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Crash!
01/01/2007 3:45 pm
Although Nur believed in Isa Al Masih (Jesus the Messiah), her husband, Saifudin, didn’t.
Nor did Saifudin like the fact that she was a believer, which was why he gave her such a hard time.
But a year after their village was hit by a storm (see Shelter from the storm, East Asia’s Millions October 2006, page 12), as a result of which a number of villagers came to believe in Isa (Jesus), Nur’s husband was involved in a car accident. Although the others in the car were killed, Saifudin survived. However, his left leg was badly damaged.
He was taken to a dukun (spirit doctor) but nothing happened. Nur, however, turned to the believers for help. Her husband agreed; he was desperate enough to try anything.
The followers of Jesus prayed for him, and were seen doing so by most of the villagers. After a month Saifudin’s leg was completely healed. The Muslims in the village couldn’t believe how quickly he recovered.
Eventually Nur’s husband committed his life to Isa. Because he was an influential and well-known figure in the village, many others came to believe, and Saifudin soon became leader of a growing house church.
A few months later, a conflict arose over the issue of baptism. It was eventually agreed that the believers should decide for themselves when and how they should be baptised. One moonlit night, nine months after the second group of people came to faith, 25 believers were baptised.
A few weeks later, everyone who had taken part invited family and friends for a celebration. 100 people turned up and, because the believers wanted to spread the good news, everyone present saw a contextualised version of the gospel. No one spoke or moved throughout the film, and when it ended there was complete silence.
A few days later, two of the religious teachers approached one of the believers and asked for a Bible. They wanted, they said, to learn more about Jesus.
Names changed to protect identities
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