Good News from the Sorong Congregation - Pretty Sumampouw

Pretty Sumampouw was born and raised in Sorong, although her family comes from North Sulawesi. Because of her love for children, Pretty became one of the leaders of the NGO BUP (Books for Papua). BUP is a community of young people helping underprivileged Papuan children, especially in the city of Sorong, who are lagging behind in education. Every weekend, Pretty taught the children reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The congregation first met Pretty when BUP invited several brothers and sisters to partner in children’s ministry. Pretty then began studying God’s word, and before long, she also invited her boyfriend. In the middle of their search for God, Pretty’s boyfriend died in an accident. This event left Pretty deeply shaken. The congregation lost contact with her, and she was no longer as active as usual in BUP.

After nearly two years of Pretty being disconnected from the community, a sister casually responded to her social media status. Pretty responded positively to this. When they made plans to meet, Pretty shared about her life over the previous two years. Many bad things had happened, leaving her tossed about in her search for God, and she had even nearly abandoned her faith.

During that meeting, Pretty began to realize that God had a plan behind everything she had experienced. She once again wanted to live a life with purpose. Continuing the Bible study she had once left behind, Pretty slowly came to see God’s design in her life, and on April 29, 2018 Pretty decided to live as a disciple of Jesus. Pretty was grateful for the opportunity to return to God’s path through the brothers and sisters who faithfully taught God’s word to her.