Four years ago, my wife and I started working together with some friends to support a school in Batam. It was exploratory, and I wrote then (see my blog entry
here) that we stood on one side of a door that God had led us to, and now we had to decide whether to walk through it, or past it.
Well, here we are, in 2023, and thank God, we decided to walk through it.
Each step along the way has been an exercise in biting off more than we could chew.
At that first trip, almost the whole team had never been on an overseas mission. No one spoke the language. No one had any idea what help the school needed, or how to deliver it. We were completely unready, but we just went. We bit off more than we could chew, but the trip was great! Not because we were great, because we obviously weren't, but because God supplies His people when they go about His work.
After one trip, we told ourselves, we are committed to this for the long term. And we told everyone about it, so they could hold us accountable, and so that we wouldn't pull back. We didn't know where the final destination of this endeavour would be. We didn't know how and what this would cost us. But God had shown He was able - so we decided again to bite off more than we could chew, and commit after just one trip: we'll be back!
By the next trip, we were a little better prepared. I had started learning Indonesian. We brought along interpreters. Our programmes started to be more relevant. Our supplies for the nearby villages became more practical. So we decided to commit specifically - we will go twice a year. At that time, it seemed to be a big commitment, and we didn't know if we could gather enough support to keep to it, but... always bite off more than you can chew right?
Just when we thought we were getting a handle on things, Covid broke out! Everything ground to a halt. We couldn't travel, but we shipped supplies and things like masks to our friends over there. But we were completely at sea as to how else to continue supporting them.
Thank God, travel restrictions slowly fell away, and as soon as we could, we returned! We still had to go around with masks, but at least no more Covid testing! With the long Covid hiatus, we now knew we could not take the opportunity to serve for granted.
So we told ourselves, twice a year wasn't enough. There was urgency to the work that needed to be done. We had only gone twice a year, once, ha! But we already needed to up our game. Once a quarter!
We didn't know what that would take. We didn't know if there'd be enough interest to get a team together every quarter. But it's not just "do what we can". Sometimes, we just gotta do what is needed. And our God will supply all our needs.
Then a new wrinkle emerged. The school's landlord evicted the school! I mean, the premises weren't great. Two abandoned shophouses in a block of similar crumbling shophouses, in the middle of a field, with pretty much nothing else around it. Leaking roof. No ventilation or plumbing. But they were the only premises we had!
Never mind. Take the next big bite.
Thanks to a wonderful brother in Christ, steps were taken to acquire land. Ran smack into some metaphorical walls along the way. But it's ok. We learn. An architect volunteered his help to design the place. God led us to helpful and generous building contractors. We found a place where the school would be close to the village.
I had no idea what the construction team was talking about on the Whatsapp chat group . Clearly bit off more than I could chew. But my friends did know what was going on. So first the trees and grass got cleared. Then the floor got laid. Then the floor cracked and it had to be relaid. Then the building frame came up. The roof. The walls. The walls ended up blocking someone else's access by mistake. Oops. Re-do. Toilets got put in place. But the latrines were in the wrong place. Oops. Re-do.
Then we got kicked out of the old school premises before the work on the new place was complete. There's no way to finish building the school before the school term starts. I mean, it's been less than 2 months since the place was literally just banana trees and grass. How???
The principal finds a way. Begs and gets a short extension to stay in the old school premises. Still not enough time. Everyone prays. The building contractor works hard. The students get lessons at home for a couple of weeks. And incredibly, enough of the building gets done so the students can come back in for lessons!
Money. How to pay for everything? Land, construction, electricity, sewage, school supplies, textbooks, uniforms, salaries. And a thousand other things you don't think about until you need to pay up, and know you have to keep paying up. But pffft. Money. Our God has supplied much harder things than that. He supplies all our needs, and brings many generous people to help on top of that.
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As I read what I've written above, it seems to me that there are many people more capable, and more resourced than our little team. Our level of "biting off more than we can chew" won't seem like much compared to those who feed thousands, house displaced refugees, or treat pandemics.
But what does that matter?
My son shared this with me just today: in the parable of the talents, Jesus narrates the story of three servants - one is given five bags of gold, another given two, and another given just one. The servants with five and two bags multiply them by 100% and return them all to the master with his praise. But the servant with one just digs a hole, stores the bag, then returns it to the master... and is thrown out for not doing his job.
Why does Jesus make a point of casting the servant with one bag as the villain? Wouldn't the story have been more palatable if he made the servant with five bags the lazy one? Everyone sympathises with the one with less, and not the one with more.
As my son pointed to me: it's probably because Jesus wanted to make a really important point. It's not just those who have a lot, who have a responsibility to multiply what we have for our Master, to do good and give glory to Him.
Those of us with one, have as much of a responsibility as those with five. Charity is not only for the rich. Leadership is not only for the important or so-called "capable".
And that's what so many of the team did this time in Batam. Each simply multiplied what we had, whether little or much.
One of us brought her daughter who uses a wheelchair along for the trip, and still took charge of the project to decorate the new classrooms. Another one of us just became a father for the 2nd time, just 11 days before the trip, and still led the team which organised games day for the kids. Still others, who are trained as teachers, took time to speak to the principal and teachers to understand their curriculum needs, and target to put together class libraries and learning camps for the students.
Everyone has a story to share - some I can write about here, some I can't. But all have chosen to say, this seems more than I can handle, but I'll do it anyway. I will multiply the talent that I have been given, even if it doesn't seem enough. And this assurance I have. That though I bite off more than *I* can chew, my God is able!
Thank you team - you guys are all AWESOME. If anyone else wants to feel what a life like this could look like, call me!!
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