Excerpts taken from Dancing on the Edge of the Earth
The news spread by word of mouth that the Lord proclaimed by the missionaries was real. More and more people came to hear the gospel. Among those who came were two brothers whose names were Amin and Akong. Amin was the older of the two, in his late thirties or early forties, and had a wife and children. Though he had but a few years of elementary school education, he had amazing understanding of technical matters. He could repair boat engines, diesel generators, even watches. He was an accomplished carpenter and could build a house. Though he had never studied electronics, he could work on a radio and even understood the function of transistors.
However, Amin had problems in his life. He was addicted to cigarettes, smoking two or three packs every day. And he had a fondness for sitting down with his neighbors for an evening of gambling. He worked on and off, having income only when something in the village needed fixing or when a passing boat had engine problems. What was the purpose of life, anyhow?
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A Min in 1979
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Amin’s brother Akong was a young man of nineteen. He was a small man, measuring barely five feet in height and ninety pounds on the scales. A few years before he had begun to rebel against his father who had despised him. Hate toward him built up to such a degree that Akong cursed him. Eventually his father died and his mother was heartbroken. But Akong himself reaped the fruit of his hate when a high fever came upon him. After the fever subsided, his voice disappeared.
When finally his voice came back, it was not his usual voice but a high-pitched falsetto which remained permanently. It became a source of much inner turmoil to Akong whenever he traveled out of the village to another area where people did not know about him and the problem with his voice. When he spoke, people would turn and stare at him. Occasionally, someone who did not know him would wonder whether Akong was a man or a woman.
Facing new people became a dreaded experience for him. His life was reduced to gathering sap from rubber trees for a daily pittance. His world was reduced to the little village of Biang where the people knew and accepted him.
Then one day, the kingdom of God came upon him. “We must die to ourselves, die to the world, die to sin, and live for Jesus Christ. Only then will we know what is truly life.” We were all sitting on the floor in a big circle in our house. Fervently, I challenged them to follow Christ. Akong was sitting several listeners away on my left. He was listening attentively. “Who here is tired of living? Who here wants to die to self, and live for Jesus Christ? Those of you here who want to die, raise your hand!”
Something in Akong’s heart burned. His hand went up. Shortly, he was baptized in the river, signifying that he wanted to die to his old worthless life, the first person to do so in the village of Biang. Akong had become a new person in Christ.
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A Kong on the left
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Not long afterwards, Amin also decided to receive Jesus. After his water baptism, he came to us with a testimony.
“I used to be hopelessly addicted to cigarettes,” he said. “Everyday I had to smoke three or four packs. If I didn’t smoke, I’d get headaches and stomach pains. But after I was baptized in water, I stopped smoking all at once. And I feel fine.”
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A Min in December 2024
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Video taken of gathering in December 2024
This video features A Min and other believers in the villages of Biang and Menjaya where we planted churches in 1979. Notice in the video that the walls of the house where the video is taken are actually painted.
Forty-five years ago, the walls of the little homes at that time were unpainted…typically covered over with old Chinese newspapers. They had no electricity, but at night depended on kerosene lanterns for light. They had no running water or bathrooms with sinks, but had to go down to the nearby river for all their various daily needs. Times have dramatically changed in forty-five years.
This video was taken by Sister A Siu who came to the Lord in 1980 in Batu Ampar. She and her husband now pastor a church in Pontianak.
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