Testimony – Miracle From Heaven
Hello, my name is Rachel Mutiara. I’m a church singer in Indonesia. Our songs are mostly in Indonesian. The source of inspiration for many of these hymns is the miracle that is my son, Nicholas Setiawan.
At the tender age of 2, we noticed something unusual about our son. He could not speak at all and his behavior was not normal, he would do some very strange things. We took him to doctors and children analysts. The result shocked us.
Nicholas was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Despite this challenging revelation, we resolved to not lose hope. We committed ourselves to his therapy and medication, a journey filled with trials and tribulations that stretched over several years.
Our faith and hope were tested as the financial costs of his treatment mounted. However, we continued to believe in the possibility of a miracle, steadfast in our journey seeking a divine intervention for Nicholas.
The Hurt, The Pain
I received various recommendations, from food to how to care for the child. Related people also checked on our family history, if our family had a history of Autism or ADHD.
This caused a lot of pain to our family. My heart hurt that people would treat my son and family this way. We finally gave up trying to explain to people, friends, and family, because it’s useless.
When Nicholas was 4 years old, my husband quit his job to focus on Nicholas’s treatment. We sold our house, car and move to a small city.
The years passed by and we felt more hopeless. Nothing happened. All forms of therapy and medication could not cure him. Nicholas could barely look me in the eyes when I tried to communicate with him.
The Complaints
A good man from the therapy center told us to let our son attend a school for special children. There is nothing wrong with it, but we decided to take our son to a public school.
Later, we had to deal with complaints from parents and teachers about Nicholas’ behavior. My son could not find any suitable friends or groups in the school because many parents were afraid to let their children near my son.
Words of Blessings
When Nicholas was almost 5 years old, we attended a Praise and Worship ministry in what you may call a Mega Church. My husband and I were in tremendous grief.
During the altar call, as we were praying, a pastor we did not recognize approached us. Suddenly he said, “Do you know Albert Einstein? Just as Albert Einstein, your son will speak at the age of 5 years and he will become very smart.”
We were pleasantly surprised by the statement and, when the service was over, we looked for the pastor. The pastor did not remember anything he had said to us!
The Miracle Manifested
I want to let you know: Miracles happen! At the age of 5 years, our son began to speak, simple words at first. From day to day, his words grew more and more. He began to be able to communicate with us.
Every day is like a miracle. He began to show an interest in reading. In a short time, he started memorizing letters and arranging the letters into writing. By the time he was 7 years old, Nicholas was fluent-speaking and writing as a child his age!
At the age of 8, (when this was written), he has been attending one of the public schools in our city and he’s very intelligent. Has Nicholas recovered from Autism and ADHD? I do not know. What I do know is that Nicholas has been restored by Jesus Christ.
All of our songs tell of struggle, hope, surrender, and faith in Jesus Christ. One of our songs is titled “Jesus, I love You”. It is our first song in English. Thank you. God bless you all.