A few days before this visit I had lunch with my good friend Gary Roosma. Gary is a pastor in Richmond but, has worked for many years as a missionary in places such as Indonesia and Malaysia! Gary is fluent in both the Malay and Indonesian languages. When I asked if he wanted to join me for lunch on the ship, he immediately accepted!
Gary's greeting the watchman and other crew members in their own language made such a difference! The only Indonesian words I know are; nasi-goreng;bami-goreng; gado-gado; kroepoek; sate; sambal oelak; ketjap; babi-pangang etc, etc. ( these are, of course, all names that have to do with Indonesian food ) The four ' Protestant ' crew members were very happy to see us and I could see on their faces how impressed they were with Gary's knowledge of their language - as was I! The cook was waiting for us with a delicious ' nasi-goreng ' meal and we had a wonderful time of fellowship. Most of the conversation was between Gary and the crew members in their language.
When we were ready to leave, one of them, a young cadet officer asked if Gary could pray for him. I suggested that we would go to another room where we would have more privacy which we did.
Gary had to pray for members of the cadet's family who have serious health issues. As we prayed I really sensed the communion of the saints again. Here we were total strangers yet the ' body of Christ ' was apparent.
When Gary had said 'amen' the others came with their prayer requests as well so we started praying again. After the prayer I gave the blessing - in English! After that Gary pulled an I-phone out of his pocket and began reading a few Bible verses in the Indonesian language ending with a short sermon. From their comments, it was obvious that such times of fellowship are what they long for while at sea.
The MV STX BONA is now on its way to South Korea. When another ship with an Indonesian crew comes to Delta Port I will be sure to invite Gary again!
