20. FADLAN GRAMATAN (2) b docx

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20. FADLAN GRAMATAN (2) After his release from nine months prison, Br. Fadlan wanted to go from Jayapura to Weimena to spread Islam in that area. As he had no money and could not affort to pay plane ticket, he decided to go there on foot. It would take him three months walking to reach that town. After one month walking with his nineteen friends they became tired and returned. But they did not lose hope. There was a plane belonging to missionaries that would fly to Weimena, and they tried to go with it. In order to be allowed to board they changed their names. They went to the village office bringing their photos. Zainuddin changed his name with Marcus, and Fadlan himself changed it with Leo Gramatan. They bought tickets and were allowed to board the plane. It took only 45 minutes to get to Weimena by plane. They took with them seven cartons of bath soaps, seven cartons of toothpastes, seven cartons of shampos, and seven sacks of clothes to be distributed among people there. In Weimena they were welcomed by the locals who had never used soap or shampoo, and they only used lard. They taught their tribal leader to take a bath in the river using soap and shampoo that he felt very fresh and went to sleep from 3 o’clock in the evening and woke up at 9 o’clock the next morning. Br. Fadlan with his team came to teach them how to take bath using soap and shampoo. There were 3,217 people from 28 villages came to bathe in the river. The soaps were divided into four, and they took turns bathing, starting at early morning till noon, continued after Br. Fadlan and his team had finished their ẓuhr (afternoon) prayer on a stage they had built earlier by the river. While praying the locals walked around them to see what they were doing. After prayer the tribal chief jumped onto the stage and asked questions. Br. Fadlan explained that in Islam a Muslim had to pray five times a day, and he and his team had


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