From 28th Nov to 3rd Dec, our Vicar, Jennifer and Carol joined a Medical Mission Team. Facilitated by Hands International, the combined Indonesian and Singaporean team worked with various local agencies to offer health treatments and counselling to needy communities. The team also visited an agricultural project which trains young farmers on cultivation of animal and crops husbandry.
It was our first visit to this vibrant port city in the northern part of Java. With ancient roots as the main gateway to the Majapahit Kingdom centuries ago, she holds a significant place in history. We’ve all read in our history books about the far-reaching influence of the Majapahit empire on regions like Malaya and Singapore.
Today, Surabaya stands as Indonesia's second-largest city, home to three million residents, with an additional ten in its greater metropolitan area. A testament to its rapid urbanization, it is a city of modern skyscrapers, huge malls and SUV cars with tinted windows.
Like all modern cities, she is also a magnet for those from out-lying provinces. Some remain jobless and dropped into the zone of abject poverty. While the authorities have made progress in health, wealth and social care, countless needs remain and many NGOs step in to assist. Facilitating this trip, Hands International is one of them.
We did feel like drops in a huge ocean of needs as we offered one-off health activities. Talks were given on self-care, caring for the aged, managing diabetes and so on. We also visited a cancer hospice center and reached out to families with autistic children. Headaches were treated, wounds were dressed, ears were cleaned up. Some had conditions which were incurable and the team could only offer some relief.
Rather surprisingly, our “konseling” station had queues. Heads wrapped in tudung, many unveiled their deepest pains.
“I do not know what to do with my child.” Neither did we.
It wasn’t a time for advice but empathic listening. Some words were spoken so deep from the heart that they broke into Jawa dialects, baffling even our interpreters. Tears spoke when words could not. Almost all welcomed prayers. They were prayers to the God that the individual chose to believe in. Amin ended prayers - and conversations that could have gone on. Such was the need to speak and to be listened to.
The work can be intense all round and those manning the medical and farmasi stations were the busiest. The work is wrapped up as the sun sets.
In the evenings, we had Sup Rawon (black beef soup), sate, jus jeruk (local orange juice) and lots of krupuk. Crunchy and meaningful conversations ensued as we reflected on the day.
The theme of the trip was taken from Colossians 1:27 – “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
He remains our only hope for true glory. One of salvation, happiness and meaning, in this life and that to come. Something which every human being longs for. This truth has to be conveyed through “Christ in us.” Like the first Christmas, the message has to be incarnated for these needy ones in Surabaya, even if briefly.
Deeply meaningful, I got a feeling that many of us will say, “Sekali lagi."
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