Indonesia

ABOUT PASTOR PAULUS

Pastor Paulus was born a muslim but converted to Christianity.
He worked in East Timor as a church planter/training school.
He experienced several riots and in the first one, the rioters were coming to kill the church planting students. The students had nowhere to flee so they prayed and “saw the hand of God come down from heaven” and the rioters ran away.
In the second riot, Paulus and his wife fled to the jungle and lost their daughter but prayed and fell down a ravine into a river. There they found her on the other side. At this point, his wife Marliesye told God that if this life was what He wanted, she was fine with it.
He became a starving refugee in a refugee camp but pastor friends from Australia rescued him and moved the family to Bali.
Paulus started a church planting school in Bali and there was given an abandoned child found in a toilet.
They were given more children and soon started an orphanage as one day he found children stealing fruit from a tree to feed themselves and realized they were orphans and was moved to rescued them.
In time, they opened orphanages across Indonesia (including many orphaned children from the Tsunami).
Paulus was introduced to radio as way to spread the gospel and he began putting radio stations and orphanages on various islands.
Each radio station would preach the gospel so they also opened a counseling center at the radio station where people could come for prayer and counseling.
Many people became Christians (most of the time this would be the only radio station on the whole island).
Soon they were able to host “listener appreciation parties” on the islands where nearly 20,000 people would show up and Paulus would preach the gospel. It became a “huge crusade” where people were healed and prayed to receive Jesus.
They have discipled so many who are on fire for God and want to be pastors. Paulus continues his “church planting” school in Bali and the same people who came to know Jesus through radio and came to the school have now returned to their communities as pastors.
The more Paulus did for the people of Indonesia, the more the “Islamic Government” began to respect him and soon they brought him rescued sex trafficked women. Their response was to build a home for those trafficked women who were rescued so that they and their children could live, learn a trade and return to society.
Some of the women have actually become pastors and evangelists and returned to their communities.
One day Paulus got a call from a lady who asked for him to pray with her son in jail. It turns out he was the leader of the “Bali 9” (look it up). For years, Paulus discipled him and he became a Christian who led many to The Lord. Before he was executed he gave a powerful interview on CNN explaining his faith and why he wasn’t afraid to die.
Through this experience, Paulus started a prison ministry. The ministry has been very powerful and now they even have a radio station at the prison.
One of the inmates was a former muslim cleric who got saved and led hundreds to Jesus even though he was beaten. When he got out he was baptized and had to flee to another island for fear of his life.
Last year he was nominated in an Islamic country for “Philanthropist of the Year” on a popular televised talk show in Indonesia. Marlysia went as one of 10 nominees. They did not expect to win because they were Christian and Marlysia does not like public speaking. Before the show, however, she felt as if Jesus asked her, “If you win, would you give Me the credit”? She prayed and agreed. Then to everyone’s surprise they won! So she went on stage and while crying gave all the glory to Jesus (in front of a muslim audience). The audience was stone silent. The next day vast amounts of money started showing in the orphanage account anonymously.
Today they have amazing favor with the government and the government has even agreed to help fund part of the women’s rescue.

INTERESTING ANECDOTES

Paulus got cancer but “somehow” in Singapore, he got all of his treatment paid for and was healed into remission.
He was on the Jihad list of most wanted.
Many of the children have witnessed their parents murdered. Please pray for them.
One day he had a cleric show up on his doorstep and say that he had been having dreams about a man wearing white with holes and blood on his hands. Then he was riding the bus and had a vision of the man in white and the man in white told him get off the bus and knock on a certain door. It was Paulus’ door! Paulus was scared at first because he was dressed like a cleric but he realized the man was sincere so he baptized him. The man then had to flee for his life.
Today, God has used Paulus and Marlysia to open 55+ radio stations, plant 12 orphanges/childrens centers/women’s rescue centers/church planting schools that now send about 180 church planters per year into the mission field.
Praise God for using two people with palms up, willing to do His work for His glory alone. We welcome you to join us as we continue to pray for Pastor Paulus and Marlysia, their family and Mercy Indonesia. Also pray for Tim Larson, Rock Point’s Digital Media Manager, as he visits Mercy Indonesia in June. Tim will be visiting the church planting school, prison mi