This story comes from one of our newest Peace Catalyst staff members, Jaime Harris, who has been living and making peace in Indonesia for 20 years through education, serving the poor, organizing interfaith events, and more.

Two leaders from the Hizb ut-Tahrir spoke to our group in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. These men outlined a bold, utopian Islamic vision. They saw themselves at war with Western civilization and sought to establish a global Caliphate - an Islamic government with a leader over their entire Muslim community, known as a Caliph. 

Even if one disagrees with my assessment of Muslims, I think we can all agree on the clear teaching of the Prince of Peace. A couple weeks ago I spent three of the most intense and exciting days of my life making peace in a city in Central Java, Indonesia. Everywhere I went I told my favorite stories from our work in Peace Catalyst International and shared key verses from the Bible about peacemaking.

What do peacemakers do in a country like Indonesia? Here’s an example from my recent visit, highlighting the essence of what we do in Peace Catalyst International.

Last month I had the great privilege of traveling to to the Indonesian city of Padang, West Sumatra for two weeks of speaking, learning, and relationship-building. In my first week in Padang I only encountered one other foreigner, a German man that I met in passing, and was not, to my knowledge, in the presence of a single other Christian.