The familiar sound echoes through our room and our village. It’s nothing to be desired—the ringing of the gongs usually indicates that someone in our village has just passed away.
The piercing resonance of the gong is only the beginning of what will be weeks of rituals and ceremonies, concluding in an elaborate burial.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:21)
Over the next weeks of burial preparations, an exorbitant amount of money will be poured into the purchase of horses, cows, pigs, coffee, and traditional betel nuts. All of these are deemed necessary and important to bury a loved one with respect and dignity.
These aren’t just cultural traditions. They are an accumulation of beliefs that have been refined over the years to appease the gods and atone for the deceased’s sins—all in the hope that he or she will be ushered into heaven.
In our animistic village, these traditions and rituals are considered most important above all else. They are more important than the church, more important than education, more important than everything. It’s as if our village is held captive to its own culture.
Where we prioritize our finances indicates our values.
When someone is sick, needing hospital treatment or life-saving medical intervention, it seems no one can afford it or has the money to pay the hospital bills. But when someone dies, the money flows. If you know Jesus, this makes no sense. Why go into generational debt and exhaust every resource you have for the burial of someone who is no longer here? But here on our island, this is the most important thing: to advocate for and atone for one’s soul after death.
Living here as a believer in Jesus is not easy, but each day as I interact with our village, I’m reminded of the captivity they live in—dependent on and fully gripped by the fear of doing the wrong thing, engaging in a ritual incorrectly, or displeasing their gods. The enemy has fully taken hostage this island through rituals, animism, and false beliefs that have captivated these people in an endless cycle of traditions and mandatory practices that not only impoverish them but ultimately prohibit them from advancing.
Thank you for your prayers and support of us and our ministry here. While we have seen incredible progress and fruit from our network of Christian schools, we covet your prayers as we are deeply burdened for the village we live in and their captivity to animistic practices.
Sticks, stones, thrown away water bottles, old toothbrushes, bottle caps. Little things, all garbage to me. But for our 1 year old Ezra, these things are fascinating, amazing, and open up a new world that he’s never known before. I’m in awe of him, each day living with such excitement and gusto to learn about the world around him. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching him during this stage, newly walking, excited to go everywhere and anywhere and see new things. Ezra’s hobbies include walking around (himself of course), rolling around in the sand, and feeding the chickens and pigs. During our walks, he often stops to pick up something on the ground that I hadn’t even noticed, a small piece of bamboo, a piece of trash, or a little rock. It’s all amazing to him.
Ezra joins the Indonesian Flag Ceremony for Heroes Day
Christmas Cookie Decorating
Watching Ezra live with awe and excitement for every piece of trash and thing he meets reminds me of the incredible moments and blessings that surround me each day, that over time I have come to take for granted. I realized too, that dozens of kids run around my neighborhood each day, never having the opportunity to experience so many things that we in the west take for granted. What experiences have they never had? What stories of Jesus have they never heard?
During this past Christmas season we invited kids from around our neighborhood to come to our home and hear the Christmas story while decorating Christmas cookies and doing Christmas crafts. It was incredible to watch these kids engage with such enthusiasm in something they had never done before (even a few adults joined in)! We thank God for each of them, and are so thankful to have the opportunity to serve them.
In this new year, our family has taken on a few new small ministries beyond the school building and community development that we were already doing. In November, Faith restarted mentoring 2 female teachers from our school. Erdy has been working with a village to help them build an outdoor sporting court with bamboo. Additionally, this past month we started weekly Bible crafts with the kids in our neighborhood, and a monthly small group gathering of about 20 teachers from our school. And as soon as our bookshelf arrives (still on order), we will open our reading nook in the front room of our home.
Erdy’s project to build a bamboo sport court in a villageFaith teaching coding to 3rd graders in our school
Ezra’s Corner
Hiiii it’s me! Did my Mama already tell you about me? I’m already 1 year and 4 months old now. I loooove talking and walking and singing. Every day I ask Mama to play music. Sometimes I get confused because my Mama and Papa use different words for the same thing. Is it a pig? Or babi? I don’t know, but I do my best to remember all the words!! My favorite word is bath, because when I say it enough times, Mama and Papa put me in a big bucket and I get to splash around! Every afternoon I help my Papa feed the cow and help my grandma feed the chicken and pigs. Then I love to run around and eat and run around and sing songs and dance! My favorite thing is when my Papa says nennnngggggg and I get to ride on the motorcycle with him. Oh and did I mention books?? I love book so so much, especially the ones my Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop in America sent me! The pictures are so funny. And guess what!! Now that I’m so big, Mama brings me to school sometimes!!! I love going to school with Mama, I have so many friends there.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
We praise God for new life and new beginnings. In September, we were thrilled to welcome a baby boy into the world. Ezra Bastian Ranja Nggili was born September 1, 2021, weighing 6 lbs 6oz, healthy and happy. These past several months have been a huge transition for us, but have been filled with laughs, joy, and sweet moments.
Our family thanks you for your patience with us as we have made this transition and have slowed down on communications. We look forward to increased communication in the months to come.
Chapel with our Elementary School Grades 1-3
Here on our little island, we have had the joy to continue to invest in and grow education. Faith’s role is leading our new Elementary School which is currently grades 1-3, implementing a mixture of western and Indonesian curriculum while working with local teachers to shape and guide children’s character. We will add grade 4 this July.
Our school has 16 “offspring” schools, which are smaller startup schools in villages where kids at this time don’t yet have access to education. This year, we are adding another 10 startup village schools. Faith’s role will continue to be leading our elementary school, and mentoring and training teachers from the village schools.
Weekly Science Experiment with the neighborhood kids.
Erdy continues to work for a local company that brings solar lamp solutions to villages without electricity. He has recently transferred to the bamboo division where he helps villagers who grow bamboo in their villages to trade their bamboo in exchange for a solar lamp.
We are excited for rainy season which has recently started. A few weeks ago, we visited some extended family in a village and helped plant rice. It was a fantastic community event and we look forward to returning for the harvest in a few weeks.
Erdy and Ezra enjoy a meal with some extended family after planting rice.
Erdy looking over the rice field
We continually keep all of you in our prayer and are so grateful for the many prayers, messages, and love you have sent us in the recent months. The new is here! God is faithful.
Ezra’s Corner
Hi! I’m Ezra. This is my corner in Mama and Papa’s newsletter. I’m already 5 months old and growing so fast! Mama keeps telling me to stop growing up so fast but I don’t listen to her. I looooove drinking Mama’s milk, can you see by my chubby cheeks? I’ve recently been sitting up and I love going on walks with Mama and Papa. Sometimes they call me “Mr. Bored” because I don’t like to sit around in one place for too long. I also like to wake up way way early in the morning and talk and talk and chatter until my Mama and Papa wake up.
My afternoon walks with the neighborhood kids.
One of my favorite things to do is feed the chickens with Papa. But I don’t like it when people sneeze to close to me, it scares me! I can’t wait for March…because in March I get to taste real food! Hmmm I see all these people putting food in their mouths…I wonder what it tastes like.
I’m so blessed by so many cousins, grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles who hold me all the time.
Feeding the chickens with my Papa
Feeding the chickens with my PapaVisiting my Grandpa’s peanut farm!I loveee sleeping and dreaming about Mama’s milk
That’s how many seconds each of us are gifted every single day. Sometimes they seem to go by so fast, like when I’m having a great conversation, eating a yummy meal, or laughing with my second graders. But sometimes these seconds can feel so slow, when I’m sitting still at a long seminar or can’t fall asleep at night.
I’ve been learning that these seconds are so valuable. Since I first arrived in Indonesia, there have been many moments while riding my motorbike through the city or the villages, I catch a glance of something or someone so interesting, so fascinating. These moments pull at my heart strings. It’s just a second, but these seconds are filled with information and meaning, pushing me to grow. A child carrying water from the river. A mom with 5 kids loaded onto her motorbike. A child running through the village with his friends
These seconds are so powerful.
Marcus Aurelius said, “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
86,400 opportunities every day, to be the best, most God-fearing individuals we can be. Let’s be better.
This concept has caused me to reflect on the amazing children of this country. Check out my recent video “The Power of a Second” to take a dive into the lives of Indonesian children for just 60 of these valuable seconds.
