{"id":26986,"date":"2018-06-06T17:36:56","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T22:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/max_in_indonesia_partnership_through_mission_presence\/"},"modified":"2018-06-06T17:36:56","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T22:36:56","slug":"max_in_indonesia_partnership_through_mission_presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/max_in_indonesia_partnership_through_mission_presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Max in Indonesia: Partnership through mission presence"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Elice Higginbotham<\/em><\/p>\n

Let me begin by thanking those of you who so often ask me \u201cHow\u2019s Max?\u201d and who let me know that you are holding him in prayer. And for those of you who have wondered \u201cWhere\u2019s<\/em> Max?\u201d let me take this opportunity to offer a long-overdue update.<\/p>\n

My husband, Max Surjadinata, is in the middle of a six-month term as a Global Ministries Volunteer, serving on behalf of our United Church of Christ in Indonesia (the country of his birth). He is teaching for a semester in a remote rural seminary in the small town of Lewa on the island of Sumba, where our mission partner is the Gereja Kristin Sumba (GKS) or Christian Church of Sumba. Max teaches a course in liturgy and church music, as well as conversational English, and consults with students \u2013 he\u2019s presently up to his ears, he says, in reading the final theses of students about to graduate, as well as reading and grading the papers of the students in his own course.<\/p>\n

Quick overview: As you may know, Indonesians are mostly Muslims — Indonesia is, in fact, the world\u2019s largest Muslim-majority country — but there are substantial, officially-recognized religious minorities, including Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Confucianists. Because it is made up entirely of islands \u2013 over 13,000 \u2013 many people do not realize that Indonesia is actually one of the world\u2019s largest countries. Its population includes over 300 ethnic groups, speaking over 700 languages, although virtually all speak Bahasa Indonesia<\/em>, the official language, a variety of Malay.<\/p>\n

Sumba, where Max is based, is a largely Christian island, although Christianity exists alongside ancient indigenous religious practices which still influence people\u2019s lives \u2013 as is true throughout many parts of Indonesia. On first view, Sumba is a \u201ctropical paradise\u201d \u2013 remote, pristine beaches, ancient and beautiful native crafts. It is also economically underdeveloped; most of the population is very poor. Electricity at the seminary is sometimes uncertain; students carry water in buckets to do their laundry by hand; there is only sufficient housing for first-year students \u2013 older students commute, many walking several hours per day to get back and forth between class and home; Max\u2019s meals consist heavily of rice, small fish and homegrown spinach.<\/p>\n

Through the wonders of technology, Max and I are able to speak almost daily by Skype or Facebook Messenger. I\u2019ve met some of his colleagues, waved to some of his students, and can see that he\u2019s lost weight on the spartan diet. He speaks of the high motivation of his students, who work hard and walk miles to get their education so that they can better serve what are, in most cases, small congregations in poor rural communities. Max\u2019s experience makes me very proud that Encanto has such a record as an excellent giver to the wider ministries of our United Church of Christ. It is dedication and support like yours that is making it possible for him to serve in this remote place and, I\u2019ve come to see, to learn as well as to teach. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Elice Higginbotham Let me begin by thanking those of you who so often ask me \u201cHow\u2019s Max?\u201d and who let me know that you are holding him in prayer. And for those of you who have wondered \u201cWhere\u2019s Max?\u201d … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20028,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[],"topic":[20237],"region":[20016,20017],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMax in Indonesia: Partnership through mission presence - Global Ministries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/max_in_indonesia_partnership_through_mission_presence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Max in Indonesia: Partnership through mission presence - Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Elice Higginbotham Let me begin by thanking those of you who so often ask me \u201cHow\u2019s Max?\u201d and who let me know that you are holding him in prayer. 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