“I was followed by the devil and lived in the dark.”
That’s how Martinus describes the 14 years he spent trapped in a violent gang.
Growing up in a remote village in West Sumba, Indonesia, Martinus believed joining a gang was his only escape from the poverty that surrounded him.
So when the invitation came, he said yes.
To his parents’ horror, at an age when most children are still in primary school, Marcus was drawn into gang violence.
Over the next decade, Martinus joined in robberies, fights and alcohol use. He sold stolen goods and lived surrounded by danger.
“He was cursed by many people,” says Yuli, a Compassion center tutor. “They wished for his death instead of his life.”
Searching for Protection in All the Wrong Places
Afraid and desperate for protection, Martinus bought an amulet from a local shaman, which he kept sealed in a tiny bottle and hidden beneath his clothes, believing it would keep in safe.
But the amulet couldn’t protect him from the consequences of his choices.
In 2011, Martinus was accused of robbery and murder and thrown into prison. But a lack of evidence meant he was released a week later, and the experience didn’t change the direction of his life. He quickly returned to smoking, drinking and crime.
Then his health began to fail.
A sharp pain spread through his chest and stomach — pain so severe it consumed his thoughts and left him writhing in agony.
Around that time, a pastor visited Martinus and counseled him. During the visit, the pastor said something that stunned him: “Take off your amulet.”
Martinus froze. He had never told the pastor about it.
Even so, he couldn’t imagine leaving his old life behind. By then, he had become a father, but he still felt trapped.
“I really wanted to get out of my crime life, but it felt like something was holding me tightly,” he says.
Over the following years, Martinus’ condition worsened until he could barely leave his house. Eventually he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and an intestinal illness.
“I felt so weak and could do nothing,” he says. “I thought I would die because my body was in such pain.” He sought treatment at the local village clinic, but nothing seemed to help.
A Different Kind of Freedom
Finally, in desperation, he asked a pastor to pray for him — and soon, the pastor was visiting him regularly.
“I started to realize that what I had committed was wrong and upset my family and other people,” says Martinus.
In 2019, a few months after the pastor began praying with him, a new Compassion center opened in the community. Martinus’ young son Jendri was among the children who were registered. Out of the 216 children at the center, 20 were children of active gang members.
“I strongly believe this program will bring peace to the community,” says Yuli, a Compassion tutor.
It wasn’t prison or failing health that finally changed Martinus’ heart. It was seeing the church surround his son with love, guidance and hope through the Compassion center.
“I never went to school properly, so when my son was enrolled in the Compassion program, I was grateful because I didn’t want my child to be like me,” says Martinus.
Learning a New Way to Live
Instead of racing toward destruction, Martinus started slowing down. He spent time reading the Bible with the help of his son and praying together with his family.
Martinus, his wife and his children soon began attending church together regularly. Before long, Jendri and his siblings were baptized.
As Martinus watched his son grow through the Compassion center, something inside him began to change too. For the first time, he started imagining a different future for his family — and the kind of father he wanted to become.
Leaving the Past Behind
Martinus also found freedom from the guilt and shame he had carried for years.
“I see God’s goodness through my child because when he was registered for the Compassion program, it felt like God gave us a second chance so I can live truthfully,” says Martinus.
Today, Martinus still lives with the effects of his past choices. At times, old friends still pressure him to return to gang life. But with the support of the church and the love of his family, he is determined to keep moving forward.
“In the past, I was a bad person who often committed crimes. However, God is willing to forgive me, and I committed myself to living in repentance,” Martinus says.
The amulet is now in the trash.