Friday Update - Paul Busk, U.S. Consultant

Jakarta, Indonesia
September 29, 2006

Friday was a big day. The half-way point of any undertaking is a meaningful time. On one hand, we look back and are amazed at how far we have come; on the other hand, we begin to think about how much effort it took to get to this point and we’re confronted by the realization that we have at least as much effort ahead of us to complete the task.

As I stop to reflect at the half-way point of our two week venture here in Jakarta, I am thrilled with the progress we have made thus far. We have covered 5 of the 10 major sections of the consultation – also known as the 10 P’s. So far, we covered Purpose, Product, Presence, Positioning and People. In addition to this work on repurposing business, we also spent time on transforming society for Jesus Christ. We asked our Indonesian clients to list the “giants” that stand in the way of transformation. The list is sobering. It includes issues such as corruption, lack of education, hopelessness, injustice, and terrorism. Perhaps the most significant “giant” that was listed was “no fear of God.”

While the exercise of identifying the giants was sobering, the willingness of our clients to commit their resources to battle these giants was both encouraging and convicting. The highlight of the day for me was the commitment walk. Each “giant” issue was written on a separate sheet of paper and posted on the wall of the conference room. The clients then walked the room and wrote down on specific posters the actions they would take and the resources they would commit toward overcoming each giant. As I observed these commitments being made, I was moved by the level of faith and obedience that enabled these brothers and sisters in Christ to make such bold commitments toward overcoming seemingly unfixable problems. I was also reminded of the proverb that “Man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps”. As I watched these incredible plans being made to fell these giants, I was reminded to pray that the Lord would direct each client’s steps toward bringing it about so that we would be able to witness Indonesia transformed in the name of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.

My primary client, Yayang, is a distributor of car tires and rims. He employs about 70 people in his business. He is a new believer, having come to Christ about nine months ago. It is such a thrill for me to work with Yayang and to see him thinking through ways that he can use his business to impact peoples lives for Christ. Since coming to Christ, he has changed the way he markets to his customers and instead has committed his resources to enabling his employees to attend marriage conferences. He is currently working on a marketing presence strategy of establishing a reputation for complete honesty in his business dealings. Please pray for Yayang that the Lord would bless his plans and use him His glory.