Ribkah
An Eight Year Old Indonesian Girl Tells her Story
My name is Ribkah. I’m eight years old, and I have three sisters and one brother. Usually after school, we work in the field on our parents’ coffee farm until it gets dark. Then we go inside and do our homework. The work is hard, and our days are long, so I always look forward to going to bed. But Saturdays are different. Those are our “Fundays.”
It all began when a church called the Dairi Christian Fellowship (DCF) started to hold children’s meetings in our village on Saturdays. They called them “Fundays.” At first, all of the children were shy. But after listening to a nice story from the Bible, we sang songs, played games and did all sorts of other fun activities. Soon, my siblings and I couldn’t wait for the next Funday to arrive.
The most important thing of all though was that the Fundays taught us about Jesus. I loved to hear stories about him. I realized he is the only true Lord, and that I could talk to him every day. Soon, I accepted him as my Lord and Savior
One dinner time shortly afterwards, I told my parents to pray before we ate. They just kept quiet, because they never prayed. Proudly, I offered to do it, because that was the day they had taught us to pray at Funday. As I prayed, my mother’s eyes filled with tears. Afterwards, she turned to my father. “See? Our sweet daughter has shown us how to live godly lives. Please buy me a Bible. I want to learn about Jesus.” The next day, my father did as she asked. My mother read it first, then my father. Now they have devotions together every morning, and every Sunday we go to church together.
Knowing Jesus fills me with joy. It feels so good to know that when I’m sad, I can come to him in prayer. When I’m happy, I can sing praises to his name. When I see my parents working very hard, I can pray that God would give them strength. I am also very happy to know that I will never be alone anymore. Even though my mother and father go to work in the coffee field very early in the morning, Jesus will be with me night and day. When I told this to my parents, they were very excited. All of us are excited now that Jesus is in our lives!
by Ribkah, edited by Kevin Miller
You can know Jesus too, and He will fill you with joy and happiness like Ribkah. If you really want Jesus to come into your heart and follow Him, say this prayer and Jesus will come into your heart.
Lord Jesus, I would know you. Please come into my heart. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins. Make the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you for filling me with your joy and strength. Thank you that you are always with me. Amen.
Photo credit: Selamed Riyanto / EyeEm
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Ribkah – an 8 year old Indonesian girl tells her story.
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