Category Archives: Unreached Peoples

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The Dates Of Ramadan

The dates of Ramadan always change every year, here’s why:

The dates for Ramadan are established according to the Islamic lunar calendar of 354 days. Starting 11 days earlier each year, it takes about 33 years for the Islam calendar to go through all the seasons.

Because of the changing nature of the Islamic year the 2011 booklet is actually our 20th edition. There have been 20 Islamic lunar years since the beginning of “30 Days” in March 1993. This is the year 1432 of the Islamic lunar calendar.

“to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.” (Acts 26:18, NLT)

(C) 30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World

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Injil dan Budaya

Pada hari ke-4 dalam 40 Hari Mengasihi Bangsa Dalam Doa ini, kita belajar bahwa hubungan antara Injil dan Budaya. Kedua elemen ini tidak dapat dipisahkan. Dalam kehidupan seseorang, kemanapun dia pergi, atau dimanapun dia tinggal, budaya pribadi tidak dapat dipisahkan. Budaya dapat dikembangkan mungkin, tapi ditidak dapat dirubah.

Cara hidup seseorang dipengaruhi oleh budayanya sendiri. Tuhan menciptakan budaya dan menjadikan bagian hidup manusia ciptaan-Nya untuk menghormati dan menyembah-Nya, sebagai Sang Pencipta, tetapi karen korupsi dosa dalam hidup manusia, budaya pun tercemar dan dibengkokkan oleh pengaruh Iblis. Tapi Allah tidak kalah akal, Allah menyediakan jalan untuk menembus manusia, termasuk budaya, lewat pengorbanan Kristus di Kayu Salib. Rencana Allah adalah segala suku, budaya, bahasa, dan bahasa akan berdiri di hadapan tahta-Nya yang kudus untuk menyembah-Nya.

Berikut adalah ringkasan dari Artikel 40 Hari Mengasihi Bangsa Dalam Doa dan e-DOA:

Kita tidak dapat memisahkan seseorang dari budayanya. Keyakinan, nilai-nilai, busana, makanan, pendidikan, pekerjaan, aktivitas di waktu senggang, sistem pemerintahan, kehidupan rumah tangga, peran pria dan wanita, dan banyak hal lain yang ada dalam budaya. Tuhan kita ingin mengubahkan individual, masyarakat, dan budaya. Orang-orang dari setiap suku dan bangsa suatu hari nanti akan ada di hadapan takhta-Nya (Wahyu 7:9). Bahkan sekarang, orang-orang dari banyak bangsa membawa bahasa unik dan ekspresi budaya mereka untuk menyembah Tuhan alam semesta.

Semua kebudayaan yang baik di seluruh dunia akan ditinggikan oleh hidup baru dalam Kristus. Semua aspek budaya yang tidak benar, jahat, atau tidak utuh akan diubahkan oleh Tuhan kita. Beberapa aspek budaya tidak buruk dan juga tidak baik, hanya berbeda saja (contohnya, beberapa suku bangsa suka nasi sementara yang lain suka roti, beberapa suka kaos dan celana, sementara yang lain lebih suka jubah).

Meski perbedaan religius antara Kristen dan Muslim jelas, terkadang perbedaan budaya dapat menjadi sumber kesalahpahaman dan ketidakpercayaan yang lebih besar. Cara pandang yang berbeda juga dapat menjadi kesempatan untuk saling belajar. Perbedaan budaya bisa saja menghalangi atau memajukan kemampuan kita untuk mewartakan Kristus dan juga kemampuan Muslim untuk menerima pesan kita.

(c) 2011 oleh e-DOA dan “MENGASIHI BANGSA DALAM DOA”

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Well-Nourished

More that 700 languages in Indonesia are waiting.

A Quechua Bible translator of Peru stated, “Getting our spiritual food from the Spanish Bible is like trying to eat soup with a fork. We can get a little taste, but cannot get nourished. Using the Quechua Scriptures is like eating soup with a spoon—we can really get well-nourished.”

Lives are spiritually transformed as a result of understanding God’s Word in a language that speaks to the heart!

~ Quoted from Wycliffe Pray Today, July 6th, 2011

I agree. It’s just like eating porridge with spoon, not chopsticks to me, or like we can see clearly the fish in the clear pond instead of muddy pond. I remember when Dave came back to Jakarta from the village (Discovery Trip 2007) and brought back several books, portions of the Bible that had been translated into my heart language, I was so amazed and so thankful that I could read these some of God’s words in the language that I understand very well, that really spoke to my heart and mind.

I can feel it. I can smell it. I fell like I was there.

It’s real. God’s word speaks to me loud and clear!

And today when I got the e-mail from Wycliffe Pray Today reminded me to keep on praying for the progress of the work of the translation in for the people groups not only the people in Indonesia, but also the whole people groups that need to hear the Word of God loud and clear, that they know that God is speaking to them. Wycliffe is one of the mission organization that serve in the area of Bible translation, literacy, ethnomusicology, community development, and many more. You can check the website to get more information.

Would you join me in prayer? How you can get involve to reach out the unreached people?

(From Helen’s website.)

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The People of Kerinci

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

Introduction / History
Originally from the eastern coast of Sumatera, the Kerinci fled from local Muslim Sultanates in an ancient war and moved into their existing homeland high in the Bukit Barisan Mountains near Mount Kerinci in West Sumatera and Lake Kerinci in Jambi. Although the highlands present challenges for living, intensive agriculture coupled with fishing has been sufficient to sustain sizeable indigenous populations. The Kerinci have been able to resist assimilation with the stronger lowland peoples. They have managed to not only survive but to grow enriched by what they have borrowed from the coastal cultures, but in each case absorbing and reshaping according to their indigenous ethos without losing their own ethnic identity. Today, their isolation is being broken by government-sponsored mass relocations of Jawa, Sunda, and Bali people for plantation projects on their rich soil. In addition, a world-class national park is being developed by the World Wildlife Fund to preserve the rain forest, flora, and fauna. This will draw even more outsiders into this remote area.

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The People Of Lematang

 

Introduction / History
The Lematang (or Lemantang) people’s homeland extends from the city of Lahat in the regency of Lahat until the area of Lematang llir Ogan Tengah in the regency of Muara Enim. Bordered by the areas of the Kikim and Enim peoples, it runs along the full length of the Lematang River near the cities of Muara Enim, Prabumulih, and Gelumbang. It also includes the region of the tributaries of the Rawas River near the cities of Bingintelok and Terusan. The Lematang River, also called Sungai Orang Kaya (Rich Man’s River), is South Sumatera’s largest producer of “river rock,” which is used for foundation material in building. The Lematang area includes the districts of Gunung Magang, Muara Enim, and Merapi. Merapi District has 37 villages, including Muara Lawai, Gedung Agung, Banjarsari, Kota Agung, Tanjung Baru, and Arahan. The Lematang originated from Banten people who immigrated at the time of the ancient Majapahit Kingdom.