GOD is GOOD...and so is sambal!

I’m not gonna lie…one of the highlights of my Sea Tribe experience is always the food. I can’t get enough of it. Gong-gong (sea snails), cumi-cumi (squid), ikan (fish), kepiting (crab), roti prata (fry bread), nasi (rice), and don’t forget the SAMBAL! Sambal is a spicy condiment made from cabe, garlic and onions crushed together into a paste. It is eaten on everything and is wonderful. Oh, how I love sambal.
I will never forget the sambal I had at Pak Ramad and Ibu Titi’s house…
Our Ibu on the first island was a fantastic cook. One night, she made the best sambal I’ve ever tasted. It was rich, savory and had just the right amount of spice. All I wanted to do was eat as much of that sambal as I could, whether it was with nasi or with ayam, on ikan or by itself. It was phenomenal. Throughout our stay, we couldn’t stop complimenting our Ibu on her gift of cooking, especially when we heard that she didn’t use any MSG! It was all completely from scratch, no flavor enhancment needed! Amazing.
Pak Ramad is the Principal of a High School on Pulau Timun. He and Ibu Titi have a lovely home. It is big, fancy and full of books! Pak Ramad has a Master’s Degree in Education and values learning. His daughter Lilis is an English teacher for elementary students. Their middle son is in university on another island and Ipin is an 8th grader. They are a very devout family take education and religion very seriously. They were very engaged in conversation with us during our stay and asked pointed questions. On the first night, we talked about teaching and what made us want to become teachers. We talked about respect and how being made in God’s image requires us to respect one another no matter what. We told the story of the Good Samaritan and what it means to be a neighbor. Ibu told us the story of how she and the bapak met. She then gave us a mini lecture on marriage: the importance of respect, partnership and compromise. Pak Ramad and Ibu Titi have a nice house, great kids, a strong marriage, and are very well respected in the community. After that first night I couldn’t help but wonder how we would share the saving power of JC with a family that already seemed to have it all together. We asked the Father for creativity and opportunities to share more Truth throughout our stay there. Unfortunately, we were never able to get deeper with Pak Ramad and his family.
In reflecting on that island experience, I realized that God and the message of JC is kind of like that sambal…unbelievably satisfying without any “flavor enhancement” needed. Although it was discouraging not to get to share the Good News with Pak Ramad and Ibu Titi, it was a reminder that it’s not about how creative our strategies are, how many stories we tell, or how many spiritual conversations we have. Instead, it’s about JC, it’s about His name being made great and sometimes that comes in the form of complimenting an Ibu on her culinary talents, helping clean up after a meal or demonstrating His love through the relationships we have with our teammates. God and His plan are good. Even when it doesn’t turn out the way we think it should, God and His plan are still good. I’ll never forget that meal, every time I think about it, my prayer is that one day Pak Ramad and Ibu Titi will get a taste of that Everlasting Goodness so they can share it with others on Pulau Timun.

"Oh taste and see that the LORD is GOOD! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him...those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." Psalm 34:8, 10

"...that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified." Isaiah 61:3