There were amazing stories of miracles and breakthroughs that came through the one hour prayer and visioning sessions with each client. Stella’s client was so touched by the Holy Spirit and was ministered to for about 10 minutes before he began his presentation. Other clients made a commitment not to participate with the giants that rule the territory, such as corruption and bribery.
There were other clients that saw expansion in the spirit and received new visions for their businesses. The consultants are all well again and we feel united and happy. There is a wonderful time of togetherness and we shared many laughs.
Jakarta for me will be memorable. I saw a slice of what the Kingdom of Heaven will look like when its come to interaction with people. We all got down to a sense of reality, there was no façade, pretense or masking, we shared deep truths and were able to stand with one another with love and compassion and not condemnation and guilt. God had taken us all to a new level of faith in Him, both clients and consultants and there was a new level of trust in Him released.
I fly out of Indonesia today at 4pm and would like to relay a message to all my fellow soldiers in Christ, during my time in Jakarta; it was great serving with you. You have touched my life with blessing and love and I take away so much more than I came with.
Jessica Pillay (Jersey Girl)
]]>We had a great discussion about implementation and Bob delivered a touching message about the power released when you commit your future to the Lord. Then we headed out for dinner and an evening of karoke at the family karoake center at the Plaza Semanggi. Several people chickened out on the singing …embarrassing photos to follow…
John Desvernine
]]>Before I left to my client’s site, Brett reminded me to pass the “Ugly” shirt that he had assigned me to wear on Monday to another member of the team. Fady, who is indeed destined to be a consultant in Jakarta instead of Capetown, had the honor to wear the shirt today.
My client is affiliated with a local church called "Abba Love”. During my visit to their office today, they took me on a tour around the church. It is an amazing community. I would love to see more of this type of church here, in my beloved hometown, Jakarta. The church’s office, Christian school, Christian bookstore, and community center are all located in these 16 Rukos that make a U shape. Rukos stand for “Rumah Toko”. Rumah= House. Toko= Store. Rukos commonly house a store on the first floor and an actual house on the second or third floors.
When I was walking down the hall of the school, I was reminded of the Christian school that I attended and deeply grateful for the works of Christians who had started Christian schools in Indonesia. Many more lives here will be redeemed by the blood of Jesus by simply investing in education here. The great thing about this school is that it’s not in the nicer part of town. Its location allows them to reach the people who need Christ the most. The church is also involved in providing employment for the poorest of the poor by their other ministries in “Clean Water” and “Recycle” Projects. The church also sends missionaries to the unreached people groups in this nation. It is a sweet experience to watch with my own eyes that there is hope in hopeless conditions and situations because our God is a living God.
Another Indonesian lady shared with us before we took off for this trip that if we have dreams for God, then He will also plant that same dream in other peoples’ hearts. And I would end by what my client shared with me today, “ The money spent to build a nice building to house a church will not have the same impact as money being invested in building a Christ centered community. “. Thank you for loving Indonesia.
]]>Our morning devotion appropriately had two themes: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” and “to keep standing in the face of adversary”. It seems as if the devil is unleashing a full attack on the team and clients, so please keep on standing in prayer with us.
Near the end of the day Stella Au was not feeling well (her client also did not pitch). The devil also seems to be sapping the power out of many consultants – they experienced extreme fatigue during and at the end of the day with some wishing they were home. At the de-briefing the consultants really stood and cried out to the Lord in pairs to intervene in our situation.
Our great leader, Brett, did not spare us either – today was a 3-P day – Profit, Planning and Place!
We could see, however, how the Lord is moving mightily in some of our clients’ lives:
There is nothing wrong with God’s ‘Planning’!
The day was lightened with Fady at his best with his presentation of the Tom Hanks’ movie clip for Place! *Jersey-girl? This is none other than Jessica – derived from how her name, as pronounced by Melissa, sounds to the Americans (apologies, I mean to John D)!
As consultant’s we can just rejoice about the ‘Place’ of the Venture and our accommodation – Hotel Santika Jakarta. It is a haven in the buzzing streets and heat of Jakarta and portrays a professional image of equip.
Groetnis (“greetings” in Afrikaans) van Jakarta!
Willem Joubert
]]>God is showing us how He works in Indonesia, it’s a wonderful picture of believers focusing together on God’s Kingdom and moving towards claiming the city and the nation for Him.
Some people on the team are sick, or have a lack of energy. Please pray that God will strengthen each person and that we as a team become a blessing to others.
Fady Eldeiry
]]>We are half way through our structured days. It’s Day 3 of the 5 structured days, but it’s only half a day. Positioning and Partnering were are covered today. The teaching was good. Brett and Bob taught. In addition, Vivian illustrated a positioning example of using local examples; John Desvernine and Michael led the discussions of parables; John Simpson taught partnering and Jenna Marsh introduced the Team Hoyt video. It went smoothly and without any difficulties with the microphones. Thankfully there were no interruptions from the conference room next door today as we had yesterday!!
With some success and it being the midway point, I was concerned that we might lose some momentum but this morning we really pressed in with prayer and I think that helped us have the success that we had today. We are now getting to know our clients better.
We have the afternoon free. Most of us went shopping. Some of us went to batik shopping in Plaza Sarinah. Traffic in Jakarta is bad. On the way to the shopping mall, we saw a bus that ran over some motorcycles and burst into flames. It reminded me how different this place is. The traffic is so amazing. There are 100 or so motorcycles on every road segment, it seems.
We are so blessed today!! One (actually 2 because they are a couple with more than one business) of our clients invited our team to their home for dinner. We were very well fed with delicious home made food and dessert. The clients who invited us have strong faith and they love God and God’s people very much. I am so grateful for their hospitality and generosity – what a blessing!
Tuhan berkati (God Bless) and Terima kasih (Thank you) for your prayers,
Stella Au
]]>I thank God for Brett who has been a great consulting team partner. His experience brought up insights that my clients never thought of before. Boy, you should see their eyes when we are discussing the great possibilities that the Internet can offer their companies. Many ideas started flowing and our client’s own expectations for their company grew to a new level. They have great hearts for God and I sincerely believe that they will be a great asset of the kingdom.
I really thank God that equip came to Indonesia. As our training and venture goes on, it’s amazing to see God in His work. I believe that God has a purpose and is that He is starting to claim his throne back in this country. We had a session to discuss the giants that stand in the way of transformation in Indonesia and we are talking about HUGE giants that the devil has influenced greatly. Ever wonder how to tackle corruption in Indonesia when there is “no corruption” in Indonesia? It’s just lifestyle here. It is encouraging to see that there are a lot of great dreams and strategies in place in the attempt to tackle some of the giants mentioned during the first day of the venture. I pray that God continues to work His wonders in this matter.
We also had great testimonies, miraculous and inspiring testimonies that came from our clients and past clients. There were also several “ahaa” moments for fellow clients. I was deeply inspired.
The day however, didn’t go soooo smoothly. Next to our meeting room got another seminar on alternative and creative communication. They sure are creative! So creative in fact that the noise made the partition between their and our seminar room shake because their activities. Thankfully See Lok went next door to quiet them a fair bit. We also experienced some difficulty with the microphones today.
However, overall the day was a good day. Thank God it’s Friday! God is working in my country. There lots more to do. I mean L-O-T-S more to do. But we are now learning the tools to start. It is a good day.
“Heavenly Abba, loving and gracious. We are all at your feet, our lives and destiny at your hand. Here at equip we dedicate our businesses and our future ventures to you. You are now the boss, so lead us. Nations without dreams and vision will perish. Be our dreams and vision, Lord. For the glory of your Kingdom and our Saviour’s sake, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!”
Pet
I went with my client, Cindy, who is the Programme Director at a pre-school. It’s a small school and there are about 75 children aged 2-6, with 12 teachers. It was funny watching the children trying to figure out who I was and what I was doing there. Myself, Cindy and Tammy (who is a teacher at the school, among other responsibilities) then spent time together just talking about the business, and it was also good to get some input from Tammy, who is unable to be part of the venture. After hearing more about what they do, the skills they teach the children and the way in which they do it, I started thinking that maybe I’m in the wrong profession and that when I get back to SA I should start looking for a job as a pre-school teacher! It just seems so rewarding to be able to impact children at such a young age not only academically, but spiritually too.
The rest of the day is basically free, and later the team will meet for a de-brief, and then hopefully have an early night so we can all be nice and fresh for whatever tomorrow has in store for us. It’s been a wonderful start to the venture and I just feel that God is doing BIG things here in Indonesia and feel so blessed to be a part of it!
Melissa Hendricks
]]>We could see our clients, even on this first day of the venture, being touched, prayed to, encouraged, and repurposed. The part of which that is totally miraculous that the news that a couple of weeks ago we didn’t have any clients signed up for the venture is just seriously unbelievable. God has created divine appointments and took us beyond our expectations (which almost took Bob very near to visiting the new Disneyland!).
There’s a part of the teaching where Brett was sharing to us today about “donkeys and donuts” which really has touched my heart. That God really wants to use our jobs and businesses to be vessels of His glory, so that He could penetrate our societies and use us to impact even to the scale of nations-wide changes. And there was Bob sharing to us from Isaiah 66:8 that God was saying all along to His prophet that these changes could be achieved.
What started today maybe a small step for the businesses in Indonesia, but I believe in my heart that this first step is a momentum where we would in the near future see that there will be hope where there was no hope, there will be walls and barriers struck down, giants that are brought down and conquered by the name of our God working in ordinary people with an extraordinary God, business people that walk in God’s might, their hearts align with what God has in mind.
I pray that God will show us and our clients His way…that we could do what He wants us to do, to become what He wants us to be, to go where He wants us to go. To be about our Father’s business!
Being a part of this great team is like walking in constant downpour of God’s grace and POWER. Our God is so BIG and Marvelous. His plan goes beyond my…our wildest dreams. I never thought that I’d be joining as a consultant. But really God’s plan just cut through all odds and brought me here, and all of us from far away…to do mighty exploits. These things will certainly let all people know that our God, Jesus, is cool!!!
Michael Susanto
]]>After the long trip, we immediately hit the ground running with prayer, planning, and a tentative agenda for the week. We are leaving room for changes so that God can move in our midst. Right after the briefing, we went to a huge mall for Chinese food. Some of us from the US loved the Avocado juice!
The country is nicer that we expected; the people sure love motorcycles. It is a place where nice and courteous people everywhere and they sure make room for each other in a very congested traffic!
We sense a place full with God’s blessing despite of the darkness. Isaiah 25:3-6 came to our mind:
Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine- the best of meats and the finest of wines.
Thank you all for your prayers. It is making a huge difference in our trip and how quickly we adjusted ourselves with the jet lag and the long trip.
Mui Yong
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