Delays are a Good Thing

Delays are a good thing.

In his book I Saw GOD's Hand, Pastor E. L. Martin proves this very statement. He had long wanted to evangelize the Taruma river region of Papua New Guinea. After some time, he set out with his wife and other workers to do just that. After encountering some bad weather, they finally entered the river's mouth. They traveled up it until sunset, and finally anchored opposite a village. Pastor Martin had to change the oil in the diesel engine, as well as service it, so he suggested that Koivi (a native fellow worker) go show the inhabitants of the village the picture roll and tell them the story of Calvary very simply.

They went, but were back within half an hour. Koivi reported that the people weren't at all interested, and that he had never seen such depths of heathenism before. The author doesn't give much detail, but says that sodomy was rife. He and Koivi were of the mind that one day the Gospel would go to these people, all in GOD's own time.

The next day Pastor Martin was eager to reach his original destination. As they were traveling, many canoe loads of naked people were coming downstream, and waving energetically at them. His wife asked him to stop, but he wouldn't hear of it, and went on. Later she told him she wished he had stopped; those people had been crying.

At sunset they reached the desired village, and told many people the wonderful story of Jesus and His love as simply as they could. The people were spellbound, and said that tomorrow morning there would be many more people waiting to hear. There were, and Pastor Martin and Haru (another native worker) spoke for about seven hours that day.

The next morning they would have to return back to the mission station. Pastor Martin was saddened by the fact that for all the cost of fuel and lost time from the weather, they had only spent a few hours preaching. As he continued to pray, the thought came to him that if he could get a big enough canoe, he could leave Haru and four others behind to keep travelling the river and spreading the message. Haru agreed, and after many delays in regards to the canoe, Pastor Martin was on his way home.

However, because of the canoe holdup, they hadn't started for home till after noon, and at night docked opposite the same village they had the first night. Pastor Martin sent Koivi to tell the people to assemble, as he was coming to speak to them. Koivi agreed, and after two hours returned, beaming. He wouldn't tell the cause of his joy, but instead let some of the villagers do that. A policeman stripped off his uniform, saying he was done with the police force and going to preach the message he had heard tonight everywhere he could. Another person produced a little boy, the last of the royal seed, and commanded that he be taken to the mission, filled up with knowledge, and returned to them. They would empty him and send him back again, and so on.

Then the chief spoke. He told how three weeks before he had seen a bright and shining light in the village. He reported this to his people, and was sure they would have great light come to them. A week later he saw it again, shining on the river and the village. He told his people once more that great light would come to them. A few nights before the arrival of the missionaries, the light seemed to be prominent at the river's mouth. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a white boat with white people on it. The light seemed to make way for it to get up the river till it came to his village.

"That is why we tried to stop you as you were going up the river, and that is why we cried, for we thought that the great light was going to pass us by," concluded the chief.

Pastor Martin saw this as the reason for the delay in getting the canoe for his fellows. If there had been no delay, he would have been at the river's mouth, and not at this village.

It makes you look at delays differently, doesn't it? They really are a good thing.

Blessings,
Adelaide