That morning, the aeroplane carrying us, the team from the Indonesian Bible Society (LAI), arrived at Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan. Just before the plane landed, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but white and more white in the sky, even though the weather was quite sunny at the time. The forest and land fires that had been raging for the past few months had spread almost uniformly across the whole of Kalimantan. The purpose of our visit this time was to carry out the distribution of Bibles and Bible portions to the East Barito region of Central Kalimantan from 6 to 8 October 2026.
The journey from Banjarbaru to East Barito took around seven hours by road. Even the village of Telang-Paju Epat, where we were staying, was not spared from the smoke. Amidst the suffocating smoke, we continued to carry out our ministry with great enthusiasm. We had but one aim: that the Good News we brought might be received directly by the people of God whom we met.
The 13,664 Bibles and Bible portions distributed were made possible by the support of Friends of the Bible. At every church we visited, we were warmly welcomed by representatives of the Church Council and the Pastor. Admittedly, there was a slight sense of disappointment as we were unable to meet the congregation and the children at the church in person. The children were not allowed to leave the house by their parents. Schools have been closed, so they are learning from home, said one of the Church Council members.
The Bibles were symbolically handed over to representatives of each church district; in this instance, LAI coordinated with the Kalimantan Evangelical Church (GKE), one of the largest churches in Kalimantan. “We are very grateful to our donor partners for remembering us, who live far from urban areas, so that we can have Bibles,” said one of the pastors. In East Barito itself, it is indeed difficult to obtain a Bible; there is only one bookshop in Tamiyang Layang (the regency capital), and even there, the New Translation (TB) 2 is not available, and if it were, it would be extremely expensive. Most of them work tapping rubber or in the fields, so buying a Bible costing hundreds of thousands is very difficult. Not to mention those without their own transport; they cannot go anywhere, and transport costs are also beyond their means.
Limited visibility was certainly one of the obstacles we faced, but our longing to meet God’s people meant we did not lose heart. After the symbolic handover at the church, we met with several members of the congregation to hand over Bibles in person. There are many stories of our encounters, one of which was with an elderly lady. She was very devoted to her worship, but due to physical limitations that meant she had to use a walking stick, she found it difficult to get to church. This elderly lady did not lose heart; her longing for the Word of God was very fervent. She told us that she had asked the pastor at her church to write out Bible passages from the GKE Almanac so that she could read them again at home. Upon receiving the Bible from LAI, she was deeply grateful and delighted, as her old Bible was worn out and she had struggled to make out the individual letters. “Praise the Lord, I’ve been given a Bible with larger print,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears.
The journey in East Barito has come to an end. Thick smoke did indeed limit visibility, making the air feel stifling to breathe. However, may the Good News received by God’s people bring refreshment, so that weary souls may be revitalised by His eternal Word. [zvp]
