Author Archives: Clinton Bergsma

Ubud, Bali, language training week 1 of 12… So I was having trouble falling asleep the other night – something was bugging the dog next door, and he decided to share those concerns with us by barking intermittently for a … Continue reading →

In this line of work, it’s easy to get caught in a web of cynicism that binds you tight, wondering whether you’re actually making any difference, any headway against the monster of poverty.  It can be difficult to sleep when … Continue reading →

I didn’t ask her name, so let’s call her Gereja. She’s slightly stooped, white-haired, quite frail, her right eye a cataract, her left leg limping – probably in her eighties, an old lady for sure. We were travelling from Waimarang … Continue reading →

During a recent devotion we were encouraged to write a prayer of lament.  I have found lament to be a very helpful way of holding the many paradoxes that arise as I attempt to follow Jesus as a broken person … Continue reading →

This past weekend ACHEA – the Australian Christian Higher Education Alliance – held their inaugural conference in Parramatta west of Sydney (shout-out to Rayna, the wonderful Airbnb host who saved me from a baguette-and-butter dinner with a delicious home-cooked meal!). … Continue reading →

So I’m in my final semester of my masters studies in ‘transformational development’ through Eastern College of Australia.  The course has been profoundly helpful on a number of levels: the space to explore the interaction between theology and community development, … Continue reading →

So I found myself reflecting on the biblical narrative of Babel as I wandered past the language school last night on my search for dinner.  I’m in Ubud, Bali for a language proficiency assessment and trial – I hope to … Continue reading →

Iced coffee, take away Departure lounge in Denpasar Engrossed in a book About ecological damage By  airplanes, disposable containers   Black coffee in white cups With Waimarang colleagues In a language and culture Of hardly-grasped beauty Wishing it all black … Continue reading →

A few months back, I was having a chat with Dad about the way in which my work and time in rural Indonesia has changed me, and we got to talking about how my initial updates that I sent always began with … Continue reading →

And God formed humanity from the dust of the earth; Adam from ‘adama’; humans from humus. (see Genesis 2:7)   So runs the creation narrative in the Hebrew Bible, a very significant story that maps out the contours of what … Continue reading →