Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Updates & Reports from the Mission Field

Forty is typically the age for a mid-life crisis and jokes to surface about having one foot in the grave, but for Labuki, the crisis was much more than feeling old, and death was already knocking on her door.

Labuki had known her whole life she would die at the age of 40. Following local tradition, her parents consulted an astrologer when she was born and requested a horoscope for her.

The news was bleak: Labuki was cursed, and according to the astrologer, she would die at the age of 40.

A Life of Fear

Labuki lived every moment fearing the day of her death, and sleep only brought nightmares of her impending doom. When she turned 32 and got married, she had no interest in having children. She would only have eight years with them anyway. The signs were everywhere.

One day, as she walked on the road, a large dog with dark fur chased her. She had to run long and hard to escape. Once she made it to safety, however, Labuki was still afraid, thinking the dog was an omen—death chasing her in the form of a dog.

After the incident, she was afraid to leave her house, but even at home, she felt she wasn’t safe. When she did venture outside, one day, to take a bath in the river behind her house, she felt the current dragging her under the water. She thought she might die right there as she struggled to pull herself out of the river, but she lived to experience one more frightful day.

In the midst of Labuki’s constant panic, her family only made things worse.

“Oh! She will be dying at the age of 40, no?” they said, looking at her pathetically. “What can we do?”

One day, though, Labuki shared her horoscope story with her friend Tamasi, and for the first time, someone offered Labuki hope.

The One Who Knows the Future

Tamasi was a believer, and she told her pastor, Nabhoj, about Labuki. Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Nabhoj came for a visit and shared the Gospel with Labuki, assuring her that all things are possible with Jesus, and only He knows the time of her death.

Labuki felt wonderful relief, and after living in fear her entire life, she happily put her trust in Jesus Christ. She lived at peace as she waited to turn 41, and when that sweet day came, she rejoiced at the Lord’s faithfulness. She no longer fears death because she has a life that cannot be taken.

See how another woman escaped the threat of death by the power of Jesus.