I came to Indonesia as a foreigner but soon learned to love the people and the country with all its smiles and tears. More than that I became a friend of many people from many backgrounds, some in challenging situations with their fears and pains, but I found in nearly all of them a good heart and a smile. JRS enabled me to go to places I never would have gone and meet people I might never have met. Working with JRS was and is a very rich experience of learning to receive and give and moreover share the beauty of life. 

As a non-Christian I was initially sceptical about working in a religious based organisation but soon learnt that it shares the same universal values of humanism and solidarity. JRS looks not only to serve and support the neediest but also is with them as a friend during people’s most challenging journeys regardless of their religious beliefs. When visiting people in detention centres, plagued with uncertainty about their own and their loved ones future, or reconciling religious communities formerly in violent conflict JRS staff live an example to others showing humility and being prepared to being a friend to everyone. What I have learnt to love about JRS is the ability to laugh and the joy of bringing hope into people’s lives. I found JRS highly flexible when attending to needs of those we serve and willingness to reflect on one’s self and the surroundings.

Congratulations to everyone being part of JRS’s journey of the last 30 years and thanks for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it.

Lars Stenger, national advocacy officer JRS Indonesia