Okay, we're inside Emma and Fernando's house. They're going to tell us a little bit about God's answer to prayer.
Four years ago, he gave them this house. Welcome to Songs of Spirit and Truth. God at Work in the Philippines and Indonesia.
A limited audio series from In Touch Ministries. My name is Joseph. And you've just heard from my colleague, John, on our visit to a family in the Philippines who is desperate for God's provision. Joseph in Southeast Asia, we met so many incredible believers. One from Indonesia was a guy named Mr. K, the first Christian in his neighborhood. His conversion to Christ was not really highly regarded in his community. In fact, because of his new faith, Mr. K was the subject of much hostility, threats and an unsettled future. Local authorities even threatened to seize his property.
Was he going to be forced to give up his family's ancestral home? That story and more on today's episode. We traveled throughout Southeast Asia to witness how God is working through the Messenger Audio Bible. There, we met a former practitioner of witchcraft that God is now using to reach the lost.
And a disabled couple, unwelcomed and unloved, that Christ adopted into his family. Each person you'll meet in this audio series uses the In Touch Messenger, an audio discipleship tool that includes scripture and teaching from Dr. Stanley. It's solar powered and fits in the palm of your hand.
It can be worn around the neck as a companion. And we heard from many people who told us how they use the Messenger, like for long journeys from village to village or as something to hang around their neck as they work in the fields. Wherever we went, we relied on translators, but they were much more than that. Each person who interpreted for us was a minister of the gospel. Without their help and their care, we could never have brought these stories to you.
That's right. And last time we introduced you to Dave, he is the son of Pastor Alex, our host throughout our time in the Philippines. Well, Dave shares his dad's big heart for people in the mountain villages. And we're going to head back now to Emma and Fernando's house where we open this episode as Dave tells us their story.
Okay, so the story goes like this. When before they had a little house, a little hut, and she mentioned that it looks like a parachute because when the wind blows, it easily breaks. So they started to pray to the Lord while they are listening to the Treasure Bible.
Their faith is increasing gradually. Emma and Fernando just wanted a house. As Dave mentioned, their dwelling was a humble lean-to covered in a tarp, barely a living space. They prayed and prayed and gathered their harvest, but their earnings only gave them enough money to frame the dwelling. So they prayed and Pastor Alex provided a bit more wood to keep them going.
Little by little, over four years, their house was built. And they were so happy to invite us inside to show off God's answer to their prayers. And now that the family has this spacious home to live in, with their grown children and their grandchildren mind you living with them, they listen to the messenger as a family as they grow closer to Jesus. Theirs is just one of many examples of believers practicing faithfulness. In many places across Indonesia, following Jesus is not an acceptable option in the dominant presence of religions like Islam and Hinduism. It's a difficult thing for a new believer to go public with their faith.
Not only do they face ridicule and rejection, but sometimes far more serious consequences. Gede, our host in Indonesia, described the situation that faced Mr. K and his family. The boldness of Mr. K and his family certainly made an impression on their neighbors. Mr. K gave John and I such a warm welcome.
We shared a meal with his wife, their daughter, and her husband, Joko. With them was a joy-filled older woman who prays for people in the marketplace every day. All of them are believers now. But their faith comes with a cost. Mr. K and his family faced a crisis, and one man represented the hordes set against them. He was determined to force them out, but God would have the last word. There's a stark contrast between the challenges of Indonesia, where persecution and oppression are regular occurrences, and the Philippines, where many of the challenges have to do with combating false teaching about the one true God or equipping people with Bibles when they can't read.
Distances between villages and limited transportation are also hardships in the mountains of the Philippines, and this limits the people's access to resources and their ability to earn income. Joseph, you were busy with another interview, but I wish that you had met Lucretia. She ministers in a location where medical care is scantily available.
Imagine the strain that you would have on your back from planting seeds all day or hobbling back to the village when you've twisted an ankle. Well, as a massage therapist, Lucretia tends to so many hurting people, not only as an occupation, but as a vocation of her Christian service. In the Talking Bible, does she have one? How does that get used in her life? She receives an audio Bible, and when someone is going to her house and they will have therapy, she plays the audio Bible, and they really love to listen to the audio Bible while mama's doing some massage. So she has the messenger audio Bible that she plays for her patients. Oh, and not only does she provide physical therapy, but Lucretia is also a midwife. Whenever there is a mother who is having trouble delivering a child, when she came and she prayed and she do the task to let the baby out, to be delivered, thank God. And by God's grace, the baby is safely delivered.
A massage therapist and a midwife? And she's kind of a liaison for anyone who's suffering. She is a tremendous comforter, particularly with the grieving. Dave was telling me how often she connects families with the pastor when their loved one has died.
Lucretia is just another beautiful example of new friends practicing faithfulness in Southeast Asia. Mr. K, like his Hindu neighbors, had a historic Hindu temple on his property. But was that something he should continue to maintain after his encounter with Christ? Keeping the temple troubled him, he realized it should be destroyed, but he lacked the courage to do it. Then something unbelievable happened. The man who was giving Mr. K so much trouble went into the city, spent the night with a woman who wasn't his wife.
And that night, he died. And the neighborhood saw it as a sign. They concluded that God must have chosen between Mr. K and his antagonists.
So suddenly Mr. K was seen as the victor in this long-standing neighborhood dispute. So the chief of field says, you have to tear down the temple. Because if people saw you still have the temple there, and you become a Christian, but you still find your love is OK, it will bring a negative message for the Hinduism. Because Hinduism believes that if you don't give your offering, the curse will come to your life.
But when they see you as a Christian, have a temple, no offering, and you still get blessed, people will follow you. So better tear down the temple. The temple is gone now. And as we walked through its ruins of broken masonry and wood, you could hear it crunching beneath our feet. The pile of rubble is visible to all the neighbors just inside the wall surrounding their family property against the street. So it still has the wall around where the temple was. Walking up these big concrete steps. Oh, and it's been all knocked over, I see. Today, casting a long shadow across that rubble sits a gorgeous building with a wide concrete staircase and sliding glass doors. They call it a house of prayer.
This was John's reaction when he first stepped inside. OK. Oh, look at this. So nice. That's beautiful.
You have to think I can choose for that, right? And the difference for Mr. K and his son-in-law, Joko, has been astounding. The neighbors have taken notice. No longer are the Christians burdened by the daily rituals of Hindu sacrifice, but they worship Jesus and the freedom that he secures for us. In the house of prayer, the Christian, there is no such thing to do this, that and everything. You can't sing a song, you pray.
It's not cause at all, because Jesus paid it all. And he feel more connected now. That last voice you heard was Joko, the son-in-law of Mr. K. He was introduced to Christ, who was raised by a shipmate when he worked on a cruise ship several years ago.
He is now the pastor of this house of prayer. But now the neighbors notice that it looks like you have no burden anymore. And then your wife can keep on smiling. So what's going on? So that's how they start to share about all this, because Jesus in my life, all my burden, there is no more burden of this offering things and everything. So that's how they share their faith to others when the neighbors notice something different in their smile.
Something different in their smile. They have been changed. Gone are the chains of duty. Now they live alive and free in gratitude for their salvation in Christ and the Holy Spirit's power over sin.
And that's the only way any of us can practice the same kind of faithfulness in our lives. Next time on Songs of Spirit and Truth, God at Work in the Philippines and Indonesia, we'll meet a disabled couple who felt unwelcomed and unloved in their culture. Hear how God lifted them up and how He's providing. Then later, Rahel repented from a life of witchcraft. She received Christ as her Lord and refused to be just another nominal Christian. She prayed that God would use her in mighty ways. Join us for our next episode and hear what's happening in her life today. Join us in prayer for the new friends we met in Southeast Asia. For your free copy of our Songs of Spirit and Truth prayer cards, visit us at intouch.org slash songs.
