Ministry in Australia

In countries where workers were exploited, it actually hindered development. A concerned Indonesian commented: "How can a Christian, with his freezer full of goodies, pray genuinely: 'give us this day our daily bread'?" There was no easy answer to questions like that.

The Indonesian delegates also wanted to know what the ACC had done about the disgraceful situation of our Aborigines. We were able to report that the ACC had invited the WCC to send a fact-finding team to Australia, which received widespread publicity. The team exposed some of the terrible conditions our Aborigines endured on the fringes of our white society, and the bias against them which they frequently experienced at the hands of Australian law enforcement agencies.

After this meeting I resigned as the secretary of the Indonesia Desk. I had moved to Canberra in the meantime and to my regret it was just not possible to make the time. I had enjoyed the work tremendously. It had given me a rare insight into ecumenical work on an international scale, and I found it most rewarding.

Mission tour

John Brown wanted me to be the tour leader of the first Mission Tour sponsored by the Commission For World Mission (CFWM) from 8 to 29 September 1979, visiting Bali, Java, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. I was in two minds about it. Alison could not come with me, and it went against my grain to be staying in luxury hotels. The tour cost $2295 per person. On the other hand it gave me an opportunity to see other places where our church was working with indigenous churches, without having to pay anything. Our Council of Elders encouraged me to go, and so I went.

We stayed the first night at Dhyana Pura, which belongs to the Bali Church. From there we visited a Christian village in Blimbingsari, meeting church people, and talking to the locals. We were pleasantly surprised to see some church buildings that looked like a Hindu temple. They had used the typical Balinese style to say to the world, 'look, here is a Balinese Christian church, not a foreign religious building'.

Some parts of the church service had also been indigenised. At the dedication of the offering, for instance, a couple of Balinese girls took the offering and dedicated it in their lovely traditional dance.

The minister of the Blimbingsari church told us about an Australian missionary worker who had died from an accidental fall while helping to build the church. He was charged with negligence, being responsible for the building project, and in his defence he said: "If your Honour wish to put me to jail for this offence, I urge you to do so. It will give me a unique opportunity to preach the Gospel to the unconverted every day. I would

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