A letter from Bernie and Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta in Indonesia
July 2009
We are not isolated free choosers,
monarchs of all we survey,
but poor benighted creatures,
sunk in a reality whose nature
we are constantly,
and almost overwhelmingly
tempted to deform by fantasy.
—Iris Murdoch
Dear Family, Friends, and Colleagues,
Bernie and Farsijana are in the United States on interpretation assignment until January 2010.
Farsijana and I just flew to Berkeley, California, to begin our “interpretation assignment.” We will be speaking in churches and universities, sharing our experience of God’s work in Indonesia over the past few years. There are a lot of amazing things to share that don’t make the evening news. We love our work in Yogyakarta and there is so much to do, so many urgent challenges. It is hard to stop. However, we’re looking forward to the change.
I imagine our perspectives on the economy, the environment and the mythical “clash of civilizations” are quite different from the perspective of many Americans. I like the chance to “interpret” the world from a different standpoint. Americans seem to live in a Never Never Land created by a voracious economic system that is in an advanced state of crisis. In contrast, I imagine we in Indonesia live more in the “real” world, where many people subsist with a great deal of grace, much closer to the edge of survival. Of course I’m looking forward to enjoying some of the “necessities” that are common in the States. But I fear the onslaught of millions of lying ads telling me about all the things I need. Already I feel desires that never even occur to me in Indonesia.
It will be good to share a different way of being with those who have ears to hear. But we know we have a lot to learn as well. America is not really Never Never Land. It is just as real as Indonesia, but the experiences of suffering, hope and oppression are different. We are looking forward to listening and learning. In the States, we will see the world from a different perspective. We return to Yogyakarta on January 4, 2010. The best part of being in Berkeley is living close to family and seeing many old friends. We will be visiting scholars at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Dr. Munir Jiwa has graciously offered us office space in the Islamic Studies Center, and in between trips we will snatch as much time as possible in the nearby excellent library.
I’m happy to report that during the past three years, since the earthquake in May 2006, we haven’t had any major disasters: no tsunamis, no earthquakes, no volcanic eruptions, no riots, no religious wars, no revolutions, no assassinations, no terrorist bombs, no coup d’etat, no starvation, no financial collapses or wild inflation. Quite boring really. Nothing to make the evening news except the daily tales of politicians arrested for corruption. That’s why you haven’t heard much about the fourth-largest country in the world for a while. There has been political stability and a relatively strong, relatively clean, democratically elected government, which has just been peacefully reelected. The economy has been growing, and there are many signs of increasing prosperity. Since the election of Barak Hussein Obama (to the wild delight of Indonesians), it has become much less fun to hate America. It’s much harder for radical Islamists to drum up support among the great majority of moderate Indonesian Muslims. In fact all the Islamic parties put together (including moderate ones) garnered less than 20 percent of the vote in the recent congressional elections.
Of course there is plenty of bad news too in Indonesia. It’s just not so very dramatic. There is still plenty of poverty, environmental destruction, corruption, ignorance, ethnic conflict, violence, oppression of the weak, patriarchy and religious fanaticism. These generalizations cover an infinite variety of suffering among the 240 million people spread out over the 17,000 islands of Indonesia. But Farsijana and I are honored to work with some of the most impressive and gifted Indonesians who are working to reduce these evils. We love working in interreligious contexts where Muslims and Christians cooperate to work for justice and peace.
Farsijana is director of the Institute of Research and Community Development at Duta Wacana Christian University where she coordinates with all departments of the university action research that leads to action on behalf of the communities involved. Farsijana is also district head of the Indonesian Women’s Coalition and works with women and children in villages as well as in citywide projects to promote justice and peace.
I am director of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS-Yogya), at Gadjah Mada University. ICRS is an international, interreligious consortium of Muslim, Christian and multireligious universities in Yogyakarta. This is the first Ph.D. program in religious studies in a major national university in Indonesia and the first religious studies consortium of Muslim, Christian and “secular” universities in the world. In just three years, it has grown from informal discussions between friends into an interdisciplinary program with 30 faculty, a large budget, a staff of 10 and partnerships with some of the best universities in the world. It has students from several different countries and was designated a “Center of Excellence” by the Indonesian government.
Now we both get to take a break — not a break from work, speaking or travel, but a different kind of task from the usual. For six months we will be sharing our stories as part of our mission to the United States. We request your prayers that God would give us the wisdom, strength and joy we need to shed light out of the darkness of our own troubled hearts.
Salam hangat,
Bernie and Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 113
