Resurrection Hope

Guest Post by Amelia Brooke Oates

In the deepest jungles of West Papua, Indonesia, in the highest mountains of the Birds’ Head, there is a woman in a tribe called the Abun who has a testimony that brings glory to the Father. Her story demonstrates the power of the resurrection of Jesus and how she overcame adversity by His blood.

In 2014, my missions team and I headed to the Abun tribe. We went with the purpose of telling gospel stories from the beginning of creation to the ascension of Jesus. Every story pointed to the promised deliverer and what He would do for a fallen people. Within the Abun people was a woman who was pregnant; she came and listened to the stories. One of which was the story of Lazarus dying and three days later rising from the dead through the power of Jesus Christ. This woman was intrigued by the story and held it in her heart when she gave her life to Christ. Months after we had left, we heard that the pregnant woman in the Abun gave birth to a still born baby. Even as she recognized the child was dead, her faith in Christ was unwavering. As she recalled the story of Lazarus dying and then rising back to life through Jesus, she began praying over her baby. Much like the story of Lazarus, her baby raised to life. This woman had remarkable faith and believed in the power of the resurrection. She believed Jesus would raise her baby from the dead. And He did!!!

The gospel tells us blessed are women with faith like this. When Mary experienced her own miraculous news that she was pregnant and carrying the Savior of the world, her cousin Elizabeth encouraged her with these words: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
Luke 1:45 ESV

Now I'm left to ponder, I wonder if Lazarus or his sisters knew that him dying and raising to life would display such a testimony for this Abun woman... my guess is that they didn't think that far ahead. I even bet his devastated sisters, when inquiring as to why this happened, couldn't see the big picture of many more hearing this story and following Jesus because of their testimony. I know my mind cannot perceive what a simple testimony of life's struggles and triumphs can do for someone else. But clearly, we are meant to share these stories of impossible victories. If we hadn’t, a baby would not be alive today in West Papua. The testimonies we share have power when pointed to authority of Christ's resurrection.  So why not share them? My favorite expression to encourage someone is: if I love them, I will tell them about Jesus! If I love them I will not withhold His story.