Deep In Kalimantan

View of School

In October 2009, I made a nine-day trip to Living Waters Village. This is pretty much into the interiors of West Kalimantan and took a 10-12 hour bus journey to get there. This ministry was started by Pastor Ronny Heyboer, who is Australian-Dutch. He and his family moved to Indonesia a number of years ago, and took in kids who were abused, abandoned or poorly taken care of as they came out of their villages and into the towns to study. As he started taking them in to feed, clothe, shelter, nurture and provide them with an education, God gave him a number – 1000. That was how many children he was to take in. At the moment, they already have over 400 kids, with three family missionaries and three couple missionaries serving alongside them, and the local leaders who once were youths that were taken in by the ministry.

Children In Worship

We had a tour of the compound and Pastor Ronny drove us to this empty land which had just been leveled and shared with us what God had showed him there. It came at a time when he was looking for a place of solace, feeling very upset about some recurring obstacles and all he felt was to pack up his bags and give up the work. And in that moment of frustration, God told Pastor Ronny to build a worship center where thousands of Dayaks will come together to worship – from the north, the south, the east and the west. God began to show him in a vision of people coming to worship Jesus.  In that instant while listening to him, I suddenly understood what every nation, tribe and tongue meant. The Dayak tribe will be there – all 50 over dialects of them and there will be many tribes and peoples of such when we stand before the throne of God. And what really impressed me was that Pastor Ronny did not sit on it – not for long. He began clearing the land and some day down the road, it would be built.

Medical Center In Progress

Does he have the money or any form of reserves to build it? No but he has the faith. Faith that bought a small little piece of land in the middle of nowhere to build a small little building to house some 50 kids. That faith increased to buy more land and build more houses to house more kids. That faith grew to build a primary school. That faith built a medical center with no confirmed professional help (though one of their local young man is doing medical studies in Jakarta now) but with the vision to bring both medical aid and Gospel to the neighboring villages. That faith that believed more land can be purchased to build a landing strip. It was never easy but God gave the word and the faith.

It was an eye opener to see both love and faith in action. Nothing is impossible when God has given the mandate. The children there taught me the simplicity of thanksgiving. Giving thanks in all things, for all things to a heavenly Papa who lovingly cares and provides for His children. I would love to be back there again to see how the ministry has progressed and grown, to serve as a body of Christ, crossing cultures, denominations, personal agenda and work towards that which is on the Father’s heart.

Being and serving there opened my perspectives on missions. I came back with a wider understanding on what the Great Commission was truly about and how every one of us has a part to play – whether as the role of:

• Goer – one who works full time on the fields
• Sender – who sends people out and supports them in various capacity
• Mobilizer – encouraging people to go to the fields on short or long term trips
• Welcomer – reaching out to the migrant community in their own country
• Helper – doing research on missions, intercession, etc

No one is exempted. The challenge is which role are you called to play?

By Pearl Chua