HYC Jakarta: Zaynab Atsegbua

This summer I had the opportunity to participate in the Jakarta Hope Youth Corps, which also happened to be my first ever HYC. I had heard about it constantly from friends who had participated in various youth corps, but never had the chance to join one myself. I made the decision to apply because I wanted to be pushed in my relationship with God, as my walk with God had defaulted into something comfortable and convenient.

On this youth corps we had various roles for this project; we were teaching, building a wall and constructing toilets. We had children from Grades 1-6 who we taught Math, English, and played countless simple games. I knew from the start, that this was going to require a lot of patience and perseverance, but only after I left the classroom on the first day did I realize just how challenging it was going to be to make real connections with these children. In my friendships, and even when evangelizing, I was so accustomed to relying on the connection made from dialogue, and using that verbal communication as a basic foundation. Because they only spoke their native language; Bahasa, I found myself at a loss with these children.

I desired for the children to understand what we were there for, why we chose to serve in that way, and wanting to build a friendship with them. Initially however, all of that proved somewhat difficult. I didn’t want us to just be teachers, bricklayers or builders to them; I wanted them to understand that we were there because of our love for Jesus, and in turn, our love for them.
It wasn’t until our last day at this site that I realized just how much of a connection we’d made. The children went from shying away from us, to yelling out our names whenever we walked by and giving us high-five’s. There was a young girl, Rebecca, who came up to a few of us and thanked us in Bahasa; we’d learnt our fair share by then. We asked her why she didn’t wear a headscarf like all the other girls and she told us she was the only Christian at her school, that she was persecuted almost every day because of it, and she instantly broke down in tears. In tears ourselves, we then comforted her and wrote scriptures in Bahasa to encourage her. One of the interns from the area happens to know her Uncle, and there’s hope that she’ll attend our church in Bogor!

Shortly before this, the children came running out of their classrooms with their notebooks and pens, each of them wanting our autographs. We exchanged bracelet, hugs, laughs and memories that will never be forgotten! Never could I have dreamed for such a beautiful friendship with these children, it was unconventional; our love was communicated solely through action. They helped me see, the love of God isn’t hindered by anything; not ethnicity, nationality, social class, gender, religion and definitely not even a barrier like language. This HYC really brought to life the phrase ‘Love is seen, not heard’.