In 2007, Yati’s family converted to Christianity after a Christian helped her father find a job. However, Yati’s father died a year later because of asthma, leaving Yati, her mother and her siblings penniless and homeless. Anticipating rejection because of their new faith, they could not seek refuge with their relatives.
“We had nothing; my mother only had a bag with our shirts in it. We moved four times. None of our relatives wanted to accept us,” said Yati, teary-eyed as she recalled those difficult days.
Yati and her family are among 25 000 other Christians in a densely populated province in Indonesia. They belong to a people group that live and breathe Islam. Conversion to another faith is considered an act of apostasy and so believers among them face severe pressure from relatives and neighbours.
Yati’s brothers-in-law and other relatives agreed to help only if her mother returned to Islam. However, Yati’s mother held fast to the faith, which cost them the roof over their heads.
But God did not abandon Yati’s family… The man who helped her father turned out to be a church worker. Yati remembered him and asked him to help them. This time, he referred Yati to an Open Doors’ worker, who immediately sheltered Yati, her mother and her siblings in a Safe House.
“My siblings and I stayed close to our mother all the time. We were afraid to play with the other children. I thought they would call us names because we were Christians,” said Yati, describing her first few weeks at the Safe House. For their own safety, Yati and her family were unaware that they lived in a Safe House.
Soon, the fleeing family managed to adjust well to the other believers in the Safe House. Yati began to mingle with other people and she helped her mother with laundry jobs to support the education of Adi and Yuni. Despite the difficulties she faced, Yati was never heard complaining about her life.
“During my leisure time I read the Bible for my mother, because she is illiterate. I like doing that, because I dream of becoming a Sunday School teacher someday. I want to teach children about the love of Jesus, which I experience myself.”
It is still too risky for local believers like Yati to be part of local churches. Twice a week, she attended small gatherings with fellow believers in the area, during which they studied God’s Word, shared each other’s burdens and encouraged one another.
In 2009, Yati got a job in Jakarta. Yati never failed to remind Adi and Yuni to always read their Bible in the afternoon and to read it for their mother every night. “It was God’s Word that became our strength in times of hunger. That is why reading it is a must and I make no apologies for being so strict about it with my siblings.”
The following year, Yati got a chance to be part of a three day gathering that Open Doors organized and sponsored for the local believers in Yati’s province. Even though it meant permanently leaving her job in Jakarta, Yati could not be dissuaded from participating in the event.
“It was a rare opportunity to meet other believers with similar experiences and to be strengthened by their testimonies. Also, it was a chance to be reunited with my family. These reasons were more than enough for me to quit my job. Besides, God has been faithful to provide for us; I believe He will do it again.”
Yati was right. After the gathering, a Christian family hired her as a house helper. What’s more, Yati’s new employer also sponsored her training at a sewing school. Now only 15 years old, Yati continues to persevere in the faith. From time to time, she visits her elder sisters and shares Christ’s love with them. Her efforts have paid off; one of her brothers-in-law has come to faith and was baptized recently.
“There were days when we had nothing to eat, but Jesus never left us alone. He always sent His miracles to us. In everything, my mother and I are always on our knees to pray and God has never failed to help us… He always answers our prayers. Yes, we are pressured because of our faith, but it also draws us closer to God,” a beaming Yati said.
*Pseudonym
Local believers who are placed under Open Doors’ Safe House Programs receive strengthening in the faith through prayer and counselling. They are also taught livelihood skills, which create a chance to start small enterprises and to become a blessing to their families and communities.
SourceOpen Doors South Africa June 2011 Newsbrief