Halo dari Jogja, Indonesia! (Hello from Jogja, Indonesia!) It is so exciting to finally be back here, and I am incredibly grateful for all of you who have partnered with me to make this possible, whether through giving, prayer, or encouragement along the way.

I arrived back in the country on Tuesday last week. Since then, I have been slowly getting over jet-lag, reconnecting with friends and coworkers, and getting plugged back into the ministry here. I probably could not have picked a busier week to return. Our team here has been hard at work this past week preparing for an amazing Easter weekend!

While Christianity is legally allowed in Indonesia, many people here still lack a clear understanding of what the gospel is all about. When I asked a Muslim friend, who I met during my first year here, if he had ever heard the Easter story before, he replied that all he was aware of regarding Easter was its association with bunnies and eggs. On Friday, one of our other team members was explaining to a local woman that Good Friday was about remembering the death of Jesus on the cross. The woman replied, “Why would you celebrate that?”  These stories highlight just how much confusion there is about Christian holidays—but also how much curiosity there is. People are open, interested, and eager to learn more about what we believe and why it matters.

Over the past week, our team and our church family have been inviting students from our Chi Alpha fellowship (which is about 80% Muslim), along with friends, and anyone else who we thought might be curious, to join us for an Easter celebration and to hear what Easter is really about…and nearly 250 people showed up!!!

Because our church has a strong international presence, many of our friends who come from other countries invited others in their networks, and as a result, we had people joining us from all over the world! Some of them come from places where it is incredibly difficult for Christians to go, but here, in the world’s largest Muslim country of all places, we had the chance to share the gospel with them freely! Many of these guests heard the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection this weekend for the very first time!

It’s going to be a very exciting two years ahead! Thank you for joining me on this incredible journey!