), their Indonesian hymnal project. With hymns and worship services mostly translated, they have asked us to help plan for publication. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done. So the GKLI Hymnal committee has set goals for selecting and translating prayers, bringing the liturgical calendar into Indonesian, adding some commemorations that are important to Christianity in Indonesia, acquiring copyrights, and proofreading. Their goal is to publish by Easter 2021.

A Pilgrimage of Sorts / February 20, 2020 by Matthew Wood

While traveling to Sihabonghabong, Indonesian Kristen Lutheran Church (GKLI) Bishop suggested that we visit three important sites along the way. These are sights remembering and honoring the beginning of Christianity among the Batak people on the Island of Sumatra.

The first was the place where Ludwig Nommensen saw the Batak people. On November 11, 1863 He was hiking down the mountain and saw the camps and smoke from the cook fires in the valley down below. He knelt by the rock pictured to the right and prayed in part, “O God, live or die let me be in the midst of the Batak people in order to spread Your Word and Your work.” He would then live and work with the Batak people until his death on May 23, 1918. At the time of his death God had used Nommensen to establish a church with over 180,000 members.

Bishop also brought us to the first Batak congregation which was planted by Nommensen. It is not the original building, but it is in the same location. The current sanctuary was build some time in the 1940s.

Our last destination before completing the drive to Sihabonghabong was a site commemorating two Christian martyrs from America, the Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson memorial. There is a mural that tells the story of the Gospel’s reception in Batak land.

The story is told with images as your eyes move from left to right. The Batak people are depicted going about their normal lives when Henry Lyman and Samuel Munson show up and beging to proclaim the Gospel to them. At this time the Gospel is not received and the two men are martyred. (It is not shown in this mural, but they were eaten by the Batak people.) Later Nommensen arrives and begins to proclaim the Gospel to the people again. This time the Gospel is received. The people are seen repenting, going to church, and raising up their own Christian leaders.

I was concerned about the image depicted on the lower right of the mural. At first it appeared to me that suddenly they were all wearing western clothing and I was a little concerned that ‘Westernization’ was being celebrated. But that is not the case. Rather this last image on the bottom right corner depicts the Lyman and Munson families reconciling with the Batak people. That is certainly a beautiful thing. The story of the Gospel among the Batak people is a story of God not giving up, but sending again and again the news of Christ’s death and resurrection. And that reality is realized concretely in the reconciliation between the Batak people and the Lyman and Munson families.

Thanks and praise be to God for His marvelous work in generations past. May He continue to use us as He accomplishes His will in this world!

Language Mistakes / February 10, 2020 by Kali Wood

Learning a language makes us humble. We can have a great conversation with one person in Bahasa and completely fail to explain something to someone else. There are lots of ups and downs in the language learning process. There are also a lot of laughs.

Recently we were learning in class about funeral and burial customs here in Indonesia. We were very interested as we have seen cemeteries here in town and also the common custom of family graves near your house if you live outside the city.

As we were walking to school one day we saw one of these:

These are called “Papan Bunga” which is literally translated to “Flower Board.” These line streets for special occasions. They could be for a wedding, a new business, graduation or a funeral. These are given by family members, employers, friends, etc. for whatever the special occasion may be.

These papan bunga were lining the street our school is on. As we walked, we tried to translate the words from the words we already knew and the context. We are trying harder and harder to not just pull out our phones and use Google Translate.

One of the signs had the saying “Selamat Jalan!” which means have a nice trip. This one says “ Turut Berdukacita.” I couldn’t remember what this said but I thought “berdukacita” meant joy. So Matt and I guessed maybe someone was retiring and moving away from the city.

The street our language school is on covered by papan bunga

After class as we walked home past these signs again, I decided to look up the term “turut berdukacita” on Google Translate because I wasn’t familiar with the first word. Well it turns out I was wrong, the saying has nothing to do with joy. (Joy is: sukacita in Bahasa). It means, “Please have my condolences.” It is for when someone dies. These boards were for an upcoming funeral and “Selamat Jalan” is said to/about Christians when they die.

Matt and I chuckled over the confusion as we walked home. Once we arrived home, I told the story to our Indonesian helper about my mistaken translation. She laughed with me at our misunderstanding. I hope we will always be able to chuckle at our misunderstandings instead of get frustrated.

A close up of the papan bunga. They are made by stapling plastic flowers onto black boards.

Thoughts on Culture: Small talk and Getting to know one another / February 4, 2020 by Kali Wood

Recently we studied about what Indonesians talk about to get to know each other. Our lesson was about how Indonesians ask personal questions to get to know you and some westerners can get offended by this. We have been having small talk with Indonesians for about 8 months now, so we know the way it’s done. We know the questions to ask and how to answer them ourselves. But in our lesson it hit home why they ask the questions they do and how it reflects their values as a society.

There tends to be a pattern in the questions you ask someone you first meet.

What’s your name?
How old are you?
Are you married?
How many children do you have?
If they have children, are they boys or girls? How old are they?
Depending on the children’s age, are they married? Do you have grandchildren?
What religion are you?
What tribe/people group are you from?
Were you born here in Medan?

Are you sensing a theme? Lots of questions about family and also personal questions about religion and people group. Lots of questions are asked that as an American I consider personal but don’t mind answering.

In America when we meet someone new we tend to ask very surface questions: name, job, area of town you live in, where you’re from and that’s about it. Asking about a person’s job demonstrates that in America we value our identity in our jobs. In Indonesia, we rarely ask about jobs because they view jobs as a means to an end. Jobs are there to provide a way to take care of your family. Family is one of their highest values.

Another interesting thing about Indonesian culture is their use of titles. In America, we use Mr., Mrs., Dr. etc but usually when showing respect or talking to an elder. Here there many different titles and the most common ones are all related to family.

Bapak (a term for father, used for men older than you)
Abang (a term for older brother, used for men around your age)
Adik (a term for younger brother or sister, used for children younger than you)
Ibu (a term for mother, used for women older than you)
Kakak (a term for older sister, used for women around your age)

This is one reason why we ask how old someone is when we first meet them. Then we know what title to use with them. We have a helper who watches our children while we are in language class. We refer to her as Ibu or ‘Bu. Our teacher is close to our age, so we call her Kakak or ‘Kak, It’s like calling them Mom or Sis. And this goes with someone you just meet as well. When we get in a taxi we say “Selamat Sore ‘Bang” (Good afternoon Bro.") I find these ways of addressing each other creates a sense of community because of these familial terms.

Tuhan Menghadapkan Wajah-Nya / February 4, 2020 by Matthew Wood

Below is a very simple devotion I wrote for Indonesian class. I wrote it first in Indonesian and translated it to English. It reflects the central thought of a sermon I am preparing for a Small Catechism Workshop on the Islands of Mentawai, which will be held the last week of February. I hope to be able to write and preach it in Indonesian!

Tuhan Menghadapkan Wajah-Nya

“Tuhan memberkati engkau dan melindungi engkau;
Tuhan menyinari engkau dengan wajah-
Nya dan memberi engkau kasih karunia;
Tuhan menghadapkan wajah-Nya
kepadamu dan memberi engkau damai
sejahtera.”
Bilangan 6:24-26

Ketika saya memarahi anak saya, Eleanor, dia melihat wajah saya dan sudah tahu bahwa saya marah. Jadi dia mencoba memeluk saya dan mengatakan hal yang manis dan bilang kepada saya, “Aku cinta kamu, Ayah!” Ketika ini terjadi, Eleanor sedang mencoba mengubah kemarahan saya menjadi kecintaan. Kadang-kadang itu berhasil dan saya tidak bisa tetap marah. Kadang-kadang itu tidak berhasil dan saya menegur dia.

Gambaran wajah Tuhan dijelaskan oleh Firman Tuhan. Ketika Tuhan marah kepada kemanusiaan yang penuh dengan dosa, wajah Tuhan menjadi panas dan terbakar. Bagaimana wajah Tuhan berubah menjadi wajah yang penuh dengan kecintaan? Perilaku kita tidak bisa mengubah Tuhan, Bapa Kita di sorga. Yesus Kristus disalibkan dan mati untuk kita. Yesus Kristus menanggung dosa-dosa kita dan memaafkan itu. Pekerjaan dan perbuatan Yesus Kristus membuat kita menjadi suci dan sempurna dalam penglihatan Tuhan, Bapa Surgawi kita. Karena itu wajah Tuhan berubah dan menjadi penuh dengan kecintaan.

Dalam Bilangan 6:26 Tuhan menjanjikan bahwa Dia akan menghadapkan wajah-Nya kepada kita. Kita dibuat suci dan sempurna melalui Yesus Kristus sehingga ketika kita dilihat oleh Tuhan, Bapa kita di surga, wajah-Nya memperlihatkan kecintaan dan memberi kepada kita damai sejahtera.

God Lifts Up His Countenance

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26

When I am angry with my child, Eleanor, she sees my face and knows that I am angry. So she tries to hug me and say sweet things and she says to me, “I love you dad!” When this happens, Eleanor is trying to change my anger into love. Sometimes it works and I cannot stay mad. Sometimes it does not work and I scold her.

The image of God’s face is described by the Scriptures. When God is angry at humanity which is full of sin, God’s face becomes hot and burns. How does God’s face change to become a face which is full of love? Our actions can not change God, our Father in heaven. Jesus Christ was crucified and died for us. Jesus Christ bears our sins and forgives them. The work and deeds of Jesus Christ makes us become holy and perfect in the sight of God, our Heavenly Father. Therefore, the face of God changes and becomes full of love.

In Numbers 6:26 God promises that He will lift up his countenance upon us. We are made holy and perfect through Jesus Christ so that when we are seen by God, our Father in Heaven, His face shows love and gives peace to us.

Language Learning Update / January 22, 2020 by Matthew Wood

Since our arrival here in Medan Kali and I have been working hard to learn the Indonesian language. We have been amazed at the progress so far. Like most realms of knowledge, the more we learn about Bahasa Indonesia the more we realize how much more we have to learn. Thus, we are so thankful for our language school and for this time to be able to dedicate ourselves to learning the language. It is a tremendous amount of work and we couldn’t imagine trying to learn on our own or with our time and attention divided by other things.

After Thanksgiving the structure of our language classes changed significantly. We spend far less time on grammar lessons and we have fewer new words to write down. Thankfully, we have come to a point where we can communicate effectively with our teachers. (There’s still some more learning to be done before we can effectively communicate with the average person on the street because the average person on the street does not know which words we have already learned like our teachers do.) For the last two months we have been reading longer stories and articles and giving speeches in class. It is a different kind of hard. We read through a story and we are encouraged to find the meaning of new words from context rather than from a dictionary. If we don’t know the words our teacher will explain their meaning using other Indonesian words. Then we are given some example questions for our interviews. The next day we retell the story or article in Indonesian and from memory as best we can. Then we present an essay in Indonesian based on our interviews from the previous day. There is a test to check our progress every week.

Our teachers continue to be gracious with us as we learn slowly. We have also been blessed to be able to bring Caroline to class with us. (Caroline has just started to stay home while we are at class.) We have come so far! We are a long way past learning colors, the names of food, or the days of the week. (Although sometimes our brains decide to forget a name, color, or day every now and again) There is so much more to learn, but we are beginning to feel as though our head is at least above water.

The S.E.A.Side

Ministry in SouthEast Asia