Stories of Christian Martyrs: Theresia Morangkir, Alfita Poliwo, and Yarni Samube

Four teenage girls walked down the path leading to Poso Christian
High School. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky and the girls
looked forward to another day of classes. It was a holiday for the
Islamic schools in the area, celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. But
Christian schools like the one the four girls attended were still in session.
Their friendship and fellowship brought smiles across their young faces
as they enjoyed the peacefulness of the early Saturday morning.

The stillness of the air was broken as six men dressed in black and
with veils covering their faces jumped out of the bushes and ran toward
them. Before the girls could move, the men surrounded their young victims and viciously began swinging machetes. Screaming for help, the
girls fought for their lives. Only one, Noviana Malewa, was able to
escape. Covered in blood from cuts mostly on her face, she ran to find
help. The bodies of Theresia Morangkir and Yarni Samube (both fifteen
years old), and Alfita Poliwo (seventeen), were left on the ground, their
heads severed from their bodies and missing.

A couple of women walking to the nearby market heard the girls
screaming for help. Filled with fear, the women ran toward the military
post, reporting what they heard. The Indonesian soldiers began looking
for the source of the screams but instead discovered the three decapitated bodies.

The attackers put the girls’ heads in a sack and dumped them in different areas around the county. Two of the heads were found near a
police post, while the third was discovered outside a local church.
It wasn’t enough for the radicals to attack churches or Christian
leaders. They purposefully targeted young Christian girls who refused to
recognize the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. Girls who would never be able to be forced into marriage with Muslim men. They also made a
deliberate statement by taking their heads and leaving them by a police
station and a church. The message was clear: Neither the church nor the
government could stop their cowardly attacks on young girls in the area.

These teenagers knew of the dangers they faced, but with confidence
and joy they made their daily trek to school. They chose to rise above
fear and trepidation. Though their lives were mercilessly taken that Saturday morning, their faith lives on. Word of their testimony traveled
worldwide, giving encouragement and hope to others to possess lives full
of youthful joy in Christ, and a sober reminder that we are all just visitors
in this corrupt world.

“Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for
you are with me; your rod and
your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4

This story is an excerpt from Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs. You can get your own copy free with any donation to The Voice of the Martyrs.