God creates every child with unique gifts and abilities. One of the joys our church partners have is identifying and nurturing the talent in the children we work with.

Eleven-year-old Marclif is a talented singer from Wori Village in Manado, North Sulawesi. Even at an early age, he was able to sing. His love of music started from listening to his mother’s lullaby every night before he went to bed.

Singing is in the soul of this boy, who is commonly called Nyopon. It seems that he cannot go through one day without music and singing. Nyopon never attended any music course; he learned by himself. Growing up in a Christian family, Nyopon has been taught to show his gratitude to God by singing praises in Sunday services.

Born into a fisherman’s family, Nyopon knows the struggles that his family faces to meet their basic daily needs. His father received a boat, net and machine from the social department, all of which have helped him to catch fish, but these provisions do not guarantee that Nyopon’s father is always able to fulfill his family’s needs. Sometimes in bad weather, he cannot catch any fish and has to stay home.

Nyopon always wants to participate in his village’s annual singing contest – he has won every time since he first entered in 2006 – but his father does not always have money to pay the registration fee.

Knowing Nyopon’s dream to become a singer, Mustika, one of the staff members at his child development center, offered him the opportunity to enter the “Idola Cilik” contest. Idola Cilik is a national children’s singing contest inspired by “American Idol.”

Nyopon participated in a few stages of the contest along with thousands of children around North Sulawesi in July 2009. In October 2009, he was chosen as one of the two best contestants to represent North Sulawesi in the national contest. Nyopon went to Jakarta for the national audition and competed with 13 other children from other areas of Indonesia. He was supported by the Regent of North Minahasa, which provided tickets to Jakarta for Nyopon and his mother.

The judges and audience were impressed with how Nyopon performed his songs. He even became one of the favorite contestants, as seen through the votes received from the studio audience and the TV audience. Nyopon was one of six children who received the highest number of votes.

March 13, 2010, was Nyopon’s last day in the competition. Although he only remained in the competition for several weeks, Nyopon didn’t feel sad.

“Even though I just went until the big six, I was really happy I got the opportunity to be in the contest. I can learn new things when I join in the contest. Before I usually sang in front of the people that I know; now I had to sing in front of the audience that I didn’t know. It challenged me to improve what I have learned at the center. [It] built my self-confidence.”

Nyopon attends the child development center on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and goes to a music studio if there is no activity at the center.

“I learn more about music at the center. I have the opportunity to improve my talent. I don’t have to become famous to be a better person. All I need to do now is learn. I already feel grateful to have a chance to give my best.

“It is a special blessing for me to have this chance and my sponsors in my life. I know they are proud of me. I know they always pray for me.”

In addition to pursuing his love of singing, Nyopon has another dream for his life. “I want to see my sponsors’ faces. I want to know the people who always support me all this time.” His father agrees.

“I am really blessed that my son could be a part of the child development center. I can see the difference after these two years. He became very responsible and is developing his talent. I want to thank his sponsors because of their love to our son. I hope we can meet the family one day and show our gratefulness to them.”

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Now a successful man who owns a large egg-selling business, Wolly Towoliu was once known as a little boy who had a very bad attitude. Wolly liked to hit his friends, sometimes even with stones. His mother once even said, “It would be better if you just went to the forest. I can’t stand any more of your attitude.”

But after he joined the child sponsorship program in Indonesia in 1979, Wolly got sponsors from the U.S. named Robert and JoAnne Cottone, and he felt he had received new parents. Wolly found people who saw him from a different point of view.

His “new parents” did not just help him with financial support, but they always encouraged him. In each of their letters, they never forgot to encourage Wolly to always put his trust in God.

“Don’t feel desperate. Keep relying on Him. He will make a way for you.”

But this vital source of encouragement ended abruptly in the early eighties when we had to close our ministry in the country.

Still longing for love from his kind sponsors, Wolly tried to contact them by sending a letter to our headquarters in Chicago. He hoped that he would get a reply from Robert, but Wolly received nothing. Our headquarters had moved from Chicago to Colorado, and the letter was sent back, marked “Return to Sender.”

Wolly put the returned letter under his pillow and hoped and prayed every night that he would see his sponsor one day.

Wolly was able to go to university and complete a degree in law from Sam Ratulangi University in the city of Manado. He then moved to Jakarta to find a job.

Wolly applied for many jobs, even those that didn’t relate to his degree. Eventually, he found a job and worked at a company that produces ships. He worked there for five years, but when his mother got sick, he decided to go home to Manado.

Even though he tried to get home as soon as possible, Wolly couldn’t reach his mother in time. On the fourth day, while Wolly was still on the way to Manado, his mother passed away.

“I felt that I lost the spirit to continue my life. I did not have anyone who was able to encourage me anymore. Both of my parents had passed away and I couldn’t contact my sponsor either.”

Not long after his mother’s death, God took care of Wolly in his loneliness. Wolly met someone who was able to encourage him. Wolly met and fell in love with a Manadonese woman, Ike Ingkiriwang, and married her in 1999.

Wolly realized that he had to have a place to build a settled life. He decided to move back to Manado to start a new life with his wife.

Starting all over again, Wolly had nothing to count on. After borrowing money from others, Wolly started a business selling eggs that his brother-in-law raised. Finding customers was the hardest part of establishing a new business. But even though it was hard to do, Wolly stayed dedicated to his job. After more than 10 years, Wolly now has customers around Minahasa, North Sulawesi. Twice a week he distributes his eggs to his customers.

Even though Wolly had succeeded in his business, he always felt a longing for his sponsor. More than 20 years after losing contact with his sponsor, Wolly’s prayers were answered.

In April 2009, Compassion East Indonesia contacted Wolly. They informed him that he could communicate with Robert and JoAnne through a teleconference. For one hour, Wolly told Robert about his struggles to survive after their communication was cut.

He told Robert that he had earned a bachelor’s degree in law, but he had different job because he didn’t have enough money to take the comprehensive courses to be a lawyer.

“I told him that I built a business. I am selling eggs. He was very happy with what I am right now, but he was curious why I don’t use my degree as a lawyer.

“He encouraged me to take the advocacy certificate so I can be a lawyer and use my degree in the future. I agreed with his suggestion but then I forgot. I still continued my business.”

Although Wolly forgot his intention, God used Wolly’s friend from university to remind Wolly of the promise he had made. Markus Sikopong, Wolly’s friend, called him and asked him to take the course.

Realizing it wouldn’t be easy to pass the test, Wolly formed a study group with several of his friends. He had to try to remember the material that they learned in university years ago. On the day the test results were announced, Wolly and all of his study group friends learned they had passed the test. Only about 50 people passed the test from North Sulawesi.

Wolly and his friends are now taking a course at Sam Ratulangi University twice a week to strengthen their knowledge about advocacy. Even though Wolly still has a business that he has to take care of, he is loyal to his commitment.

Although Wolly hasn’t become an advocate yet, he has officially joined an advocate group. In this group he is learning how to defend clients. Upon entering a courtroom in February 2010 for the first time, Wolly won his first case. Since then, he has taken care of three cases.

After other people were advocates on his behalf as a sponsored child, Wolly has now grown up as an advocate for others.

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The Pengucapan tradition started when the people in this remote area of Indonesia still worshiped gods. They expressed their gratitude to the ultimate god or the highest god, known as opo wanatas empung walian empung rengan-rengan.

After the harvest, Minahasa people held a kuman kan weru ceremony to eat their harvest for the first time and express their gratitude though song and praise to their gods for fertility, good weather, harvest and health. They would  bring their crops as an offering to their gods.

Christianity came to Minahasa in the 1800s, and Minahasa now has one of the highest rates of Christianity in all of Indonesia.

Pastor Philep, who works with a Compassion child development center in Wiaulapi, explained that after Christianity’s arrival, the Church rejected all forms of worshiping gods as part of animism. But the Church at that time saw the expression of gratitude that Minahasa people had in this tradition and allowed them to continue it through churches.

With the presence of the Church, the form of kuman kan weru changed. The celebrations usually had been conducted in the farmland, but they were moved to the church and renamed Pengucapan, or Thanksgiving.

Now people bring cash rather than their crops to the church as their offering, as farmland decreases and people leave agriculture for business.

In Wiaulapi, a village in the southern part of Minahasa, many people are turning from farming to production of saguer, a traditional beverage made from the liquid of the palm tree.

Yance, father of a Compassion-registered child, Immanuel, became a saguer producer about three or four years ago. He had been a farmer. In Pengucapan, he now always gives cash.

Each individual area sets a different date for the actual holiday. This year, the holiday in Wiaulapi was in July.

One week before Pengucapan, the head of community announces that each family needs to clean up their house and the street in front their house. The men and the children go out together with brooms, shears and shovels and clean the main street and its ditches.

Then, every day the week before Pengucapan, each family cleans their house. They clean the windows and benches, cut the grass and wash the curtains so they are ready to welcome their guests.

For Pengucapan, people prepare special meals and welcome everyone to their house, even strangers. The food preparation starts the day before.

In the early morning, people are busy preparing the meals for their coming guests. Like other mothers in her village, Immanuel’s mother makes nasi jaha, one of the traditional meals. People usually make hundreds of nasi jaha for Pengucapan.

Nasi jaha means rice with ginger. It’s made from sticky rice mixed with coconut milk, other spices and of course ginger.

To cook it, people put the dough into bamboo stalks covered with banana leaves. Before they bake it, they leave it to dry in the sun for a while in the bamboo. Then they put the bamboo in the fireplace.

The responsibility for preparing Pengucapan is not only given to mothers and woman, but to men as well.

The men gather and clean bamboo and cover it with banana leaves, so it will be ready to use.

At Pengucapan, other traditional food will be served such as cookies, dodol (cake made from sticky rice and palm sugar wrapped with corn leaf), fish dishes, vegetables and meat.

In some places people also serve bats and rats. They hunt bats and rats in the forest for several days before Pengucapan. The people in Minahasa only eat rats with white tails that live in the forest.

On Pengucapan day, everyone goes to the church. They gather in the church to sing and praise God for His blessing, protection and grace from the previous year. And they bring their offerings to express their gratitude.

Some people from other areas also join the service as guests. Everyone welcomes and greets all guests. Joy and gratitude fill the air.

On Pengucapan day, people and vehicles fill the road and create traffic jams, which happens very rarely in Minahasa. The government makes a schedule for every area to hold Pengucapan so they can manage the traffic jams and people easier.

Back at their houses, each family gathers, prays and reads the Scripture before they eat. They kindly greet guests and let them eat in their house to join the happiness of experiencing God’s grace.

Immanuel’s mother prepares the stalk of nasi jaha for each of her guests to take home. On that day, guests keep coming until midnight. After visiting, people take whatever food they like back to their homes.

Immanuel enjoys celebrating Pengucapan, too. His favorite part is helping his parents prepare for the day, searching for bamboo in the forest, and helping his mom clean it.

Though the form of kuman kan weru has changed, the essence is still the same. Singing and praising will still be lifted up year after year in Minahasa to opo wanatas empung walian empung rengan-rengan, Jesus Christ the Son of God.

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