It was a 6 hour journey up the Watut River to get to the remote village of Wampan. My team and I had been eager to arrive and begin our 12 days ministry with these people. But after 3 hours crammed in a giant dugout canoe, it was getting dark and unsafe to continue navigating the river. Our guide informed us we needed to stop at the nearest village and spend the night there instead of finishing the trip to Wampan.
None of us wanted to stop in a village that wasn't expecting us and spend the night. But, nevertheless, we soon found ourselves pulling up to a riverbank, where a small group of Papua New Guinean men sat, and told them our situation. Amazingly, they were delighted to have us stay with them! About 25 of us followed them walking single file through a forest of banana & coconut trees. By the light of our flashlights, we trekked through shin-deep water, treading carefully as not to slip on the muddy trail and get our backpacks soaked through. After a 45 minute trudge, we arrived and were welcomed in to the village.
The people of this village were delighted to host us. They prepared us food, sat and talked with us, and provided two houses for my team to lay our sleeping mats. The next day, we gathered in the village square and put on a small service for them. We sang songs, gave a Bible teaching, and shared stories from our walk with God. This was the first time white missionaries had ever visited this particular village and they were very thankful for our visit.
None of my team planned on making this stop, but the Holy Spirit had this planned since before the foundations of the world. When we follow Him, our lives will be full of a great many unexpected and wonderful things.