For many years, Indonesia was under Dutch rule, and among the Dutch settlers was , who presently lives in the United States. He was living in Jakarta at the time of Indonesian independence. In this article, he gives his experiences on independence day in Indonesia and at another time when he and his wife were out and about in Jakarta.
We had Church Services in Jakarta on Sunday morning in English and in the afternoon in Dutch. On Wednesdays we alternated: one Wednesday it was in English and the next it was in Dutch. I'm telling you this because it ties in with what happened when Indonesia became independent.
Independence day was on a Wednesday, and we were told that all Europeans should stay home, because no one knew what would happen, if the transition would be peaceful or not. At first we weren't sure what to do about the Wednesday church service, but we felt that we really had to go ahead with it. To get to the church, I had to pass the presidential palace, and I felt that I needed to pray for safety, as I knew there would be a lot of activity in that area. So, I prayed from the standpoint that "everybody loves each other." I knew that there is always divine protection, but I still felt uneasy.
