Blog entries written by the delegation

• April 3
• April 2
• April 1
• March 31
• March 30
• March 27

Participants

Itinerary highlights

Additional articles about the visit

April 3, 2006

Today we began work at our second site, in the town of Pearlington, Mississippi. The first task of the day was to go to Sumatra Road. Can you imagine, in this tiny place on the other side of the globe, we discovered a road named after the island where the tsunami hit and where we all now live.

This area in and around Pearlington experienced the eye of the storm and the devastation is everywhere to be seen. The people are much poorer here, and although there are a few dedicated souls working on rebuilding, most of the world has moved on from the disaster named Katrina.

But God has not forgotten. Just up the road from Pearlington, in the town of Pass Christian, one of God's earthly angels presides over a grill where he fixes food for about 500 people a day. He began the day after Katrina and has been doing it ever since. We ate there today and had the unique experience of standing in line with the most diverse group of people we have seen since we have been in the United States. There were Katrina survivors, Hispanic, African American and white. There were prisoners in their striped pants. And there were volunteers of all ages, from teens and college students to retirees. We even met one girl of 11 who was manning the table where people came for free clothing while the rest of her volunteer group ate lunch.

Without a doubt the most impressive thing we have seen in the USA is the spirit of volunteerism. Our country as it emerges from poverty has a lot to learn about how we can work collectively to assist one another in times of greatest need.

Today's BLOG was written by Marlon Lukman, Program Officer, Indonesian Foundation for Disaster Response.

April 2, 2006

Yet another day marveling at America. Each day is a new adventure. Today I'm delighted we had a chance to spend the night in two homes, one Friday night and one Saturday night. Our other friends must stay in hotels while we get the chance to see what American home life is like, on April Fool's Day, no less! Our hostess invited us to a candlelight dinner that she said was a typical American meal of mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken nuggets and peas. She waited silently as we tried to cut into and taste the food. To our surprise, it was ice cream with caramel sauce, and candy bars along with candy peas. At first we just thought it was very weird American food, so we kept our mouths shut and chewed. Then she started laughing and said, April fools!

This morning we spoke at St. Charles Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. My friends taught a Sunday school class for about 50 adults, explaining what we have been doing for tsunami relief and thanking them for their generosity to PDA. They had lots of good questions and said they learned a lot.

During the worship service, we got to hear a lovely choir sing and also witnessed something unique to America, the children's time during worship. The children are cute and very clever.

I had been asked to do the minute for mission, so I told briefly what PDA is doing for the tsunami and also thanked them by presenting them with an embroidered cloth made by an Acehnese tsunami survivor. You could hear them say "Wow" when I unfolded it, so I think they liked it.

After worship we had lunch with some church members down by the riverfront. After lunch we took a walk and ran into a group of men wearing skirts and playing what our guide said was a sheep's stomach with pipes coming out of it. We thought it must be another April Fool's joke but they said it was an annual event for Presbyterians called the Kirkin of the Tartans.

Americans are very friendly and generous, but they sure are full of surprises.

Today's BLOG was written by Dr. Sari Mutia Timur of the Christian Foundation for Public Health's Emergency Unit.

April 1, 2006

When we arrived here in the states, we didn't know much of its geography except for big cities like New York and Los Angeles. Now we've had to learn about new places — like St. Louis and Chicago and Nashville. I'm the lucky one who got to go to Nashville (each one of us thinks the city we visited was the best).

We are being hosted by a CWS staff person, Menno Wiebe. He went out of his way today to find fun touristy places for us to see even though he is not from this city. The most amazing thing we saw was the Opryland Hotel. We couldn't believe it but our camera batteries went dead just before we got there. Luckily Insafi, our companion from Nias, had a disposable camera.

We've just gotten back to our hotel from some country music place. I don't remember the name, but it was fun. [Editor's note: maybe she means the Grand Ole Opry.]

Tomorrow we go to two churches, where we will speak during Sunday school and church services.

This BLOG for April 1 was written by Ayu Kodrat, finance officer for Church World Service Indonesia.

April 1, 2006

Last night was an exciting night but sad at the same time. We had to say goodbye to our new friends at the D'Iberville camp. About 100 of them! We took lots of photos so we will always remember them and they us.

They cooked rice especially for us, just as they have ever since we came here, for breakfast and supper. It's a real treat because we didn't know Americans even knew how to cook rice.

We said goodbye last night because this morning we had to leave at 4.30 a.m. to catch a plane to Chicago. We were hoping to meet with Lutherans (ELCA) in the afternoon but our plane was late. Instead we just got to go to dinner with them. Like everyone else we have met, they are very friendly and so glad we have come here.

Chicago is a beautiful city and I am now realizing that I am going to have to buy another bag to take home all the things people have given me or I've bought. But that weight doesn't compare with the amount of new ideas I've learned that will be much easier to transport home.

This BLOG for April 1 was written by Agung Hermawan, architect with YAKKUM Emergency Unit.

March 31, 2006

We are all amazed at the stamina of the many volunteers who come here from long distances, paying their own way, and then paying ten dollars a day to live in tents, even though many of them are already retired. People of their age in Indonesia would be sitting on their front stoop asking, where's my dinner, not doing manual labor.

We were very cold the first two nights in the tents. Becca our leader told us that it would be cool at night. But we have learned that what is cool for Americans is a bit of a challenge for us. So Kathryn the site manager kindly moved us to bigger tents with better heat. Everyone got a better night's sleep.

Today we visited the Methodist church's site in Gulfport and heard amazing stories from their Coordinator for Mississippi relief, Ed Blakesley. He had been part of the first wave that restored electricity. He cried when he heard who we were and why we were here.

His dedication as a retired man was admirable and typifies the many heroes we have met so far.

Today's BLOG was written by Mr. Marlon Lukman, Program Manager for ACT member Yayasan Tanggul Bencana Indonesia (YTBI) in Medan.

March 30, 2006

The night I first arrived in the USA was very cold and hard for me to sleep in a cold tent. I shivered all night long. So the next day my friends let me sleep all day.

But I made up for it on my third day here, spending much of my day installing electrical outlets in a Katrina-destroyed house.

Then we hurried back to camp and straight to the kitchen, where I was in charge of preparing an Indonesian meal for 110 volunteers who came from many states to help.

I made fried rice, our favorite dish, plus chicken with soy sauce and stir-fried cabbage. I felt bad because we ran out of food, but the people didn't mind.

Insafi Gulo, a tsunami survivor who lost her mother in that disaster and had to have her right leg amputated in the aftermath, stands before the Katrina memorial on the town square in Biloxi, Mississippi. Photo: Rebecca Young

So today I got another break. While my friends toured a mission site in biloxi, I got to tour the inside of the biggest vehicle I've ever seen — you call it an RV, but I don't know what that means. I only know that it was complete with everything you need. The people who live in it had a dog and a cat. Americans really love their dogs.

This BLOG for March 30 was written by Insafi Gulo, tsunami/earthquake survivor from Nias.

March 30, 2006

Early this morning I received a telephone call from my husband. It only lasted one minute because it is a very expensive call. But that doesn't matter, because he told me, "I just want you to know that I love you. I want to know that you are okay. And I want to know that you love me too." I have come here from Indonesia to help with Katrina relief work. But I am only here for a short time, so what I am able to do is not much. I have painted a few walls, installed a few electrical outlets, and swept some floors clean. But that isn't what is important. What I really came here for is to let you know that I love you, and to know that you are okay, and to know that you love me too.

This BLOG for March 30 was written by Ms. Sri Rezeki Mariswaty, an architect who participates in reconstruction and rehabilitation projects as a partner with the Foundation for Disaster Recovery of the Indonesian Council of Churches.

March 27, 2006

Today we had our first day at the PDA Volunteer Village in D'Iberville. We had a cold night in the tent, and are surprised to find out in the morning that the Americans can't sleep when it is cold, either. After a short morning devotional, at which we pray in Indonesian on everyone's behalf and sing an Indonesian hymn, we are given our work assignments, make a bag lunch, and head out to the house where we will work.

We are repairing a blind man's house, sanding, priming and painting drywall. In the midst of our work, a television crew arrives to film us as we work. That night we go to a local restaurant to see ourselves on television.

Before coming here, we thought all Americans were very individualistic. But now we see that it is not true — your sense of community and mutual support is strong in times like these, and we are very impressed to see the sense of volunteerism that is hard to find in Indonesia, where most people are simply trying to get by.

Today's BLOG was written by the delegation.

Participants

Indonesian delegation members pictured are, standing: Dr. Edy Wibowo, Novin Patanduk, Marlon Lukman, and kneeling: Insafi Gulo, Dr. Sari Timur, Ayu Kodrat, Agung Hermawan.

Dr. Rebecca Young, PDA Liaison for Tsunami Recovery, has planned the visit and organized the visit itinerary.

Photo: Rebecca Young, PDA