Journal - September 2, 2008

2:20 pm - Had something different for lunch - goat on a stick. It's real name is Sate. Ron discovered some strange electrical wiring - three phase electric, but only one phase going to each of three buildings and coming off of, at least, two transformers. It's a real electrical mystery.

Tory is still sick - fever and dizzyness. We were going to a video recording studio where Sharon works. I don't know if that will happen now or not.

I discovered a small tree (or a big bush)with long white flowers hanging down like bells. I'm not sure what it is called but it is very beautiful.

There is a small bird that is very common here. It's moves so fast I don't think I can get a picture of it. I think they call them swifty's. They are about the size of a bat and fly around like one too - diving and turning and swooping. At the first open-air restaurant we ate at on Saturday evening something was flying around over our heads for about 15 minutes. We hope they were swifty's!

The mosque we were at on Monday will be torn down at the end of the month. After Ramadan they are going to build a new, bigger mosque to accommodate all the people wanting to pray.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day. What we discoverd at the mosque was that Islamic prayer is more about performing certain motions and saying certain words in order to gain "good points" in God's "reward system". I you pray during Ramadan you get 700 points. If you pray any other time of the year it's only worth one point. And that's all based on if you preformed the prayer properly. If you mess up, it dosen't count at all.

What I discovered is the stark difference in Christian and Islamic prayer. Christians talk to God as their friend. Any time of the day or night. Any position, it doesn't matter. Christians talk to God because they want to.
Muslims pray because they are trying to earn points. The give to charity to earn points. They help those in need to earn points. They cannot serve God or people freely because the purpose in the service is to gain entrance into heaven.

Christians are not only set free from sin, but they are set free to serve people out of love. They are free to serve God, not out of duty, but devotion.

Freedom in Christ is a lot bigger than freedom from sin! It's freedom to love and serve and live with no strings attached. God is good . . .

5:44 pm - Still sitting at the lunch tables. It's been a good afternoon, but I'm wondering how Tory is doing. He must be pretty sick. Casey was supposed to be back around 2:00 pm, so Ron and I have waited here. We could walk back to the dorm, through the school campus but we don't want to miss Casey, Sharon, or supper! Oh well, God is still good . . .

8:26 pm - I told you God is still good! Seconds after my last post, we got a call from Casey saying he was coming over. Tory came with him and we all went to supper. The nurse thinks Tory is just dehydrated, so Tory is now following my example of how much water to drink. My eye's are tired. going to be in a few minutes.

You can find more trip pictures at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719).

They are also posted at my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/)

Thanks for reading!

Journal - September 1, 2008

3:48 PM - Trying to update everyone before I rest. I have a praise band rehearsal tonight at 6:30 PM.

We went to the open air market this morning. Very interesting! (I'll post some pictures later). Raw meat (beef, chicken, fish) sitting out in the open - no refrigeration. People walking, riding scooters (sepeda motor), riding bicycle powerd carts, and driving horse (kuda) drawn carts.

At 11:00 am we went to the local mosque. This was very exciting because it is the first day of Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting). The professor of the English department of the university located at the mosque gave us a tour. His name is Hamam. He guided Ron and Casey and me, along with three of his students through the university/mosque complex. One male student will attend a university in Oregon in March. Another male student will study in Arizona in January. A Female student named Okta also accompanied our tour.

Pray for Okta; I believe that the Holy Spirit is working in her life and she would be open to a presentation of the Gospel. Pray also for Hamam; he is wanting to travel to the US for his Doctorate.

After the tour, we returned to Hamam's office and sat around a table covered with green indoor/outdoor carpet. We asked and asnwered questions about Chritianity and Islam. I believe we shattered some of their misconceptions about Christianity.

Afterwards, we went to another local resaurant and had rice and spicy chicken. They had cucumbers and lettuce too, but we have been instructed not to eat the local vegetables unless they are from Sharon and Casey's home and have been washed in bleach water.

At 1:00 PM we wnet to a gamelan instructor. He introduced us to several traditional Javaneese instruments which, when played together but 5 to 18 people, is called gamelan. They are all percussion instruments. Some are drums, some are like xylophones, and others are like upside-down brass pots with one big "bump" sticking up from the bottom". The gamelan plays while a traditional shadow puppet play is performed.

Then we discovered that this gentalman, named Gideon, uses his gamelan as a way to share the good news about Jesus with people. They modify the traditional shadow puppets and replace the "white monkey king" and the "evil king" with characters like Jesus and Peter and Paul, etc. The people in the communities they go to, welcome them because they are bringing traditional Javaneese music and musical instruments. Then Gideon and his crew use puppets to thell them about Jesus! What an exciting way to communicate the gospel!

Well I need to Go rest before rehearsal. More later . . .

Sept 1 - 10:17 pm - Rehearsed with Praise Team A at 6:30 pm. Trying to get people excited about worship is a recurring theme among worship leaders here. I think what they are really saying is, "I want people to be passionate about God." So how do you develop passion? Do you cast a vision & hope they see? Do you remind people about what God has done? Is passion a gift FROM God or a gift FOR God?