Checking Out : Salib Kasih – Nommensen’s Love for the Batak People
I went on a one-week mission trip together with a group of church friends two months ago.
We went to North Tapanuli, North Sumatra.
We visited schools in the morning and afternoon, and so we had some time in the late afternoon to check out places of visit in the area.
One of the places we went to was ‘Salib Kasih’ (which literally means ‘Love Cross’)
It is located some 6 – 7 hours from Medan (capital city of North Sumatra), at a city called ‘Tarutung’.
You can see the huge cross from afar, and to get to the top, visitors need to walk uphill for about … 15-20 minutes, from the entrance.
The walkway itself is maintained quite well, I thought.
And I personally love the surrounding tall trees!
We were there at about 4pm on a weekday, so there was hardly any crowd around.
The air was cool and fresh! Very nice.
Once you reach the top, you get see in full view the city of Tarutung, and of course, the huge cross itself up close and personal.
(Check out the ’10 commandments’ signs as you walk uphill!)
‘Salib Kasih’ itself was built for the Batak people to remember and appreciate the works of a missionary named Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen.
Nommensen introduced the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Batak land back in the 19th century.
He served the Batak people whole-heartedly, and he also managed to translate the New Testament into the native Batak language by the year 1878!
And oh, it was believed that Nommensen prayed for the Batak people from this very hill.
When we’re at Tarutung, we also checked out another place of visit, ie. This church, which was one of the early churches that Nommensen built!
The words ‘Dame Ma Di Hamu!’ btw means ‘Peace in your heart’.
(This is known as ‘Gereja Dame Saitnihuta’)
Before we left the church building, we did say our prayers together.
We prayed for the Batak people whom we too served during the mission trip.
We asked for God’s mercy on the Batak land, for the revival of the Batak churches and Christians, for the church leaders to be God-fearing servants of God, and for the true gospel of Jesus Christ to always be preached and shared, just like what Nommensen had done for them.
I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to serve the Batak people.
May God have mercy on this land.
Amen.
