Kids of Courage

Children in the safe house get new shoes

The following story is from a girl in Indonesia who lives in a safe house. The house protects children whose family members have been attacked by radical Muslims.

“I am 14 years old, and I have been at the safe house since 2010. I want to share my story. My mother told me this story. It happened when I was 3 years old.

Our home was on the beach, and my father went fishing with his friends. A riot was happening in the area. My mother told my father it would be better if he didn’t go out because of the situation. But finally my father went fishing at night without telling my mother.

A few hours later, my mom heard the sound of gunfire from the beach. Our neighbors and my mother tried to find the source of the gunfire. The friends who went fishing with my father came back from the sea without him. They only brought back his boat. My father is still missing today.

Sometimes I feel sad when I remember my father, but now I have Jesus close to me. I love to read Psalm 23:3 because the Lord always walks with me.

I pray every day at 9:00 a.m. Once I prayed that God would provide me with a school uniform, shoes, and books. God answered my prayers, and he provided.

I love science and get good grades. I want to be a doctor when I grow up; I want to treat sick people.

Be thankful if you still have a father and mother. If you live in the free world, then obey God and always pray to him.

(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)

Children in Indonesia

The following story comes from a 14-year-old Christian in Indonesia.

“I am the third child in my family. I have been at the safe house since I was 8 years old. I love to read, swim, and listen to the radio, and I love to do math, physics, and computers.

“My mother says that I was 8 months old when our village was attacked. My father was shot with an arrow.

“Sometimes I am sad because I don’t have a father. I overcome my sadness by playing the guitar. I don’t hate Muslims even though they killed my father.”

Matthew 5:44 says, “Love your enemies.” How does Yakim follow this command?

(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)

Indonesian boy

Christians in Indonesia opened a home for children whose family members have been attacked by radical Muslims. The home is called a “safe house,” because the children are safe from danger.

Andre is a teenager who has been living at the safe house for about 9 years. Read his story below.

“It started when my father and mother went to a Muslim neighbor village to buy fishing nets. My siblings and I were at home.

“We became worried when our parents had been gone for two hours. So we asked our next door neighbor to help us look for our parents in our village.

“We couldn’t find them.”

“The next morning we visited the neighbor village.”

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