Welcome to the final episode of our limited series Songs of Spirit and Truth, God at Work in the Philippines and Indonesia. You're listening to an original song by Denny, a young man whose life has been radically changed by Jesus Christ. Hi there, I'm John. And I'm Joseph.
In this four-part series, we've taken you around Southeast Asia to meet some of the new friends that we've made. Denny is the bodyguard to Rahel. Previously, she was mired in the occult, but that changed when Christ came into her life. When Rahel was baptized, she prayed, God, don't let me be an ordinary Christian.
And she certainly is not. Yeah, and Rahel's ministry to gang leaders and the unhoused in her city has brought her into contact with Denny. Now, he lived a life of violence as a gun for hire. We'll tell you more about Denny coming up. But first, we'll meet two brothers devoted to carrying on the legacy of their father. We were in the Philippines when I approached Michael and his brother, Jerry.
Michael was the more talkative of the two, probably because he knew English a bit better than his older brother. As I got closer, I saw that Jerry kept one arm hidden away in the front pocket of his jacket. You can see his hand. Okay. Is that from birth?
No. Accident? The brothers told us that Jerry was treasure hunting 25 years ago while testing a stick of dynamite meant to blast away the stone the explosive went off in his hand.
Thankfully, he survived. The Philippines are a rumored hiding place for a treasure dubbed Yamashita's Gold. Essentially, it is thought of as war loot that the Imperial Japanese stole during World War II and buried in caves and tunnels in the Philippines. Treasure hunters like Jerry have made extensive searches, but there's been no credible evidence of anybody finding it.
Still, it's fun to look for, and who knows, that newfound wealth could change your life. Who's older? Jerry is older.
Okay. Were you guys close as kids, or did you get close when you got older? In their family, they are 12 siblings. Twelve?
Yes, and eight of them are pastors. Whoa! How many years between you two? Seven years. Seven. I am 39. Okay.
So that's quite a bit. Eighteen years. So you could be his dad. Michael and Jerry are good-natured and a lot of fun to hang out with. I soon learned that their 91-year-old father had recently passed away. As I expressed my condolences, I wondered about the influence he must have had on his children for eight of them to become pastors. The personality of his father is authoritative, so he really wants to implement that they must have Christ in their lives. No reading.
They don't know how to read because of no schooling. The personality of his father is authoritative and disciplinarian, so he implemented that his child must have a relationship with God. Even though at first in their minds they have been forced to do that, but gradually as they get old they understand that it's a very nice gift from their parents to have a good relationship to God.
So John, catch me up. We have two middle-aged brothers raised by an authoritarian father who wanted them to know God, but it sounds like this was in a heavy-handed kind of way. You got it, and here's where the story turns quite beautiful. I wondered how difficult it must have been to mature in Christ without a Bible or the ability to read. They depended solely on the teaching in their church, as many people in this situation will do, but then just a short time ago their village received messenger audio Bibles about three months before their father died.
Here's Dave talking about their father. He sends to the word of God, so the power of the Holy Spirit enlightens his mind, and gradually he learns more about the word, and then he wanted to be baptized again. So he got baptized again, and he's very happy. How did that change their father at the end?
Did they tell the difference? They have observed that there is a difference, because he keeps on listening to the word of God through the audio Bible. And his favorite verse is John 14. God has prepared a place for him, so that's why he's joyful. But he's excited. Okay, bye-bye. See you soon.
From now on, be first. So he is joyful to meet the Lord, to be with the Lord, because he holds to that promise that God has prepared a place for him. So he's very joyful and excited.
That's a great thing to listen to as you're preparing to die. Oh wow, so what are they looking forward to now? They've got this legacy from their dad, and they've got the messenger. What are they looking forward to with this church? We love our tribes. This was such a tender moment. I don't know how well you can pick this up, but Michael is crying, just trembling with tears, while his older brother Jerry is standing behind him, shaking, doing the same thing with his shoulders.
The two of them were so overcome with joyful gratitude. Their conviction now is to reach their Sabaani tribe and three other nearby dialects, and they need these messengers to combat some very serious local challenges. The doctrine is wrong. Okay, so they want to have a Sabaani translation, because it really concerns them, because there are a lot of people going around this tribe that has a false doctrine, or they worship other gods. There are some cults going around this area. So it's a big help that they will listen to the Ojibwe Bible so that they will learn the truth. It's direct, it comes from the word of God, and it brings enlightenment to their life.
Yes, that's my vision. John, you've mentioned to me that this was probably your favorite conversation from our two weeks in Southeast Asia, and I can understand why. We heard their life story, the challenges among the people, the essential need for the messenger.
They have this incredible faith and hope to share Jesus with everyone. Oh yeah, and Joseph, I know you had some similar moments that were very special to you. I liked Denny, who we heard singing at the top of this episode.
When we first met Denny, he was watching us from a van sporting a hoodie and a pair of dark sunglasses. A friend of Rahel, who we met in our last episode, Denny acts as a sort of bodyguard. Threats against Christian ministry here are very real. When Christ came into Rahel's life, she stopped practicing witchcraft and opened a coffee shop in a large, culturally significant city in Indonesia. It's just a simple open-air kitchen and seating area, but it's a place where she ministers to broken people.
Most are unhoused, many are addicted to drugs, or lost in the occult. Our host in Indonesia, Gede, translated for us as Rahel told us about the dangers that she faces. After we visited with Rahel, we whispered to Gede, Hey, can we talk to our bodyguard? Yeah, he seemed very intimidating. He was sitting across the street with us in a white hoodie, pulled over his head with a green medical mask up over his mouth, the dark sunglasses on. Yeah, but Denny turned out to be the nicest guy.
With the glasses off and the mask pulled down, we saw how young he was, then his large, warm smile. But he wasn't always this way. Before Christ, Denny lived as a debt collector, notorious in this city. The chief of police was terrified of him. He worked for mobsters. Denny said he had shot as many as 50 people, usually in the leg as a threat to get their money, or else.
So this part is really great. Denny gave up a lucrative job to become a Christian, and he wondered about that. He said, you know, was he really a different person now? Couldn't he just do the job still? Did he have what it took to collect these debts? So he tried it one last time. He wanted to try, whether his previous heart was still there. So there was a customer who asked him to get the motorcycle, but actually the one on the motorcycle that cannot pay is a lady.
It's quite elderly lady. So when he met that lady, the lady just asked to apologize, said something, and then he just cried in front of the lady. And then he's confused, and how come I am the most not coming? Cry now. And then he said to the friend, now I understand. I tried already. I cannot do that. So I just leave this job.
It was a bit windy, and the traffic was loud outside of Rahel's coffee shop. But Denny says that when he saw his target, an elderly lady, he broke down and cried. Such a sweet guy. Now.
Yes, now. Now he's involved in a local church we visited our last Sunday evening in Indonesia, and he writes original praise music to Jesus, the lover of his soul. We learned that just a few days before our visit, radicals had burned down one of his homes as a direct threat.
When his old friends heard about it, they wanted to get revenge. But Denny stopped them, saying that he had forgiven his oppressors. This is just one of the many lives we witnessed completely transformed by the love of God. Well, we've had an incredible time sharing a few of our experiences from Southeast Asia. We've introduced you to new friends, and we know they'd love to have your prayers. In fact, we told them that you'd be praying for them. It's one reason why they were so vulnerable with us.
They want God to be glorified for all the hope that he's brought into their lives. But what about some of the stories that we didn't get a chance to share? I mean, Joseph, what was the one story that you wish we could have explored? Do you remember our new friend, Joko, the pastor and son-in-law of Mr. K? We talked about them in a previous episode. Well, Joko showed me photos of a Hindu high priest that he was privileged to baptize. This is practically unheard of. Someone who gets such respect and admiration, like this priest, being willing to give it all away for Jesus.
It makes no sense. Then, later that day, we got to meet this man and his family and pray with them. Please pray for this former priest, that he won't be pulled back into false religion, but would stand firm on Christ. And I'm thinking of Santee. She's a youthful widow, living in a beautiful home outside the city. We sat with her, her adult daughter, and their pastor. And though Santee had been a believer all of her adult life, she, like Michael and Jerry's father, hadn't had a good translation of the Bible in her own dialect. So even as she sat under very good preaching, the concepts never quite landed completely.
So when we asked her to tell us what it was like to have the messenger in the language of her childhood, she was so choked up, she couldn't quite speak. And at last, she described how the Word of God is now speaking to her. And she enjoys such an active life of nearness to God, as his words reach her ears and give her guidance and comfort. Thank you for joining us for Songs of Spirit and Truth, God at Work in the Philippines and Indonesia. As John mentioned, please pray for these new friends of ours.
God has made us one body in Jesus. Because of that, these folks are your brothers and sisters in Christ, too. So remember the believers in the mountain villages of the Philippines. Pastor Danny, who was everywhere ministering to the people of paradise. And Beverly, who was rescued from a gambling addiction. Emma and Fernando and the family that listens to the messenger in their new home. Lucretia, who cares for the bruised and helps deliver newborn babies into the world.
Amelita, the soon-to-be mother who supports her family from her small shop. And Michael and Jerry, who want to reach the tribes around them with the gospel. And then there were our friends from Indonesia. Mr. K and his family, the first Christians in their community. And Joko, the son-in-law who leads services at the house of prayer.
Banu and Nellie, the couple with severe physical limitations who are yet filled with joy. They're planting a church and undertaking its construction right now, so pray for them. Rahel and her ministry in a very dangerous area. And Denny, as he protects Rahel and leads believers in worship. And of course, there would have never been any visits to Southeast Asia without our wonderful hosts, Alex in the Philippines and Gede in Indonesia.
Not to mention our friends with Unknown Nations who coordinated much of this journey and they were great teammates as we interviewed and worked long days to get to these far-off places. And we really wish you could have met Pastor Alex. The first day that I met him, he told me he'd just turned 60 and he's finally beginning to appreciate why the Apostle Paul spent so much time making disciples and greeting many people in his letters. As an obedient go-getter, Pastor Alex has spent decades building churches. But he knows none of it will outlast him unless there is multiplication.
It's not about him or his efforts. He must give himself away. And Pastor Gede, what a servant. He and Alex are big family guys. As busy as we were, they always made time for their loved ones. In Gede's case, that meant having along his wife and their young boys for breakfast with us each morning. He's such a warm and fun-loving guy, always encouraging the church despite the hardships believers face. And remember, for their protection, we changed the names of everyone that we met in Indonesia, including Gede. Yet he wore a bold Jesus-proclaiming t-shirt no matter where we went, even the day we visited a massive mosque as part of our cultural experience.
Yeah, that was wild. Well, I will always be grateful for this adventure. And I'm so glad we could share it with all of you. Well, that's going to do it for Songs of Spirit and Truth. Thank you, everyone. This has been John and Joseph trusting that the love of Jesus will dwell in your heart today. And pray for the new friends we met in Southeast Asia. Ask for your free copy of our Songs of Spirit and Truth prayer cards at intouch.org slash songs. That's intouch.org slash songs while supplies last. Songs of Spirit and Truth is a limited series produced by In Touch Ministries. Thank you for joining us.
