Good News from the Jayapura Congregation - Sudirman

A Eunuch from Bhayangkara

Every time we see and witness Uncle Sudirman (65 years old) diligently studying the Bible & earnestly doing God’s word, it makes us greatly praise the LORD. Coming from a non-Christian background, becoming an orphan from childhood, and working hard for nearly his entire life shaped Uncle Sudirman’s character into someone strong and resilient.

Uncle Sudirman moved to Papua in the 1970s, and that was what led him to know Christianity. He longed deeply to know who Jesus Christ truly is and what God wanted for his life. He poured that longing into the ministries he carried out, one of which was serving as a church board member for 5 terms!

But he felt it was still not enough. He thought, "is this all that God wants from my life" In the course of his married life, Uncle Sudirman also went through struggles; his relationship with his wife was not very good. He felt that his wife did not support him spiritually. His second daughter was also having problems in her marriage, and above all that he felt he did not receive support from the church where he had been serving all this time.

From that point on Uncle Sudirman "moved from church to church," trying to find a church that truly taught the truth of the word and where the people living in it also practiced God’s word. Until finally Uncle Sudirman met a brother at a motorcycle repair shop.

Uncle Sudirman was invited to a PDA. After coming, he decided to study the Bible, and in the end he made the decision to be baptized.

Uncle Sudirman could feel the love of the LORD and the love of the brothers and sisters. He responded with great joy; at every meeting he arrived earliest, giving hug to all the brothers and sisters and showing how grateful he was to be part of the Kingdom of the LORD. Right now his biggest dream is to win over his whole family: his wife and his three children. His relationship with his wife is already much better, and his second child has begun to open her heart to be helped spiritually by a sister.

The perseverance and earnest search for the truth of God’s word in Uncle Sudirman’s heart reminds us of the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch. From him, the gospel was eventually spread more widely in many places.