Can you imagine?

"Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has ready for those who love Him."  1 Cor. 2:9

Imagine. Can we really imagine what God has ready for those who love Him?  Scripture tells us we cannot even fathom what God has ready for us if we but love Him.  Our human minds are amazingly made:  even so, God is so big that not even our most brilliant minds, even those of the Saints, can imagine.

This is my reflection this morning, Ash Wednesday, 2014.  I am sitting in a large, open-air meeting room in Ledalero known as the Veranda. Like any meeting room, it is filed with chairs and a few tables.  But some of the chairs are comfy, large, sturdy wooden arm chairs with rattan seats and backs.   The room has a tiled floor and four large windows with floor-length light blue curtains and white sheers.  One of the six walls in the room is made of concrete formed into a pattern that allows air and light to pass between the inside and outside.  The best "wall" of all is only maybe 2 feet tall, creating a large open space above where outside and inside become one.  Through it I see a plethora of palm trees, various fruit trees and the flowers for which the Portuguese named this island of Flores.

I have chosen this spot this morning as the place to read some professional articles written by an SVD priest here at the seminary who has a Doctorate in Catholic Liturgy.  He has asked me to read these articles which he, a native Indonesian,  has written in English, and to make suggestions about English grammar, writing style, and flow.

Can you imagine?  A PhD in liturgy has asked little old me to review articles he has written and to help him with the English, my first language.  As you may know, I love liturgy.  Imagine my delight to be reading about his research on rites of Christian initiation as celebrated in combination with ancient tribal traditions in eastern Indonesia! Similarly, I have been asked to attend newly-created English conversation groups for seminary professors, Catholic SVD priests who have Masters or Doctoral degrees and who want to improve their conversational English (pronunciation, grammar, context, etc.).  What humility these men have.  And how humble I feel! 

Can you imagine?  I can scarcely imagine that, when I said, "Here I am, Lord, send me", God would send me to a) INDONESIA, and b) help holy priests improve their English skills!  And not only that, but also to help the newly-ordained priests with masters degrees who are about to be sent around the world to spread the Good News (missionaries), as well as seminarians, seminary staff members, and professors!  All I can say is wow.

Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.  Send me.

And send me He did!  I pray that this Lent, we may all strive to seek the Lord while he may be found, and to grow in holiness.  Lord, help us to become saints.

I can only imagine

Eye Has Not Seen, sung by the seminary choir in Indonesia

Holy Bats, Man?!

What a wonderful week I had!  As I mentioned in my last post, I accompanied 2 vans full of priests on a 7-hour drive to a retreat house in Mataloko, a village in the western part of Flores.  There the priests had 3 days of provincial leadership meetings.  I was invited to go and explore that part of the island while they were meeting;  one English-speaking priest, Pater Anton (Tony), was assigned to be my sightseeing guide for the week.  Fr. Paul told me I would be taken care of while here, and he was right!  The SVDs have been so thoughtful and kind to me since I arrived.  Blessed be God!

Along the way, we stopped at SVD parishes for bathroom breaks or lunch.  At one, the SVD parish priest and our Pater Alfons posed for a photo with some of the Catholic school children.  There are many Catholic elementary and high schools here on Flores!

In kilometers/miles, the trip should take a much shorter time than 7 hours.  However, the road is a constant zig-zag.  I understand that, 10 years ago, the trip took even longer because the road was not yet built with asphalt like it is today.

Tony and I were provided with a driver.  One day we drove about 30 minutes west of the site of the meeting to Bena, a traditional village that has been maintained as a historical reserve to show the old way of life...tiki-like primitive structures arranged in a large circle with a community gathering space in the center. There is something to be said for community life like that!  Today, the advent of paved roads has caused many villages to be divided, and other villagers have been incented by the government to live nearer to the roadside, instead of further from the road, and to operate small kiosks where they offer things for sale like fresh fruits and vegetables, boiled corn (cooked over a wooden fire), peanuts, cigarettes and bottled water. 

At Bena, the government requires that the people who work in the village also live in the village, to maintain the authenticity.  And so they do.  Most are farmers who also weave and sell sarongs and belts to tourists.  Not that there is a high volume of tourists in this part of the island of Flores!

On the way there, we stopped at a site that offers a stunning panoramic view of the mountains that surround us. I was overtaken by the majesty and power and love of God. I literally couldn't stand...had to sit.  And there I sat speechless, dumb-founded by God's marvelous creation.  I had a very holy experience of the magnitude of God's love for us, for me.  It was powerful.

At Bena, I watched a demonstration of hand-weaving and purchased a handmade sarong to honor the woman who made it.  Her name was Angelica, her husband is Philipus, and their toddler son's name is Angelo.

Then we drove 4 hours northwest, on a crazy road that was 65% deteriorated,  to a town that is not even on the map called Riung, on the northern coast of the island.  There the SVDs own and operate a small hotel (revenue stream for the order).  We spent the night, then got up early the next morning for an excursion on a motor boat.  We went to the small Bat island where, from the safety of the boat, we saw zillions of large bats flying all over.  From there, we went to an uninhabited, undeveloped island with a pristine white sand beach.  The water was completely clear, and appeared to be azure blue in places where no vegetation was growing on the sea bottom.  We swam for a couple of hours during which God spoke to me about His love for me, and his desire for me to trust Him in new and deeper ways.

The Indonesians on the island of Flores are predominantly Catholic, unlike the rest of Indonesia.  They are happy, funny, and seem to take life in stride, for the most part. The SVDs take a siesta every afternoon and 2 social coffee breaks during the day.  So I am learning to slow down, be patient, and enjoy.

There are some refugees from a volcano eruption 6 months ago living in the nearby town of Maumere. The issue of human trafficking is alive and real here, and the Church is involved in addressing the above as well as helping people out of domestic violence situations.

That's all for now.  It's time to get into my bed, protected by the mosquito netting.  6:15 a.m. Mass comes early!

Here is a link to some photos from my trip.  I tried to add them here but was unable to publish the post with them.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wdwq58xttjiflx5/gihY4xK_yx

Love and prayers,

Joan

How Did I End Up in Indonesia?

Some of you have asked to know the story of how I ended up on this marvelous adventure.  So here you go!

Last fall, when my time of otium sanctum (holy leisure) began, I said to God: "Here I am Lord, send me".  In other words, I am a blank canvas.  Use me as you will for your purposes.

My pastor, Fr. Paul Kahan, SVD, is from Indonesia.  On his trip home last fall, he and a fellow SVD were talking about the seminary he attended and the need they have to help Indonesians become more fluent in speaking English.  They discussed having a native English speaker come to Indonesia for this purpose, maybe sometime in the next year or two.

Fast forward to early January.  I cantored at a memorial Mass for a Ugandan at St. Rita.  Although most of the music was in English  I was moved by the native 2 songs they sang.  I was also touched by the love of the Africans now living in the Dallas/FTW area, and by the life story of the man who died.

For several years now. Since learning there are now more Catholics in the southern hemisphere than in the northern, I have wanted to travel to Africa to experience the Church in the southern hemisphere, and where there are many conversions taking place.  After the Ugandan memorial Mass, I was discussing my desire with Fr. Paul rather animatedly and he started telling me where there are SVDs working in Africa.  Then he said the words that were to change my life: "Why don't you go to Indonesia?".

I impulsively said "okay".  Then I spent about a week praying, researching & talking to trusted advisors.  All the pieces fell into place and I said my fiat to God:  Yes, Lord, be it done unto me according to your will.   I felt peace about going and began my preparations.  Once I said my "yes", my friends, family and I practically stood back and watched in amazement as God orchestrated the many details.  They seemed to all just fall into place! 1 month later I headed to the airport bound for Indonesia! 

Blessed be God.