We first met Waisa more than fifteen years ago while living in Kotale. Needing timber to build our new mission house in Kewa, I thought of this man I met one Sabbath afternoon at a church member’s hut in Kewa. He was friendly and told me he worked as a sawmill operator, offering to help me mill the lumber for our house. His wife was with him, and they appeared happy together. I sensed that he was a good husband and father. However, Waisa was on a spiritual journey. He claimed to be an Adventist, but his church attendance was irregular. He seemed more preoccupied with money and getting ahead than with spiritual matters.
Then 2016 came along. It was a rough year for Waisa and his wife, Apomato. They lost three of their children in separate incidents. We sent them a note of encouragement, hoping to buoy them. We were planning a baptism the next year and were overjoyed to hear that Waisa and his wife desired to be baptized. Their baptism was held in the river by our mission house, and both became very active in the church. Waisa is now an elder in the Kotale Church.
During a recent church service, Waisa gave the following testimony:
“My wife and I planted a garden. And in this garden, we planted pumpkins [squash] for selling in the market to earn money. But the plants did not produce. Someone told me to split the ends of the pumpkin stems, and they would produce. We tried it, but another month passed without any sign of pumpkins. Finally, my wife decided to cut off the tender ends of the plant and sell them as greens in the market. She came home with four kina [a little more than a dollar]. She put two Kina in the envelope for tithe and two Kina for offering and put them in the offering plate at church.
“Suddenly, our plant started producing pumpkins! Not just one or two. We were getting thirteen or fourteen per day, every day! We saw that God blesses us when we are faithful with our tithe.”
God says regarding faithful tithing, “Prove me now herewith . . . if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10b).
