‘I gave my land and my life to Jesus’

October 9

My name is Duna Lulu, and I come from Tassiriki, on the island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. For some time, I had joined different churches, but I was not happy. Deep in my heart, I wanted to belong to a church that followed what the Bible really teaches.

My son, Joel Lulu, who works in Port Vila, told me about his friend, Timothy Lasekula, an Adventist. Timothy had a desire to bring an Adventist program to our village. Joel and Timothy had talked about it for some time, and in August their plan finally became a reality.

Timothy told us that everything would be organised, but we needed to find a place for the meetings. We first asked the village leaders if the Adventist Church could use the village stage for two weeks of preaching. They did not agree.

I then looked at the space in front of my house and said, “You can build the preaching stage here.”

I was not yet an Adventist, but I wanted the program to happen. I believed that bringing God’s Word to our village could help people.

The meetings began, and people came to listen. A singing group from Solomon Islands, Soul Seekers, travelled all the way to Tassiriki to sing for us. A preacher from Solomon Islands also came to share God’s Word. Tassiriki is about three hours by road from Luganville, yet people were willing to travel to our village to help us hear the gospel.

As I listened night after night, something changed in me. I began to understand things from the Bible that I had never understood before. I was discovering truth for myself.

Then I made my decision. I wanted to give my life to Jesus.

When the two weeks of meetings ended, five of us were baptised. For me, this was more than joining another church. It was a decision to surrender my life to God.

I had already given my land so God’s Word could be preached. Now I had given something even more precious—myself.

Today, there is still no Adventist church building in Tassiriki. But six of us are worshipping together every Sabbath in the home of a widow. We study the Bible together, and church minister John Eric is staying with us and helping us grow in God’s Word.

I have also given another piece of my land for the first Adventist church to be built in our village. The land is close to the coast, where people travelling by boat can easily see and access the church.

I want this church to be more than a building. I want it to be a place where people like me—people who are searching for Bible truth—can come, listen, learn and give their lives to Jesus.

During the meetings, I also met Timothy in person. He came as a friend of my son, but today I consider him part of my family.

My two sons are happy that I was baptised. And I am thankful that God used my son, Timothy, the singers, the preacher and many others to bring the gospel to our village.

I gave my land to God. Then I gave my life to Him. Now my prayer is that many more people in Tassiriki will do the same.—Vanuatu for Christ Facebook page