Editor’s note: You can read the first article about Ronald in the August 2024 issue of Adventist Frontiers.

“Do you see that patch of jungle across the river?” the elder asked Ronald. “That’s our cemetery where we sacrifice and do witchcraft. If your God is as powerful as you say, you can live there beside the graves.”

Ronald had been elated when the elder had allowed him to live near the village. For months, he had been trying to gain access to the Bangon tribe but had been rebuffed. Finally, he could get started.
Now, several months later, Ronald wasn’t so excited. The elder had grudgingly allowed him to live in the cemetery, but he had made no effort to allay the people’s fears. The villagers avoided him like the plague, abandoning the village every time they saw him coming across the river.

One morning, Ronald wandered through the jungle and approached the village from a different direction. Peering through the trees, he saw a group of children playing in the dirt. Their cheerful laughter brought a smile to his face. He was so lonely. If only the kids would let him join their game. The children were so engrossed in their play that they didn’t notice the stranger approaching. As Ronald squatted down next to them, they looked up. Instantly, their smiles of glee turned to screams of terror, and they fled into the jungle.

Returning to his makeshift shelter of bamboo and plastic bags, Ronald pulled a small mirror out of his backpack. “Why do they treat me like this?” he asked himself, gazing sadly at his reflection. “Do I really look like a ghost?”

That night, sleep came slowly. When he finally dozed off, he found himself in a horrible nightmare. Spirits crept out of the jungle and into Ronald’s hut. Grabbing him by the arms, they dragged him to the riverbank.

“No!” Ronald shouted. “Let me go!” The demons laughed as they spun him round and round while mocking him. Finally, after having their fun, they faded back to the jungle. Ronald stood on the sand in the pale moonlight, waiting to wake up. He shook his head and pinched his cheeks, but the dream didn’t end. Finally, he realized that he hadn’t been dreaming. The horror had really happened!

Exhausted, he stumbled back to his shelter to lie down, remembering how God had allowed Job to be harassed by Satan to test him. After enduring the test, though, God had blessed him beyond his imagination. “Lord,” he prayed quietly. “I know the demons would love to kill me or force me to leave the Bangon in ignorance of your love and salvation. Once again, though, I renew my commitment to you. No matter what happens, I will not leave until these people know and understand Your love.”

Every day, missionaries like Ronald endure loneliness, persecution, and deprivation in order to bring Jesus’ love to the most unreached people in the world. Won’t you partner with us and support the work that the Lord has called us to do?

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