“When 2,000 Jihad militiamen attacked my village of Cera, we Christians were small in number and overwhelmed,” says Methu.“I took my mother, wife, and two children into the jungle for safety,” he says. “We became quite fatigued, so we stopped to rest under a big tree. My mother was frightened, and she urged us all to pray. “I kept praying for God’s protection because we sensed we were all going to die at the hands of the Laskar Jihad troops.” Methu and his family had been running in the jungle for two days. His eight-year-old son was hungry and crying for food and water. So Methu and his brother-in-law left the family to search for some fish at a nearby river.
“Suddenly out of the foliage—if out of nowhere—a squadron of Jihad troops appeared,” he says. “I tried to protect my family, but became overwhelmed by the radical Muslims. In the struggle, I was separated from my family. From a distance, I saw them captured and heard my 10-year old daughter, Christina, crying out for help, shouting, ‘Father, help us!’ But I had no power or strength to ward off the multitude of Jihad soldiers. One of the troops threw a grenade at me, and I ran away. But I later fell unconscious down a ravine.”
When Methu regained consciousness, he found out his brother-in-law had also escaped the attack. They waited for nightfall then returned to the place where his family had been captured.
“To my horror, I discovered the bodies of my mother and mother-in-law. A few feet away, I found the body of my eight-year-old son, Christianto, lying in a pool of blood,” he says. “I found their Bibles—three of them—near their bodies. All but one had been ripped into pieces, and the pages scattered over their bodies. “I remembered the Scripture verse that said if we become followers of Christ, we not only gain salvation and joy, but also the gift of suffering.”
Even during his deepest anguish, Methu asked God to forgive the Jihad troops. He then continued to search for his remaining family members. “Because I did not find the bodies of my wife, Adel, and daughter, Christina, I was hopeful they had survived the attack and were still alive. I prayed that God would protect them and reunite us.”
Two months after the attack, one of Methu’s friends ran to his house with good news—he had seen Adel and Christina being held hostage on another island. Methu and five of his friends, who also had relatives who had been kidnapped, decided to confront the Jihad troops.
“There were more than 1,000 Muslim, Laskar Jihad troops there. The leader of the Laskar Jihad demanded that we convert to Islam. He said if we did not, we would be killed. He also said I could not get my wife and daughter back unless I became a Muslim,” he says.
“We prayed and afterwards I told the Jihadists even though you want to do bad things to my family, I am a follower of Christ, and my faith in Jesus is of much more value than anything you could offer me.” The troops let Methu and his friends leave unharmed. Three months later, Methu was given heart-breaking news -- his wife, Adel, had been forced to marry one of her captors. “When I heard the news, I cried, but even though my wife had married a Muslim, I still loved her very much.”
Nearly a year after the attack, just before Christmas, Methu received a letter from Adel. “I opened it up, and it hurt my heart to learn that my wife was forced to service the sexual desires of her Muslim husband and later became pregnant by him,” Methu recalls. “I could not read all the pages of the letter. I was devastated, but I prayed that the Lord would give me strength to face this hurtful reality.”
“After the Laskar Jihad kidnapped me,” Adel says, “I married a Muslim man, because I had been threatened by the terrorists—not just once, but many times. They used to come to the home were I was being held, the door was locked but they broke the door and the window open and forced me to sleep with them.
“I still considered Methu as my one, true husband, even though I was married to this Muslim man. I was very ashamed of myself and was scared of being rejected by Methu. “When I found out I was pregnant, I did everything I could think of to abort the child. One day in my deepest despair, I tried to stab my womb to kill myself and the baby. My 10- year old daughter, Christina, came in the room and stopped me. She held me tight and said, 'Mom, if you go away, who will take care of me?' As we sobbed together, she pleaded with me not to do it.”
Several months later, Methu was able to have the government make a deal with the Jihad troops. Adel could see him for two weeks, but then she would have to go back. When Adel and Christina said their good-byes, they both knew it might be the last time they ever saw each other. Adel had no plans of returning with her new baby girl, Sarah.
“God helped me realize (I was wrong),” Adel says. “He had a beautiful plan for me and my baby.” Adel and Sarah safely made it home. In July 2001, Methu stole into a large meeting in the city of Dama, hoping that his daughter would be there. He found her, sneaked her through the crowd, and fled in a waiting boat. Methu’s and Adel’s prayers had been answered. They were finally together again. Today Methu, Adel, and Christen have been joined by a new daughter, Sarah, although they still grieve for their son. Their love for Jesus Christ had carried them through their pain and suffering. And today, the faith they were willing to die for is stronger than ever. That same faith enables them to face the future with hope.
As shocking as this account is, it is only one of thousands of similar stories of suffering and persecution inflicted upon Indonesian Christians in certain regions of that nation. Jihad attacks against Christians have claimed as many as 10,000 lives during the past three years. Christian villagers have been robbed, their business and homes burned, their churches destroyed, and many beheaded and slain. Many Christian men have reported being forced to convert to Islam and being forcibly circumcised.
But the church continues to grow, being watered by the blood of martyrs. One church, Calvary Presbyterian in the Central Sulawesi village of Sangginora, was averaging about 200 in worship before it was burned and its people attacked. Today, the church has over 500 worshippers. The response of the Christians in this region? They are praying that God will forgive their torturers because "they don't know what they do" (Luke 23:34).
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Persecution Profiles in Indonesia
VOM has released a video that cover the story of Methu and Adel. You will also meet other stories like Johannes whose head was nearly severed and who now wants to be a missionary to his Islamic countrymen. And you will hear firsthand accounts of overcoming faith from one of today’s most persecuted nations. This video contains dramatic footage of what many of our brothers and sisters are currently facing in Indonesia. But beyond the persecution are incredible stories of their undying love for Jesus Christ.
Follow this link to watch the video http://www.persecution.tv/ (registration is required). The story of Methu and Adel can be found in 'Multimedia Feature' page with title "Indonesia - Island Jihad" (21 minutes duration).
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