From the Reformed Quarterly Spring 1988 Bulletin.
A few years ago, RTS student Mary Salim felt so empty that she contemplated suicide — many times. On the other hand, Budi Asali, also an RTS student, just laughed when his father begged him to go to church. Yet, from such inauspicious beginnings, today both are strong believers in Christ, with sacrifices to show for that belief. Their dream: to return to Indonesia with a solid education to build the Christian church in a country dominated by Muslims.
The dream will be difficult to achieve, especially for Mary and Budi, for they are Chinese Indonesians. As such, they live under extreme discrimination by pure Indonesians who are jealous of the Chinese’ wealth and intelligence. The prejudice runs deep, making it difficult to gain admission to quality universities and find the better-paying government jobs. It lightens somewhat if the Chinese become Indonesian citizens, which Mary’s family has done at great cost. Not only was the process very expensive, but each had to give up his Chinese birth name for an Indonesian one.
LOOKING FOR LOVE
Mary was born Liem Tjien Hua into a Christian family in Central Java. Her life was packed with activities — church, school, swimming, diligent daily devotions — which she carried out with well-disciplined precision. But she felt like a machine, receiving no joy from any of them. A great emptiness filled her life, and nothing would remedy it.
“I know now that I was looking for love,” Mary remembers pensively. “In Chinese society, parents do not display open affection. While I knew intellectually that they loved me, I never really felt it in my heart because they never told me. I could not even tell my parents how I felt because our society considers such talk an act of rebellion.”
For months during high school Mary considered suicide as her only option. One evening, however, she turned her life over to Christ, and found the love she had been searching for. She realized the emptiness in her life had been her need for a Saviour.
After becoming a Christian, Mary attended Southeast Asia Bible Seminary in Indonesia for four years and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theology. She began teaching in a private Chinese Christian school but soon realized she needed more training in Christian Education. She chose RTS partly because of the seminary’s enthusiastic response to her letter of application.
In a Third World country like Indonesia, education is a very important tool in evangelization. Mary’s dream is to start a Christian school in Bandung, West Indonesia, to minister to children of Chinese Buddhists who cannot send their children to public schools because of discrimination. By teaching the children Bible and Christian doctrine, Mary hopes to convert the parents.
At RTS Mary works in the library in addition to her Christian Education studies. A former youth choir director in Indonesia, she also sings in the choir at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson. Mary understandably has a strong burden for Muslims and Chinese Buddhists — and takes it with her wherever she goes. Believing that friendship is the key, Mary has even tried out her theory here in Jackson with four Muslims, hoping to interest them in the gospel.
BUDI ASALI
Unlike Mary, Budi was born into a non-Christian, middle-class family in Surabaya, East Java. In fact, Budi’s family professed no religious beliefs. However, after a Communist coup d’etat failed in 1965, having no religious affiliation became dangerous in Indonesia. The Indonesian government despised Communists, and anyone without a religion could be labeled just that. Consequently, many people became “card-carrying Christians,” listing Christianity as their faith to relieve government suspicion.
Budi’s family were among these. When Budi was in senior high school, his father advised him that it was dangerous not to attend church. Budi, who listed himself as a Christian on his citizenship card, just laughed.
He went on to college, where he studied electrical engineering. By his sophomore year, Budi felt he was flunking his studies. He prayed to God to help him pass — and he passed. This was a turning point for Budi. He realized for the first time that God loved him even when he had not loved God.
He then began to go to church and, in 1975, accepted Christ. By 1977 he was finishing his fifth year in college and only lacked writing his thesis to obtain his degree. But he never finished it. After months of prayer, he quit school, convinced that God wanted him in the ministry.
His family thought he was crazy to give up the promise of a good-paying job. “There was a war between my father and me,” says Budi. “Finally, I insisted I did not care. I thought I needed to obey the Lord more than my father.”
He then moved to another city about 50 miles away and began attending an evangelical Presbyterian church. For almost seven years the minister trained Budi in everything from personal evangelism to organizing a church. Budi also began teaching Sunday School, which in Indonesia is only for small children.
Since most seminaries in Indonesia are liberal, Budi’s pastor recommended study in the United States. Jacob Susabda, an RTS graduate from Indonesia, convinced Budi that RTS should be his choice.
Subsequently, Budi’s parents agreed to finance his seminary career to the extent that they had financed his sister’s education. However, this money and a scholarship pay for only tuition and living expenses. Budi buys books by working on the seminary maintenance crew during the summer months and holidays.
“Books are very expensive in Indonesia, even if you can get them,” he explains. “I’m trying to buy as many as I can here and take them back.”
Budi’s goal for ministry is to “clean up Christianity” in Indonesia. In his home city of Surabaya, it is difficult to find a good evangelical church. By preaching biblical truth, Budi hopes to change the vast number of nominal churches which exist in Indonesia. His biggest obstacle will be a lack of pastors and teachers to help him.
Mary and Budi are only two of several Indonesian students at RTS, and there have been others in the past. Their stories are different, but in one way they are alike. They all have a burning desire to see their country won for Christ, and they are willing to work hard to realize that dream. Indeed, we know they are going to make a difference!