The Christian churches in Indonesia claim to serve the whole person through spiritual means, education, and socio-economic development. In Nusa Tenggara Timur, eastern Indonesia, the majority of people are Christians, while the rest are animists. The island of Flores has an overwhelming majority of Catholics, Timor of Protestants, while Sumba is mainly (<animistif with minorities of Catholics and Protestants. Development projects by churches and provincial and central governments are often held up by custodians of tradition, to the detriment of farmers' increased economic welfare. They are also hindered because they are imposed from above without proper consultation with those who are supposed to benefit from such development projects. Thus development often founders. During the heady days of President Soekarno's Guided Democracy (cf. Ricklefs 1981, pp. 239-46 ff.; also Feith and Smith 1974, pp. 167-71, 196-208) when not only government was in disarray but the economy of Indonesia was also lacking in direction, the Flores-Timor Plan was created. This was a socio-economic development plan to raise the economic welfare of subsistence farmers in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), to create new markets, and to lift the sights and expectations of the desa. It was an attempt by the Catholic Church to bring prosperity, happiness, and more education to these islands. 1 Under the Dutch colonial regime, these Eastern Islands were underdeveloped and left pretty much to their own devices by the government; the only ones particularly interested in helping the people towards a better life were the Catholic missionaries of the Divine Word Society (SVD)2 and the Protestant missionaries and churches. Under the Flores-Sumba Contract of 1913, government subsidies had been paid to the churches by the Netherlands Indies