Meri and I are very happy to be starting another year here in Indonesia. We have seen God move in our lives and mission amazingly over the last year and look forward to seeing what God has in mind this year.
As is traditional for a New Years letter I would like to give a short recap. Last year was a very big year for us Meri finished her degree in economics majoring in tourism management. Meri is very happy to be done school and to now be able to help revive tourism in Toraja.
Just as Meri was finishing her final exams a very sad event happened. Meri’s very close uncle fell from the roof of his church and passed away. This sudden tragic event caused a large stir in our lives as Maria and Kezia headed home to Papua to attend the funeral and comfort their family members.
In late September Meri and I packed up all our belongings and moved to Toraja. We had been looking forward to this move for a long time. Though living in Toraja is a lot harder than living in Bali both Meri and I know God’s plan is for us to be here and we both trust God to watch over us and guide us.
In late October Meri and I had the great blessing to join an outreach team from our home church in Canada (Willow Park Church). We spent two and a half weeks in India helping out at a children’s home with construction projects. As well we were able to see a small part of India as tourists. Meri and I had a great time with the team and made some lasting friendships.
After returning from India Meri and I rushed off to Papua. Well we ended up taking the boat so it was not quite the rush but still very exciting. After 4 days on an overloaded boat filled with cockroaches we arrived in Biak. Needless to say I had Meri book air tickets for the return trip. We were just in time to help with the planning of Maria and James’ wedding. It’s quite an experience as it involves all the family even the 3rd cousin you have only met once. After the long days of planning all was ready and Maria and James got married on the 18th of December. It was a great wedding and everything went according to plan.
After the wedding Meri and I were able to enjoy a little bit of rest before the Christmas rush. Meri caught up with her siblings and cousins and I did some fishing with Meri’s brothers. Before we knew it Christmas had arrived and we were running from house to house to greet everybody. They have a great tradition in Biak for Christmas; everyone goes around to each other’s house sharing food and stories. The only problem is by the end of the day you are so full you can barely walk home.
On the 2nd of January Meri and I plus Kezia headed back to Makassar and then on to Toraja. Maria and James followed afterwards and arrived on the 20th. Now we are all one large family living together here in Toraja.
As for the coming year Meri and I are looking forward to starting up our training institute here in Toraja. Currently we are looking for a plot of land that will allow us to present a large range of technical and agricultural examples along with a classroom and a place for our family and helpers to live. For now while we are looking for land and raising funds we are renting a house in Makale. We have also started some small projects on the land we are renting these projects include, village chicken upgrading, soil rehabilitation, and duck meat production. We are also hoping to start up a rabbit project and a brick stove project. We have started each of these projects with the goal of helping villagers learn new skills that will assist them in being more independent.
If you would like more information on any of our projects or have any ideas for future projects please email us.
Prayer Request:
1. Pray that God will show us the land that we are to purchase and provide all the money needed to purchase and develop the land.
2. Pray for Jonathan’s Visa situation as we look into applying for a temporary resident permit. This is a new visa option that has just opened and will allow Jonathan to stay in Indonesia for 1 year periods or longer without need of leaving for extensions.
3. Pray for Maria, James and Kezia as they start to live their new life together as a family and as well with us.
Love in Christ
Jonathan and Meri
Abundant Provision 
Leave a comment