A BOY WORTH FIGHTING FOR

Acy Lodja Noronha
6 days ago
3 min read

by Acy Lodja Noronha, Pastor of New Community Church, Timor-Leste. She is a vital partner in the Love Timor movement. She also acts as a guardian for children whose parents stay in faraway districts.

When Yeremiah first came to live with us in Dili four years ago, he was only 12 years old. He was energetic, temperamental, and constantly fighting with his brother Isaac. To be honest, he gave me many headaches.

At school, he was known as a troublemaker. I often received messages from teachers about his behaviour. There was a period when he stayed at the St Paul Methodist School (SPMS) hostel for a month under the care of Mr Sanjeevan Seenivasagam and his wife Susana. During that time, I was informed that he had fought with other students and caused many disciplinary problems.

One day, I received an urgent call from Joy Chan, who had been his form teacher in Grade 9. She told me that a group of boys had stopped the school bus looking for Yeremiah and had beaten him up because of conflicts from school. I rushed home immediately, worried not only for his safety, but also afraid he might seek revenge or do something reckless. On another occasion, students threatened him so badly that he became afraid to go to school.

I tried many ways to help him. Sometimes I sat quietly with him to talk and pray. Other times, I belt and rod to discipline him firmly. There were moments when I felt completely hopeless. I often called his parents because I did not know what else to do.

Whenever teachers complained about him, I even said, “If you think you cannot handle him anymore, maybe you should ask him to leave the school.”

At one point, I told Mr David Chan that I had given up on Yeremiah. But Mr Chan, being a leader with a pastor’s heart, refused to give up on him. He continued to believe in Yeremiah and patiently invested time to guide and help him.

Then something changed.

This year, after returning from the school holidays, I noticed that Yeremiah was different. He was no longer easily angered or temperamental. Instead, he had become calmer, more patient, and more responsible. I no longer had to remind him to do his chores. Slowly but surely, I could see maturity growing in him.

One morning, he asked me to look through a leadership application form he had completed for school. As I read his answers, my heart was deeply moved.

He wrote that he wanted to join the student leadership team because he wanted to help stop bullying and make school a safer place for every student.

The same boy who once struggled with anger and conflict now wanted to protect others from pain.

I felt so proud of him.

Yeremiah now understands that bullying hurts people, and he wants to use his experiences to help others instead of harming them. Watching this transformation reminds me never to give up on young people. Every child needs time to grow. They need people who will walk beside them, encourage them, love them, and give them room to learn from their mistakes.

I am deeply thankful for people like Mr David Chan, the teachers at SPMS, and the hostel parents, who continued believing in Yeremiah even during the most difficult seasons of his life.

Today, I see a young man whom God is shaping and transforming.