testimony

It was morning, and the students had gathered at the top of the stairs in the house where we were staying in Lay Tong Ku. They had come from at least 5 different villages - all ages, all levels of training, both men and women. Our class was scheduled to start at 9, but that was set aside for the opportunity to share Jesus.

Allan read some Scripture and then asked me to give my testimony. So I did. Dhee translated. I told about how my mom had read the Easter story to my brother and me out of our picture Bible when we were children. I had seen the figure of Jesus on the cross, and it broke my heart. I asked why he was dying, and my mom explained that it was for the sins of everyone in the world. "My sin too?" I asked through my tears. "Yours too," nodded my mom. I was only 6, but I had a sense of the weight of that sacrifice already. Dhee was wiping tears away as she translated. So were the listening students.

Then I told them how my mom explained to me that this wasn't the end of the story. She turned the page, and there was Jesus, alive again and surrounded by light. I remember being so thrilled that he was alive. "What should I do?" I asked my mom. "What should I do?" She explained that I could accept the gift of life Jesus was offering to me. I prayed with her to do exactly that. I was overwhelmed with joy. I was supposed to be going to bed, but I jumped around my room, singing instead. Eventually I did go to sleep, but it was as a changed little girl.

When I finished my story, Allen got out his gospel flip book and showed the students pictures that corresponded to the descriptions from my childhood. They saw Jesus on the cross, and they saw him alive again. They nodded thoughtfully. One of the elderly birth attendants suddenly said, "We heard the story, but now we see and understand. I want to bring more people from my village to see and hear again tomorrow." She did. And Dhee had the opportunity to share with them a short version of God's whole story, from creation to the Second Coming of Christ. At the end, she asked them where Jesus was now. They said without hesitation, one by one, "Jesus is in my heart."