Three Sunday School teachers – Dr Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun – are still shining for Christ a year into their three-year prison sentence in Indramayu State Prison, West Java, Indonesia.
Wrongly convicted of illegally attempting to convert Muslim children who had willingly attended their Christian education programme, the three ladies have been a great testimony to the other 12 women prisoners with their quiet trust and faith in God. There was much unrest in the women’s sections of the prison before Rebekka, Eti and Ratna arrived, but all the women now get on well. The guards have also been impressed, and the women are praying that the 400 men in the prison will be changed too by God’s presence.
On fire
An Open Doors worker who recently visited the women said, “Instead of us being an encouragement to them, they were a tremendous encouragement to us! The women exude so much joy.”
Their faith has been clearly evident from the very beginning of their imprisonment, when Ratna told Open Doors, “My hope is of course for the judge to set me free; but if his verdict is not so, then – like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – I will continue to love God more than anything. He will give me the best because He is in control.”
Ratna explained how her 78-year old father who lives in the north of Sumatra has also relied on the Lord during this difficult time:
“I was very afraid that he would be so shocked at the news of my imprisonment that he would collapse and die. But then I thought ‘He is a believer, he loves the Lord, so even if he dies he will go to heaven.’
We asked Eti what she would say to Christians who have not shared her experiences and she replied, “If I could give a message to the Church that has not yet experienced persecution, my message would be: number one, keep on walking with the Lord. Second, do not be afraid. Thirdly, expect persecution.”
Open Doors’ involvement
Open Doors is running an ongoing letter-writing campaign for Rebekka, Eti and Ratna. In the past year, the women have received 15,000 cards from all over the world. Their fellow prisoners are immensely impressed by all those cards and have said, “What good care Christians take of one another!”
Open Doors paid for the women’s lawyers and Open Doors workers attended the trials, including the final appeal in February 2006.
Open Doors workers continue to visit the ladies in prison and report that Rebekka, Eti and Ratna ask for ongoing prayer.
OPEN DOORS UK