| Christmas 2005
Berkeley, California
Dear Family, Friends, and Colleagues,
We are grateful for our past six months in the States. It included
short trips to Seattle, Vancouver, Louisville, Georgia, Mendocino,
Chico, and Reno, plus one long road trip. On January 10, 2006,
we will return to the warmth of Indonesia. We opened and closed
our 10,300-mile trek around America with snow. Leaving Berkeley
on October 1, an early snowstorm attacked us in Wyoming. Bernie
drove expertly over a mountain pass in deepening snow while I
admired the attack of snowflake stars that rushed at our windscreen
in the dark, as if they wanted to sing together: “Gloria
in excelsis Deo.”
The Great Plains between Wyoming and South Dakota sparkled with
new snow so bright that we could almost feel the beauty with our
eyes closed. A mystical feeling of power clothed us and we felt
God’s presence. We drove down to Los Angeles, then north
to Wyoming, South Dakota, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Ann
Arbor, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Washington (DC), Richmond,
New York, Syracuse, New Jersey, Princeton, Easton (Penn.), Philadelphia,
Durham (N.C.), Savannah, Florida, then westward along the Gulf
to New Orleans, El Paso, Juarez (Mexico) and back through the
ancient wonders of the Grand Canyon, the miracle of Zion, and
the snow covered glories of Lake Tahoe. We arrived safely back
in Berkeley on December 6.
We adore the Creator of such magnificence. Fantastic fall colors
followed us all the way around the country. During a long run
in Michigan, Bernie gathered a magnificent bouquet of autumn leaves.
The intense colors reminded me of a similar complexity within
the human race. All were created to complement, not dominate,
each other. The complexity of American civilization is fascinating,
with its noble values and ongoing struggles over religion, oppression,
and justice. It is almost as complex as Indonesia! Just as America
still debates the role of Christianity in public life, so Indonesia
struggles to understand how Islam and other religions can make
a positive contribution to public life. During our travels we
gave seminars, lectures, and sermons in roughly 100 different
places and renewed many friendships, including with an uncle who
is 102 years old and cousins we haven’t seen for decades.
We celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with Bernie’s daughter
Jen Marion in Durham, North Carolina.
We were impressed by the American tradition of social concern.
All over the country people shared our concern for how the war
in Iraq has led to outrage against America, especially in Muslim
countries like Indonesia. Two blocks from the White House in Washington
D.C., we entered New York Avenue Presbyterian Church on a Sunday
morning to find it full of homeless people who came for breakfast
and worship. This church, the place where Abraham Lincoln worshiped,
has held a tutoring program for poor children for more than 40
years. We sat in Abe Lincoln’s pew and could feel his passion
to free the slaves, still passed on through this congregation’s
many programs for the poor. Not only in Washington, the center
of American empire, but all over the country we found people who
shared our concern for how people of faith can work together for
truth, reconciliation, and peace. Muslims and Christians in Indonesia
want peace and justice. They share the same spirit expressed by
Franklin D. Roosevelt, as carved in granite at the FDR Memorial
in Washington DC: “I have seen war…. I hate war!”
Indonesia is a rich land that attracted colonial domination for
hundreds of years. The Dutch Colonialists brought Calvinist Christianity
even as they exploited the wealth of the Spice Islands and subjugated
the people. Even today, Western “Christian” investors
harvest gold, oil, silver, uranium, hard woods, copper, rubber,
and other resources in Indonesia for fabulous profits, even as
the majority of Muslim Indonesians remain poor. This creates a
dilemma for millions of Indonesian Christians who want to disassociate
their faith from colonialism and neo-imperialism. Talk is cheap,
but serving and loving our neighbors builds up a precious trust.
During our journey around the States, we learned to trust many
strangers, including a black woman (angel) who went way out of
her way to lead us out of a bad part of town when we were lost
in the middle of the night. Sleeping in different beds every night,
we learned to trust our many gracious hosts. Sometimes I got to
share my love for cooking with our host families. The hospitality
of Christians and Muslims in America was just as beautiful as
the warmth we regularly experience from Muslims and Christians
in Indonesia.
After 10 weeks together on the road, it’s amazing that
we are still friends! Not just friends, but still growing together
in spirit. During the New York Marathon, Bernie proved that God
really did give him new legs. He ran 26.2 miles or 42 km. in just
over five hours. I ran with him on miles 20, 22, and 25-26 to
support his spirit. Now we’re getting fat on Christmas goodies!
Thanks to all who made pledges and to all who made this trip a
journey we will never forget. We rejoice as all our American family
will gather for Christmas in Berkeley for the first time in many
years. Selamat Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru (Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year).
Farsijana and Bernie Adeney-Risakotta
P.S. Please let us know if you would like to receive a DVD about
our work in Indonesia.
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 129 |
