just in time

God’s helping hands are always upon His children…

Miracles happen frequently as we drive. Nugraha still marvels at the memory of visiting his friend in Jl. Magelang, Jogjakarta. It was the night after enjoying the cell group.
The meeting was so touching and cheering through all over attendants. They’re laughing, and shared the words of God. They’re encouraged with the deepest meaning of the fellowship. At that time Iwan, one of the members couldn’t come to join because of sick. So, the group planned to visit Iwan after the meeting over. There was no sign that something bad was going to happen.

Nugraha and his cell group’s fellows went to Iwan’s house at that night. It was cold but the sky was clear, starry skies. It took about 30 minutes to get to Iwan’s house from the meeting place by motorbike. The street was crowded because it was the time people went home to rest. “Come on in”, Iwan’s wife Dewi, welcome them in. After they’d chit chat, shared the words of God and prayed to him, they went home. It’s about 11pm.

Nugraha went home with his friend Rio on another motorbike. They’re on the same way home. They stopped at the junction when the traffic light was red. There were no other vehicles on the street. Suddenly…bump! Two girls crashed Nugraha with their motorbike hardly. God, help me! He shouted before fell off. The motorbike rolled to a gentle final stop, but he was just sit on the asphalt. What’s going on? Nugraha stood up shaky and tried to get his motorbike up. Rio came to help him and caught the two young girls.
“We’re very sorry…we didn’t mean it. We ran from that boy and girl who just passed us, we’d had fight earlier”. They begged Nugraha for sorry, even gave their ID if something bad continues. Nugraha just got back from the glimpsed unconsciousness about the hit and checked all his condition. “Are you okay?” Rio asked him worried. “Yeah…I’m okay, just a little brush on my knee”. He checked his motorbike, but there was no damage on it. Amazing….the girls hit him at the exhaust-pipe hardly and made a big bad crash-rebound, and he only got minor injury. He realized, a strong pair of hands held him and put him aside from the accident. Was it You God? He asked his self.
He then went home without put the case to the girls, was he not being saved from bad injury? He always thanks God for His protection and believes His love to him.

Read More......

Awaken morning…

God sends Angels to guard His people…all the time!

John 65 years old has six children. The first son lives with his wife in Borneo; his daughter stayed with her family in northern part of Jogjakarta for a while until her husband graduate from his master degree and the rest three sons worked overseas. He lived with his wife Maria and one of his son Thomas 30 years old when this story happened. It was in southern part of Jogjakarta, Indonesia a nice place, hot…and humid, a typical tropical place.

On 26th of May 2006 night, after the night prayer John was going to bed to rest. But he was not sleepy yet, so he saw a wayang show a traditional puppet shadow on TV to kill the time. Thomas was already slept and days before his wife Maria went to Solo, 65 km far from Jogjakarta, to take care their uninhabited home after no one rent their house anymore. Then, John fell asleep…

Suddenly, John felt someone wake him up and urged him to pray in that early morning. It was about 4.30 am May 27, 2006, he was still sleepy and shocked awaken. Although he didn’t understand, he started to pray anyway…then he felt peace within. In about an hour after that something happened…the land started growling. Earthquake…earthquake! people started to scream and went out from their houses to escape. The clock was about 5.55 am, most of the civilizations were already prepared to do their activities. Most of them ran to the Museum Perjuangan that had big yards in front and behind its building, included Thomas. Thomas just awoke and ran to the museum not aware about his old father still inside the house. ”Where is your father…where is he?” the other civilization asked him. “O God, he is still inside!” Thomas ran back to the house to look for his father. “Thomas, I’m here, I’m okay…” John shouted out when he heard Thomas was calling. Then they both went to join other fugitive in Museum. The earthquake was still storming, huge…and scarring. The electricity was off, the communication was blank, totally black out and the quakes were come and go. The sky was dark and horrible; it became a black day for the Jogjakarta’s people. The victims were a lot, many houses broke down. People lost their love ones, many tears and screaming heard everywhere. Many villages were vanished, Jogjakarta mourning and lost its generations. The news said, it was 7 RS earthquake and could continue until months before it stopped, the lost were billions dollars, and victims were just everywhere.

Maria, who was in Solo earlier tried to contact John, Thomas and her daughter’s family many times, but…the communication was off. Even though the epicenter of the earthquake was in Bantul 40 km away from Jogjakarta, but it crashed where her families stayed in too. In the afternoon, the communication was on again. After she knew that her families were okay, she asked her sister’s help who lived in Solo as well, to evacuate her family and her daughter’s to Solo at that night. They stayed together in Solo for a month and went back to Jogjakarta after the earthquake threat was descended. They found out that their neighbor’s house behind theirs was gone, and the ceilings of other neighbor’s were broke down, many families lost their children or parents. His home, as old as him, just got a little crack on the wall. John thanked God to send His Angel to wake him up at that morning and gave him calm to experience it. He was 65 years old and could not walk fast, and God had sent his wife to Solo earlier to prepare the place for them to refuge. Now, he is still live with his family to experience another God’s protection and comforts.

Read More......