Twenty-one-year-old Elizabeth is the oldest of seven children. As a child, she would attend the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea (ECP) with her parents, Duaba and Kapiyato. Church did not appeal to her, and when she became old enough to make her own choices, she refused to go any more. Even when Johanna and I invited her to church, she would decline. I started praying, “Lord, please bring Elizabeth to church.” Eventually she started to come, but her attendance was sporadic. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit was beginning to prick her heart.

Elizabeth was restless and traveled with a group of people to a lumber town. There she got a job working as a house girl for a Chinese storeowner. Although her parents were glad she had a job, they often worried about her. The town was a worldly place with many temptations. Her sister, Elsie, often prayed that God would keep her from making choices that would ruin her life.

One day, I saw Elizabeth walking down the village pathway. She had just come back from the lumber town. I greeted her and asked if she would be going back to the town anytime soon. I was glad to hear her say that she would be staying in Kotale for a while. She confessed she didn’t want to go back there. “I can see that town is filled with darkness,” She said.

Often I prayed that God would cause Elizabeth to seek Him as her friend. I wondered if I should offer to study the Bible with her. A few months later, a feeling that I needed to do something for God rose up in my heart. “Lord, please send me something to do for You,” I prayed. That Sabbath, when I saw Elizabeth at church, the words came out of my mouth, “Elizabeth, do you want to do Bible studies?”

After a moment’s thought she responded, “Yes, I would. But, there is one thing I want to know first. Will you teach me how to pray? I never felt comfortable praying, so Elsie started teaching me. But now that she’s away at boarding school, I have no one to teach me.”

“Sure!” I said, delighted. “Let’s have a Bible study about prayer tomorrow.”

A few weeks into our Bible studies, Elizabeth went downriver with some friends for two weeks to make sago. Upon returning to Kotale, she told me of a dream she’d had. In the dream, something evil was chasing her. She ran up to a house, and a person inside the house called her in to safety. Later, she wandered outside to a fruit tree in the back yard. Looking up into the tree, she spotted me! I called down to her, “Elizabeth, come and eat this fruit! It is so delicious!” Reaching down, I helped her up into the tree.

Elizabeth understood this dream to be a message from God. She felt the kind voice inviting her into the safety of the house was the Holy Spirit calling her to Jesus. The fruits in the tree were blessings that come from studying God’s word. God was showing her that I would help her climb up to where she could receive His blessings. Isn’t it amazing how God works?

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