From 22 to 28 of October 2008, I was in a highland town some distance from Jakarta, Indonesia.

On the 22nd, I flew to the Jakarta Airport and was greeted by a friend, who drove me to Cipanas. Cipanas is typically about an hour and a half's drive from Jakarta. But because of the usual acute traffic congestion, it took us about three hours to get there.

Cipanas is well-known for its mountain scenery and is a favourite place for the local people (especially from Jakarta) during the weekends. It is an extremely cool place (in every sense of the word).

The purpose of my week-long trip was some talks that I was supposed to deliver at the Cipanas Theological Seminary (supposedly the fourth most established theological faculty in West Java). But of course, it was also an extremely pleasant week - because of the slow pace and the chilly air - for lots of personal contemplation and the deepening of my interiority.

I have a series of photographs that were taken there (of course, I've selected only the best). First, the seminary itself:

This is the frontage of Cipanas Theological Seminary. It is actually a new block that has recently been constructed and which is still in the process of being painted, so they have yet to inhabit the block.

Cipanas Theological Seminary has over a hundred students from Indonesia (and a very small handful from Malaysia). It is a Protestant seminary owned by the Church of Christ (Gereja Kristus) but which has an ecumenical slant to its scholarship. For this reason, they were extremely open in interacting with the issues which I had brought up for discussion during my visit there. In fact, they have invited me to consider the possibility of assisting them with the development of their doctoral programme next year.

One thing I love about this seminary is that whilst many other seminaries are focusing on the training of seminarians for urban ministries, this seminary has taken the "lesser" way by focusing on the training of ministers for rural ministries. Students are taught more than theology - they are taught how to rear fish, plant vegetables, and make beancurd for economic sustenance. If you have been exposed to theological education only in the West and in urban-type seminaries, the concept of such developmental projects coupled with critical theological thinking would understandably be quite confounding for you (likewise for me).

This is the "backyard" of the seminary that contains the volleyball court. The block that you see right in front is the hostel for female students, which also houses the administration offices for the time being. On the left is the dining area.

This is the dining area. Meals are extremely simple here (unimaginably simple to some of us). How about a meal of fried egg and beancurd soup with white rice? Or a meal of two very small pieces of fish with vegetables and white rice? These students are training for rural ministry, which means they have to be acclimatised to an environment of poverty and utter simplicity.

And yet, at the end of each meal, they break out in songs of praise. I'm sure those of you who have met the Indonesian peoples are aware that when they sing, they sing. They break out in beautiful vocal harmonies after each meal to thank the Lord for what He has graciously provided them with.

I was rather impressed with the library, really. Although they didn't have many journal titles, they had lots of good books in both the English and Indonesian languages. Any library that has Karl Barth's commentary on the Epistle to the Romans must be a good one.

This is the little road just outside the seminary. Yes, what you're looking at is a horsecart. That's how people travel around that area. Cool huh?

More pictures coming up in the next couple of days. Just wanted to show some pictures of the seminary first for now.