Juliana was 10 years old when Steve and Clair moved in next door. Often on her way home from school she waited by her gate until she could get another look at them. They were so different. They were warm and friendly and radiant. She wondered why were they living here in Kampong (slums)? Surely they were rich enough to live in a bigger and nicer house. Steve and his wife Claire often took walks in the late afternoon. They were always smiling and laughing from their hearts as they stumbled through the words of their new language with their neighbors. They even kicked the rattan ball around with the neighborhood boys. 

One day Steve and Claire invited Juliana into their house. She came in cautiously. There she saw Salib on their book shelf and she saw Claire reading on Al Kitab. Being from a Muslim family, Juliana had been told many times that she should stay away from crosses and bibles. She started to feel nervous. But there was something beautiful and peaceful in their house. She could not explain it. Whatever it was, she had never felt it before, and she suspected it might have something to do with Isa(Jesus). He was the one they often talked about. Yes it had to be that Isa was calling out to her from Steve and Claire’s house. One day Claire offered Juliana a Bible, but she refused to accept it. She felt that it would bring nothing but trouble into her life. Then three months later Steve and Claire moved away. But the words they planted and the peace that flowed from their homes were gripping and beautiful to Juliana’s heart. She desperately wanted to learn more about Isa. When Juliana graduated from grade six, she could stand it no longer. She had to find out why she was so drawn to Steve and Claire. Was it because of Isa? Juliana knew that she might learn more about Isa if she transferred to a Christian Junior high school. She began pleading with her parents to let her transfer to a Christian school. They refused, but Juliana was stubborn. She pressed on until they finally relented but they warned her not to even think about visiting a church. Juliana’s parents were nervous about the religion but they knew that their daughter would receive a better education at the Christian school. And, the teachers had a reputation for being far more caring and loving than their counterparts in most other schools. 

At her new school, Juliana learned more about Isa, whom her teachers called Yesus Kristus. She started reading a bible. She began to wake up and blossom into a new way of life consumed with love for Jesus and for other people. When Juliana was 12, she was baptized much to the horror and dismay of her parents. And they sternly warned her to stay away from church, but she was very stubborn. Every Sunday she had to find new ways to slip out of the house and run off to church, even though it meant that she would receive a severe beating when she came home. 

When Juliana’s grandmother learned that Juliana had started going to church she stopped talking to her. Every day Juliana came into her grandmother’s room and cried and tried to hug her but her grandmother just looked the other way.   She did not speak even one word to Juliana. Week after week, month after month, grandmother would not speak. Little did Juliana know that she was planting seeds of lifer into her family. Juliana’s love for her gamily grew and matured.

At one point, when Juliana was 19 living on her own, she became ill. She was too sick to make her daily visit to see her family. Suddenly the phone rang. It was her grandmother wondering why Juliana had not come. This was the first time in seven years that her grandmother had spoken directly to Juliana. That phone call was the start of a new beginning. The seeds of life that had been planted in Juliana’s soul were now beginning to burst out and bear fruit. Everything began to change with her family. When Juliana was 21, her mother accepted Christ and was baptized. Her little brother also became a believer and was baptized and later her father also accepted the Lord and was baptized. 

In Mark 4:26-28, Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seeds on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” The fruit of those seeds sown in Juliana’s life by Steve and Claire all those years ago have no been passed on to Juliana’s family… Praise be to God!

Mustard Seed is pleased to announce that Juliana is our newest team member. She joins our staff in her home country for the purpose of sharing the Gospel Truth with all who cross her path. For security reasons we have not mentioned her location. We are, however, asking you to pray for Juliana and the entire Mustard Seed team as we work together to plant seeds of Jesus’ love, hope and salvation in the lives of spiritually lost and suffering people around the world.