Bear Hunter.
This testimony will make you wonder. So it did to me when I met the bear hunter. I had to check in all possible ways to see if this really was true. In the end, I found that it was.
Ko Aung had served in the army of his country and experienced three bomb attacks. During the bombings, he had lost the vision in one eye, as well as the hearing in one ear. Once he was also shot three times in the leg. Many bullets also hit his backpack, but they were stopped by a bible inside. Ko Aung had no interest in that bible; he just carried it with him for no reason. He was once quite wealthy, but he spent all his money on drinking and gambling. He lived as a hunter in the jungle when our missionary friend, Joshua, met him. When Joshua mentioned the name of Jesus, Ko Aung laughed and asked what kind of power there was in that name that would provide any help for a tough guy like him. Joshua told him that Jesus had helped many people in hard situations, a fact Ko Aung himself would soon come to experience.
Ko Aung used a special way of hunting. He used traps of rope to catch huge as well as small animals. He had caught elephants, tigers, bears, deer and wild pigs, among others. The real challenge starts when Ko Aung approaches the trap, because the animals are still alive at that point. He doesn't use a gun, so he has to fight the animals by other means. The result is not always given. This time he had caught a bear in his trap that was more than two meters tall and weighed between 120 and 150 kg.
Ko Aung attacked and managed to kill the bear in the trap, but what he didn’t know was that there were two more bears waiting behind him. They both attacked him, and they bit him in the head until it crunched. Both of his ears as well as the scalp were torn loose. He had bites and scratches all over his body and was about to fall unconscious. Just when he expected the bears to make their final strike, he shouted out the name of Jesus with all the power he had left.
The result was that the bears ran away. Ko Aung was stunned. He used his little remaining strength to crawl out of the jungle. Some people helped him to the hospital. The doctors told him they would try to sew his scalp and ears back in place, but they had no confidence it would work. They just tied it all up temporarily waiting to perform surgery the next morning. However, when the doctors came the following morning to operate the scalp and ears, they found that everything was in place already, as it should be. The doctors said it was a miracle that Ko Aung survived. He still had to stay in the hospital for some weeks, so Joshua came to visit him and preached the gospel, but Ko Aung was just as cold and hard as before.
About one year goes by. Ko Aung is out hunting again. He is preparing one of his traps when he notices some motion close to him. A huge king cobra snake arises with all its power, almost two meters tall, ready to bite. It is as thick as a tree and really mad. Ko Aung has no weapons, but he is able to quickly jump behind two trees. He pulls two branches together as a shield to avoid the bite, but those branches won’t protect him for long. This is a fight he is very unlikely to survive. When the snake gets ready to strike again, Ko Aung shouts the name of Jesus for the second time. The snake runs away! And that's it for Ko Aung, now he must be baptized. This name of Jesus has saved his life twice. Ko Aung has to give his life to Jesus, and it must be done now! He finds Joshua, who is on his way out of the village, but Ko Aung catches up with him. "I have to be baptized now!” he says in a very determined way. They find water, and he receives the baptism.
This happened four years ago. We are sitting in his hut while he is telling. The picture shows the traps he uses for hunting, and the skull from the bear that he killed that time when he almost lost his life himself. Ko Aung’s wife says that life with him as a husband is so much better after he got baptized. He is still the best hunter in the area. "People come to me and tells me what they want, and the Lord helps me" Ko Aung says with a smile.