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Minggu Pertama di Ohio
Salam sejahtera di dalam Yesus Kristus,

Sekarang kami sudah seminggu di Ohio dan sudah di rumah neneknya Dave. Sementara kami tinggal di sini dulu karena nenek tinggal sendiri dan juga dekat dengan tempat kerjanya Dave.

Puji TUHAN untuk semua kelancaran visa, imigrasi dan urusan saat mau masuk Amerika.. Awalnya kami sangat gugup tapi sungguh TUHAN luar biasa dan ajaib memberikan kedamaian dan ketengangan serta kami tahu betul kalau TUHAN ada bersama dgn kami. Jadi saat kami melangkah melewati penjaga imigrasi, kami melangkah dengan penuh percaya diri dan benar-benar TUHAN bukakan jalan… apa yang dikatakan orang-orang selama ini tidak terjadi.. Sungguh bodoh kami percaya pada kebohongan si jahat yang menggoyahkan iman kami… Kami SANGAT bersyukur atas dukungan doa teman-teman dan keluarga yang selama ini mendoakan kami sehingga TUHAN menyatakan kuasanya…

Puji TUHAN untuk kesehatan selama perjalanan… saya sedang hamil (kira-kira sudah 3 bulan) dan TUHAN benar-benar menjaga dan melindungi kami… Dia memberikan kesehatan dan kekuatan ekstra untuk perjalanan yang panjang dan jauh ini… Saat ini saya masih beradaptasi dengan semua yang ada di sini: bahasa, budaya, makanan, cuaca dan keluarga… tidak mudah dan butuh waktu yang lama untuk bisa terbiasa… masih suka gugup dan kesepian juga… rindu rumah hehehe… tapi TUHAN baik dan selalu baik… DIA selalu menghibur…

Bersyukur Dave bisa bekerja lagi di perusahaannya yang lama… Senin yang lalu sudah bekerja… Kami harus kumpul uang untuk kontrol dokter, beli vitamin dan biaya melahirkan… tidak murah hidup di sini… Tapi TUHAN Bapa yang baik yang menyediakan yang kami butuhkan… Kami juga sudah mulai proses pengurusan surat nikah di sini dan segera penyesuaian status saya supaya bisa dapat green card untuk tinggal di sini.
Rencana kami supaya bisa kembali pelayanan di Indonesia. Tapi kami belum tahu bagaimana cara bisa kembali ke sana karena harus ada yang sponsor visa jangka panjang untuk Dave bisa tinggal lama di Indonesia tapi kami selalu terbuka untuk TUHAN yang empunya pekerjaan untuk mengutus kami kemanapun kami pergi…kami hanya mau taat dan terus mencari pengertian dari TUHAN. Mohon dukungan doa untuk hal-hal di atas agar TUHAN terus menuntun kami dan memberikan kami hikmat dalam melayaniNya…sebab manusia boleh berencana, tapi Allah yang memutuskan!

Atas dukunga doanya kami sangat berterima kasih dan itu sangat berarti untuk kami. Semoga Allah yang Mahakuasa memberkati Anda semua dengan berkelimpahan.

Sgala pujian bagi DIA selamanya,

Helen Maria, untuk Dave & sang Bayi

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Trust and Believe

Dearest Supporters, Friends, and Families


First of all, we are so grateful and thankful for God’s blessings, grace and love in our lives. We would like to thank you all for all your support in our lives since the beginning until today and then… Thank you so much for being with us in prayers and now all of us can give praise and glory to our God the Father in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen the great work of God’s hands in our lives and others here in Indonesia… We do praise GOD for that!

June 14th 2008 is the day when we stepped out on our new journey together. We got married on that day! The day which God united us as one family. It was the most big and wonderful day ever in our lives. Seeing families and friends came celebrating together with us was so encouraging and blessed us so much… We would like to say thank you so much for coming and rejoicing and celebrating the day with us… We are learning to live as a family and doing ministry together now… Status and some things have changed in our lives. We do need your support in prayers for us that God will strengthen us as husband and wife, enable us to understand each other and love each other. Pray that we become increasingly close to God and be open to what He wants us to do and where to go to spread the Good News. Also, pray that through the difficult times we focus on God and God help us by providing the way.

Now, we are doing a cultural and language orientation for 9 university students who came a couple weeks ago with SEA Discovery. The orientation lasts for 3 weeks here in Jakarta. After the orientation weeks, we are divided into 2 main groups and will go to 2 locations, KT and PP. We will spend 3 weeks in those locations directly engaging with the local workers. During in the locations we will spend time interacting with the local people so that way we can learn deeper about their culture and some of their language. The goals of these trips are directly involved with the language projects, with learning the life of the field worker, getting know ourselves and God’s calling in our lives. Please pray for the preparation (our hearts, accommodations, technical things, and equipment, transportation, weather, and paper work), communication between the team with the local workers, and also the interaction with the local people. We are praying that our coming will be accepted well by the local people and we can be the blessing of God into their life, we are given boldness to share God’s love and Good news. Please also pray for our health and God’s protection. After the village living phase, we are going to have a debriefing phase for a week. This week we will use to process all what the whole team members experience in the locations by sitting, sharing stories and praying together. Also, this week will be used as team preparation going home (US and CAN). Then the SEA Discovery 2008 will be over and that means we can take a rest for a while J …. But soon have to start the next year SEA Discovery! Please do pray for the whole program of SEA Discovery will go fruitfully, well and smooth! We appreciate so much all your support in prayers and financially so that we are able to do God’s work here in Indonesia.

During the orientation weeks, the participants also have home stay program with local family in Jakarta. They have been starting to live with their Indonesian families since June 19th. The home stay program lasts till July 3rd. The goal of this phase is that they are able to learn more about Indonesian and the culture together with the family and learning about Indonesian family ideals. Please pray for the participants will have fruitful days and become blessings to the host families.

We are so grateful to God for we are living under God’s grace and love… We truly know that we cannot do anything without Him and His power in our lives. He is so good to us. This week is a week we can see how great and wonderful our God is. Why? Because He is the unlimited and stoppable God! His promises are true and He will fulfill them in His timing. Last Tuesday, June 17th 2008, was my final step for getting my fiancé visa. It was my interview day. Dave and I went to the US Embassy at 1 p.m. and we had to wait for my turn having the interview. There was a couple who had a long interview before me. The consulate asked them many questions and that took about 30 minutes. Be honest, we were worried and afraid of not getting the visa. But we gave all our worries and fears to God and trusting Him for every thing that would happen that day. Then after them, the consulate called my name and asked to go to window one which was a small room, different from with the couple. We went together in to that room. First, the consulate asked me to swear that all that I told him were right and that I was not lying. Then he started with how we met and when, then about how we got in touch to each other, asking where we are going to leave, asking about one of our friends who had once sent me a sponsorship letter in 2006, and about Dave’s job. After that, he asked us about our communication record which we didn’t have then. In our mind we were a little bit worry that he won’t believe our answers because we weren’t able to give him our emails and chatting record since 2006. Then he took some pictures from an envelope that Dave sent to the Embassy together with the petition letter last year. He asked me some questions referred to the pictures he showed me. Then after that, he asked Dave a couple questions about his job and salary. Then he went to the back room .We didn’t know what he was doing there but we took the moment to pray. In a few minutes later he came back again and asked another question to Dave about the sponsorships because they have standard minimum salary of the person who sponsor the applicant. Praise GOD even though the his sponsorship was at the minimum standard, he consulate had confidence in Dave (we can see from his face) that Dave will be able to sponsor me because he knew that Dave is an employee of a propane company. After having about 15 minutes interview, finally, he decided to give me the visa!!!! WOW! PRAISE GOD!!!! We will return to the US Embassy in Jakarta to take my passport with the visa stamp on it. It is a great blessing for us. We are running out of words to praise and thank God for all what He has done and for all the blessings that He has given through every situations and people in our lives. GOD IS FAITHFUL GOD! He has started and He will continue the work in believer’s life.

Dear supporters, friends and families, we are so excited to see what’s next God will do in and through the SEA Discovery Participants’ lives and all people lives, including ours, here in Indonesia. We also would love to pray for you all if you have any specific prayer requests… We praise GOD for you all!!!

Well, that’s our update news so far and still on the journey with the Lord of lords and serving the King of kings ever…. We will keep in touch with you! Let’s praise the Lord of hosts, all the creations on the earth and in the heavens!!!

In God’s grace and love,

Helen Maria, for Dave

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Something New Each Day

 

God is so AWESOME! I went with my cell group coordinator to one of our cell group meetings in the afternoon. It was only couple blocks from my house.

At that meeting, there were 2 ladies who were Buddhists. They came to the meeting because the lady of the house invited them. The younger lady told us that she wanted to know who Jesus was, what Jesus could do, and she asked for healing prayer.

My cell leader was leading the cell group tonight. She started with an illustration how God cleansed our sins through Jesus who has died on the cross.

Then I led them into worship and praising God by singing a song and then prayed for the real discussion of the Word of GOD. We discussed about Faith from James 2:14-26. After heard the explanation, we divided the big group into a small groups.

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All by God’s grace


I would like to thank God for His mercy, grace, faithfulness and helps in my life during the cross culture ministry and linguistics training that I had at KD from August 5th through October 5th. Also, thankful to God for all the blessings, helps, strength, wisdom and knowledge that I got during my study at Atmajaya University so that I can graduate on October 6th. I would say that those achievements are because of God and for God’s glory only. I cannot describe how wonderful and mighty our God in my life since the beginning of this journey with Him until now and then. I only can praise Him, worship Him and thankful to Him.

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The Lion

I have struggled for several months. I can say that I was easily judging others of what they did or their actions or even their appearances. I felt so BAD in my thoughts and in my heart. I felt no joy and no peace. I couldn’t concentrate when I prayed and meditating the Words. In my heart, I heard little voice said that I was wrong and needed God to renew me once again.

Last Wednesday, in my Character Building session, there was a couple that used by God to tell me what should I do to overcome the situation I was in. They asked us, “Whom will you share your situation and feeling when you are in temptation? Is it your spouse? Is it your close friend? Or is it person that you trust in your church?” They shared an analogy about “The Lion and I in a house” The analogy was telling us that the person had a lion as her pet. She kept the lion in its’ room and locked it in. One day, she went out for working. When she came back home, the lion escaped and made a big mess in the house. She was afraid of the lion. She caught it and locked it in it’s room again and she built more wall around it’s room. She was truly afraid of her own pet but then she felt safe after knowing that the lion was in its room with double-wall.

She went to work as usual. One day, she found out the lion was escape again from its room. But it was as mess as the first time. Then she had an idea to tame the lion. She tried and the lion was tamed. She allowed the lion walk around the house and she felt no fear but she was aware of it. She felt safe but need to be aware. Thus, the lion could go wherever it wanted to go.

This analogy tells us that we have “a lion” in our lives whether I realize its existence or not. Mostly, I feel it’s alright with the existence of the lion as long as it doesn’t distract me from what I want to do. But I was wrong! It is distracting me even “the lion” creates “a mess” in my life, my thoughts, and my attitudes. My lion is my pride as the first child and the best in my family even among my cousins. God is so gracious to me by sending his servants to tell me the truth. I praised God that time. I need to be honest to others whom I trust and ask them to pray for me. I cannot do anything to overcome “the lion” in my life without God’s power and help. I need God to be aware of “the lion” and need God to lock and destroy it in my life. This lion influence me to judge others according to my way. God doesn’t like that. I felt so uncomfortable and had no peace, unsafe and afraid. But after the session, I tried to practice what I have learned and God is healing and renewing me…until now…

Moreover, I am still struggling with my own judge to others. Still! I need some more leading from God to go out from this feeling and action. That was on Wednesday God spoke to me through the couple, then on Friday at the same week, God spoke to me again what should I did through the same couple. We had a fellowship at the last day of the training last week and we invited the couple to share Word of God to us. He shared about what he had struggle for months until one day at a conference his wife and he went to see a counselor and the counselor told him to think and pray for 3 things:

1. What is your stronghold in your life and mind? Think and pray about it.
 2. You have choice: condemn or intercede. Which one do you choose?
 3. Ask and pray a little prayer that you need that God reveal in your life.

I was SO AMAZED the way how God answer the questions in my heart. He is always right on time never delay nor late nor too soon! He knows exactly what we need in spiritual and physical. He knows every heart of men. He searches to the deepest of man’s heart…

I believe that is God’s words to me and He wanted me to do that. I am practicing those 3 steps and I am learning how to sit under God’s feet and listen to Him, spending time more with him which I didn’t have enough during the training. My prayer is God to show me the way, his mind and his desire, and help me to keep focus on God in everything I do, I say, I think, I feel and I react… My desire that God will show what is in his heart more that before…

I need to learn to forgive those who has made me sad and hurt my feeling. I am learning to intercede for them and bless them though they didn’t say sorry to me… I am learning how to humble myself before God and others. Please pray for God’s power enable me to do His will.

 

 

~Helen Maria