Gathering!

This week was more than a little unusual. It was our second-annual Regional Family Retreat. All the workers from the entire region (along with their families) convened together for fellowship, Bible study, and updates from LCMS headquarters. Last year it was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This year, it was held in Medan, Indonesia! Rev. Matt & Kali Wood, our colleagues here in Medan, organized the logistics for this gathering. We helped pick some folks up from the airport and contributed as needed. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 people were able to come and join in this event.

We were blessed to host a group of folks from Roanoke, VA who traveled to Medan to minister to the youth during this event. Tracy, Connie-kin, Caroline, Caleb and Mark were a bit tired but delightful to get to know as we introduced them to a smorgasbord of Indonesian food favorites such as martabak, satay, and nasi goreng.

Several day trips were offered, including this one to the Istana Maimun, a palace built almost 150 years ago by the reigning Sultan.

We gathered together for worship each morning and evening. On the last day the youth offered their voices for a special musical portion of the morning worship. They were led by Becky Bartelt who is a music expert serving in Chiayi, Taiwan.

Also during one of our worship times we were blessed to be joined by the leadership of our Indonesian church partner, the GKLI.

In fact, our order of worship that day was from the hymnal that should be published later this year – the first Lutheran Hymnal in the Indonesian language. An exciting accomplishment guided by Rev. Matt Wood and Deaconess Sandra Rhein. The service is very familiar even if you don’t speak the language, as it is based on the Divine Worship format many of us are familiar with from our own various hymnals.

There was also time for just relaxing as well as fellowship in smaller groups. Childcare was provided one evening so that parents could get out and enjoy a dinner together. The teen youth had a blast, occupying themselves during free-time with games of hide-and-seek that spanned the entire hotel building, as well as board games and other distractions. It was a good opportunity to build on the relationships they started building at last year’s event. There was no shortage of joking (or half-joking) about the possibility of future Lutheran couples and families emerging as a result of these annual meetings!

For our family this year’s event was far less stressful than last year. Last year was the first one, and the first one since our deployment. We didn’t really know anyone. But this year was more comfortable. We knew of people more. We had opportunities to start relationships with new people while building upon existing relationships. Certainly my work as a regional resource contributed to a sense of comfort since I had visited a fair number of these folks in their local contexts.

We pray this time was a blessing to all the participants and I think it’s safe to say it was. We all serve in very separate environments while remaining part of a single team. That can contribute to a sense of isolation and loneliness, and times like this remind us we are not alone, and help provide some perspective on the larger picture that our respective ministries and labors are a small portion of.

We aren’t sure where next year’s event will be held, but we’ll look forward to gathering once again! We are grateful to our partners who make such things possible. We look forward to sharing more in person in just a few months when we return for home service!