“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds,” John 12:24

 While on a mission trip to Indonesia, we were introduced to some of these “kernels of wheat” who were willing to give their all for the sake of Christ. One was a man named Gunar who gave up a well-paid position in a middle class church to pursue God’s call to work among the poor of Jakarta. One night as he was watching a documentary on Mother Theresa, he heard God speaking to him. He felt God say, “Gunar, I want you to reach out to the poor people and feed them.” Gunar thought, but Lord, I can hardly feed my own family, how can I feed the poor of this large city? God impressed on him, “Gunar, you take care of them and I will take care of you!”

So Gunar gathered 5 friends who knew the Lord and they began to pray. A friend told him, “I will provide rice cakes if you will tell the people about Jesus.” So, the first day, 15 people came to hear the good news of the gospel and all had a rice cake. The next week, there were 40 people and the next week there were 100 people! Today, they reach about 2000 people! However, they only have 300 rice cakes at a time, so they go to different locations. The poor they visit are mostly Muslim women, mothers with small children who are the forgotten of society. They live in an area called the” Dumpit.” They are hearing the good news of the gospel and are learning about Jesus Christ!

About that time, Gunar felt the Lord was speaking to him again. “Gunar, I want you to start a Bible school and train young people to become missionaries. Some day you will be old and not able to preach. You need to train others!” But Lord, he thought, I have no money and no place to organize a school! One day, a lady walked up to him and told him she had an abandoned building he could use free of charge. Gunar looked over the building and he could not only have a school there, but also a church! And so the school and the church were born! At the Bible school young people are trained to reach the unreached tribes of Indonesia. It’s a difficult four year program. One of the conditions to graduate is to spend one year living with a native missionary. We met one of Gunar’s students, a young woman named Antonia who was living at the “Dumpit.” She was about 4’8” tall, using the river for personal use, washing her clothes in it and drinking the water. She spent her days teaching the children to read, memorizing verses of scripture, teaching them hymns and sleeping with them. She had the tiniest feet. I thought of that verse, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things,” Romans 10:15

Gunar continues his school and the training of young men and women. He has a passion for the Word and it shows in his life and work. He told us, “When I was just an ‘ordinary’ Christian, I didn’t know I could hear from God, that He would answer my prayers until I started DOING it.” These are some “kernels” producing seeds for God in a large Muslim country! Pray for these dear ones!

Your friend, Jean