Today I was invited by Bu Melissa and Pak Jimmy to go to their house which is inside an estate where the fabled Merlion of Surabaya is located. Citra land is dubbed as the Singapore of Surabaya, ultimately because of the statue of a Merlion (quite similar to that of Singapore) which is spewing water back to a man made lake. Bu Novy and Pak Mar fetched me from RM at around 5pm so that we can have picture taking with the Merlion. Earlier, I had a picture with the symbols of Surabaya, a shark and a buwaya, two images where Surabaya got its name. In that picture, I was drinking water from the mouth of the shark which flowed back to the river, now we attempt to recapture the same moment but now with the Merlion. The result was fantastic! Bagus!
After having our picture taken with the Merlion, we went to a lake side sea food restaurant called Bandar Surabaya, bandar literally means a port or harbour. We had a hearty dinner with ikan, kepiting (crabs were uenak!), kangkong goreng in sweet chili sauce, kelapa mudah, and uenak soup hehe forgot the name.
I admit that all I was expecting from this afternoon was the delicious lakeside dinner and picture taken with that awesome merlion, but I had more. Moments were family members and friends getting together are invaluable.
To top it all up, I was invited in Pak Jimmy's house where their kids Gerry and Kelly played the piano. I suddenly remembered similar instances in the Philippines where the kids are asked by parents to present their talents and skills whenever a visitor comes to ones house. But the best part of the visit was when Bu Melissa and the kids led me to their private prayer room where the family plays team building board games before praying together. Although playing and praying don't normally mix well, but in this case, both activity bonds the family closer together. As the family rosary would always emphasize: "The family that prays together, stays together", now I think that "a family that plays and prays together, laughs and stays closer together". I don't know here in Surabaya, but I seldom see families in the Philippines have private prayer rooms in their houses, which the family members actually use and spent quality time together. I for one, in our family, we do't have such a place or venue for family bonding and get together,except ofcourse during meal time when we are all expected to be present. After playing uno stacko, we prayed night prayers together, led by Kelly the youngest member of the family.
It is therefore a challenge and a task for all families to have such a time together. To find activities and venues were all can talk and know what is happening to each member of the family and to end the day by giving thanks and praising the Lord together in common prayer. We passed by a warung were they served es puter, traditional Indonesian ice cream made from various fruits and coconut milk, served inside coconut shells, before the family dropped me off at RM.
I am slowly begining to see what role the pastor has to play in this part of our pastoral ministry. It is to live with the people and try to understand how God can work in the priest's life and how God works in other people's lives. Everybody has a role to play, each one has something to give, all can be instruments of God's love and be opportuinities to have that God experience in the most ordinary circumstances of our lives.
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