Yohan
By the grace of the Lord, I followed church visit service in Bandung on March 29-30, 2007. As it had been said before that the group from Malang will meet the group from Surabaya in Sidoarjo at 5.00 am, I (from Surabaya) arrived there at 5.00 a clock. But the bus departed from Malang at 5.00 a clock so I had to wait more than one hour in Sidoarjo (the distance of Malang – Sidoarjo is approximately 60 kilometers).
My suffering was not end because of too many persons in the bus. I could not sit comfortably. I sat on the last chair that it was so difficult to take a rest during the eighteen hours in there. Praise the Lord that He helped me so I did not grumble nor murmur because of that matter.
Then I arrived at the dormitory of army where we could stay in Bandung. It was different with my imagination because there was no AC and the bed was not comfortable at all so I feel the pain and fatigue in my body even headache came because I could not sleep comfortably.
During the service, the word was about the shadow of God’s wings. The second service was t the dove’s wings, heart, eyes, and sound. About the eyes of dove, I was taught to see the Lord only although in sufferings and about the sound of dove, I was taught not to grumble but worship the Lord although in sufferings too. This word touched my heart deeply and it became stronger because of the testimony of Rev. Ade Manuhutu who had not murmured when he had been slandered by his neighbor. Instead of murmuring, he gave thanks to God and forgave his neighbor. I was very glad with all I had experienced during my uncomfortable journey. Hearing the testimony of Rev. Ade Manuhutu and Rev. Widjaja Hendra, I realized that what I had experienced was nothing if it was compared to what they had undergone even if it was compared to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
On my way home, I thought it will be comfortable because some persons did not go back to Malang by bus but I was wrong. I still was at the uncomfortable chair. Nevertheless, the word that I had heard strengthened me much more that I had to keep my mouth not grumbling because of such problems. The Lord kept helping me until I arrived at Surabaya although I was very tired. That experience made me understand that following the Lord indeed needs sacrifice. God bless us.