I grabbed my basket and coin purse and headed to the Sunday afternoon market. It is a small market; a dozen women have some supplies from town, such as soap and crackers, and others bring local foods to sell, such as mangoes, bananas, leafy greens or fish.

I am very thankful for the garden food; it helps improve our diet. But I mostly love that it is where people gather.

As I arrived, I realized I had forgotten the sitting mat I often bring to keep the ground moisture from seeping upwards into my clothes. I soon asked someone, “Can I sit there?” pointing to the mat she was sitting on.

“Sure!” came the cheerful reply. So I carefully sat beside her, with her town goods for sale in front of us.

People came and went. A few stopped to purchase candy. I bought mangoes and watched for greens, but no one brought any.

Then Katherina arrived. I offered her a spot beside me, and we chatted. “I just got back from setting up my fishing nets,” Katherina said.

“Nice,” I replied.

“Early tomorrow morning, I need to get the fish out of them. Would you like to come with me?” Katherina continued.

“Yes!”

The following morning, Katherina was ready and waiting for me. We paddled three miles downstream while her neighbor, Nancy, and her daughter paddled alongside us in another canoe. Nancy has fishing nets in the same area and is a friend of mine from church. She is a strong leader and teacher. Both of their husbands work on the construction crew building our house.

Soon, we reached her nets. Carefully maneuvering the canoe, Katherina showed me how to hold the fish, get the bone of its dorsal fin unstuck, and collect it from the net without it slipping back into the river. We moved carefully, cleaning debris from her net as we went along.

When I found a fish too large to remove with my skill, I asked for help. Katherina expertly selected one strand of fishing net and broke it to free the fish.
“I didn’t want to break your net!” I explained, also admitting that I did not know how to get the fish loose without doing so.

“Don’t worry. You are my friend. It is okay if you break my net,” she replied, showing me the trust held between friends here.

We checked the last few meters of the net, removing two more fish.

Then, as we quietly paddled between fishing areas, Katherina began talking. “Keren, thank you for loving me into the church.”

I was startled. My actions had not been to get Katherina baptized. Instead, it was to share love and learn the cultural skills of which she was proficient. I had trusted God to do the salvation work.

She continued, “When you came to my house to cook and eat with us, you taught me how to pray. Then, after I joined the church, you held my baby while I participated in communion.”

Even in a houseful of people, I always offer a simple prayer of thankfulness and praise to God before eating, asking for His blessing on the food and the family with whom I eat.

When she was baptized, I was overjoyed, and it was an honor to hold her sleeping infant during communion. I again thanked God that my actions had been so helpful to Him as He did his work on Katherina’s heart.

Katherina continued sharing from her heart, “Please, pray for my husband, Malio. I want us to attend church together as a family, and he has not yet chosen to become an Adventist.”

When we arrived at the next fishing net, one for catching larger fish, Katherina resumed showing me how to collect them. She told me not to try to untangle these fish or pick them up from the floor of the canoe because “They have teeth and will bite you.” I satisfied myself with making sure the sticks were removed from her net after she collected the fish.

After collecting fish from Katherina and Nancy’s nets, we began paddling home.

They showed me how to hold my canoe paddle correctly and steer in every direction. They also explained that I needed to eat local food for at least half of my sustenance because it would help me learn to speak their local language.

Trusting the women, I tried to copy the words they spoke and the paddle strokes Nancy showed me. Katherina expertly kept our canoe straight alongside Nancy’s in the narrow channel as I tried to navigate. These women are truly talented.

Before dropping me off, Katherina again stressed, “Keren, please pray for Malio and ask Orion to pray, too.”

“I promise that Orion and I will pray, and I will ask my friends to pray as well.”

I ask each of you, as my friends, to please pray that God will soften the heart of Malio so Katherina’s prayer will be answered according to the desires of her heart.

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