Quiet Revolutions, Josh White

The following is a quote from the jacket of the new Telecast CD "Quiet Revolution." I've never really cared much for their music or lyrics. My mom actually lent me this CD and pointed out the liner notes. So she really gets the credit here. I still don't care for the CD, but this short note of Josh's ties in with a lot that's been going on lately. Those things will eventually become posts here, but, for now, enjoy the note.

"Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We want to change the world. We want to feed the poor. We want to care for the orphan and the widow. But I can’t help but wonder why it is, in the flurry of our countless activities and programs, why the vast majority of Christians still find themselves leading defeated lives. These causes we rally around – which are great things – may get done, and even effectively, but something seems to be missing.

I recognize this in my own life. It’s much easier to serve God than it is to know Him. It’s much easier to imitate than it is to be the genuine article. I am not Jesus and my feeble attempts at white-knuckling up Jacob’s ladder have always ended in absolute frustration. G. K. Chesterton’s words ring so terribly true: “Christianity is not tried and left wanting, it’s found difficult and not tried.”

At some point on the road of Christian effectiveness we have become so effective at changing the surface that the interior can go untouched and frankly, unnoticed. “Lord, I’ll change the world but please don’t change me!”

Is the root of this problem simply that we live with a cross-less Christianity and a Christ-less center?

We need a Quiet Revolution where we come before a holy and perfect God and say, “Lord, crucify in me everything that is unworthy of You. I accept the cross not only as a place where you died once but where I die daily.” Only then will we really live.

We need a quiet Revolution where the saving life of Christ so permeates our being that Jesus Christ Himself is allowed to Be Himself in us right now. And that equilibrium would be restored to our lives that we would once again find our center.

Jesus is not looking for decisions. He is looking for disciples. There is a lot of talk about the kingdom on Earth but pray we would begin to understand that to speak of a kingdom is to speak of a King. We must give the world not a weak imitation of what Jesus did but a tangible expression of what He is actually still doing in and through redeemed, surrendered vessels.

Are we ready to count the cost?"

Indo, Day 18: Airborne

There isn't a whole lot newsworthy about today (Saturday). I woke up at 4am to get my transfer tickets for a 6am flight to Tokyo. For all Singapore does right, there are some strange inefficiencies. Like the counter agent who took 10 minutes to check in each person in line. I never waited that long in Indonesia with people who didn't speak English!

The only possible problem that may have arisen is, despite my printed itinerary to the contrary, she insisted her system said I was going to Portland today. "No," I tried to correct her, "I'm going to Seattle today and Portland tomorrow. See the printout?" She just kept repeating that her system said I was going to Portland. I tried to explain how that didn't matter because my fight from Seattle to Portland isn't even on Northwest, so what her system said is kind of irrelevant so long as Alaska has it right. This created no small amount of confusion. She muttered something about rebooking me, and now I can only assume I have no flight to Portland tomorrow. But I guess we'll find out soon enough.

After that flight it was another to Seattle. Basically, I spent the entire day on a plane. No, really, an entire day. See, nothing really to write about.

I arrived in Seattle three hours after I took off (ugh), got to my hotel and tried to sleep. Didn't go so well.

I'm hear for a work event, which I'll write more about tomorrow.

Indo, Day 17: Finality

This was the last day in Indonesia. Most of the day was spent answering final questions and generally hanging around until it was time to go to the airport. It seems kind of strange to be leaving – I half expect to be flying back to Medan in four days, as has been my habit.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my health. I feel about 80% today and the flight to Singapore was uneventful, which was relieving. I still don’t feel like eating anything, but I should be able to find some “neutral” food here.

Singapore crashed on me like a wave. I remember it being nice, but now it appears opulent. My room in the transit hotel feels fit for royalty. Things are clean, the faucets produce a full stream of (potable) water, and there’s even HOT water! It’s quiet and smoke-free. I have been wondering what the transition would be like. I know I was only gone for 2.5 weeks, but I adjust to new places very rapidly. Going from electricity and water being luxuries to necessities is quite a jump.

But I can reflect on that later. I have to hit up the transit desk in four hours, so I better sleep.

Indo, Day 16: Sickly

Pray for me. I managed to get sick the day before I leave. I can’t complain, though: it’s been over two years since this has happened to me. It makes work hard, but I’m ok powering through that. Spending 20+ hours on a plane, however, will be slightly more…challenging…if the…explosive…nature of this affliction doesn’t get toned down a couple notches.

I think it was some undercooked meat for dinner last night.

The nausea-inducing anti-malarial meds don’t help.

I leave Friday at 8:30pm (GMT+7, 6:30am GMT-7).

(For Joe: it feels like everything on my insides wants to be on my outsides.)

Indo, Day 15: Misc

There’s not a whole lot to say about today. I thought about skipping, but that sort of defeats the purpose. In the morning, I said goodbye to the Sigli/BA staff and (once again) headed to the airport. This time I met an enthusiastic local who was learning English and really wanted to practice with me (though he didn’t introduce himself that way) and a weathered British chap who seemed happy to be understood for a change. For someone who has been here a few times, he didn’t quite seem to get how it works. The flight was smooth and uneventful and soon I was back in Medan.

I’ll be here for the next two days before I start the long journey back home. Since I’ll be in one place for more than a day, I took the opportunity to do a little more sink laundry and prep for the layovers. I was also able to charge my camera battery, though I doubt there will be much to take pictures of before I leave. It’s amazing how quickly time has passed. It feels like a year ago I was in Portland, and I’ve almost forgotten about my time in Singapore and Tokyo. I don’t know if it is the constant moving around or the general intensity of my time here, but it feels like I’ve been here much longer than I have. Maybe I’m just adjusting well.

For lunch, most of the office went out to pizza…at a Pizza Hut. I can’t remember the last time I had their pizza, and this restaurant was WAY nicer than any Pizza Hut I’ve seen in the US. I joked around about not seeing a rice pizza anywhere. It was strange eating something without it, let alone semi-American. Of course the toppings were totally unique, but it still tasted a little like good old American pizza. It’s a fun group here…when I understand what they’re saying.

Everywhere I’ve gone, at least one person has asked me about the upcoming presidential election. They want to know who I think will win, Hillary or Obama. I didn’t realize that race had garnered so much international attention yet; it’s only the primaries! Of course it was hopeless to try explaining that we’re not even to the actual race yet, this is just intra-party bickering. (My money was always on Obama, since I can do math and see that Hillary can’t catch him on delegates. Other people finally started to see that and now he’s been declared the presumptive nominee.) No one seemed to have any questions about McCain. Bad sign for him, I guess. Our political system is crazy. Don’t believe me? Try explaining it to a foreigner.

It’s nice to be staying in a room devoid of insects.

Like I said, not a whole lot going on. Pretty much a transit day.

Indo, Day 14: Banda

This morning I finished up working in the Sigli office and prepared to head back to Banda Ache for my morning flight. Unlike Nias, when given the opportunity to ask me any technical questions or relate problems, the staff had nothing to say. Things run extremely well there. So we actually got out of town on time.

The anti-malaria meds made me sick again this morning. First time I’ve thrown up, though. Too bad I still have four and a half weeks on them. They really suck. Maybe I should take my chances with the malaria. I only have half a dozen or so bites – how many could be malarial?

The drive back to town was beautiful (and not raining this time), but I didn’t take any pictures to save my battery for Banda. So stupid of me to leave my charger in Medan! We got to the staff house, dumped our stuff, then Flora (the Sigli finance manager), the drive and I set out to see some of the relevant sites.

Our first stop was the beach that marks “ground zero” for the tsunami. It’s a really nice coastline that reminds me of Oregon. Much rockier than Nias or Sigli. Actually waves. It was nice. We walked along for a while and talked about the wave. Fifty feet! And the coastline was 1km farther out before the tsunami than it is now. You can still walk through a dirt plane made up of rubble that once was worker housing for the nearby cement factory. 150,000 people died here.

After the beach, we went and saw the two boats that made it over 5km inland and are stuck on top of houses. They’re too big to move, so they’ve become semi-permanent monuments. None of the pictures are great because I started using my cell phone camera which is markedly poorer.

From there we went to the mosque. This is the city were Islam first came to Asia, and they’re proud of their mosque. It’s the largest in the country, and has got to be right at the top of the list for Asia. Flora donned traditional garb to be allowed inside the complex. I’ve never received so many dirty looks in my life. A western man walking with a local in traditional clothing. Not a welcome sight. We walked around trying to take pictures, but then my battery finally died. Flora made a joke that maybe we should walk around seven times and the walls would fall down. It’s good to see Biblical humor transcend cultures.

We talked a little about being a Christian operating in a Muslim world. They get that we’re Christian, and I think they’re becoming ok with it. In Sigli they have to crop our logo to make the cross look more like a plus or just use the words. I don’t think anyone here is militant, and they want (need) our help, but apparently we still have to make some concessions. I don’t think that’s very fair.

I had previously asked if anyone knew where I could find a machete. I saw some guys using one in the bush, and thought it would be a sweet souvenir. “Machete” proved to be a difficult word to explain and translate, and they ended up taking me to a place with traditional ceremonial knives. It’s pretty close, but utterly non-functional. Not quite what I had in mind, but it still looks cool.

Dinner was at a little coffee house near the staff house. It’s too bad I don’t drink coffee, being as this is where it comes from and all. I’ve heard about the special blend here…apparently many coffee houses also run drugs, and sometimes the coffee and marijuana get a little, well, blended. This didn’t seem like that sort of establishment. The food was the highest quality I’ve had yet. Not necessarily the best tasting, but the most western-like in quality. What I mean is, well, for starters, the meat wasn’t raised on the premises. And it was actually plump, not forcing you to scrape what you can find off the bone. Like it was bred to be eaten. And served boneless! Ha! I felt spoiled not having to work at my food.

Afterward, Flora decided we would get back to the house via Death Taxi. If you remember from one of my first posts on this trip, most taxis here are motorcycle sidecars. But not like sidecars we have in the US that are enclosed. No, these are pretty much a seat and a floor with a bar on the side and in front. Very open air. If you’ll also remember how I characterized “driving” here (going/doing whatever the crap you want and using the horn to keep you alive), you’ll understand the Death Taxi moniker.

It was fun, though. We took a loop around the city to see some of it at night. The air (I almost called it fresh) felt great and relatively cool. And there were only a couple close calls (red light? What’s that mean?). I really regret leaving my charger in Medan as I could have gotten some great pictures.

All in all, a fun day, and fairly touristy at that. I wasn’t expecting to be shown around quite this much, but it was kinda nice. Tomorrow morning I head back to Medan (pray the airport doesn’t shut down again) for the final leg of this trip.

Indo, Day 13: Sigli

In the morning, I was awoken very, very early (5am) by the sound of wailing. It sounded like the zombies from a horror movie, moaning almost in unison. It took a few seconds for me to focus (5am, remember?), then I could clearly hear one voice clearly amplified over the others. Ah, prayer. I forgot I was in a Muslim city. In Medan, I have heard the calls to prayer many times over the loudspeakers, but never individuals responding. In BA, everyone is a Muslim, so everyone is praying. The sound came from everywhere. It was incredibly eerie. One voice over the loudspeaker sounds melodious, tens of thousands murmuring in unison is creepy. And heartbreaking. The Darkness is so thick here.

A couple hours later we left town on the three hour drive to the project site in Sigli. The countryside is very different from Nias or Medan. It feels more African to me. More plains and less dense vegetation than Nias, more mountains than Medan. At one point we even passed a small grove of pine trees that reminded me of home. Cows wander the streets (Corvallis?) and later on we saw some monkeys and even a small elephant that was being used to haul something. But I was quickly told that’s not a normal sight. I want to ride the elephant!

Sigli seems like a pretty nice place that would have been even nicer before the tsunami. The climate here is much more mild (we’re about as far north as you can get) which I’m enjoying. It rained a lot today, in a very Oregon sort of way. Cold, grey and heavy. I don’t know why that’s so refreshing. And, of course, “cold” is a very relative term. It’s still a Muslim community; at prayer times, as soon as you drive out of range of one mosque’s speakers, you pick up another. But it seems less so than BA. The influences are everywhere, though. In the architecture of the buildings (big domes on top) down to your behavior (shoes OFF!). We might as well be in the middle east with more palm trees.

The office is nice. It’s by far the cleanest building I’ve seen in Indonesia. Everyone takes their shoes off when entering, which helps a lot. Seriously, this place is spotless. Whoever they have cleaning it is doing an outstanding job. The staff are friendly and much closer to my age than any of my stops thus far. It’s been easier to joke around with this crew, and, if you know me, that’s important. Their computers have also been meticulously maintained, even though the staff know very little about them. “Don’t install software.” So they don’t. It’s nice to have users who listen.

Their Internet is coming off a wireless setup. The antenna looks very familiar. I’m wondering if it was setup as part of the tsunami relief effort. Remember when I did the emergency communications work after Katrina? There was a crew that did the same thing in Indonesia after the tsunami, and this equipment looks like what we were using. I haven’t been able to get an answer as to where it came from, but that’s my guess. Kind of brings things full-circle for me.

Both project managers I’ve worked with (first Esther and now Jenny) have liked to feed me. I thought I would lose some weight on this trip, but they’re always bringing me something new to try. At least with Jenny it’s delicious fruit drinks. Seriously, they taste like biting into the fruit. For dinner we had some fried noodles – I think that marks my first Indonesian meal (any meal) that didn’t contain rice. They were spicy and delicious and reminded me of noodles my cousin Leo used to make when we were kids. Noodles were one of the few things we could make unsupervised, and he had a special blend of peppers to keep it interesting. Burned your mouth but you couldn’t stop eating them! If I have any tolerance for spicy food, it’s due to him.

The hotel I’m staying in (they have a hotel here!) has the look of a place that before the tsunami was nice. The walls are brightly painted instead of white and stained. There’s intricate molding around the doors and ceiling. There’s even some cool multi-colored lights. But, like most things, it suffered a blow from the tsunami. It’s still nice, but has a certain…worn…feeling to it. Like it was abused. And it suffers from the overall infrastructure problems (power, water, etc.). It comes with a prayer rug and a sign that points to Mecca.

Speaking of the tsunami, I should probably comment on that. Sigli is one of the “ground zeros” for the wave. Not only was there an earthquake here (see the map in yesterday’s post), but this is one of the places there was a wave. They say it got to be around 12 meters high. They took me to the beach this afternoon. It was deserted. No one goes there anymore. The good news about this particular spot is that there were no houses close to the water, just salt flats and shrimp, uh, growing (?) areas. But you can still see the devastation. I’m mad at myself for leaving my camera charger in Medan, because as we were there, my battery light started blinking. I’m saving the rest of my shots for tomorrow when we’re back in BA and visit the main landing spot for the wave. I’ll write more about the tsunami then.