Selasa, 06 November 2012

Hospital Windows


Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.
And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band – he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.
Window
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, “Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”
- Author Unknown

Senin, 05 November 2012

Menjangkau yang Tidak Terjangkau (Bahasa Indonesia)

Puji Tuhan! Hanya karena berkat dan rahmatNya sajalah kami akhirnya berhasil merilis album perdana kami, “Kaulah Pengharapan Kami"

Yesaya 61:1, “Roh Tuhan ALLAH ada padaku, oleh karena Tuhan telah mengurapi aku; Ia telah mengutus aku untuk menyampaikan kabar baik kepada orang – orang sengsara, dan merawat orang – orang yang remuk hati, untuk memberitakan pembebasan kepada orang – orang tawanan, dan kepada orang – orang yang terkurung kelepasan dari penjara.” Setiap kita, sebagai orang – orang yang percaya, telah dipanggil dan dipilih untuk menjangkau mereka yang terhilang, menghapus air mata mereka yang remuk hati, dan memberikan harapan bagi mereka yang putus asa.

Akhir-akhir ini, jumlah penderita autisme kian meningkat dengan cepat. Ini merupakan fenomena yang terjadi secara global. Menurut survey yang diambil dari beberapa negara, 2-4 dari 10.000 anak berpeluang untuk menyandang penyakit autisme ini. Namun, beberapa sumber lain menyatakan bahwa ada sekitar 10-20 dari 10.000 anak dapat menjadi penderita autisme. Menurut survey lain, ada 1 dari 10 anak yang menyandang autisme. Data tersebut memang cukup membingungkan, dan kita tidak dapat tahu secara pasti yang mana yang benar. Namun, satu hal yang dinyatakan oleh semua sumber, yang mana kita dapat pastikan adalah benar, bahwa saat ini jumlah penderita autisme di semua negara sedang bertumbuh dengan hebatnya

Indonesia juga menghadapi masalah yang sama. Jumlah pasien penderita autisme di Indonesia terus bertambah setiap tahunnya, namun kesadaran orang terhadap sindroma ini masih sangat rendah.Menurut data yang dikeluarkan pada Hari Autisme Sedunia di bulan April lalu, jumlah penyandang autisme di Indonesia ada sekitar 7-8 dari 1.000 kelahiran, sedangkan pada masa lalu hanya 1 dari 1.000 kelahiran.

Laporan yang menyedihkan ini telah mendukakan seluruh dunia, dan tentunya Tuhan juga sangat terluka. Tuhan kita yang penuh kasih tidak akan pernah merencanakan hal seburuk ini untuk terjadi. Kalaupun hal ini terjadi, itu semua seijin Tuhan agar KemuliaanNya dapat dinyatakan di tengah – tengah dunia. (Yeremia 29:11-12, “Sebab Aku ini mengetahui rancangan-rancangan apa yang ada pada-Ku mengenai kamu, demikianlah firman TUHAN, yaitu rancangan damai sejahtera dan bukan rancangan kecelakaan, untuk memberikan kepadamu hari depan yang penuh harapan.”) Tuhan telah menciptakan setiap kita luar biasa dan sangat baik adanya (Mazmur 139:14, “Aku bersyukur kepada-Mu oleh karena kejadianku dahsyat dan ajaib; ajaib apa yang Kaubuat, dan jiwaku benar-benar menyadarinya.”) Maka, jika ada hal-hal buruk menimpa anak – anak, itu bukanlah berasal dari Tuhan

Maka, kami memutuskan untuk melangkah dengan iman, meresponi panggilan Tuhan untuk menjamah generasi muda ini, untuk memberikan mereka kembali harapan yang telah dicuri oleh iblis, dan untuk sekali lagi membuka mata mereka kepada masa depan yang cerah yang telah dijanjikan Tuhan pada mulanya. Kami percaya bahwa Tuhan dapat menyembuhkan anak - anak yang membutuhkan ini karena Tuhan masih melakukan mujizat hingga saat ini.

Kita membangun sebuah rumah autis di Jakarta dan akan dimulai pada bulan Desember 2011. Rumah ini diperuntukkan untuk anak anak yang orang tuanya tidak mampu membiayai pendidikan. Pendidikan ini diberikan secara gratis karena kita ingin orang – orang yang kurang mampu juga dapat mengalami kasih dan kebaikan Tuhan. Kami berupaya untuk mengajar mereka dengan dibantu oleh teman-teman yang juga memiliki beban yang sama dan memiliki keahlian khusus.

Merilis album ini sendiri merupakan perintah dari Tuhan. Ia menginginkan kita untuk belajar meletakkan dan menyerahkan kemampuan apa yang telah Tuhan berikan kepada kami, sekecil atau sebesar apapun itu, untuk memberkati sesama.Karena itu, kami tidak akan mengambil keuntungan sedikitpun dari hasil penjualan album ini. Melainkan, kami akan menggunakan semua hasil penjualan album hanya untuk mendanai rumah autis yang sedang kami rintis.

Sebenarnya kami telah memulai pelayanan mendidik orang – orang yang tidak mampu (baik anak maupun orang tua) secara gratis di daerah Joglo, Jakarta Barat sejak tahun 2008 hingga saat ini masih berlangsung. Dan puji Tuhan, pelayanan kami membawa dampak yang luar biasa bagi mereka. Anak – anak yang sebelumnya kesulitan dalam membaca dan menulis di sekolah, kini mereka dapat membaca dan menulis. Tidak hanya itu, ada juga yang berhasil mendapat ranking di kelasnya. Sungguh, ini merupakan pekerjaan tangan Tuhan yang luar biasa, dan kami percaya Ia dapat melakukannya juga dalam kesulitan-kesulitan yang lain.

Kunjungi website kami di www.joyhopeministry.com untuk mengetahui lebih banyak tentang pelayanan kami

Apakah ada di antara anda yang merasa digerakkan untuk turut mengambil bagian dari pelayanan kami? Kiranya Tuhan memberkati setiap tindakan iman, kasih dan belas kasihan yang anda lakukan kepada anak anak yang Tuhan ciptakan dan kasihi sehingga mereka memperoleh pengharapan dan sukacita yang luar biasa dari Tuhan melalui anda. 

Jika anda digerakkan dan ingin membeli album kami (yang di dalamnya terdapat VCD+CD) silahkan menghubungi kami melalui Facebook di : Agnes-Esther-Eunike, komentar di bawah, atau email ke: ster7net@yahoo.com

Terimakasih dan Tuhan memberkati :)

Reach the Unreached (English)

Praise the Lord! By His Mercy and Grace only, we finally are releasing our very first album, “Kaulah Pengharapan Kami” (You are our Hope) 

Isaiah 61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
All of us, as the believers of Christ, are called and chosen to reach out to the lost, wipe the tears of the brokenhearted, and bring hope to the dejected. 





Lately, the number of autism sufferers is growing rapidly. It is a global phenomenon. According to the survey that was taken from some countries, 2-4 kids from10,000 have the possibility to suffer this autism. Nevertheless, there are even some other sources which claimed that there are about 10-20 kids from every 10,000 can possibly suffer autism. The other survey said that approximately 1 of 10 kids is autistic. The datas are confusing, and we cannot be sure which survey might be right. However, all sources have obviously claimed something that we can be very certain about: The incidence of autism all over the world has truly increased remarkably. 





Indonesia is facing the very same problem. The number of patients with autism in Indonesia keeps on rising every year, yet the awareness from the people to this syndrome is still very low. According to the data that was released on the World Autism Day last April, the number of the patients with autism in Indonesia was estimated about 7-8 of 1,000 birth, while in the last periods was only 1 of 1,000 birth. 





This saddening report has made the whole world grieved, and surely this pierced our God's heart as well. Our loving God would never plan for such thing to ever happen in this world. Even if that happened, it was allowed by God, so that His Glory can be revealed throughout all the earth. (Jeremiah 29:11-12: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”) He has created each of us amazingly and wonderfully. (Psalms 139:14: “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; and that my soul knoweth right well.”) Therefore, if miserable things fell upon the children, they are not of God. 





Thereof, we are stepping out in faith, responding God's calling deep within our heart to touch these young generations, to give them back the hopes that were once stolen by the devil, and to once again open their eyes to the bright future that was promised by God in the beginning. We believe that God can heal those children in need because He is still doing miracles up until today. 





We built a house of autism in our own hometown, Jakarta, and are opening it this December 2011. This house is purposed for kids whose parents are not able to fund their education. The education we are giving is free of charge because we want the poor ones to also be able to experience God's goodness and mercy through our service. We, with the help of some of our friends who have experienced the same problem and got special skills, will give our best efforts to teach, train, and equip these kids. 





Releasing this first album itself is a command from God. He wants us to learn how to give what we have been given by Him, no matter how small or big it might be, to bless the people out there who are crying for helps. Therefore, we are not going to gain any profits from the selling of this album. Instead, we are using whatever we will get from it to fund the free school we are initiating. 




We have actually started our service by educating the poor people (both the kids and the parents) freely in a place around Joglo, Western Jakarta since 2008 and it is still going on until today. And praise God, our service did make a great impact in that place. Children who used to be incapable of reading and writing, are now able to read and write. Not only that, they can even get ranks in their schools and become the best students among their classmates. Indeed, this was such an amazing work done by God, and we believe He can also do it in the other hardships. 

You can check our website in www.joyhopeministry.com to know more about our family's ministry. 

Does any of you feel moved to be part of our ministry? May God bless every act of faith, love, and compassion that are done by all of you to the children whom God created and loved, so that they could get hold of the hope and joy which are incredible from you. 

If you feel moved and want to buy our album (which comprises CD+VCD), you may contact us through Facebook:
Agnes-Esther-Eunike ; or comment below ; or email to: ster7net@yahoo.com 

Thank you and God bless.  :)

Jumat, 02 November 2012

Love and Perseverance do Make a Difference


I live in Jakarta, a bustling metropolitan city of Indonesia. A city where massive buildings and sumptuous mansions are almost everywhere on sight. I had never known that among all these luxuries of Jakarta, there are people living in such destitution and indigence; and while everyone else is having their large feast, there are people who just scarcely have scraps of food to eat. I had never realized that behind all these towering skyscrapers, there are slums which are utterly deplorable.

I was walking some meters away from my residential area when I got promptly startled by the sight in front of me – a sight that I had never realized it has always been there. Behind the old walls at the roadside, there lies a residence which consisted of houses that can hardly be called as “houses.” I walked through the sloppy path as I looked around. Half-naked children were running around; some adults were getting water from old pipes; the others were sitting down at the porch. Squalid, cramped, and unkempt, these houses stood in shocking contrast to the wholesomeness of country living. I stifled my tears. What a poignant, heart-rending sight!

I stopped and gazed towards the walls enclosing that place. From that spot, I could vividly see the luxurious houses across the road. Houses that are ten times more spacious and splendid than these people's. Tears began to keep streaming down my face. They do always see us – our lavish life, while for them, to live just one more day is something they have to arduously be grappling with. No wonder we have a high number of crimes in this city. The social gap is too large.

Who would ever love poverty or crimes? These kids who were born in this kind of neighborhood, did they ever choose? Lots of them finally just chose to succumb to their wretched condition and despair. They do not know how to rise up from their dismal life, catch a glimpse of hope, and transform their and their descendent's life!

Just giving them money will not help their life. A Chinese proverb says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The first step to get out of poverty is to get rid of poverty mentality. We need to educate them, change their mindset, and build their character!

With this fervent desire to see changes in our society, I and my family decided to step out and reach these helpless people. We cannot wait for the government or anybody else to do it. We, as the Indonesians, must take the initiative for the sake of our own nation. We opened a free school for poor people to teach them how to read, write, and count. We also opened a free school for poor children with special needs to train and cultivate their talents. We instill in their minds the idea of perseverance, diligence, determination, and obedience. We also give out healthy foods and drinks for our students after every class and for their relatives occasionally. As a result, many children's lives were transformed, and their parents could once again see hopes in their children's lives.

People can disparage the work we are doing. Maybe it seems like nothing much is changed yet. However, will watering seeds everyday be futile just because it does not grow immediately? Will little works done faithfully and with great love be vain?

Our desire, as the seed, is to bring hope to the dejected, bind up the brokenhearted, and once again revive the spark of light within every soul. We yearn to see our city – and nation eventually – freed from this bondage of poverty and crime. And as a seed must be planted into the fertile soil, dreams must be planted into hearts that are filled with love that never dies.

Planted seed will not grow without consistent care. It must be fertilized and watered continually. Even when the seeds seem to not grow immediately, we have to keep doing it unrelentingly and indefatigably until it sprouts and gives out fruits. We must maintain a vibrant faith and let the love that burns within our heart keep us doing what we know is right.

This is how we will be able to create the future we want – the future of our life, family, country, and even the whole world. If only each of us has that passion to do what we can, initiatively and faithfully, seeds will begin to sprout and grow. At last, a huge, immense forest of dreams will become a reality.

“Love never fails; Character never quits; and with patience and perseverance, dreams do come true!” -The Pistol (Movie)

Anti-Corruption Youth


Ladies and gentlemen, I understand, that many of us have become so weary and exasperated seeing how corruption is getting very prevalent in our country. In almost every area of occupation, corruption can be done in a highly organized way, being barely touched by the law.

Before I proceed, I would like to explain to you how corruption is defined generally and specifically.
According to my research, corruption is generally defined as a dishonest and fraudulent conduct done for private gains. Although corruption is commonly attributed to the government sector, it also prevails tremendously in the business sector.
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners expounds what corruption is, in a form of a Fraud Tree. Fraud is divided into three: Corruption, Asset Misappropriation, and Fraudulent Statements. Corruption itself is divided into four branches: Conflicts of Interest, Bribery, Illegal Gratuities, and Economic Extortion. Conflict of Interest occurs when a person has an undisclosed economic or personal interest in a transaction that adversely affects the company. Bribery, (the one we are so familiar with,) can be defined as offering or giving anything of value to influence an official act or business decision. Illegal Gratuities are similar to bribes, but there is not necessarily intent to influence a business decision. Usually, the gift is given after the official act is done or after a business deal is over, which makes it hard to prove. Economic Extortion is basically the opposite of a bribery fraud. Instead of offering, the person demands.

According to Indonesia Corruption Watch, just within a period from January 1st – June 31st, 2012, Indonesia has lost 1220 billions rupiah due to 285 cases of corruption. It is also estimated that about 30% of the national budget (APBN) is lost to corruption.
Even so, many efforts have been tried to be made to eradicate corruption. Corruption Eradication Commission has been long erected. However, corruption is still getting rampant and keeps undermining the rule of law. What is actually going on?

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners mentions in its video three causes why people commit fraud. They call it the Fraud Triangle. First reason is that the person may be trapped under an onerous pressure, second he may a great opportunity to do so, and third he rationalizes corruption as not a crime because the majority is doing it.

Bess Myerson says, “The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference.” Ladies and gentlemen, we own this country. Young people, the future of this nation is in our hands. We are the ones who will be the future leaders of Indonesia. We may not be able to change the present condition, but we ARE more than able to change the FUTURE condition. So where are we bringing this nation? To a deeper darker pit of corruption? Or to those marvelous days when truth speaks louder than money?

It doesn't take an extreme genius to change this nation. But we can change Indonesia. We – who are young and dauntless enough to take hold of integrity even under terrible pressure. We – who are daring enough to remain trustworthy even the so-called opportunity is right in front of our eyes. We – who are bold enough to stop rationalizing things and stay doing what is right just because it IS right.
And, we – who are courageous enough to stake our life and ego for the sake of righteousness and justice.

Young people, let us educate, train, and equip ourselves. But on top of all, let integrity rule over our life before destruction does. As Philip Dormer says, Keep your hands clean and pure from the infamous vice of corruption. Accept no present whatever; let your character in that respect be transparent and without the least speck.
And remember that as every sweet oranges begin with very tiny orange seeds, so is integrity.
If it is not we who start, who else will?