A cool breeze whistled through Karipas’ hair as he sat on the ridge. From his vantage point, he could see the distant ocean shimmering in the noonday sun.
His mind was far from the tropical beauty around him, though. What is this strange fire inside of me? he asked himself. Why can’t I forget what the old shaman told me? Why do I feel this urge to tell everyone about what happened last night?
It had been a cold and rainy night. Karipas had been huddled beside the fire in his hut, trying to warm his old bones. He heard a shuffling sound at the ladder and turned to see the village shaman climbing into his hut. “Come sit with me by the fire,” Karipas invited his old friend. “I have a few sweet potatoes roasting in the coals.”
As the old shaman squatted down in the ash by the fire, Karipas noticed that his friend was shaking like a leaf. “Get closer to the fire,” he urged. “I will throw another log on and get you warmed up in no time.”
“I am not cold,” the old shaman retorted through chattering teeth. “I am terrified!”
“You? Scared?” Karipas asked in surprise. “You are a powerful shaman. No one in this region can stand against you. Why are you scared?”
“You know that new man in the village who studied with the Adventist missionary? I was going to his house this evening to threaten him with witchcraft if he did not stop singing and praying to his God. As I came out of the jungle near his hut, though, I could see a blinding white light flooding out of his house. All of my spirits ran away in terror. Left alone, I turned, ran, and kept running until I saw your hut.”
The memory of the previous night’s events slowly faded from Karipas’ mind as he again saw the sea sparkling in the distance. The strange urge in his heart to tell his village about what the shaman had seen remained, though.
How can I teach others about the God of the Seventh-day Adventists? he asked in consternation. I am not an Adventist! I do not know how to read or sing God’s songs. But it is clear that the God of the Adventists is the true God. I want my people to find peace and live forever.
A few months later, missionary Emmanuel visited the Adventist family in Karipas’ village. As he rested in his friend’s hut, he heard a shuffling sound and looked up to see an old man climbing up the ladder.
“Good evening, grandpa!” Emmanuel called out. “Come warm yourself by the fire. We still have a few sweet potatoes roasting in the coals.”
“You do not know me,” the old man said as he squatted in the ashes by the fire. “My name is Karipas. My friend, the shaman, and I have been watching your Adventist friend. Your God has shown us that He is more powerful than our spirits. Your friend did not know this, but I have been teaching my people in this village to follow the God of the Adventists. Many of us are ready. Will you baptize us?”
Emmanuel and his friend stared at each other. Without their knowing, God had used this old man who had never been baptized or read a verse of the Bible to lead his people to believe in Jesus and join the Seventh-day Adventist church.
One bright Sabbath day not long after, Karipas and the villagers he had led to Jesus stepped into the emerald green water of a nearby river to be baptized together. “Never try to restrict God,” Emmanuel said as he told me Karipas’ story at our recent mission training. “God does not need to wait for someone to finish school, complete a Bible study series, or even be baptized to use him as a missionary. All He needs is an honest heart willing to love and obey Him.”
