He came, not bringing
an invading army,
but
in person with love and a healing
touch
He came not to liberate them from the
tyranny of Rome,
but to free them from the bondange of
sin
He installed, no new government on
earth,
but
put His spirit in the hearts of those who
believed
He rules, with power,
truth, and justice,
bringing new life, full of hope and
joy.
There is no spring season here in Indonesia, but I'm still reminded about the new life which the story of Easter speaks about. This is what God's wants for us all. There is no doubt His intentions are pure and good. Nor is there any doubt about the goodness of His plan, for it comes from the Almighty God Himself.
I have just added another page in our Photo Album showing pictures from our Easter celebration.
April 1, 2003 - Dispite the war in Iraq life in Indonesia has been relatively the same. There are demonstrations like the one shown above but they seem more peaceful and balanced then those which happened during the attack on Afghanistan. As I talk to Indonesians here, I get a sense there is something very different with this war than previous one with Afghanistan. For the most part people here have seen the huge anti-war demonstrations of Americans and Europeans and have directed their anger at the Preseident and the US government instead of at ordinary Americans. Those I've talked to don't see this either as a religious war. I have no doubt that there are more extreme groups out there and some leaders have used some language which tends to inflame people and it this we all have to keep a watch out for. |
 Demo in Jakarta on 3/30/03 as reported by Kompas at www.kompas.com. |
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As for other things, my work at the Univesity is going well but in one course which I teach, I'm finding it very hard to get the students to use English. This class is supposed to be an English conversational class in an IT context and and each student group is to put together a proposal to develop a website for a local company. For those of you interested in English for IT here is a link to the website (without audio). We are currently in week 8. The IBM Domino project continues but is entering a training phase to help raise up more internal staff who are able to develop and support the Intranet. Elisabeth continues to teach and is really enjoying it. I just included a new page in our Photo Album showing pictures from this school.
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March 2003
- The war in Iraq has been going on for a few days now and although
the mass majority of Indonesians strongly disagree with the war
things have been relativily calm here compared to the situation
here during the war with Afghanistan. There are daily
demonstrations in Jakarata and even here in our town. They are for
the most part peaceful and anti-American. Most
International schools at this point remain open although most
foriegners are taking many precaution. Becuase of these
demonstrations we have been keeping a low profile but continue to do
our work. Its hard to say what is really happening under the surface
here in Indonesia. There are radical groups out there but I still
believe the average Indonesian is for peace. |
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January 2003 - We have returned after a number of month back home. The flight went very well and actually this is the first time Elisabeth and the kids fly all the way into Bandung. (see picture on the left). Mike still took the 3 hour drive along with the bags and picked them up at the Bandung Airport.
< Sorry but the rest of this update was lost ... >
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