(* Name changed) Klik disini untuk baca dalam Bahasa Indonesia.
First, I am thankful to the Lord for bringing me to this place, for giving me the experience of serving here. When I first heard the team leaders share via Zoom, I felt moved and wanted to learn more about slum ministry. I contacted my friend who also seemed interested, and we decided we would love to do an internship here. I am not sure exactly why, but from the moment I heard about this type of work, I was very interested.
Fears transformed to peace
The first day that I stayed in the slum, I must admit I was filled with worries and fear. The house I was staying in (with a Servants teammate) was a bit far from the team mentor, and at night to get home the road seemed pretty dark and scary. Scared that I might get killed, or robbed, or kidnapped. I thought that in this neighborhood there were lots of people who looked scary: people using drugs, guys dressed in goth clothes, youth who spent lots of times on the streets, etc… But I realized that my ugly thinking was in fact wrong. I realized that fearing people who look scary on the outside keeps us from getting closer and building a relationship with them. The longer I was in the neighborhood, I became more comfortable and was not scared anymore.
My mentor during my time here told me that many children in this neighborhood are hungry for attention, not receiving enough from their parents. Because of this, I was very happy to interact with children here. I felt comfortable relating with them, and suddenly felt like I had a new family. I felt like the kids in this neighborhood became my own little brothers and sisters. I felt peace when I was in the community, especially when I was with children—even though sometimes the kids would make me tired or annoyed—I continued to feel peace and joy.
Hearing about disappointments
My mentor also often invited me to go along to visit other parts of the slum community. At first, she took us with her until we were comfortable and knew people in the community. After that, we could do visits on our own. I was happy that I could get to know people in the neighborhood. One time, I was surprised when a woman I was talking to said she was disappointed with Christians. Disappointed with Christians who give out free food to the poor but do not actually care about the reality of life for those struggling with poverty. “They only give out free food, but do not know us or have a relationship with us.”
I learned from this, that being in the neighborhood and interacting with people was so important—more important than just giving out free stuff. If we talk to people struggling with poverty, we learn that friends here actually are happy to be listened to and feel like someone cares about them. And we can pray for the things they are struggling with.
Praying for strength and joy
It was also a valuable experience for me to help friends who work as scavengers to sort through their recycling. To be honest, at first it seemed like disgusting work. I saw maggots in the recycling, and I was scared about what else I might find in the pile of trash. But I prayed to the Lord to give me the strength to continue and to have joy in while helping my new friends. I am very grateful to be here and to learn so many things from my friends in the neighborhood and my mentors here. Thank you for listening to my story. God bless you.
Is the Holy Spirit prompting you to also experience this transformation? Read more about doing an internship with a team in Asia here.
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