Page 75 - Introduction to New Jerusalem Evangelism
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2017: Crusade in PNG – In Sota: NJE and PNG teams were ready for the journey.
One interesting and unique crusade done in the Third Period (2014-2019) was
the one which had been performed in the archipelago of Riau with the so-called ‘Suku
Laut’ (Sea Tribe) i.e. groups of people who lived on their ‘boats’, ‘wooden-and-bamboo
offshore platforms’ and ‘above-river platforms’. This location could be reached from
Bintan islands via sailing more than 2 hours by means of a long boat. Everybody from
this community stayed, traded, rested, played, schooled and performed other living
activities on these platforms, and boats, including meeting in a church. This looked
like a village above the water i.e. offshore platform village. NJE served and lived with
them only for 3 days but its wonderful memory has lasted very long. The team
consisted of Ps. Ever Mokosuli (Batam), Ps. Adri Lamajido (North Sumatra), Ev. A.
Hartanto and Ev. Ratna Dewi. A normal curiosity might have arrived at the question
such as: how these Suku Laut people met Lord Jesus and repented i.e. becoming
Christian? One story, as reportedly-told by one of their leaders, this was due to the
coincidental meeting of their former generation’s leaders with a pastor who happened
to come to the nearest onshore village. Then a healing of one of their family members
took place upon the praying of the man of God. And so repentances of people of the
whole village happened. Praise the Lord!
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