The most wonderful thing

(pictured: Youthworks College students)

As a Muslim child growing up in Indonesia, Eka was familiar with the daily call to prayer and the depiction of Jesus as a prophet in the Quran.

When she came across a Bible, though, she started reading the Gospel of Mark, and Jesus’s words to Peter hit her hard: “Who do you say I am?”

“I just kept thinking about it, kept thinking about it…I didn’t really have the answer I would have liked to [because] my brain just kept thinking ‘You are God.’ I was just convinced. And that’s how I became a Christian. God can speak to anyone.”

(pictured: Eka, Youthworks College student)

“Believe or not I do not like reading, but reading the Bible and learning about the Bible I find so interesting.

Because you’re not just reading it; you feel like there’s something there you can [learn and] grab onto. It's so comforting knowing that Jesus is always there.

That was giving me encouragement to know more about him.”

Eka would like to share her faith with Muslim friends and family one day, but for now she has been asked to run and serve in the children’s ministry at her Anglican church in Sydney.

She says that studying at Youthworks College has equipped her with skills like running a classroom, understanding children’s behaviours, connecting well and storytelling.

Old Testament studies hold special interest for her, and studying social issues like mental health have also given her valuable, practical insights.

As a grandmother, Eka has a particular heart to model Christian ministry for children and hopes that her ministry will empower others to become teachers, evangelists and perhaps even missionaries to Indonesia, equipped to share their faith with people like Eka’s family.

Scripture, she says, gives us “hope and encouragement not to worry.

We cannot be judgemental. We have to accept who we are…know your Bible and focus on Jesus in us.

That’s the most beautiful and wonderful thing.”