Local church welcomes Indonesia missionaries

Members of First Presbyterian Church were invited to a bit of fellowship last week, meeting with two missionaries operating in Indonesia for the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA)

Coming from one archipelagic nation all the way to the Alexander Archipelago, on Aug. 4 and 5 Bernie and Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta made Wrangell a stop on their three-month interpretation assignment for PCUSA. The two visited Anan Wildlife Observatory and were treated to some local hospitality during their brief stay.

Speaking last Thursday, the couple described the country they call home. The Adeney-Risakottas are based out of Yogyakarta, a large city on the island of Java, where about half of the country's population lives. There Farsijana does work as a scholar and anthropologist, while Bernie is a professor of social ethics, social theory and philosophy at several universities.

Working with local churches on behalf of the PCUSA, both Adeney-Risakottas are mission coworkers on an outreach ministry. This ministry has three priorities: to share the Gospel message, help people escape poverty, and to foster reconciliation and peace.

With 250 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country on Earth, and has a larger Muslim population than the Levant and Arabian Peninsula. About 10 percent of the country's people are Christian, the majority of whom are Protestant of the Reformed Calvinist persuasion, stemming from the country's past colonization by the Netherlands.

The country is constitutionally secular, and Bernie explained the country's Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and people of other faiths live in relative harmony. Despite Indonesia's 87-percent Muslim majority, he said the culture is rather cosmopolitan and has so far resisted attempts to formally be Islamicized by religious conservatives. In this open environment, Bernie felt the country offered a different model for Christian evangelism in the Muslim world, which in a number of other countries has to go underground to circumvent laws against apostasy and blasphemy.

The Adeney-Risakottas explained their mission abroad has been guided by a non-confrontational approach rather than more direct proselytizing. The couple works in Javan communities on a variety of projects, supporting the island's growing number of churches, but also helping start a credit cooperative, and addressing ecological and women's empowerment issues. Their approach of mutual respect with their Muslim neighbors extends to their own lifestyles, even keeping their pantry stocked with food acceptable to Islamic dietary restrictions.

"Loving your brother or sister is much more important than what you eat," Bernie said, pointing out Paul's message to that effect in 1 Corinthians 8:13.

"Without that, you cannot have a good conversation," Farsijana added.

"We don't have to agree in order to respect," Bernie continued. "We are open about our faith. We just share from our heart and they share from their heart."

Farsijana told a story about the local mosque, whose congregants would meet evenings during the month of Ramadan to eat after each day's fast. Its cleric and his wife would every day prepare food for around 150 people, though they themselves had also been fasting since sunup. Farsijana was impressed by the couple's commitment to their congregation, and suggested to her husband they do something to help out.

In the retelling, Bernie admitted he initially had to overcome some reservations with the idea of a Christian missionary helping out a Muslim mosque, but found he lacked a sufficient response to his wife's question of "Why not?" The Adeney-Risakottas arranged for the delivery of 150 pounds of rice and approached the local imam with the intention of presenting a small donation to pay for other food items.

As it happened, Farsijana said the cleric was himself looking for them to ask for assistance as they had run out of rice, itself an embarrassing situation due to their religious differences. She said he was surprised then by the missionaries' sudden show of generosity.

"He was so shocked," she recounted. "And he said, 'How did you know?' And I said, 'The Holy Spirit told us.'"

Farsijana went on to explain the situation had provided the couple an opportunity to witness for their faith by being good neighbors, as have many other instances during their 25-year ministry in Indonesia.

"It takes time for people to open," she said. "You can only talk to people after you do something with them."

In turn, the local Muslim community has helped their Christian neighbors with different projects.

"They come and help build churches. This is a common thing," Bernie said.

As a foreigner, he added it was a humbling experience to see firsthand such generosity and goodwill. He added that, for their part, it was eye-opening for the Indonesian villagers to see two highly educated professionals help them with construction projects and laborious tasks.

After one such instance, Bernie said he was approached by one community member, who told him "You're a Muslim." He replied that he was not, being a Christian, to which the person explained he meant Muslim in its literal sense, meaning "one who submits himself to God."

"It was very moving for me," Bernie said.

After dinner and their presentation, the Adeney-Risakottas fielded questions members of First Presbyterian had about their work, the country, and about Islam. Lay pastor Nettie Covalt was pleased with the evening's presentation, and was appreciative of the missionaries' message.

"It's been especially good at this time, because of all the controversy about Muslims," she said. Despite anxieties about domestic terrorism and sectarian violence abroad, Covalt said it was important for people to remember neighborliness and brotherly love, and not to castigate others because they belong to a particular faith.

For those interested in learning more about the Adeney-Risakottas, their Indonesian ministry and various efforts, visit http://www.pcusa.org/bernie-and-farsijana-adeney-risakotta.