by Geoff Robson
When Sue Scarcella visited Bali late last year, it didn’t take long for the reality of the October 12 bombings to reach her.
Arriving at Sydney Airport with 42 pieces of luggage, filled to overflowing with gifts for the people of Bali, two Indonesians helped her to move the bags into place. On discovering where she was headed, one of the Indonesians said softly, ‘I am Balinese’.
“I looked at the ground and asked, knowing the answer already, ‘Did you lose any family?’” Sue says. “He said, ‘Five. I am going home for their cremations.’
“I took his hand in mine and gave the traditional greeting of condolence: ‘Kasihan’. I hoped he knew I really meant it. I felt helpless in the face of such loss.”
Sue – whose husband, Rocco, is associate minister at Sylvania Anglican Church – is a regular visitor to Bali. Fluent in Indonesian and with a deep understanding of Balinese culture, she returned to the island late last year for a prayer summit called in the wake of the tragedy.
While the initial shock and grief may have passed, Sue says that her visit brought home just how deeply the people of Bali have been affected.
“They are trying to get over the shock and the horror of it all – but there is no normal life being offered to them,” she says. “It is affecting every part of their being.”
One of her main concerns is the Balinese ‘tradition’ of seeing suicide as a solution to overwhelming problems. “They can tend to think, ‘If we can’t win this battle, we’ll just give up’,” she says.
During her visit, Sue, together with other Christians, distributed thousands of donated goods to the local people. Donated by individuals and companies, the items given away included toys and packs of school supplies given to schools, orphanages and people they met on the street.
“We told people that these things came from the Christian community in Sydney. People thought that was just great.”
After seeing how locals reacted to ‘Christian love in action’, Sue urges Christians to consider returning to Bali to get alongside those who are suffering.
“Bali is not like a warzone. It is quite safe,” she says. “Christians ought not to be afraid.
“There is a hunger among the people of Bali, which gives Christians a chance to talk and to spread their faith. We need to listen to what they’ve been through and present ourselves as Christians – to have a holiday, but to say that we want to listen and offer help to people where we can.”
“[The Balinese] are intensely religious people, and they will actually talk about life and death.”
The success of the prayer summit is evidence of the spiritual hunger in Bali. Over 7000 people attended one meeting, despite torrential monsoon rain, while more than 3000 packed the venue for another meeting. Messages were received from Christians in around 80 nations, and many people came from other parts of Indonesia to share fellowship with the Balinese.
Christians in Bali hope this may begin the process of changing their home from a place seen as an ‘island of the gods’ to become an ‘island of God’. “The local Christians are willing to take this opportunity to work in God’s strength and turn this island around,” Sue says.
Sue is now hoping to return to Bali again this year and exceed the total of 42 suitcases of gifts. Anyone wishing to contribute can contact Sue on (02) 9522 7625.
