"There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared. It is the great venture. it can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to mistrust, and this mistrust in turn brings forth war."

-Dietrich Bonhoffer

I found this quote on a friend's facebook. I thought it described very well some of the things I've been thinking about peace lately.

Jakarta and Bogor are beautiful. I was so excited to finally be here that when I got off the plane yesterday from 20 hours of travel I almost ran toward baggage claim. The air here is heavy and warm but it makes such beautiful plants grow everywhere and is completely worth it. The drive from Jakarta to the suburbs was filled with sunshine, chatting, large buildings, shopping malls, a brief thunderstorm and rows and rows of tiny structures too small for one person let alone the entire family that lives there. It is amazing how the poverty and industry are all on the same street here. You turn the corner from a road filled with tiny shacks for homes and street vendors to stumble upon a McDonald's and a 4-floor shopping mall. The library here in a suburb of Jakarta is big and offers so much to the community it serves. There are thousands of books for all reading levels, computers available from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., pre-school programs, English language classes, and story hour. Anyone is welcome and people are here all day long.
 

For now I am staying in the guest house at the library. Mawar has been a wonderful guide to me helping to get me oriented not only with the library but also with the city. Last night we took the public transportation (Angkot - which when pronounced in Indonesian sounds kind of like kumquate) to the mall to have dinner. We crossed the street right in front of the library and I am pretty sure I almost got ran over three times. There are no signs on the side of the road, no lines painted to tell the drivers where to go, no sidewalks to keep the pedestrians from traffic, and no specific areas for cars to park. But it is fun! The drivers swerve to just go whichever way they see fit and honk their horns often as if they are saying to the other cars, "I am driving here get out of my way." A small green vehicle pulled up in front of us and we actually crawled in. The outside dimensions of are probably 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. There is a driver seat and a passenger seat in the front. There is no door into the back of this tiny little van looking thing just a hole and all the regular seats have been removed and replaced with bench seats all the way around. There are hundreds of these miniature vans driving around and they are all painted LIME green with different color bumpers to signify the route they travel on. At one point we had to get out and change from a lavender bumper to a blue bumper and the Angkot just stopped in the middle of the street and we got out and ran to avoid getting run over by a motorcyclist (not wearing his helmet I might add). Trying to get in and out of these vehicles proves to be difficult when they are made for people under 5' tall and apparently very limber. I can't help but imagine my dad scrunching his 6' 3" frame into this tiny space. But they drive fast and get you there in one piece and they only cost 2,000 rupiah per ride which translates to about 25 cents. We walked around the mall talking with Lisa about America, Indonesia, family, friends and what we do for fun. We stopped at an Indonesian restaurant where I had chicken with rice flour noodles and and a honeydew melon shake. It was so good and so like summer. I wish I knew some of the language so I could at least decide for myself what I want to eat but Mawar and Lisa are excellent helpers and always patient as I ask what each word means.
 

Today was a great day of learning. The morning started at 6 a.m. with breakfast and then a nap! It was amazing that there was still noises outside at 6. Motorcycles riding by and rain falling but it was still peaceful like morning is supposed to be. Some government officials were here this morning for a ceremony to open the fourth year of the library pre-school program. I was amazed at how small the children are. At most they were 2'! I was comparing them in height to some of my cousins who are 2 or 3 instead of 4 or 5. I think Jackson would be a giant here!  Everyone was excited and it was a good day for the organization. After that we did an overview of my schedule for the next 6 weeks and then I began reading children's books, trying to prepare for my storytelling time tomorrow. I can't decide between "Is Your Mama a Llama?" or "Teddy: The Hungry Little Bear." I will do many story times though while I am here so any of them can be done tomorrow. After researching for a while, Rosdiana, Mawar and I had lunch in the English club room and then I went into a meeting with Arisson. Arisson is the director of all these libraries throughout Indonesia and also manages the West Java libraries. He gave me a complete overview of the whole organization and what it offers to over 138 cities and villages. I was so encouraged by how developed the goals of the organization are and that the staff of 14 has so focused on the needs of the people all over this vast and diverse nation. After two hours of great discussion and learning, Lisa and I went for a walk to get some art supplies for my projects in the next few days. We walked to the mall up a street filled with street vendors and other pedestrians, and periodically a car beeping its way through the sea of people. We found all the things I needed at the mall and then went up to the fourth floor to have a snack and get some dinner for me to take home. I had a avocado milkshake for a snack. It was actually pretty good once I got past the fact it was just avocado put in a blender. I really enjoyed chatting with Lisa as we strolled back to the library through some other neighborhoods.  The most amazing plants just grow here along the side of the road. Rubber trees and orchids are popping up all over the place and I think I found something that looks like a begonia tree, it was gorgeous. I am so jealous of how lush and beautiful all the plants are and when I told Lisa how amazing they were she couldn't understand what other kind of plants there could be. Tomorrow I will show her photos of almond trees, boxwood hedges, and corn plants, maybe then she will realize why I already love this place.

I was in Tunisia just three weeks after their revolution. Their President had been running the country like the mafia for 23 years, enriching himself and his family. Frustration built up and people took to the streets. They had never done anything like this in their lives. Everyone had been afraid. The government had informants everywhere. The police were thugs.

There have been prayer movements going on for Tunisia for some years, more than other N. African countries. Is it any wonder, then, that the changes started there? It shows the truth of what Isaiah said, "He brings the princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing...He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff." Now the changes are spreading to other countries.

There were still demonstrations going on. We stood at the back of some. It was fascinating to watch history in the making. Christians are out in the streets, too. They believe that they need to stand with the people in these days. And, they see these changes as opportunities for ministry. They don't want to miss this chance!

The revolution was led by young people, organizing themselves on Facebook and Twitter. One of them told me, older people used to criticize us, saying we were just on the internet all the time. Now they respect us. In the main square of the city, which didn't have graffiti before the revolution, was written on a wall in big letters, "Thank you Facebook!" 

Ten years ago, Tunisia only had a handful of Christians. Now there are several hundred. But they still are a very small percentage of the population and have a big challenge ahead of them. They need help. But that doesn't mean they will take anything. One of them said, "We want people who will come and help us, the Tunisian Church, not who come with their own agenda. And in the Tunisian church, we are one. We don't want them to bring their denominations."

That is good advice for anywhere, isn't it?

Photos: on the streets of Tunisia. (If you are viewing this via email and can't see two photos, click on the link at the top of your email and look at the version on our web site.)