Sometimes the heartbreakingly beautiful ripples of our own stories circle back to drench us with refreshing waves of Christ’s Living Water. I had such an experience when I met the lovely Delphine, a Ni-Vanuatu widow, and her delightful 16-year-old daughter, Litvina – both of whom have brought joy to my soul and reminded me of our shared hope.
In 2017, Delphine’s late husband, Kalite, visited Australia to join an English immersion class run by our colleagues at the Wycliffe Centre in Kangaroo Ground. During this time, my husband, David, got to know this inspirational man – a godly and respected leader who had been raised up to spearhead the work of Bible translation in his beloved nation of Vanuatu.
To our sorrow, soon after we met Kalite, we heard that he was diagnosed with liver cancer. After a long and challenging illness, this man of God passed away in 2020, leaving behind his wife and three young children. Kalite is still greatly mourned throughout the land of Vanuatu and many wonder why the Lord took him Home at a relatively young age.
I had no idea until I met Delphine at the International Christian Church in Port Vila that our daughter Bethany had such an impact on Kalite. David had no concept that as he shared his own testimony with his new friend – one that included the story of Bethany’s faith-filled journey with brain cancer – that he was in fact planting seeds of inspirational courage. Like Bethany, and countless other children of God before him, Kalite bravely faced his own cancer battle with wholehearted dependent trust in God and he was prepared to die well with faith, hope and love in Jesus.
Delphine shared with me that day how he managed to say goodbye to them all with these words: ‘Don’t be afraid. If God is calling me Home, then he will be a husband to you.’ Then, as he looked over to his precious children: ‘And he will also be a Father to them.’
I could not hold back my tears. We hugged each other as we imagined Kalite and Bethany smiling over our meeting – one that I will always treasure. That day, I was able to gift Delphine my new devotional book,Waiting Well With Jesus: strength for the journey through heartbreak to hope. She promised to share it with her family and since then I have heard how it has become a comfort to them as they miss Kalite and wait with Jesus to reunite them and make all things new.
Please join me in praying for this very special family who are actively seeking to keep building Kalite’s legacy – one that contains a great vision to help provide God’s Word for over 100 languages in Vanuatu still crying out for this priceless gift.