Diary from Indonesia

This is my last diary from Indonesia. The Society document, ‘Dialogue towards Communion: Walking with Humanity’ from the 2008 Chapter, has new meaning for me. “We discover that true community happens when we touch the heart and there recognise the presence of the Spirit.”

The ‘poor’ of Jakarta means about 65% of the population where unemployment, housing, health and transportation are all serious problems. The atmosphere in the meeting is vibrant and full of fun. Also evident are passion and pragmatism. FAKTA is committed to empowering local communities through campaigning ...

Most mornings, an enchanting little girl from the kindergarten adjoining the house at Lenteng Agung skips through the door to give us our morning paper. She greets me with the usual Indonesian good morning salutation of ‘Selamat pagi’ and then she takes my hand as if in a handshake and places it against her forehead.

Every morning I wake at 4.15 as the Call to Prayer sounds from the neighbourhood mosque here in Lenteng Agung. In the evening, prayer and chanting from the same mosque mingle with our own prayers in our RSCJ chapel. In the waiting area of the tiny bus depot where we catch the bus to Bandung ...

For the past five days I have been staying in Bandung at the formation house with Nance O’Neil, Gera Philips and the three postulants, Eni, Yola and Fili. Bandung is north of Jakarta and higher above sea level so it is cooler and with 9 million fewer people, less noisy than Jakarta.

I am in Indonesia from the Australia New Zealand province for six weeks. This is the first entry of a weekly diary of my impressions. I am looking at this situation as an outsider even though the Society symbols in our communities immediately make me feel at home. Our Lady of Sorrows is enshrined in the garden of Lentang Agung.