Jubilee Campaign USA, February 27, 2003
Maluku Orphans
February 27, 2003
Dear Friends,
Dear Sponsor of Maluku Orphans:
As many of you may know from either our recent mailing or announcements at Fairfax
Covenant Church, I am scheduled March 5 to 19 to go with a team to Indonesia. A
major focus of this trip will include a visit to Ambon Island and splitting the team to
also visit Haruku-Saparua and Seram Islands all in the Malukus. The children
supported by our orphan fund are located within these different islands.
I am writing to ask your prayer requests for the following items.
First, we just received word that the Director and Founder of the organization that
administrates the project in Ambon, Hengky Hattu, has had an automobile accident
within the past week. Hengky was in Surabaya, Maluku from Tuesday February 11
through the 19th. Upon his return, he suffered an accident early this week. Yesterday,
he was admitted into a hospital, and he was placed on an IV for the internal injury that
he suffered. The extent of his injuries are not fully known. Please pray for his
complete healing.
Second, we are having difficulty obtaining the appropriate visa permission from the
Indonesian Embassy here in Washington. The problem relates to the fact that the
Maluku Islands are categorized as a special security zone. Special permission is
needed and had been obtained from the Governor in Ambon for our trip last year. (In
fact, last year we needed no visa in advance to enter Indonesia.) Procedures changed
in that permission is now required from Indonesian Immigration in Jakarta. Our
difficulty relates to the fact that Hengky is now unable to personally assist with
obtaining this permission, and it is likely that the visa I obtain will only include
permission for Jakarta and may not permit me to board internal aircraft to Ambon. We
must obtain the necessary permit. Please pray that our permits can quickly be
obtained from the required authorities in both Ambon and in Jakarta.
Third, separate emails report the current situation and condition of Rev. Rinaldy
Damanik. A couple of weeks ago we determined to re-route our trip in order for some
of us to fly to Palu, Central Sulawesi in order to visit him in prison. We are actively
undertaking advocacy efforts on his behalf, and the Indonesian Embassy has been
informed of my intent to visit him in jail. However, last Spring an Islamic Indonesian
paper called Compass described Jubilee Campaign as a dangerous foreign
organization interfering in Central Sulawesi and that we needed to be watched. We do
not know whether this article or statement will have any interference on our planned
trip. Certainly, we do not want to create more problems for Rev. Damanik. Therefore,
we will not be highlighting our organizational name during our visit.
Fourth, news reports continue to project that America will launch the bombing and
invasion of Iraq in mid- March. If America goes to war with Iraq while we are in
Indonesia, we will have great difficulty keeping our meetings focused on the purpose of
our trip, which is religious freedom in a Muslim country.
Please pray for these subject areas. We are grateful for you intercession on behalf of
the entire team that will be participating, including myself, David Mundy from my staff,
Kie-Eng Go our Indonesia coordinator, several Indonesian Christian students, and
several supports from Singapore. Once in Jakarta, we will be joined by Matius Ho,
Shirley Dornik, and Weilan.
In Christ's Service.
Sincerely,
Ann Buwalda
Jubilee Campaign USA
email: jubilee@jubileecampaign.org
voice: 703-503-0791
web: http://www.jubileecampaign.org
This email was sent to shortcut2justy@yahoo.com.au, by Jubilee Campaign USA.
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