Some of you may have heard about the recent dam bursting and killing some people here in Jakarta.  This actually was something close to us (unlike the earthquakes, etc. that everyone always asks about!) but we were not in harm’s way.  We live in the same “county” Tangerang, but we are far from that situation.

Others, however, some unsuspecting Indonesians, are very much at a disadvantage now.  They have little to begin with . . . and now they have nothing.  Some have lost family members while others have lost every personal belonging they once had.  Please hold these people in your prayers as they struggle to put their lives back together.

Another person I’d like to ask you to pray for is our helper, Aas, and her family.  Last week I woke up and went to get the kids ready for school and I heard her crying very loudly.  I went down to make sure that things were ok and she told me that her mother had died in the night.  She must have received a phone call the previous night.  We sent her home right away and, as is the tradition in Indonesia, her mother was buried very quickly.  Do not think for a minute that there was a funeral home and a wake/visitation involved.  There is no money for these kinds of western traditions.  Instead the deceased are laid out in the home and respects are paid briefly there.  Burial is quick because there is no embalming process involved either.

I was struck by the intimacy these people share with death.  When we lose someone there are a team of people from the hospital or from the local funeral home to take care of everything.  They take care of the body, take care of the activities, etc.  Don’t misunderstand me, I am grateful for that.  It is simply something else that is different for most Indonesians.

In the meantime, Aas is healing slowly.  She returned and is just as wonderful with the kids as she was before.  I think being with Bethany in particular has been great for her.  She dotes on that child so much and I am pleased at the kind of happiness that Bethany’s attention gives to her.

On the other hand, I long to talk with her about her grieving process.  As most of you know, I’ve lost my own mom.  She died in August 2002.  It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to experience . . . and yet I’ve seen God use it for my growth and to serve others.  I wish I could share that with her in some way.  I have prayed that God would give me an opportunity to share Christ with her in a real way . . . perhaps this is it?  Muslims do believe that Heaven exists and I am thinking that might be a good place to start.

Thanks, as always, for reading.  I’ll try to post some newer pictures soon!!

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