Fritz Manapiring
Indonesia
1997
The small mob surrounded the church. Holding rocks in each hand, they clapped the stones together furiously. The radical Muslims were like mad men carrying out a holy pilgrimage of terror.
A policeman begged Pastor Fritz Manampiring, "Pastor please don't hold a service here today. This is what the Muslim leader want. They have become crazy!"
Not desiring to stir up any more trouble, Pastor Fritz assured the police officer that they would not have services. As members of the congregation arrived, Fritz shouted to them to go back to their homes. But before the church members could respond, the mob erupted, their stones flying. As the Muslims attacked the church, they chanted, Allah-u-Akbar!" (Allah is Mighty!)
Like Saul before his conversion, these men believed they were serving God. They were punishing infidels, those who blasphemed. The police tried to stop the mob, but with little success. These Muslims were fixed on persecuting the followers of Jesus.
The mob dragged Frit's wife outside, beating and kicking her. If the security officers hadn't stopped them, Pastor Fritz and his wife would have been killed.
The officers took Fritz and his wife to the military office for their safety. Fritz filed a report, but no arrests were made. No one would have blamed Fritz or his wife if they had left town or stopped their church services altogether. But they had pastured there for over ten years. They loved their congregation, so despite the treat of future persecution, they reminded in he area to minister the Gospel.
Two weeks later, a security officer warned Pastor Fritz of another attack be radial Muslims. That evening the mob arrived, bigger and angrier than before. This time, they were ready for jihad or holy war. Again they surrounded the church, which was also Pastor Fritz's home, and began to throw stones, yelling, "Attack! Attack!"
This time, the police did not show up to protect Fritz's family. It didn't take the mob long to enter the church and ransack everything in sight. They cut off the electricity, leaving the rooms in darkness. Before Fritz and his wife could escape, someone hit his wife across the back of the head with a club. Fritz was clubbed until his face was drenched in blood.
The Muslim them tied Fritz with steel wire and continued to beat him. Fritz cried out, "Lord Jesus, help!" One of the attackers forced his burning cigarette into Fritz's mouth. Laughing and jeering, he told Fritz, "Eat your Jesus!"
A hood was placed over the pastor's head, and he was taken outside and stripped naked. Attackers beat him, burned him with cigarettes, and rolled him through the broken glass from the church window. Others continued to destroy his home and church. The chants of the attackers echoed in his ears, "Allah-u-Akbar! Allah-u-Akbar!" Finally, a blow to his jaw was more than he could bear, and Fritz fell unconscious.
When he awoke, he found himself lying on a pile of wood from the ruined church. His attackers were throwing shattered furniture on top of him. He was soon choking from smoke as flames emerged around him. Fritz prayed what he thought was his final prayer before meeting his Lord face-to-face, "Lord, I give soul and spirit to you."
Fritz doesn't remember how it happened, but he suddenly found himself beign lifted from the blaze. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, God had spared him from the flames. After Fritz escaped the fire, he was tied to a pole, stoned, and left for dead. He suffered a concussion, his jaw was smashed, and nerves in his eyes were permanently damaged. But Fritz refused to give up and die.
Fritz and his wife are now staying with friends near where their church and home were destroyed. Not surprisingly, he continues to pastor the flock.
They defeated Satan through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of their witness. They weren't in love with themselves; they were willing to die for Christ. (John the Apostle; Revelation 12:11)
Source Source Voice of the Martyrs
| Comments |
|