Indonesia Reflections

From June 9th-19th, our GraceLife team of four men traveled to the city of Banjarmasin in southern Borneo, Indonesia. 

Our primary purpose was facilitating two personal finance seminars in partnership with an English School. (Not unlike some Americans, many Indonesians think only in the short term in regard to finances, then obtain high levels of debt.) Many university students and young professionals attended both seminars. We taught on understanding our role as stewards of all that God has given us and the responsibility that comes with that position. We also empowered these students and professionals with practical tools for achieving success, such as goal-making, budgeting, and using an envelope system for cash spending/saving. 

The staff and participants gave positive feedback about the seminars, and those interested in serving as financial counselors requested one-on-one  training.

In addition to the seminars, our team spent seven days in Banjarmasin experiencing the culture, eating local food, and conversing with some amazing people. We spent one full day and night with a local Indonesian host family, attempted to play soccer, and took as many pictures as we could. We were very humbled and overwhelmed by the generosity and hospitality of the people in Banjarmasin. 

The majority of the population in the nation of Indonesia, as well as the city of Banjarmasin, identify themselves as Muslim. Historically, Christians and Muslims have not had the best relationship, from ancient conflicts to present-day violence. Without fellowship with any Muslim people, many American Christians regard all Muslims with fear, distrust, or even hate. So, we went on this trip considering Jesus' teaching on relationship. Jesus explained to his followers that there are two things that we should do above everything else: the first, loving God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds; the second, loving our neighbors just like we love ourselves (see Matthew 22:34). In His Luke 10:25 parable, Jesus illustrated that our neighbor is everyone even those extremely different and even considered enemies. 

And so we went, and our team discovered that these Muslims were not that different than we were. We saw their hopes, dreams, and fears, just like our own, and discovered that they shared many of our beliefs about God and Faith. We learned that when we embraced friendship and peace first, relationship opened up discussions that would have been difficult otherwise.  

I foresee more groups from GraceLife returning to Banjarmasin in the future, and I hope that we will all practice these kinds of relationships right here in Columbia, SC.  If you are interested in hearing more, please don’t hesitate to ask.


Ryan Meredith - Executive and Global Outreach Pastor