Ronny had completed his high school training, followed by his University course and then the mandatory teacher training (which undertook after graduating with his Bachelor degree) and was a successful teacher, fast tracking his career towards being a head master (principal).
"It was during these middle years of my career that I believed that the call of God on my life was toward full time Christian ministry and this required me to leave teaching," Ronny Wanimbo explained.
It was all the more of a dilemma, because he loved teaching and it provided his wife and children with a secure income and material provisions for their future. However, there was another aspect that Ronny believed he needed to consider.
"The decision to move from teaching to full time ministry was not one taken without considerable discussion with others. There were the long discussions with my wife and other family members, and much prayer," Ronny remembered. "But once the decision was made, it all fell into place."
Ronny Wanimbo was one the Paupa Indonesia delegate at the recent Baptist World Alliance Living Water Australasian-South Pacific conference held in Cairns where he gave a video testimony for Australian Missionary News IPTV. http://tv.bushorchestra.com/
"Serving as minister of the Seon Baptist Church in Womula is a wonderful privilege and the Lord has guided me in every way possible," Ronny Wanimbo told Mark Tronson of the Australian Missionary News IPTV.
He said that he came to Christ when he was a young man growing up within a very active Christian environment. Something he noticed was that, as the older people became Christians, they dispensed with the old ways.
"This impacted me very much, watching the elders who were the most respected people, throw out their old ways so as to follow Jesus," Ronny Wanimbo observed. "It has affected the way I have lived my own life."
By accepting Jesus has his personal Saviour, Ronny said he noticed changes as he allowed the Spirit of Christ to take control of every area of his daily living.
"One of the great pleasures of being a pastor is witnessing these changes in others, as people seek out Jesus to be their personal Saviour. Even when tragedy strikes, the Lord has been a wonderful comfort, as my wife can attest, as we have sadly lost two of our five children," Ronny Wanimbo explained.
Despite the experience of tragedy, Ronny has strengthened his faith in the power of accepting Jesus and allowing Him to guide the family through the major changes they have made in their own lives. Through his education and understanding of human emotions, he is able to help his parishioners in Wamena in ways he, as a young teacher, would not have imagined possible.
