Promote learning and spread good news to the Lord

Interviewee/Esther Dharmawirya, Philip Dharmawirya

Interview/Yi Wei

▲Children at Tao Christian School can hear and see God’s love.

The high-quality education of Christian schools, the cultivation of moral character according to God's will, and the virtues of filial piety and brotherhood of the Chinese are all attracting Indonesian Muslim families.

In 1998, a world-famous "political reform" and "exclusion of Chinese Indonesians" storm occurred in Indonesia, causing great panic among Indonesian Chinese and Christians. At that time, there was Philip Dharmawirya, a young man in his early 20s who had just come to the United States from Indonesia to study at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. On Sunday, when he was preaching at the Salvation Church in the suburbs and calling on the church to pray urgently for Indonesian Christians, he kept sighing. It was not out of anxiety, but because of his burning love for God in the midst of suffering. He could not explain clearly. The ground gasps. Twelve years have flown by, and Philip has gotten married and has children. The reporter interviewed him, who lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and his mother Esther, who is far away in Indonesia, a country known as the Thousand Islands, which brings our hearts closer to the Chinese Christians in Indonesia.

▲On Christmas Day 2009, Paul and Esther (seated first and second from right) attended the church of their son Philip in Philadelphia.

Q: In 1998, a series of incidents occurred in Indonesia in which Muslims burned down Christian churches and persecuted Christians. According to reports, more than 400 Christian churches have been burned down, more than 20 pastors have been killed, and there are not a few Christians who have been persecuted. Have you been affected?

Esther:No. That year, we opened a school in Batam, a city in central Sumatra. Bataan is located in the Riau Islands Province (Kepulauan Riau). This island is inhabited by diverse and complex ethnic groups. Therefore, the folk customs are open and there are relatively few anti-Chinese and anti-Christian incidents.

Q: Has your family ever experienced disturbance?

Esther:One day, the pastor was arrested and taken to the police station. He was severely interrogated. The pastor insisted that he did not make any mistakes and was released six hours later.

Philip:Several times, we received threatening calls from people who wanted to burn down the church to "look good" to our families. Intelligence agents also showed up at the church, which was very unbearable! I don’t remember how old I was, but my father was taken away from the church and interrogated. Although I was still young, I felt the anxiety in my mother’s silence. That day, I seemed to suddenly realize that as the eldest son, I had the responsibility to share the worries of my parents.

God's Permitted Cross

Q: In recent years, similar incidents of hatred against Christians have occurred in Indonesia, large and small. Why does this happen?

Esther:This is God's permission. Carrying this cross is also a test for Christians. In fact, Christians do a lot of charity work in the community by giving food and clothing to the poor, taking care of orphans and widows. However, he was still jealous and angry. If people are dissatisfied with a pastor, they will hate the entire church; if they are dissatisfied with a Christian, they will hate all Christians.

Philip:Although Islam teaches hatred, not all Muslims are so extreme. Generally speaking, unlike the Middle East, Muslims in Indonesia are relatively moderate. However, in the community, Chinese Christians are jealous because of their “rich” image. Moreover, most Chinese only interact with people of the same ethnic group, and are not open enough to foreigners. They lack friendship with each other. Unnecessary misunderstandings have caused serious friction, and they are even less willing to interact. This negative relationship becomes worse as it circulates. As for what is the cause and what is the effect, it is difficult to say!

Seek loyalty to the Lord without hesitation

Q: Madam, are you worried that these things may happen to you or your children? Have you made any “just in case” preparations?

Esther:The pastor and I relied on faith and God. We prayed to God that we would be faithful until death and not fall. Believe that God will give us a strong heart.

Q: Madam, what are your plans for the children in the “just in case” situation?

(There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while.)

Esther:Thank you Lord! Children fear God too!

Deal with caution and love, open your heart and wait for it

Q: What do you think is the best way to get along with Muslim friends?

Philip:It is not difficult to make friends with Muslims. As a child, my classmates moved freely in and out of the house, and although my father was a pastor and my mother had graduated from seminary, I never cared about my friends’ religious beliefs. When I entered the National University, most of my close friends were Muslims. The two younger brothers attend national high schools, and most of their friends are Muslims.

Esther:I have many Muslim friends who often warmly invite me to attend weddings, Thanksgiving meetings for children’s circumcisions, etc. As long as it is not a religious event, I will go to congratulate them. If any Muslim group wants to use the school venue to hold activities, we are also happy to generously lend it out. The principles for dealing with them are: be cautious, be loving, do not isolate them, and do not debate religious differences.

▲Muslim children are also beloved by God. Who can tell them the love of Jesus? *

Q: What do you think is the most effective strategy for evangelizing Muslims?

Philip:As with people of any other faith, make friends with them, open yourself up, reveal your Jesus, and let them see your faith; rather than avoid them, or even worse, become enemies. Remember to always pray for their salvation and let them know that only in Jesus can they be saved.

Esther:Open schools and spread the gospel through the educational community.

Xingxue establishes Christian character education

Q: The pastor is the principal of "Holy Word Christian School". You are in charge of the kindergarten department of this school. Please introduce this school.

Esther:Our school is a branch of the main school in Jakarta, with about 1,300 students, ranging from kindergarten to junior high school (9th grade), 58% of whom are locals and 42% are Chinese. Students do not have to be Christians, but their parents must agree that they receive Christian teachings. The school often holds evangelistic meetings, and the determined students ask nearby evangelical churches to follow up and support them.

Q: It’s hard to imagine how conservative Muslims would allow their children to attend Christian schools?

Esther:The high-quality education of Christian schools, the shaping of moral character according to God's heart, and the virtues of filial piety and brotherhood of Chinese Americans are all attractive to Islamic families.

We not only care about students' studies, but also care about their lives. My teacher and I often visit sick students and families in need, pray for them, and try our best to provide help. You get close to them, and they entrust you with their deepest secrets. Someone even specifically asked us to visit him and said, "After you prayed for me in the name of Jesus last time, my heart feels so peaceful. Please pray for me again, okay?"

A Muslim student's father fell ill in Singapore, and I often went to pray for his worried mother. One day, I suddenly received a call from this mother telling her: "Our whole family has accepted the Lord Jesus and is now attending church to worship!"

That's it, we sow hard in school, the Holy Spirit works, and God will determine the harvest time.

Q: What help do you need most?

Esther:Schools used to teach in Indonesian, but now the government encourages learning Chinese. Unfortunately, there are not enough teachers. We need Chinese teachers with Christian life.

Indonesians attach great importance to Christians from other places and follow their examples. Therefore, whether they are Christians visiting from China, Taiwan, the United States, or other countries, your showing of the love of Christ is our greatest encouragement and gift.

Four generations of Dharmawirya's family have been Christians. Esther can still speak Mandarin, while Philip can communicate with reporters in English. But the rich warmth of the Chinese people is pleasing to the eye, and the steadfastness they reveal towards the Lord is admirable. I believe there are many such loyal and wise Christians there. Let us sincerely pray for Christians in Indonesia, for their efforts to uphold their faith, and for their faith environment, because their testimonies demonstrate the power of God and are our inspiration.

Interviewee profile
Philip is the eldest son of Esther and Paul. He studied in the doctoral program at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, USA. He is now the pastor of Emmanuel Indonesian Protestant Church in Philadelphia (www.imanuelphila.com), where he pastors Indonesians and makes them solid in biblical truth. foundation. This church is a branch church planted by Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Philip and his beloved wife Jenny have a daughter, Karis, and a son, Noah.

Interviewee profile
Esther Dharmawirya is a third-generation Chinese-Indonesian. Both of her parents are pastors. She graduated from the Southeast Asian Holy Word Seminary in Malang, Indonesia at the same time as Pastor Paul Dharmawirya, a Chinese-Indonesian, and is now engaged in educational ministry in Bataan. They have three sons, one daughter and five lovely grandchildren.

Journalist profile

Yi Wei, a writer, loves visiting museums, listening to classical music, and drinking a cup of good tea.