Wanted: Prayer for Indonesia

This is just a quick update to ask you to continually be in prayer for Indonesia.
As most of you know (if you watch the news), Indonesia has been hit with a lot of devastation in the past year. I am doing well, so please do not be concerned for me. I take all proper safety precautions, but do not feel at risk at all. I know that God has called me to Indonesia and nothing will happen to me outside His will. With that said, there are many things that we can all be praying about regarding this great country. Please join me in prayer for Indonesia!

Here are some specific concerns to pray about:

1. Bali: Once again Bali has been bombed by extremist groups. Although there were 3 separate explosions, the casulties are much fewer this time. However there are still many families mourning their loss and an island whose economy relies on tourism that once again has to face the set back of a terrorist attack. Thankfully all the SPH teachers vacationing in Bali (about 1/4 of our Expat staff!) are safe and away from harm's way: praise God! Please pray for the Balinese people as the work hard to recover from yet another set back. Also, as a predominantly Hindu island we can pray that God will meet their needs and reveal Himself to them in a real way.

2. Gas prices/Protesting: On October 1, 2005 Indonesian gas prices were raised 80-120%!!! This increase has come from the overall raise in oil prices, but also because the government has removed a large subsidy from the price of gas. There have been large protests in Jakarta, which have been rather peaceful, albeit vocal in the past week. Please pray that these protests will not escalate into riots (as per 1998 when a lot of damage was done). Pray for the president (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) who is the first real democratically elected president, as he leads this country (4th largest in the world!) through some tough times. Pray for the Indonesians who are most greatly affected: those living far below the poverty line who cannot afford to pay the new gas price.

3. Bird Flu: There have been a small number of deaths from bird flu in the past year, but WHO and the UN fear a pandemic across South East Asia. These organizations have been very pro-active in trying to prevent this from happening, but many people here do not really understand the ramifications of this problem. Pray that people can be educated to help stop the spread of bird flu and that this outbreak can be successfully stopped before it becomes a pandemic.

4. Polio: There has been a recent outbreak of polio in areas of Indonesia. There are health workers from the World Health Organization working here as polio is entirely preventable, but many people are afraid of the medicine and do not realise that these doctors can save their lives. Pray that people will allow the doctors to vaccinate them and treat them before a large scale polio outbreak occurs.

5. Aceh: Tsunami relief continues as people try to get their lives back to normal, but there is still so much to be done. I leave in a few hours for Aceh where I will work along side the people of Aceh for 5 days helping to build homes with Habitat for Humanity, paint a new community centre and play with children. Pray for me and my team (8 others) as we reach out to help these people. Pray for safe travel (Oct. 3-7), for health, that we can bless these people and be salt and light to their world. Pray that other people will continue to volunteer their time to Aceh. Pray for the Achenese people as they have started their month of fasting (Ramadan) that they will see the face of Jesus as they seek Allah. Pray for our group as we are amoung the first foreigners for many years to be in Aceh during Ramadan, as foreigners were not allowed in Aceh before the tsunami hit. Pray that the doors to Aceh will remain open for years to come.