Character Profile:

[JA’ tra] / Bangla word meaning journey

Printable version

Jatra only became a Christian very recently. Most people in Jatra’s home country of Bangladesh are Muslim. Before he accepted Jesus into his heart, Jatra also followed Islam. He knew that there was something missing in his life. He used to try to do all sorts of things to fill up the big hole in his heart.

First he tried to fill it up by putting all of his trust in his friends. He put all his energy into pleasing his friends and depended on them to make him happy. Eventually, all of his friends let him down, and Jatra realized that the hole in his heart had not been filled. After that, he turned to Islam, his religion. He worked very hard to do good things and pray to Allah (God) five times a day. Even with all of his hard work and devotion, Jatra still felt like there was something missing. There was a hunger inside of him that couldn’t be satisfied.

One night as he was sleeping, Jatra had a dream about a man dressed in white. The man had big holes in His hands and feet. When Jatra saw this man, he felt as though the hole in his heart had been filled up. He knew that he could trust this man to show him how to be satisfied with his life.

When Jatra woke up, he eagerly asked everyone he knew about the man he had seen in his dream. That day, Jatra met a missionary who told him that the man in his dream was Jesus. He told Jatra that Jesus said He was the “Bread of Life” and that only Jesus could fill the hole in our lives.

As soon as he heard about the wonderful things Jesus had done for him, Jatra couldn’t wait to ask Jesus into his heart and be baptized. Jatra was very glad to discover that he could put his full trust in Jesus and didn’t have to depend on doing enough good things to get into heaven.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a country in South Asia surrounded by India on all sides except for a small border with Myanmar to the southeast and the Bay of Bengal to the south. Its population is 85 percent Muslim. Most parts of Bangladesh are within 33 feet above sea-level, and 10 percent of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by three feet.

Mongoose

The mongoose is a small rodent-like mammal. It is unique for its agility and ability to kill and eat venomous snakes. The common mongoose of Bangladesh lives under rocks, bushes or in termite mounds. There are three species of mongoose in Bangladesh, but two of these species are now endangered. Most species of Mongoose feed on small rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Some also add eggs, fruits and roots to their diets. Mongooses are easily tamed and often kept as pets in many parts of the world.

Islam

The people who follow the religion of Islam are called Muslims. They believe in one supreme God but don’t know that Isa, Jesus, is God’s Son who was sent to die for their sins. They follow the teachings of the prophet Mohammad. Mohammad taught that people are sinful and that they need to live a very strict religious life and do good works for God to forgive them. Muslims have no assurance that God will accept them and can only hope that their works will save them.

Profiles are available in Adobe PDF format.
You can download the viewer at