Indonesia

Our return journey took us via Frankfurt to Jakarta, where Alison and the children went straight to Kupang, while I caught a plane to Semarang, and by taxi to Salatiga. Mes didn't meet me as he thought I would arrive later. This visit was to fulfil my promise to Broto Semedi to give a series of 12 lectures on Christology.

Mes had managed to find the home of a lecturer, who had gone on leave, for us both, where we spent endless evenings in deep and very meaningful discussions. The students I was to teach were all from year three and four. I enjoyed these lectures very much. Since I had mentioned the German Theologian Bultmann several times, they promptly called me 'Bultmann'. The Timorese students in Salatiga, about 70 of them, organised themselves into a fraternity and went with me as their patron on a tour to Borobudur. My farewell was done in typical Javanese fashion, warm-heartedly and with lots of songs and jokes. Mes accompanied me to Surabaya by train, where we stayed a night with John Rossner, before Mes returned to Salatiga, and I to Kupang. It was hard to say good-bye to Mes. He had looked after me so well and we had become close friends. When would we see each other again?

It was wonderful to be re-united with the family in Kupang after three long weeks. I didn't realise how much I had missed them until we were together again.

At Tarus things had gone smoothly during my absence. School had not yet started again after their very long holidays. They didn't seem to have missed me. I began to prepare inwardly for our departure at the end of the year. I knew it would be difficult. Chris wanted me to come back again after our furlough, inspite of all our differences in the past. But unfortunately, this could not be. Alison and I had agreed before we left Australia, that we would not separate from our children. Two of our children were ready to go into high school. We felt that the standard for Primary School had been quite good in Kupang, but for high schools it was really inadequate. So we had to make the very hard decision, for me at least, to return to Australia for good.

I received a list of vacant parishes in Australia, but I felt I could not start negotiating with anyone before our return.

During September Agabus Rajadima and Tinus Saban invited me to visit them in Rote. I took the MAF plane to Baa, borrowed a motor bike from Logo Haba, another ex-student, and went first to Agabus at Busalangga. He had problems with some of his elders, who followed the 'Spirit Movement', the charismatic movement we had studied at SoE. They had already split his church. He had dissolved his Elders' Council, and wanted to replace them with only those who agreed with him. I had to point out that the Church is the only organisation that includes like and unlike, and that he really had to work hard to bring about unity, not uniformity. Poor Agabus really needed my prayers and support, and it was good for him to be able to share his problems openly with me. He was also in financial

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