Road to Indonesia--Indonesian Missionaries

 The English church in Sentani has been here for a long time, they say.  There are a hundred or more missionaries there on Sunday morning.  I was particularly blessed last Sunday.  One blessing was a missionary translating the tesimony for his Indonesian pastor/partner in ministry.  They shared about ministering in a remote tribe with a very difficult language. They told about the chief and then the witch doctor coming to the Lord. Also how the son of the previous witchdoctor refused to return to the previous practices, but made a strong statement about his commitment. It sounded like a whole tribe being evangelized. Then another Indonesian gentleman stood up.  He is a missionary to Uganda in Africa!  He is having visa problems because of covid and is waiting at his home here. (I was reminded of a book from the 70's, "Like a Mighty Wind" by Mel Tari. He was recounting the miracles of the church in Indonesia. He was sent by the Lord to be a missionary to the US! Think of that.) It is such a blessing to see how people are following the Lord when He calls them to ministry.  We often think of the West, particularly the US, as one of the few sending countries of missionaries. However, increasingly, the West is NOT sending people. There are many reasons for this. Part of it is that often someone not from the US finds it easier to get a visa, and are not hampered by some of the history of colonialism and politics.   It also is true that the closer someone is to the culture, the better it is to go and minister, such as the Indonesian pastor working in an obscure Indonesian tribe. Westerners often do not acclimate or understand other cultures as well as some other groups do. Pretty much in every country we have served, there have been missionaries from South Korea. But I also wonder if Westerners have lost the vision of what it means to go and serve.  Maybe we are just too comfortable. Maybe we do not have a vision of the needs that are out there.