Christmas Above Aussie, Advent in Indo

Dear Friends, Family, Acquaintances, and Everyone Else I Know,

I hope you all had a wonderful, snowy Christmas, or “Natal”, as they call it in Indonesia. I myself spent my Christmas in the company of good friends several thousand meters above Australia. But first, let’s go back to the beginning of the month.

After our last week of DTS, we headed to Lombok, Indonesia. We spent two full days in Bali before taking scooters across the island and then the 5-hour ferry to Lombok. For anyone confused: no, Bali is not its own country. It’s simply the island in Indonesia where all the tourists go—and you can definitely feel that. We were all a little relieved when we arrived in the much quieter Lombok.

The local population there is predominantly Muslim. Especially in rural areas, as Christians, we had to be very careful about how we interacted with people. We were always “disguised” as tourists, which wasn’t too difficult and provided us with some safety. All in all, it was quite relaxed, and because we followed the advice of our new friends, we had no legal issues whatsoever.

We taught English, preached in churches, and participated in some Christmas celebrations. We were also able to talk to some people about Jesus and pray for them, although we always exercised healthy caution in doing so. If you’d like more details or want to hear specific stories, feel free to contact me personally. We met some really amazing people, though unfortunately, I can’t mention them online.

We ate with incredibly hospitable Ibus (aunties), played with the cutest kids, and made countless friends. A big thank you to my boys who were there with me and everyone we met in Lombok. You made 2024 so much sweeter, and I’m looking forward to a hopefully next time!

Raphael recorded some interviews that I hope to share with you once they’re edited and ready.

Donations

I really want to thank everyone who helped finance the trip. You were a huge blessing. However, the outreach ended up costing a bit more than expected, so I’m a little behind on my staff fees. Additionally, since 2022, I’ve been paying school fees for my sponsored child, Poul, in Uganda, and the next payment is coming up soon.

I really don’t like asking for money, but I want to clear my debts as quickly as possible. I’d rather be broke than in debt😉. If you’d like to contribute to either of these causes, I would be incredibly grateful.

Remaining staff fees: ~500CHF (incl. January)
Missing funds for my sponsored child: 185CHF

That’s it for the money talk.

Looking Ahead to 2025

I don’t know too much about the new year just yet. Our teams will return in one week and then they’ll have their final week. After that, we’ll have two weeks of staff training, and on February 16th, we’ll already be starting the next DTS.

For this DTS, I’ll be leading the school together with Lasini. I’m super excited, although I’m also aware it’ll be quite a bit of work. Most likely I am also going to lead an outreach in May. For the summer (which is winter here in New Zealand), there are some opportunities opening up, and beyond that, nothing is set in stone. I’ll keep you updated as soon as I know more.

Thank you so much for your support and interest. Enjoy the photos!