Unstructured Day 4

It was a beautiful and glorious day in Jakarta. The consultants were free to work on their final documents today and if those were accounted for, it was PLAY TIME! Many went shopping and some just hung out and relaxed. Most consultants have eaten enough in the last weeks to sustain for a month, but there are a few who can continue to take advantage of the endless opportunities to munch away. We really will be at least 5 pounds “fuller” when we arrive home!

Dena and Michael went to the Jakarta Revival meeting, while the bulk of us stayed in to work and had our worship in the team meeting room. Worship in Jakarta has a totally different “flavor” than it does in our usual places of praise. Without failure, the ritualistic prayer of the Muslim culture is played over loudspeakers at about the same time we gather to pray. So tonight we decided to go out on the balcony and sing our praises to the whole city…it was incredible. If you can imagine 10 fully grown adult praising in their best “shower voices”, with arms outstretched and huge smiles, then you can imagine us!

To wrap up the day’s activities we ordered take out food, put our feet up and dug our heels into the deliverables once again. Tomorrow is final presentation day , which means we are wrapping up with our clients. It is sad in many ways that we have to say good bye to the friends that we have made, but we have lifetime friendships to look forward to. God provides a sturdy foundation on which bonds can form in ways that we couldn’t have imagined. Praise the Lord!

Verity

Many readers may want to know, what exactly is a visioning session? This question was also asked by the clients when they found out that they would soon be taking part in one! It was explained as a time set aside with the leader s of the venture to stretch the vision that the clients have of their business to the vision according to what God may have for the business. What a time of stretching it was..

Prior to the visioning session each client had about 30 minutes with an intercessor. Praise the Lord! We are blessed to have Dena Andrews on the intercessor team this venture dedicated to praying for the clients and team members, and she was also instrumental in the prayer sessions. She initiated worship time either before or after the prayer to allow the clients to “soak” in God’s glory. It was such an awesome time of praise and worship for the clients together with their consultants, concentrating on connecting with the heart of our Father in Heaven.

My client was given specific scriptures in their prayer sessions, revealing 1 Corinthians 13:2 and 2 Corinthians 9:11. It is always a very moving time when the intercessors pull a piece of scripture meant especially for the person they are praying for, it is truly receiving Gods voice in your life. It reminded my clients that God knows exactly their situation in life at that very moment.

My client was again encouraged during the visioning session with Dr. Suparno and Rebecca. They were again reminded of the endless possibilities and resources that God so faithfully provides. They were especially encouraged by the knowledge that God had provided for them by placing His vision in their hearts to reach the nations through education.

Felly

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Planning, Partnering and Profit done God’s way.

Errol reopened the topics that we had begun on Friday, beginning with identifying the GIANTS that threaten local society. Soon we had a list of over 25 , then voted to determine the most dominant giants such as corruption, poverty, injustice, and lack of education.

 One of rep’s main aims is for repurposed businesses to transform society. In essence each business should target one or more of the GIANTS, relying on GOD’s power to work through them to begin the process of destroying the Giant. This is where faith in action can change a nation!

This picture shows the effects of a “giant” lurking along the river - Poverty.

The following shows a popular type of eaterie!

And how about Francois’ enjoyment of a well presented delicacy?

During a very busy day of training, Teju painlessly took us through the principles of PLANNING, then Errol dealt with PARTNERING. We watched a video clip of Team Hoyt, a very inspiring documentary which gives a whole new significance to the concept of partnering. No matter how many times I have watched this video it reduces me to tears. Not only me but others too, judging by Nathan’s offering tissues in advance!

One of the highlights of the weekend for me was seeing my clients from a previous rep venture. It was so good to share with each other again and to have the priviledge of praying together. Talking of prayer: please pray urgently for Dena to recover quickly from her laryngitis and fever, as she is knocked horizontal, and she is needed as our key intercessor at Tuesday’s Prayer and Visioning session.

We commit this important day expectantly to hearing from God as each business leader seeks His will.

One of the highlights of my trip (so far) was attending an event that Lyn Johnson spoke at, and having the privilege to pray with some of the women that attended.

They came up for prayer with such open hearts and I was so overwhelmed with such love and compassion for them, that it felt like I had stepped in on a private, intimate conversation God was having with them.

It was a completely humbling experience and I was just as touched as the person I was praying with!

-Teju

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday was packed with varied experiences, locations and events. All of us went to churches – but in batches of two’s and three’s all over Jakarta – some English speaking, most not! Then it was off to shopping, a James Bond film, pedicures, massages, rest and/or lunch. We all reconvened in the evening for dinner at a lovely restaurant just two doors down from our hotel…they had all my Indonesian favorites…satay with peanut sauce, fried banana, red rice, veggies in a light curry sauce, fish with fruit (oh my mouth is watering).

On a more serious note it has been fun for me to listen to the consultants talk about their clients and the “secret things” that they have in common that no one (but God) would have known when they were matched initially. My favorite is one of our girls is matched with a company that builds clinics and hospitals; unbeknownst to her they have a charitable arm that builds schools and housing for orphaned children. Guess what her heart lies – yep, you guessed it, children! She has had so much fun visiting and playing with the kids. Another of our girls is matched with a restaurant owner who not only has the same physical maladies (they order the same medicines) but their family situations are similar. A different consultant and her client both have hearts that tend toward mercy. One of our guys is paired with a couple who own a restaurant – their marriage has been ministered to powerfully through him. Lastly, one of the consultants was given a word several years ago and has been awaiting its fruition…his clients are part of the answer. I can’t tell you how excited he is to see God moving – he is actually infectious with his joy!

We start the second, and final, week tomorrow. The first week has been exciting and very fulfilling. I anticipate great things for the days ahead!

- Dena Andrews

The picture below highlights one of the consultants talking about how God has influenced his career. The congregation was amazed that even rocket scientists rely on Him for their day to day business.