Custom and culture are strong here in Vanuatu. Many times a wife simply follows the lead of her husband in all things, even spiritually. This was the case with Salome, our new sister in Christ.

At first she was affiliated with the 7th Day Adventist denomination because that is what her husband said. Next she was affiliated with the Ba’hai group, because that is what her husband said. But as she and her husband Peter began to attend the Lord’s church in Etas, they began to see a difference. It wasn’t denominational, it wasn’t a church trying to put rules and run their lives. Most important, it wasn’t a church saying that all things spiritual were good and acceptable. The Lord’s church stands for something…the truth!

Our brother Aaron Baker made the first contact with Peter and Salome. He studied with Peter once before returning to the States on furlough. Aaron asked me to continue the studies. One Sunday morning in Etas I asked one of the local men to set up a weekly study, which I could conduct. He spoke with Peter and Salome and we all agreed to meet on Monday afternoons.

The subsequent weeks saw studies mostly with Salome as she has a sharp mind for the Bible. We studied topics such as How we got the Bible, Old and New Laws, the church, and salvation. By this time Salome was a regular at worship and she was also attending the ladies functions. She began to refer to the church as “jos blong yumi” which means our church. Based on this I felt it was time to move the studies into the final leg. On our Monday November 27th study I asked her about what church she was a member of and reminded her of her words. She was sheepish about the answer because she knew that she wasn’t yet a member of the Lord’s church.

To this end we studied the Bible’s teaching on the church and entering into the church. There is but one church (Eph 4:4) and Jesus will save only one (Eph 5:23). To be outside the church is to be lost. She agreed that she needed to be baptized and she said that she was ready. I then sat and studied “counting the cost” with her and asked her the hard questions. She responded correctly on all fronts. Number one, She said that she was lost and would go to hell if she died tonight. Second she said that once in the church, there is nowhere else to go and that she would always be faithful to the Lord. She was ready to go to the river and I was ready to take her but a Ni-Vanuatu thing kicked in and she asked to delay until Wednesday. I believe she wanted to talk with her husband first. She knew that this was her decision but something in her said to wait. I reminded her of the consequences if she was to die and she understood. I tried to encourage her to take care of it now but she decided to wait.

Fortunately on Wednesday she was alive and well and ready to go, towel in hand. I took the group down to the Teouma River and Timothy, a member of the Etas congregation, baptized her into Christ. This was followed with a prayer of thanksgiving and the weekly lesson back at the building.

The Lord adds folks in different ways. This time it was a woman who was first interested in the church by local members, then and by the preaching and teaching of the truth, then by the influence of the ladies in the church, then by the invitation to personal one on one study. After that is was the power of the word implanted by servants in good soil that was allowed to grow (1 Cor 3:5-9). Thanks be to God for His grace and the life changing power of His word. Please pray for Salome. Amen

MO