Old Man Morgan

Well, the trip to Aceh was quite an experience – overall not that bad but a lot of deja vu. First, about the trip up – traffic was absolutely horrible and there was a big accident on the freeway. The trip to the airport took 2.5 hours – and I missed my flight by 5 minutes (the plane was still there but the computers had “closed” and I could hear the announcement to board – urgh ). I booked the next flight (1 hour later) which then was 45 minutes late. That put me in Medan about 1 hour AFTER my connecting flight. Good news was that the connecting flight was a private charter (ours) and the company held the plane until I arrived. If they had left without me, I would have had to return to Jakarta – overnight there – fly back to Medan the next day and then take the charter. Reason for that – we are not allowed to overnight in Medan for security reasons.

Once arriving in Aceh – at our private airport inside our compound, I was given a safety and security briefing. Then, I went to work. The compound is a combination gas plant, offices, airport, and containers converted to offices. I lived in 1/2 of container on a very simple bed. But, I had a private shower, TV, and computer access. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at a cafeteria and snacks were provided both in the AM and PM. There is a small recreation center and tennis court – but I did not participate in any of those activities. Basically, I got up at 430am …. worked and ate … then went to bed at 1030pm.

The compound was incredibly quiet, dull, and boring. The women all wore jilbob’s and were fully covered up except for their faces and hands. While up there, there were a couple of grenade attacks on a few government offices – but no issues in/around the camp. The day I left there was a 5.0 earthquake in that area – but we were already in the air. Deja vue – as I said.

Flights back to Jakarta were late (what else is new) and I arrived at home about 730pm. Rested a bit, had dinner, took a shower and then went to CJs with Decy.

CJs was its normal noisy, crowded place. It was good to hear noise again. There were no security issues – nobody used our bowl of chips for an ash tray. Nobody tried to touch Decy. Nobody used our bucket of ice to wash their glasses. So, it would seem that our night was destined to be non-eventful. Such was not the case.

Last night, there was a very young, petite, pretty girl there. She looked a bit tipsy and acted a bit “flighty”. I thought she had taken some drugs. She would put her jacket and purse on our chairs / table as well as her glass. Then, she would take them away … leave … dance … come back … and do it again. Something just wasn’t right. Decy and I both noticed her and we watched her carefully.

As the evening evolved some guys tried to pick her up but she wasn’t particularly interested them. She was, however, interested in one of the guys in the band. There was also another guy that was standing close to her and acting like he was with her (but he wasn’t). One of the guys we know (only at the club) which I will call Joe went up to the girl (I’ll call her Diana) to see if Diana was ok. At that point the guy that was trying to get close to Diana shoved Joe out of the way and told him to leave. Now Joe, is just a little guy, quite harmless, and obviously 100% gay. When Decy and I saw that, we knew the evening was about to change.

At that point, Decy and I discussed the situation. That “small still voice” started going through my mind and I realized that although my light doesn’t shine brightly … it does shine and CJs was “an unlight room”. Decy recognized the situation also. She went over to Diana to talk to her … Diana’s eyes were red … she had been crying. Decy took Diana and brought her to our area.

Diana looked 15 years old, but she is 18 (19 next week). She grew up in the country, on a little farm in central Java island. Her family is poor. Her family sent her to Jakarta to earn money and send it home. Diana is pretty – which is why they sent her. Diana actually has a real (honest) job as a hostess, and earns real (honest) money. She rents a room at a house – it is tiny and simple … its all she has. Diana is a scared little girl with no family, no support structure, no one to help her.

She cried regularly through the rest of the night. The “other guy” kept trying to get close to Diana to take her home and use her for sex. Based on his behavior, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he would have beat and raped her last night. Decy kept talking to Diana and there was a clear spiritual battle going on …. Decy offered to take Diana home …. but she refused … and the other guy kept pressing her. Finally, Decy said “look into my eyes, I am telling you the truth. I will take you home safely … if you don’t come with me, you will have to deal with the other guy”.

Last night we did something we’ve never done before – we took somebody home (not to our home, but to theirs). We drove Joe home … then we took Diana home (to her room). Decy looked in the room – it reminded her of when she (Decy) had to rent a room to live in once.

Diana got home safely last night – we arrived at our house around 5am. How many girls don’t make it home safely? How many get hurt? How many are lost? Except by the grace of God, Chely and Thasya are safe from these struggles. Decy cannot get Diana out of her mind today – she’s so much like Chely … but lost.

Thanks to God that He was still willing to use me … even if for such a small thing ….