Travails and Blessings

A Letter from Don Choi in the U.S., returning to service in Indonesia

June 23, 2015

Dear friends and family,

Greetings! We rejoice in being able to write to you again.

We’re now into the seventh month of deployment. The last three months have brought some more definition of what the ‘call’ behind our ‘tasks’ may be. We want to share with you the whole gamut of our experiences so far. Here we go.

Presently we find ourselves back in California. One reason is that we were required to come away from Indonesia (because the maximum period of uninterrupted stay is six months for holders of social/cultural visas, which is still our case). On our second week here we went again to the Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles and received a visa for another six-month stay. We plan to head back to Yogyakarta in early August. We also have high hopes that our permanent visa (the one that allows us to live and work in Indonesia)—which is in process—will come before this six-month extension expires. The other reason is that we were homesick and wanted to see our children (and we wanted to be here to celebrate the 90th birthday of Sook’s mother). So we created this elaborate schedule that melds work and vacation. And what we had to forego because of this was a wonderful summer opportunity to live and work with students and staff of the university in a remote island in Indonesia to ‘learn through service.’ Maybe next year!

Don participating in the ‘Professional Ethics for Information Technology’ class at UKDW (taught by Prof. Wimmie).

Our travails related to acclimatizing to the local weather continue to perplex and frustrate us. Sook developed rashes on her face, which the doctor explained was due to the combination of heat and humidity and treated with a laser treatment and a cream. She also experienced dizziness and faintness, which after a string of negative tests were attributed to stress. She also had a Dengue fever ‘scare’ that turned out to be a common cold. I was ‘traumatized’ by an accident in which a motorcyclist hit us. Sook and I felt paralyzed for a few moments. The young man just stood up, looked at us and then continued on his way, leaving a dent on the side of the car. We do not know whether he was hurt. After this I cut down my driving to the drastic minimum—with significant effect on our quality of life (perhaps for the better?). Sook continues to be easily startled and nervous when I drive, and driving here rattles my nerves too. We also find ourselves quarreling more often (and more intensely) than our historical average.

On the other hand, we are happy to report that we are making progress with language learning, which goes hand in hand with cross-cultural training. We continue to make new acquaintances and deepen existing relationships with the staff and students. Interactions with people have been a big bright side of our life in the last three months.

Three accreditation evaluators (from the Ministry of Higher Education) visited the university in early April. One of the evaluators happened to visit a classroom where Sook and two other docents were giving feedback on students’ creative artwork. That evening, at dinner, he commented how he was impressed with Sook’s efforts to encourage students while giving critical input. Generally Sook’s long experience with high school students in her art career is enabling her to connect with the Indonesian students congenially and they appreciate her comments and guidance.

As the result of a seemingly serendipitous chain of events, Sook and I had productive encounters with two academic institutions this quarter. One is the Institute of Technology of Bandung (ITB), which we visited the last week of April. Bandung is the capital of Indonesia’s West Java province. The other is Hanseo University in South Korea, which we visited in mid-May. In both institutions we seem to have established very auspicious conditions for collaboration and exchange, in the field of Product Design to begin with and with possibilities to expand to other fields in the future. We expect there will be opportunities to fill more details about these places in the future, so for now we’ll just say that this is God’s answer to our prayers concerning how to network for the benefit of the university we serve (Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana, UKDW) and our students and graduates.

Sook and Prof. Anto, visiting Candi Cetoh in Java (a Hindu temple built by local villagers, surrounded by tea fields high up in the mountain).

We arrived in Los Angeles the last week of May. We worshipped with the Indonesian-American congregation of Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI) Los Angeles (La Puente), where we met a businessman from Jakarta and Surabaya who happened to be visiting the same congregation that day. He knew some of the people we work with at UKDW. I asked if his company was in need of fresh recruits, and he said, ‘Yes!’ One more node in our expanding network! We also met several friends from Brazil (from our youth days) who have been living in Los Angeles for 10-20 years, run businesses, and are actively involved in mission projects. They wanted to know how they could help us. After three weeks we are in San Jose. I toured some high-tech companies where old acquaintances of mine have leading roles. I wanted to explore possibilities of bringing Indonesian students here for internships.

Having said all this, we honestly don’t know (and don’t put a whole lot of trust on) how effective our efforts at institutional development will be in the long run. As a matter of fact, it could go well and serve as the basis of sustained relevance in the lives of people. But it could also sputter off because of a number of causes (many not under our control). On the other hand, we do know from experience how personal interactions (which do not require much capital) can powerfully change the lives of individuals. We feel our personal lives have been shaped by a number of such ‘encounters.’ This encourages us to always be alert to the possibilities that each day and each encounter can initiate. So our efforts at institutional development will complement (and be the minor partner to) our thrust toward open and trustful and expectant engagement with our neighbors (which include students, co-workers, visitors and total strangers).

All of this may look like an idiosyncratic assembly of random happenings, more like cacophony than symphony. At this point we have to agree. But some days, in Indonesia and elsewhere, we stop and marvel at the richness of our experience. When we are thus stricken, we forget all the discomfort, uncertainties and the nagging thoughts of ‘what we could be missing by being here and doing this.’ Instead, we feel deeply privileged—we know we are blessed. It is part of our call to articulate and share with you the fact of this ‘blessedness.’ What can we say? Only that we are just getting started. And also that we are grateful for your support: you make this possible for us; you are part of this story. Let us continue to explore together the unfolding of God’s wonderful plans for us, his children.

Here is what Sook said concerning ‘what is good about our being in Indonesia’: “My students from the university are what makes my stay in Indonesia attractive and exciting. As in any other place, there are some students who are ready and prepared, and there are some who remain on the margin or lost. But after I give them some encouraging words, they listen, their bodies respond, and their eyes sparkle and shine. They move their bodies more confidently and graciously. Little by little they start to engage more during class and participate actively. As a result, they become more focused and eager to learn and to live their lives. I’m still not so clear about the real purpose of my stay in Indonesia, but for now I find one thing that I can do. And I feel blessed.”

We humbly ask that you join us in our prayers:

1. For the timely processing of our work-permit visa
2. For the struggling people of Indonesia: that they see improvement in their lives (steady jobs, prospects of career growth)
3. For the university—our efforts to connect and collaborate with other institutions (ITB and Hanseo)

We thank you for your continued support. God bless us all.

Peace and grace,

Sook and Don Choi

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 239