It was a Thursday afternoon and I was tired after another busy week. As I drove home from a day of Bible work at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, I considered not knocking on doors. I told myself, “God can’t use you today; you’re too tired, so go home and study some literature for training purposes.”

 

After arriving home and eating an orange, the impression came upon me to go out for a few hours. I prayed to God for the Holy Spirit to lead me where to go. I reached my destination and finished reading chapter 7 in Colporteur Ministry about our need for total dependence on God. I recommitted my life to Him and prayed for forgiveness and strength, and told Him that I was totally dependent on Him. Asking again for the leading of the Holy Spirit, I started out. It was going so well that I ran out of a certain book and had to return to my car to re-stock. Not wanting to waste time walking back to where I had left off, I decided to go around the other side of the block and noticed a woman walking ahead of me looking quite ill. A few houses later I knocked on her door.

 

She was interested in a book I had dealing with depression, for she was still grieving the loss of her partner who had died a year ago. A social worker was helping her with the depression, but she had no money to purchase the book. As she began to close the door, I reached into my bag and pulled out a pocket Signs of the Times called Hope for Troubled Times. I held it out to her and said, “Here’s a little bit of encouragement.”

 

“Signs of the Times!” she exclaimed. “You’re a Seventh-day Adventist.” I said yes, and she invited me in. She told me that she was part of the Stolen Generation (the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments between 1869 and 1969) and was sent to live with foster parents who were Seventh-day Adventist. She had fond memories of this family and her upbringing under their care. “This is an answer to my prayers. God has heard my prayers. I’ve been praying for so long for God to send someone to my door,” she said as she broke down in tears.

 

“Do you have any books by Sister White?” she asked. I showed her the Ellen White books I had with me. She picked up The Desire of Ages and held it close. She told me how she still reads the Bible and pointed to an open Bible in the room. She was in need of God’s help and that morning opened her Bible to read, and it opened to the Beatitudes. She began to read from Matthew 5:3–12: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (verses 3, 4).

 

She was very emotional and told me that she had HIV, and because of it, her family and friends had rejected her. Alcohol was a problem for her, and she said my visit had stopped her from going out to drink. Instead, she was going to stay at home and read her new books.

 

I prayed with her. She held my hand to her face, and I could feel her tears stream down onto my hands. It was very emotional.

 

I also gave her the book, The Ministry of Healing, and she asked for my mobile phone number so we could meet again soon. She told me that it would be her birthday the next week, and I was surprised to discover that we shared the same birthday, October 13. She would turn 49 and I 29. We were both amazed at the afternoon’s events and of the mercy of our loving Saviour, and we planned to visit the following week to celebrate our birthdays. The books that I gave her were more than compensated for when the Lord blessed me with sales of other books throughout the rest of the afternoon.

 

To God be the glory, great things He has done!