A TESTIMONY OF LIEN LABAN: ONE OF THE EPISODES IN HER LIFE

Six years ago we had here in the GPBB our church in Singapore which in Indonesia is a normal Reformed Church (GKI), a Reverend named Ajub Jahja who was very keen in having members of the church to give and explain their personal testimonies, something which is truthful and very overwhelming. Lien, my wife of 58 years, was a person with so many of these memories, but was very reluctant to share it with other people, because she was afraid that it will be considered a “hoax” to her audience hearing it.

One of our memories which was very strange  and step by step so convincing, was selling my mother in law’s house in Malang, a Dutchbuild house in a very original state located in Jalan Baluran 4 Malang. When my mother in law passed away on 18 th May 2008, we had to sell her house in one month, because we had to be back in Singapore (where we live) in the end of June 2008. Grace our eldest daughter, with her whole family, was planning to visit us in Singapore the beginning of July 2008,  and they had already bought their tickets. Desperately Lien told me, that we had only one month to settle the selling of the house, and she said that the only thing we can do is PRAY TO GOD. Otherwise we must go back to Malang after Grace went home. At the end of May, suddenly I had a very bad toothache and was forced to go to a dentist, he was a very old friend of Lien in her younger years, who studied dentistry in Surabaya. And while waiting for my turn, Lien went talking to the dentist wife about selling her Mam’s house just like that, and she told Lien to go to a good and very wellknown Notary in Jalan Tanggamus 21 which had her office beside’s Wim Tangkar (another of Lien’s youth friends) in Jalan Tanggamus 23! We went to this Notary and discussed with her about our intentions, after we finnished, we went to Wim’s house next door just to visit them after so many years not seeing them. After some talking we found out that his wife is a Property dealer .....!! She was the person who brought within one week a buyer from Jakarta, who looked the house over, and took the house without even “bargaining” to lower the price. Within a period of two  weeks we finished the paperwork, and were able to settle all paymants about the house. We finnished our duty and were on time to go home to Singapore, where Grace came one week later. To sell a house in Malang in three weeks with a very good price is almost impossible, and to get a buyer who does not bargain is also a very, very rare thing, this is what I tell the people, it is a MIRACLE that we succeeded in selling the house in three weeks!! One fact we do not forget at that time: Lien’s brother Rudy tried to sell his house already for 5 years without succes ....!! GOD’s POWER is unbelievable strange, it is so simple, and so truly effective, all this we have to thank HIM because Lien’s prayer was HEARD by HIM. Without having a toothache we would never had succeded in selling the house, a laymans opinion would be: Aaah, it is just a coincidence......., but WE believe that GOD’S HANDS DIRECTED all our movements !!!

(Ben Laban)