Report on the third day of the OASIS encounter.

The third day of the Oasis encounter started as usual with a prayer service in the chapel, facilitated by Sister Claudia. The theme of our morning meditation was “Remembering God’s love is like letting God bring us back to our own soil.”  She presented some paintings about the development of a person in different stages of life amidst sorrow, pain, joy, support and growth. All the stages were supported  by paintings and texts from the gospel of Luke, especially 13: 10-13….She was bent over can could not straighten herself up completely…when Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, “Woman, you are free from your sickness.” Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God…..

After breakfast followed by some personal preparation, we started a series of personal reviews presented by 3 participants in the morning and three others after the afternoon break. We called these sessions “Sharing our Love Story”. Each of them had enough time to tell his love story and explain the symbol behind each of them. We found that our love stories with God in fact are testimonies of God's love for us. In different ways, we experienced and felt the love of God in each of these unique stories.  

Each contribution was concluded with optional reactions from the other participants on a flip over, in the form of text or drawing. The main intention of this was to give encouragement, support, and appreciation to the presenter. An appropriate song concluded each contribution and also served as an expression of our appreciation and support to the presenter.

A prayer service with the theme “God’s tremendous love for us” led by Bro. Johan concluded the day. During this evening prayer he invited us to reflect on psalm 71 and John 3: 16-18. I would like to quote a sentence which I took from the concluding prayer which touched me very much, namely: “Love God, your love us is overwhelming. We can not grasp…and often can only be silent in face of your longing for our well being. We wholeheartedly thank you again and again for your loving care.”

Ton van Baaren and (Theodorus Suwariyanto)