I am going back to Indonesia!

This is a reflection from 2014 which I never published.  It tells the story of why and how I returned to Indonesia nearly nearly 3 years ago as an SVD lay missionary at St. Paul Major Seminary-Ledalero near Maumere, Flores, in remote Eastern Indonesia.

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It is with great joy that I announce my return to Indonesia in September, 2014!

Since returning from my trip in April, I have processed about God's powerful healing and intervention in my life while I was there.  I am changed.  Following much prayer and consultation with my spiritual director, pastor, close friends and family, I have discerned that I am to return.  As an official guest of the Bishops' Conference in the Diocese of Maumere on Flores Island, and for the Fall semester at the seminary, I will again be exchanging ideas about the universal Catholic Church and experiencing more of the Church and local culture there. 

While there I will continue discerning God's will for the next stage in my life.  I have placed myself
at God's disposal, having sold my house in Fort Worth along with most of my worldly possessions.  I I couldn't be more excited.



Here I am, Lord.  Send me! -- Isaiah 6:8

Check out this great song if you'd like:  Let them See You

Traditional Weaving and a local Catholic Hospital near Ledalero, Maumere Indonesia

I like to visit Lepo Lorun, a fantastic place in Nita, Sikka, Flores, Indonesia -- near St. Paul Major Seminary, Ledalero, where I am an SVD volunteer lay missionary.  Lepo Lorun is a living museum dedicated to education and the preservation of the fine art of "tenun ikat"/hand-weaving, not only in Indonesia but world-wide. In many ways, it is a dying art and the founder, Alfonsa Horeng Ikat Flores, is dedicated to keeping the art alive. Father Kamilus "Milto" Seran, SVD, recently made a documentary film about their work, and he took me there personally. You can click here to see "LEPO LORUN UNTUK DUNIA", a short documentary about Alfonsa and her mission. 
 I always look forward to taking my friends here when they come to Maumere. 

Hand spun thread, organically dyed, awaits the traditional "tenun ikat" hand-weaving process. 

The traditional weaving process known as "tenun ikat", still very much alive in Flores, Indonesia.  

Nearby in Kewapante, Sikka, on Flores Island there is a hospital and dental clinic run by Holy Spirit Servant Sisters (SSpS).  Visiting their hospital has been a comfort to me as it provides health care in an atmosphere of Catholic faith and spirituality.  I takes me back to the days when religious sisters ran so many Catholic hospitals in the United States.  In every room there are religious pictures, symbols, crosses...evidence of our faith everywhere.  And the Angelus is played over a loud speaker at the appropriate times for all to pray.  What a comfort for the sick!  The dental clinic is run by a sister and a lay assistant.  The sister is not a dentist, nor is the assistant.  But may people prefer to come there for dental care because of the pastoral approach of the sisters.  The rector of the seminary once told me he likes to go there because they do a good job pulling teeth.  (!) 

The entrance to the dental clinic leads to a "comfort room" to help alleviate dental anxiety.

 The dental chair

I Can See (More) Clearly Now

Having opened my eyes to a more global perspective as a member of the universal Catholic Church, I see more clearly now the impacts and implications that social problems in the 3rd world have on all Catholics, perhaps especially Western Catholics (e.g. in the USA and Western Europe).

I am preparing to write my thesis about the experiences of suffering in remote Eastern Indonesia and impacts to peoples' Christian faith, hopefully with an eye to hope and positive thinking.

"For much of the post-colonial period, the Church in Africa was consumed with two primary challenges. ... the second was facing the mind-numbing social problems of the continent, such as armed conflict, chronic poverty, environmental degradation, ethnic and tribal conflict, and HIV/AIDS." -- John L. Allen Jr. Much of the above is still true in remote Eastern Indonesia.

John Allen continues, about Africa: "However, what emerged from the Rome summit is a sense of growing maturity, a conviction that African Catholicism has passed out of childhood and adolescence into adulthood and is ready to enter a new phase." Add this to the statistics that show that, in 30 years' time, 30% of the Church's priests will be Asians.

Attention Catholics of the North: The church of the Southern Hemisphere is coming, or will continue to come, to a church near you...from Africa and Indonesia, and Vietnam and India. This is our Catholic Church! And this article is an excellent read!

Happy Holy Week, y'all.

#Iamforeverchanged #Ilovemylife #WeareonebodythebodyofChrist

 

You can read John Allen's article here: 

http://www.angelusnews.com/articles/an-african-moment-rome-summit-marks-launch-of-african-catholicism-2-0 

 Altar flower arrangement in easern Indonesia

 Hanging out with seminarians at St. Paul Major Seminary, Ledalero, Flores, Indonesia

 Palm Sunday, 2017 at St. Paul Major Seminary in Ledalero, Flores, Indonesia

 Hanging out with novices for the Holy Spirit Servant Sisters (SSpS) from Kewapante, Flores, Indonesia

Muslims, Catholics and Protestants working together to planting 500 trees in Flores, Indonesia.  Led by SVD Fr. Hendrik Maku #reforestation  #Wearetheworld