Isaiah wrote:
For as the rain comes down, and the
snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me
void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
for which I sent it.
It’s wonderful to see the life-changing
message of God’s Word taking effect in peoples’ lives. I recently read an
account of how the gospel message literally saved a girl in Papua New Guinea
from certain death. I’m sure that you will enjoy reading this account of God’s
amazing grace also.
Caked
with a mixture of sweat and grime and nearing exhaustion, Wasi stumbled into
the neighboring Hewa village, dragging his 16-year-old daughter, Tino, behind
him. They collapsed in a heap as villagers and missionaries came running.
Muddy
rivers of tears streaked down Wasi’s face as he looked up and implored those
standing above him, ”Please save my daughter! Please save her! They want to
chop her up with an axe!”
Wasi’s
fears were not unfounded. Six others from his village had already met the same
brutal end. Why? Because of the tragic beliefs and traditions handed down by
his Hewa ancestors.
For
centuries, the Hewa people of Papua New Guinea have believed that sickness and
death are caused by evil spirits. But the deadliest of all these spirits are
the ones that inhabit women or children, making them a witch. So when someone
dies, the tribal men sit around the fire and quiz each other to find “evidence”
of the witch’s identity that caused the death. The two biggest “proofs” of
guilt are if someone dreams about you or if you are mentioned in someone’s
dying words. Since a Hewa man had recently died and in his final breaths had
whispered Tino’s name, she had been declared a witch and marked for death.
Now
it was only a matter of time before a raiding party of young men came to hunt
her down.
But
Wasi had come to the right place. Running through the jungle earlier, blind
with fear, clutching his daughter’s arm, all he could think of was, “Go to the
village that is different now. The Big Message has changed them. They will
care. They will help.”
And
they did.
Word
went out quickly that another Hewa girl was in danger and needed safe haven. It
had to be somewhere far enough away so that no Hewa people had ever hiked there
before and never would — out of fear of the unknown evil spirits at that
distance.
Then
began the long waiting — and praying. And word came back. A believing family in
another tribe on the other side of the mountains would adopt Tino as their own
daughter. She would be safe there. The missionaries could take her immediately.
Once
again, tears covered Wasi’s face, but this time, out of joy. No angry,
misguided axes, which had swung in their Hewa mountains for centuries, would
swing against his daughter today. Instead, he had witnessed something new. The
strangling cord of tradition had been chopped — by people believing a different
message. A message of life.
Wasi
waved until the helicopter and its precious cargo was just a speck in the
distance and then turned for his own long journey home. But this time as he
traveled, all he could think of was, “The Big Message is powerful. When will it
come to my village?”
Lifesaving
faith is cutting a path there now. The believers that helped save Tino are
steadily wielding the truth of the Gospel throughout their Hewa mountains —
axing fear and falsehood wherever it is found. And it’s leaving a trail strewn
with the life-giving blood of Jesus Christ.
Teaching phonetics here at the
Missionary Training Center could get boring. But accounts such as this make it
all worth while.
Bob
