A Pastor's Testimony

After our last session with the kids in Niki Niki we were welcomed into the home of Pastor Jonathan and his wife. We sat around a small gathering room in the back of the house. It was set just 20 feet or so from the ministry building. We sat sipping our coffee, enjoying fresh fruit from the backyard, and listening to the testimony of the Lord's servant.

Several years ago, Jonathan's wife gave birth to their son, Emmanuel. He was severely ill and in a Jakarta hospital on breathing machines. After 3 days and no improvement, the doctors told the parents there was nothing they could do, that they needed to take him off the machines and he likely would not survive. Pastor Jonathan prayed and cried out to the Lord, telling Him that if He saved Emmanuel, he - Pastor Jonathan - would move back to West Timor and serve the Lord in ministry there. 

At that time, Pastor Jonathan worked in a career for a well known organization. The Lord worked a miracle and, without medical explanation, Emmanuel survived. Pastor Jonathan knew he had to keep his promise to the Lord so he quit his job. His boss called him crazy! 

After getting things in order, the family moved back to West Timor, to a small, poor village in the tropical mountains.  Only a few weeks after beginning their ministry there, Pastor Jonathan received a phone call letting him know that a team from Trinity would be coming to minister to the children and members of his church there in Niki Niki. (This was the team that made the trip last year, paving the way for our ministry this year.) He took this as confirmation from the Lord. 

His son is still disabled and they now live in a poor area after giving up his career job. Now, Pastor Jonathan leads the church, is working toward and awaiting ordination, and his wife serves the children in music ministry. It's not easy for them. They've sacrificed a lot. But they serve the Lord humbly and with gratitude. They are impacting the village community in deep, lasting, transformative ways.

 

As his story concluded, we gathered around these humbled servants to cover them in prayer. It was powerful. The Spirit was surely present. Everyone was either shaking or crying. As we prayed for Emmanuel, his mother wept. You could feel the heat radiating between your hands and their shoulders. It was not body heat, but Spirit heat, like heat being transferred from your hands into their bodies; the Spirit in you transferring His Power into them. It was a touching moment of cross-cultural believers coming together before the Lord. Powerful. 

Please be in prayer for this wonderful family and the ministry they are continuing in Niki Niki!