A Living Visual Aid (2)

She did not teach us such a big complicated thing but simple, just as simple as she lived. She always wore the same type of loose dress which she made herself. But she always had a fresh looking with the fresh colour and design of her dress, also her short cut grey hair. She enjoyed our Indonesian food, and I never forget how she licked her fingers when she ate the famous Valencia oranges from Batu.

She was very happy when in 1980 I went to Bible College and took Christian Education as my major. But when our government wouldn’t renew her visa and work permit she had to move to another province. She took her loyal house helper and dog with her. Although we all missed her a lot, we rejoiced that God allowed her to serve in Magelang, Central Java.

Sometimes we saw her again when we invited her to lead a Vacation Bible School in our church. In Magelang, she served from 1980 in the same denomination as in Malang and become an elder of the church until she could no longer get a visa in 1989. I realised how we had missed her big, heartwarming smile and the simplicity that encouraged us to be humble Sunday school teachers. She did not look beautiful physically but the beauty of her heart shined through and made her very special.

This lady is an Australian but she grew-up in South Africa while her parents were working there as missionaries.  So when she had to leave Indonesia, she chose to go to South Africa and lived there. But since then she has come to visit her friends in Malang and especially her old house helper in Magelang two times. And she continued to send money to her faithful house helper, who has since come to faith in Jesus. Unfortunately her old house helper has passed away sometime ago.

She never knew that I have been transferring what she taught me thirty years ago to every Sunday school teacher who attended the Sunday school teachers’ training and workshops. And I have been doing this in Java for almost twenty five years. I applied her lessens to every child who attended children’s revival meetings, vacation Bible schools and camps, whether in churches or schools. My sister has been doing the same in Sydney, Australia. Both of us have been using her Sunday School Teachers’ Workshop handout as our main module.

It is very sad that I lost contact with her. I wish I could tell her how much impact that she has given to my life. I wish I could let her know that the Lord gave me a special vision and mission to serve my own people and country since the government stopped issuing visas to missionaries. The Lord called and sent Miss Beryl Nelson Eksteen as an OMF missionary to serve and love Indonesian people, until she couldn’t get another visa. I don’t need a visa to stay in my own country, so I have to continue her labors in the same field.

She always used simple visual aids she made herself to teach us and help us concretely understand her teaching. She is a living visual aid made by the Lord to teach us of the beauty of Jesus, to make us remember deep in our hearts that Jesus loves the little children – all the children of the world.

I hope that I still have the opportunity to let her know what the Lord has been doing through her loving labor in Indonesia. She will always be a very special model in my heart.

🙂 eva kristiaman

A Living Visual Aid

The tall lady steps out of her small car. All the children and Sunday school teachers including me welcome her. “Selamat Pagi!” She says good morning to everyone in our own language with a big lovely smile and shakes our hands warmly.

The joy of the Lord is glowing on her face, even twinkling from her big blue eyes. She starts her two days of children’s meetings with a short, simple song written on a piece of cardboard with pictures. She reads it clearly, and explains the meaning of every sentence and picture.  The children sing joyfully and then join her short prayer sentence by sentence using very simple language.

We are all ears while she is telling us her story, except for Hendri. He is running all over the room during the first session. As usual, none of the Sunday school teachers can handle the restless bundle. But our lady continues teaching, serene and smiling. At tea time, she approaches Hendri, takes him in her arms and gives this five-year-old boy a big hug with all the warmth of Christ’ love she has. We are amazed and impressed, all the more because, for the first time, Hendri sits quietly for the following sessions. He even joins in whatever the lady asks the children to do.

That moment impacted the rest of my life. It was in 1976. I was sixteen years old at that time. My mother, my younger sister, my elder brother and I were Sunday school teachers in a small village church, Indonesian Presbyterian Church, located in the beautiful hills of Batu, eighteen kilometers from her working base in Malang, East Java.

Every word she has taught me in the Sunday school teachers’ workshop is so true.  She gives me a clear example of how the Living Word lives in her and enables her to bring the Living Word to living children. I understand what she is telling us: every teacher is a living visual aid for the children.

I experience the truth of her words every time I put what she has taught me in practice. “Every time you teach, you are learning.” “When you have to tell a difficult story, you have to pray a lot; but, when you have to tell an easy story that you’ve learned by heart, you have to pray more.”

🙂 eva kristiaman

to be continued…

Vision>Mission>Goals

VISION > MISSION > GOALS > PLAN > PREPARATION > ACTION > EVALUATION > FOLLOW-UP > GROWTH >

VISION

What I see in the future by faith

They are godly future leaders for the world.

MISSION

I carry out the insight here and now

What a privilege! Curently I am taking part in preparing godly future leaders for the world.

GOALS

With clear and simple directions

•   Getting to know God and His Word better and closer.
•    Transferring the biblical values I have learnt to every future leader in my class.
•    To watch my life = my teaching, vice versa. 1 Timothy 4:16

PLAN

And mapping the steps I will take, a future path

•    Knowing God and His truth, daily
•    Praying and getting to know every one in my class
•    A weekly teaching preparation
•    Put what I have learnt in to practice, daily

PREPARATION

And get ready for the next journey

•    Knowing God and His truth, daily
o    Make a journal
o    Listen to Him attentively

•    Praying and getting to know every one in my class
o    Praying for every one at least once a week
o    Chat with them and their parents

•    A weekly teaching preparation
o    Tuesdays for the story and ideas for craft
o    Preparing for craft, photo copying.
o    Checking all on Saturdays

•   Put what I have learnt in to practice, daily

ACTION

Get started and enjoying the journey following the direction on the map, well planned, well prepared, keep going whatever it takes, and ready for any surprise on the way.

•    Coming to class at least 15 minutes earlier
•    Preparing the class
•    Welcoming the children
•    Packing away and cleaning the room

EVALUATION

Check it out: Are you still in the right track? What improvements you can make for the next step? Asking for feedback, take and keep the healthy one.

Keep going, learn from what has happened, moving on with a better understanding.

FOLLOW-UP

Re-focusing, put it in a plan, and proceed it. Make it works best.

GROWTH

It will take root, growing and bear fruit in its season.

•   Do not bore! … if you have to plant, plant, and plant…
•   Do not weary! … if you have to water, water, and water…
•   Do not boast !… if you reap, reap, and reap…
1 Corinthians 3:5-11 (New Living Translation)
5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

🙂 eva kristiaman

Church of Hope

Welcome!
Welcome to the Church of Hope!
The Head of this Church is Jesus Christ, and he is the founder of this church.
This is an international church.
The members of this church are godly future leaders of every nation in the world, and yes, they are children.
Children?! Yes, children, and this is the true story:

Mark 10: 13-16

“Come! Come! Hurry up! We are going to see Jesus!”
Says Moms and Daddies to their children.
“Hurray, we are going to see Jesus!”
“Yes!” says Moms and Daddies to their children,
“So Jesus can touch and bless you!”
“Look! Jesus is over there!” They come to Jesus,
But, “No, No, No!” says Jesus’ friends who follow Jesus,
“Jesus is very tired!”

“No. No, No!” says Jesus, “Let the children come to me!”
“You have to learn from this little children:
They come to God and trust Him!” says Jesus to his friends.
Moms and Daddies bring their children to Jesus.
Jesus gives them a very, very big hug, and puts his hand on them.

Moms and Daddies have a very, very big smile in their face.
They are very happy, Jesus loves their children,
Jesus touch and bless their children.

Jesus loves every children in the world!
No matter what the colour of your skin is,
Brown, yellow, black or white,
You are so precious in His sight!

🙂 eva kristiaman