My FES IM Family

FES IM Family Day is a special event organised by the FES Indonesian Ministry (IM) to gather alumni and students for a time of fellowship and renewing of ties. This year’s event is considered special because it will be the first of a series of initiatives that will be part of the FES 60th Anniversary celebrations. On this milestone, FES has designated the year 2019 to be the year of fallow, in which we will focus on listening.

To accommodate this purpose, three speakers were invited to share at this event. Each speaker highlighted a different aspect of FES IM – the past, the present, and the future. One of the first pioneering members of the Indonesian Students’ Christian Fellowship (ISCF) at NTU, Rusmin Satiawijaya recalled the early days of the formation of ISCF 20 years ago. Darryl Andriyan Putra, who currently heads FES IM, reminded us of FES IM’s journey for the past 20 years until this present day. Finally, Sam Risandy, the chairperson of FES IM Working Committee, shared on FES IM’s future plan. One of the action items for the year of fallow is the formation of a ‘discerning committee’ to strategise the gathering of feedback after listening to the views of alumni and current students. This feedback will be consolidated and crystallised in a 10-year vision (2021-2030) of FES IM. 

Serving in the planning committee for this year’s Family Day, allowed me to look back and reflect on the impact of FES IM, or specifically ISCF, in shaping my life since I was a student until I graduated. FES IM has taught me the importance of community, or for me personally, a family. Being in a family does not necessarily mean that we will have a continuous experience of comfort and fun. Sometimes, the experience can be unpleasant and to a certain extent, full of pain. Similarly, being in the ISCF family does not guarantee we will have fun all the time, or people will always say good things. However, what is certain is we have a family that genuinely cares for us, and is willing to do whatever it takes to help us grow in Christ. It will also help us to see our blind spots, and enable us to become a better person who will be more Christlike.

Throughout my involvement with FES IM, I have attended two family day events. The first one was in 2011 when I just started my university life, and the most recent one was when I have graduated from university. I realised through FESIM Family Day, that I  have a much bigger family in FES IM. I think that is the reason why it is called FES IM Family Day.