The Women Who Welcomed Me
Newlywed, young, excited. I arrived in Indonesia feeling special. Soon I realised I was without a relational bridge to the very people I was sent to reach. The Lord sweetly corrected me until I was glad to be ordinary. I realised that my everyday human needs would create a hundred connection points between me and the Indonesian women I hoped to know and invite to follow Jesus. My needing others opened a door for them to enter my life and for me to enter theirs. And here the lessons of love and respect across cultures began.
Muslim neighbour women came to my aid with their hospitality and love. They drew me into the gentle rhythms of Indonesian community, slowing at my gate to invite me to visit the sick, to celebrate a wedding, to welcome newborn babies, or to sit quietly with the bereaved. When I was young, envisaging mission in terms of task, I could not have imagined the deep happiness that I found now in a life together. Neighbour women gave me the gift of belonging and it did not restrict my outreach; instead, genuine relationship opened many opportunities.
One local woman advocated for me as trustworthy and through her I was welcomed into places I had not cultivated. I call her Mrs Ray.
She was a beloved sister to me even before she knew Jesus; then she became my partner in ministry to neighbouring women, gathering, praying, watching the Good News transform family networks. You might say she was my person of peace, but she was much more. Her powerful advocacy taught me that if a woman friend across cultures is confident of your sincerity, she will bless you in her prayers to God, and she will let others know that you are a safe person, that you are good, that your intentions are life-giving. That one woman will connect you with others. And if you love and respect them, they may welcome you to invite them to follow Jesus.
Frontiers’ motto has always been true for me, word for word in this order: “With love and respect, inviting all Muslims to follow Jesus.” Love and respect create the relational basis for invitation.
Cynthia, Indonesia
