At his small concrete home, a man ladles peanuts and rice flour into a pan of sizzling oil. Banu is frying peyek, a savory Indonesian treat. Neli, his wife, scoops every morsel and closes parcels with a twist tie.
Photograph by David Hogsholt
Polio keeps Neli from standing straight. With a knee permanently bent and a foot twisted awkwardly, she crouches over to move, her gait like a crabwalk. Banu has only one leg and one arm. His other two limbs were severed during a motorbike accident that left him unconscious on a train track. He grips tools with the three remaining fingers on his right hand.
They’ve always been looked down upon—even by their families, who didn’t want them to marry and worried, “How will you take care of yourselves?” But God provided a way. They may not have much but now employ 10 people to help distribute their product. And many in their community who feel like outcasts have learned the peyek trade so they can support themselves, too.
As a young woman, Neli took poison to end her life. When that failed, she lay in bed and prayed. People in the Hindu temple saw her deformities and rejected her, and she wondered if Christians would be any different. But coming to a church one Christmas, she was ushered to a spot of honor in the front row.
Today, Neli’s face is alive with joy as she and Banu listen to God’s Word on the Messenger while they work. People often ask, “How are you able to do all this?” And Neli tells them, “I know from the Bible that Jesus loves all kinds of people—even us. You can follow my God, too. He is the One who makes my life better.”
Discover more stories from Indonesia at intouch.org/global.
