Imagine running from your burning home with bullets passing over your head as you run you see the bodies of some of your friends and neighbours lying lifelessly in the street. Imagine again in the midst of violent conflict, you see your two-year-old daughter slashed with a machete and die in the arms of your 12-year-old son who was carrying her. These horrific images are just some of the real events that occurred in the lives of Christians in Ambon, Indonesia during a time of extreme religious hostilities. Open Doors Australia saw the dire need for post-traumatic counselling during a 2006 women's ministry trip and in May of this year, Open Doors worker Jeanette returned to Ambon with a team of Australian women. Jeanette, assisted by writer Pamela Eldridge, recounts how God worked through an incredible four days in beautiful but restless Ambon.
For some people, living as a Christian carries an immense cost - oppression, rejection, alienation, persecution, loss of livelihood, physical and emotional trauma; even death. However, there is hope because God is mightily at work in the lives of his persecuted people. Open Doors is an international ministry founded in 1955 by Brother Andrew - author of the well-known book "God's Smuggler" - that helps support, encourage, equip and raise awareness for the Persecuted Church worldwide. As part of Open Doors women's ministry Women To Women, a team of women including myself visited Ambon in 2006 and this is where the vision to hold a trauma counselling workshop was born. This turned out to be an extremely significant event - where ordinary women were led by an extraordinary God.
Ambon is located in East Indonesia, part of the Moluccan Islands (originally called the Spice Islands) and is a predominantly Muslim area. Ambon and Seram - also part of Moluccan Islands - were the scenes of fierce conflicts between Christians and Muslims from 1999 until 2002; conflicts that left over 8000 killed and many thousands of others displaced. A state of civil emergency was declared by the Indonesian government. More than 21,000 Christian families from Ambon and Seram fled their homes and villages to the safety of the mountainous regions. Here they began to live as internally displaced people in temporary housing and complexes, as they were too afraid to return to their home villages even after the intense conflict ceased. Much has been lost in this tumultuous time. Families who have lost fathers and mothers are often struggling to make a living. These temporary homes today, for many, have become permanent due to Open Doors purchasing the land, digging wells, helping to establish good agricultural practices and, most importantly, establishing schools.
I first visited the region in 2006 with an international team of five women from Open Doors bases from all over the world. During this ministry trip we attended two Women's Conferences, both of which were attended in total by over 500 Indonesian women. The women were encouraged by bible talks on topics like "Identity in Jesus" and "The Value of Women in the Eyes of Jesus".
However, most of the women there had suffered incredible losses in their lives and as I listened to many stories such as the ones this article began with, I recognised that many of them had unresolved pain remaining in their lives even though they were very spiritually alive in Jesus.
As one of our team gave her testimony, she shed a few tears and one of the Indonesian pastors came up to her and gently said, "Sister, we do not cry, we do not cry.". After hearing many distressing stories of suffering - as most women had traumatically lost loved ones during the conflict - I thought this was a heartbreaking comment, as these women certainly had much to cry about!
I realised though, that they had much to teach me about living a sacrificial life for Jesus. I saw great strength and courage in these women who had been through so much. Having spent time myself counselling children and adults in grief and loss programmes, I could see that just saying "We don't cry" was not effective enough for the women to put everything behind them. It was at this point I had a desire from God to bring effective counselling help into their lives.
His healing for the traumatised people of Ambon and Seram
In May 2007, I returned to Ambon but this time with an Australian team of women that God had most certainly put together. Nicky Lock, the director of a Christian Counselling centre in Sydney, was to teach the four-day course on post-traumatic counselling.
Bombings and further threats are a reality in Ambon and just before we were about to leave for Ambon from Jakarta airport, we heard that another bomb had exploded in the area. I was burdened with the heavy responsibility of whether or not to go ahead but in my daily reading that morning I had read Proverbs 29:25: "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe". It is truly upon these scriptures and the foundation of intercessory prayer that we flew into Ambon to run the counselling course.
Amazingly, of the 66 course participants, 35 of the pastors were men! Their willingness to be teachable in such a patriarchal society was humbling to us as a team of women. Their involvement in the creative workshops as well as their honest, open questions and readiness to make themselves vulnerable was very encouraging. All the participants dealt with a range of issues like the effects of trauma, of shame and grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. Many expressed not only healing in their own lives, but how they were now able to offer counselling to their own congregations.
Perhaps the most poignant time of all was the opportunity during the course for people to write down and nail to a wooden cross their deepest struggle or pain. For some, it was a letter to the one who murdered their family member or friend; for others, it was a letter to those who burnt down their home or church, or to God expressing what they wanted him to hear.
As Isaiah 61:1-3 was read, all the notes were removed from the cross and burnt to ashes. As the people moved thoughtfully back into the church they spontaneously broke out into song and joined hands across the church. I began filming but the overwhelming presence of God's anointing made me put down my video camera and join hands with them in the beauty of their song. And it seemed in that place, that it was as these scriptures say: "and to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a garment of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour."
This article was written for the September/October 2007 issue of Christian Woman magazine. www.christianwoman.com.au by Open Doors Worker Jeanette and Writer Pamela.
