“I have been called, too”
“M” is an Indonesian man whose faithfulness over many years was key to the New Testament translation in his language. When the lead translator expressed his gratitude, M became very emotional and began to sob. Finally, he said,
“This is why I have stuck with this for so long. God called me to be a part of this translation.”
He then shared a dream he had had many years earlier:
“In my dream, I was walking along in the forest and, as I passed a tree, a bird sitting up in its branches spoke to me. The bird said, ‘There is gold at the base of this tree. You need to dig it up and carry it back to your village for your people.’ So I dug and found the gold, put it in my bag, then slung it over my back and started to walk toward my village.
Suddenly, it was very foggy and I couldn’t see the way. Then I saw that there was somebody, a form or a shape of someone ahead of me in the fog, and I followed that person along the path on the way to my village. Then I woke up and had no idea what that dream was about. It really puzzled me.
The next morning I went to work gardening outside of the village, like I always did. Later in the day, a boy from the village came running up to my garden. He told me that there was someone in our village who wanted to talk with me.”
"I want you to bring the treasure of My Word to your people."
M then looked the translator in the eye and said,
“That person was you, and you had come to ask me if I would be willing to help translate the Bible into our language. I knew right away what that dream meant.
God was speaking to me and saying, ‘I want you to bring the treasure of My Word to your people.’ God called me that day. I know you and your wife have been called to this work.”
Then he patted himself on the chest and said,
“I have been called, too. This is my call as well and that is why I have stuck with it all these years.”
