Janssen Journal: “Seven”
by Ben & Marianne Janssen
She was the seventh child born into a traditional Indonesian family. Her mother took one look at her and lost all hope. She was so tiny and weak. Against all expectations, Seven grew up to be a small, but strong child. More so, this little girl became a blessing to all around her as she loved God sincerely.
One day she had an encounter with the Holy Spirit in a neighboring church. Her family’s church was very cold and traditional. Now her heart was bursting with joy and expectation. Little did she expect the coldness of her mother’s heart. She told Seven, “If you leave our church, then you cannot see me anymore”. Seven had a terrible choice to make as she loved her parents dearly. For four long years she did not see them, until her mother got lame in one leg. She dared to call her mother and begged her if she could come and pray for her. In those four years little Seven had grown from a timid Christian into a bold, strong witness for Jesus. Her mother agreed and when Seven anointed her with oil and prayed, her mother could walk again.
This feisty girl was thrown into our lives a little while ago. Right away we noticed that there was something special about her. Her serving spirit was amazing. Her smile was always present. She was going to interpret for us. Her English was not great, but according to her, there should be no worries… she was going to pray and study the material, and God would do the rest. To tell you the truth, we were a little apprehensive because the course was three days long and difficult to teach. The apprehension disappeared somewhat after we found out that she had anointed the whole building with oil before we started.
This was going to be our fourth church planting training in four weeks, and we were exhausted even before we started. But there was Seven from the very first day… smiling, confident, serving, encouraging, energetic and always saying, “ Jesus can do it”. Her presence had such a strong, positive influence on us that we did not feel our wariness anymore, and the Lord poured out amazing energy on us for those three days.
This little “angel” started a nursery school a year ago for poor Muslim children. She finances the project herself with giving private English and Math lessons in the evenings. She is confident that she can plant 17 churches together with her pastor and his wife in the Muslim part of her district. Jesus can do it!
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
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Photo Credit: Ben & Marianne Janssen
