Seek His will as a missionary.

Hno. John Krismanto

Becoming a missionary in other coun- tries, such as Chile, for me is like a dream. But it is real. Before, I was a missionary in East Timor for about 4 years. I’m grateful for the experience. After my experience as a missionary in East Timor, I was as- ked for an orientation visit to the province of Chile. In Chile there are two commu- nities, namely San Luis and San Anto- nio. My orientation visit lasted for three months from August until October 2015. I’m grateful for having had the chance to live with my brothers in both communi- ties.

In September 2016, I officially became a missionary in Chile. During my orientati- on visit, I had experienced openness and acceptance. This experience gave me a surprise, both positive and negative. The positive surprise: I came to know things that were previously unknown to me. Here, I learned more to listen and to do what is suggested by a fellow brother. This became a struggle for me; the ne- gative surprise was when inside I found myself less able to receive input from my fellow brother.

Openness, and acceptance of a fellow brother in a community, shows up in community meetings, eating together, common prayers, recreation. For me, the openness and togetherness of living in a community is crucial. Through this en- counter, I get my strength from God.

I often learn from the attitude of the Lord Jesus who was always struggling to achieve His mission from his Father. He carried his cross for the sake of the salva- tion of the people who loved him.

In my new life, I am struggling to defeat the power of evil forces within. I am struggling with God against the power of darkness that exists within me. I am con- fident and believe in him, so I am able to walk his path on the soil of this mission. May the Lord guide me as a true missio- nary to do his will and carry out His plan.