I was to discover, however, that when I took my eyes off the circumstances that were overwhelming me, over which I had no control, and looked up, my Lord was there.
– Darlene Deibler Rose
Darlene Deibler was starving, sick, and weak as she spent day after day in isolation as a prisoner of war. She had come to New Guinea as a missionary with her husband, but they had been captured by the Japanese during World War II. Darlene knew that her husband had perished and that she was sentenced to death by beheading. Her crime was simply that of being an American, which automatically made her a spy in the eyes of the enemy. It seemed that she was at the mercy of her captors. However, the Lord had not forsaken her.
One bright spot in her existence was a tiny window in her isolation cell. From that little window she could get a glimpse of the courtyard
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She thought and thought, but every conclusion either endangered the bringer of bananas or just seemed impossible. She let out a disappointed sigh and informed the Lord that she realized it would be impossible for Him to provide her with a banana. It was all right – she understood that it was just not feasible. Darlene was then determined to just continue being grateful for the meager porridge with its occasional revolting ingredient (like fish eyes or maggots).
Within the next few days, she had a visitor. It was the officer of the women’s prison camp she had previously been incarcerated within. She had daringly witnessed to the camp leader, an officer of the Japanese army known as Mr. Yamaji. Darlene told him of the goodness of Jesus Christ – even after Mr. Yamaji informed her that her young husband had died in another POW camp. When Darlene left Mr. Yamaji’s POW camp, she made sure he knew about the salvation and forgiveness offered by Jesus. And this man was her unexpected