Amroe, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra – At a church in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas service, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the province and its neighboring regions of Aceh and West Sumatra.
The Angkola Protestant Church, located in the hard-hit South Tapanuli regency, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the regions a month ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year's Christmas service was "different", even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
"The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor's sermon made us want to cry," he told AFP after the Christmas service. "But the spirit of Christmas [...] gave us strength."
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.At least 1,135 people died and 173 others are still missing across Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra as of Thursday, according to the latest official data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month's deluge, triggered by Tropical Cyclone Senyar formed over the Malacca Strait, was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
A pastor leads a Christmas service at an evacuation shelter for victims of flash floods and landslides in Hutanabolon village, Tukka district, Central Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, on Dec. 25, 2025. Christians held the Christmas worship simply at the disaster-affected site. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
In South Tapanuli regency, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
"In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, [we are] very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life," the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas service is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside. Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church's bell before the pastor's entrance, marking the start of the mass. Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year's Christmas served as a moment of "reflection" for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
"Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over," he said. "Our lives are starting anew."