No one knows when the legend began. But generations of Sayang have waited for its promise to be fulfilled.
For more than five centuries, they have eked out their existence on a remote South Pacific island virtually cut off from the outside world. Here, the Sayang have survived as farmers. Rain has been the only source of fresh water. They’ve had no electricity or phone, not even a doctor. Twice government troops have tried to force the village of 10,000 to relocate — once at gunpoint. But the Sayang refuse to leave because they are bound by the legend’s promise — the arrival of a foreigner bearing a precious gift.
Agus vividly remembers Michael Martin’s arrival in Yang Jauh. His father had taught him the legend as a boy, and it was his father’s voice that echoed in Agus’ mind as he hurried to the house where elders had gathered to receive a visitor.
Martin, a Southern Baptist representative, sat waiting. The North Carolina native had spent the past three hours navigating some of the island’s roughest roads to reach the village. He’d heard about it by chance, through a Sayang student who attended one of the English classes he taught in town. Nobody else Martin had talked to on the island knew of Yang Jauh. As far as Martin could tell, it wasn’t on anybody’s map except God’s.
As he spoke with Agus and the elders, Martin worked up the courage to ask a question that had bothered him since his arrival. Why did these people live in such an inhospitable place in the middle of nowhere?
Agus replied, “Our village has a story that has been passed down through generations that one day, a foreigner with white skin will come to our village and reveal something precious to us.”
Silence filled the air. Martin could feel goose bumps race down his back. Agus and the elders stared expectantly at him, waiting.
“I was afraid something got lost in translation — this was too good to be true,” Martin recalled. “I know a lot of people probably would have jumped on that and laid out the plan of salvation. But I wanted to learn more about this story and the culture. Their worldview, their mindset, is very different from ours.”
That night, Agus had a dream. “I saw a big field in front of my house where everyone ran and gathered to see a helicopter come,” he said. Martin “appeared and lowered a rope to me. Then the helicopter rose slowly into the air — I grabbed the rope and was lifted up. Everyone watched.”
Though he didn’t understand what the dream meant, Agus felt compelled to strike up a friendship with Martin. Little by little, Martin shared the gospel with Agus. Then one day, Martin got the news he’d been praying for — Agus had surrendered his life to Jesus, becoming the first Christian in Yang Jauh.
Since his conversion, Agus has been working to help Martin convince others that Christ is the precious gift the Sayang have been expecting. The ministry among the Sayang is still in its infancy. So far, the language barrier has kept Martin from spreading the gospel on a broad scale, though it hasn’t stopped Agus from sharing one-on-one.
Martin believes the Sayang are open to the gospel. He plans to distribute cassette tapes containing key Bible stories recorded in their language.
“We’re on the verge of this people group being able to hear the gospel in their heart language on a large scale for the very first time,” he said. “Each time I go out to the village, someone new has had a dream and has questions about who Jesus is, why we’re coming and what this precious thing is that we have to share with them.”
Editor’s Note — The names have been changed for security reasons. (BP)
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