Pacific Rim in Texas

“See, they will come from afar-- some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.” Isaiah 49:12, NIV.

Eddie and Hetti* were a young couple from Indonesia that spent time in Texas for higher education. The wife attended English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at a local Baptist church. After several months of observing the members of the church, she became convinced that the gospel was true. Eddie gave Hetti his permission for her to be baptized and to follow Christ, but he made it clear that he had no intention of leaving his faith.

When Eddie completed his degree program, he and Hetti packed up and returned to Indonesia. Hetti immediately found a church and began attending. Eddie would drive her to church, but he would wait in the car outside.

The men in the church noticed Eddie and began making friends with him. After several weeks they were able to convince him that it would be more comfortable to wait inside during the worship services.

Several months after he started attending the services, Eddie became convinced that the gospel was true, and he gave his life to follow Jesus!

It was several years later that Eddie and Hetti were reconnected with Texas. A campus minister and his family were in Indonesia. They had known Eddie and Hetti from their days in Texas, and they spent time with them in Indonesia. Even after they left Indonesia, they kept up correspondence with Eddie and Hetti.

When John, Eddie and Hetti’s oldest son, was ready to attend college, they sent him to Texas. They not only sent him to Texas, but they sent him to stay with the same campus minister who had come to visit them in Indonesia! God took the obedience of a Texas church to reach out to an Indonesian couple and turned it into a multi-generational blessing. Keep your eyes open. You never know when the peoples of Pacific Rim may be coming to visit you!

*Names changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

International students will find the love, acceptance, and welcome of Jesus in our Southern Baptist Churches.

ESL ministry will not only reach International students, but also prepare believers to go as cross cultural workers in the Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.