Global Mandate Missions Expo (Jan 07)

There are two things that bring delight to my life: one, when I see the miracles of God while I do His work and two, when He sends me home safely to Perth. It is indeed true there is no place like home and I feel good to be in Perth again after traveling in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for the past 3 months.

As you read my newsletter, another year has gone by. With that in mind, please allow me to wish you a Happy New Year 2007. Before I testify on how great and mighty is our God as I obey Him to do His work in the mission field abroad, let me express my appreciation to the Foursquare Church WA and GPDI Indonesian Church Perth for inviting me to speak in their Global Mandate Missions Expo 2006. I trust this new fellowship and network will provide ample opportunities for these churches in Australia to train their future missionaries in Indonesia for the kingdom of God.

In this trip, my Lord Jesus continues to expand my ministry when He opened the door of fellowship to the one of the largest TV broadcast stations in Indonesia. I preached the Gospel in their Christian fellowship. It was a day to be remembered.

As a servant of God, I am happy when I reflect on the progress in my life journey of serving Him. His grace and mercy have propelled me to be more passionate, faithful and committed in all my endeavors. What I have accomplished to date is still far from the vision which He placed in my heart many years ago. I believe when God raises up His servants, He intends that ordinary men from ordinary background with all their flaws, weaknesses and inabilities achieve extraordinary things for Him. I started my ministry as a lay person with limited experience but when I surrendered my life totally into His Hands, the results as seen today are a testimony of His greatness. This is the lesson I never want to forget: God does not chose people because of WHO they ARE but He chooses men and women because He can see WHO they will BECOME as they walk in obedience and sincerity with Him. You and I are living in a time when we need to be sure we are fulfilling our calling in His kingdom.

Year 2006 is a milestone year for my ministry in Central Kalimantan. Whilst there are some minor works and maintenance which are ongoing, the development of the mission base camp in Dehes is now complete. It is pure joy to see the mission base operating as its intended purpose of being a church, retreat and training facility for ministers and leaders from inter-denomination churches in the surrounding regions in Kalimantan, mainland Indonesia and overseas. Since 2004, Dehes has received well in excess of 80 church leaders and they have come to visit and work together with me to build, train and preach the Gospel to the unreached people in the area of Katingan, Central Kalimantan. Praise the Lord as He is indeed worthy to be praised for His goodness!

If you are wondering what’s on my agenda after Dehes, my next task is to build another church in the village Tumbang Kaman which is about 35 minutes by boat from the mission base. Tumbang Kaman is a bigger village compared to Dehes and there are about 2,000 Dayaks living in that community. The existing church is very small and their meetings are held in a dilapidated rented house.

In September 2006, brother Abraham Varughese from Perth visited this village with me during his travel to Kalimantan. Praise the Lord, brother Abraham took his precious time to sow into the kingdom of God by supporting the local church to buy a piece of land to construct a church building. We have purchased the land and the preparation to start construction is well underway. The total cost is budgeted to be approximately AUD40,000.

In October 2006, Kim Poh from Perth traveled to Indonesia.

Kim, who is now recognized by the AOG Indonesia for her ministry, continued to be a blessing as she ministered in churches wherever she traveled. In her words, It is so good and refreshing to be involved in God’s work in Indonesia. God has so graciously open doors after doors for me to preach His Gospel. I am humbled by the warm hospitality of so many senior ministers who have opened their pulpit to me even though I am just a lay person. There is so much to learn in the mission field and I look forward to visit Indonesia again in April/May 2007.

As my stay in Indonesia draws to a close, I sat with the Board of AOG Indonesia to schedule the program for my next tour of duty in year 2007. There is plenty of work to be done, there are many pockets of unreached people who have never heard of the Gospel and the opportunities to be actively involved in God’s work in Indonesia in limitless.

To reach out to the lost world is our most imperative task. I believe our constant responsibility until the very moment when Jesus appears again is to give our time, our money and our effort to this task He set before us: You will be my witnesses. (Acts 1:8).
Let us get on with the job! There isn’t a moment to lose. Don’t stand by looking into the sky. I invite you to join me in my next mission trip in March 2007. You will be blessed!.

Love and Blessings.
Evangelist Sebastian Sugiarto

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