Aris was born in 1996 in a small village in Asia in a family of farmers. His parents have been seasonal harvesters of rice, corn, spinach, and many other plants for as long as Aris remembers. Aris’ mother and father have also been working on oil palm and rubber plantations to make their large family’s needs meet.
Aris had always considered himself a Christian, as it was registered in his birth certificate, according to law. However, his way of life proved the opposite. Aris was far from God, enjoying everything this world could offer to a young man, rejecting invitations to attend church gatherings, fighting with parents, and showing them disrespect, hurting people who cared for him.
It all started to change when the Lord allowed Aris to move to the capital to study at a university. Here the young man joined a Christian student community where he met a member of our church, who invited Aris to attend a Sunday service.
As Aris became a regular attendee and participant of the church gatherings, as he listened to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit unveiled his spiritual eyes to see the ugliness of his sin and the beauty of Christ. He realized that being a child of God is not a piece of information in one’s identity card, but being born again in Jesus, to love Him as the most precious treasure and to live for Him joyfully. Aris was baptized in 2019- a beautiful “…outward expression of calling on the name of the Lord in faith.” (John Piper)!
It is Aris’ third year in college, and we have all been blessed by witnessing God’s work in our brother’s heart. He is a new person now. The old has passed. It was difficult for Aris to forgive others. Now, he forgives because the Lord forgave him. He used to rely on his strength. Now, Aris believes that everything is under God’s sovereign control. The Lord changed the way Aris views his life. Aris is not only a “Christian” by his documents, but he is a true believer, a new creation. The sin that he used to enjoy, he fights against. Aris is really happy to have met Jesus personally.
From His Pastor,
Alah’bi Komang
