Community
The Storms of this Season
Recent Hardships of the Mountainview Community
S
By Sarah Lee
ince the end of last year, 2016, the Mountainview community has been experiencing noticeably numerous hardships such as
deaths, illnesses, and visa-problems. Many have also noticed that the emotional atmosphere of the school has generally been very blue
and stressful. Details follow:
Losses: During the months between December 2016 and March 2017, a total of six
Mountainview staff members experienced the loss of their fathers. Last
December, our principal, Mr. Martin, rushed back to the States to share his father’s
final moments. Later that month, right before Christmas, Mr. Underwood’s father
passed away due to a kidney renal failure. Then, in March, Mr. Beliasov’s father also
pa ssed away, leading to Mr.B’s hurried leave to the States to be with his family.
Additionally, three of our Indonesian staff members have suffered the loss of their
beloved fathers. Pak Narto from the Facilities Department, Ibu Nana from the
Business Office, and Pak Andreas from the Documentation Department have all
lost their fathers recently, due to various illnesses. Pak Andreas especially is
experiencing grief over both his parents’ deaths.
Other sicknesses: During Spring Break,
both Mrs. Wollner and Mrs. Underwood
experienced pain in their chests, with
symptoms similar to that which precede a
heart-attack. They were both examined in
Singapore, but doctors asserted that the
cause was unidentified. In response to
these checkup results, the Wollners and
Underwoods held that the symptoms
were spiritual attacks. Mr. Underwood
commented, “When the natural causes
are eliminated, then we look at
supernatural causes.” Joshua, Allan’s son,
also had an unidentified allergic reaction
in the middle of the night which caused
him to throw up and struggle with
breathing.
Emotional Atmosphere: This semester,
there seemed to be a thick air of despair and
stress in Mountainview, especially among
students. Mr.Martin, our very observant
principal, remarked, “there is a cloudiness; it
looks different for everyone. There is
anxiety that is normal for Seniors, and a
general state of continual comparison that
has led to feelings of inadequacy.” Sammi, a
10 th grader, commented, “everyone is
stressed.”
In March, a chapel team also observed that
many of their peers are in depression, so
they dedicated a worship session to comfort
and pray for those in despair. Moreover, two
anonymous students shared that they
experienced condemning, blaspheming, or
deprecating thoughts that led to despair.
“Even in our
helplessness in this spir-
itual fight, God has shown
Himself all the more pow-
erful in His salvation.”
- Josiah Watanabe
Student Response: Many Christians in the community accredited these strangely abundant misfortunes to spiritual warfare. They
believed that the devil strives to cause fear and doubt in the hearts of Christians, especially whenever God is doing something
incredible for the expansion of His Kingdom. For this reason, several students have been praying intensely, meeting every morning,
fasting on Wednesdays, and interceding on behalf of both Christians and non-Christians. Josiah, one of the leaders of these prayer
meetings, said, “Even in our helplessness in this spiritual fight, God has shown Himself all the more powerful in His salvation.”
These students trust that time will retell the story of victory which God had written from the beginning.
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