Change of Heart
As a member of the Sumbanese people on the West Sumba island of Indonesia, Mr. Nabula Naputenga practiced the Merapu ancestor religion. At 70 years old, neither he nor his wife had ever gone to school and they were unable to read or write.
Mr. Naputenga wanted more for his six children, so he worked hard as a rice farmer in order to send them to a local Christian school that had a reputation for quality education. There his three sons and three daughters all learned about the Christian faith.
“Many times they asked me for permission to leave the Merapu faith and be baptized as Christians,” Mr. Naputenga told Mr. Hesron Kentju Limu, the listener community coordinator for Back to God Ministries International (BTGMI) in West Sumba. “But in the past I always forbid them.”
However, a few years ago, Mr. Hesron gave him one of BTGMI’s specialized radios so he could listen to our Indonesian programs. “Little by little I learned about Jesus,” testifies Mr. Naputenga. “So last year when my children asked me permission again, telling me they really wanted to be baptized, I said yes.”
All six of the Naputenga children were baptized on Dec 31, 2010. “When I witnessed their baptism, I felt that Jesus was asking me and my wife to follow him also.”
After the sacrament service, Mr. Naputenga and his wife met with the pastor and elders of the church. Not long afterwards the Naputenga children joyfully witnessed their parents being baptized together.
“Praise the Lord!” says Mr. Naputenga. “Now we are a Christian family! Thank you for the radio ministry; it really helps us to know more about the Christian faith!"
Please continue to pray for the Naputenga family, that they will grow stronger in their Christian faith. Pray especially for the challenges they will face living among the Merapu people.
