In September of this year, right after the OMC, some members of the FICA delegation made a trip to Washington D.C. along with one of the key speakers, Pak Christian Sohilait.
The purpose of this trip was to advocate for justice in a company that has been operating in East Indonesia for many years. In coordination with other human rights organizations, we managed to get in contact with several congressman and senators, seeking for a time to meet with them and talk about this justice issue.
The first congressman we met was rather new to congress but came from the state that housed the company. As far as the office of that congressman knew, they had not had much contact with the company. The second person we met was from the office of a senator. That person seemed to know what they were talking about with regard to the issue; however they were not very receptive to the humanitarian plea we presented with regard to the situation in East Indonesia.
They simply responded with “It’s a domestic issue”, and “We have already negotiated an agreement with your government”. They washed their hands clean. It was a stark difference between someone who was new to the issue and someone who had their feet in the game for many years.
Upon further research, it was discovered that the aforementioned senator was actually the company’s biggest patron in recent years. That office definitely had an agenda.
The meeting we had with regard to this issue was with the congressman himself. Though it was a very busy day in congress (the fate of the Iran deal was being discussed), this congressman made time for us and even told his next appointment to wait. He listened with great compassion and told his staffer to make sure he took notes, anticipating any further developments from us while getting ready to take action if necessary.
It was not the first time we contacted this congressman. He knew what was at stake and sympathized with our concerns for the future of religious conflict in Eastern Indonesia.
The experience was incredibly eye opening as it allowed us to get a first-hand understanding of the situation on the ground in Eastern Indonesia. All too often, we talk about high-brow issues related to development but forget to make sure that we have some eyes on the ground.
In order for any meaningful effort to develop Indonesia to occur, we need to get our hands dirty.
In summary, as Indonesian Christians in America and members of the universal church, it is imperative to understand that we stand on the shoulders of giants.
As Christ said in John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
Christ prepared beforehand “good works” for us as Christians to do.
By the providence of his will and the flow of history, he has also allowed us as Christians living in the 21st century many inspiring testimonies of real Christian men and women who lived out what it means to not only do greater works than Christ but “good work” that was prepared beforehand for us to do.
The main question is, are we willing to get our hands dirty?
Philippians 2:13 (NLT – with annotations)
“For God is working in you.