I have a friend named Naomi who is in charge of the Perpetual Education Funds here in the Auckland office. She takes care of all the islands. She is native and is Maori I think. She is probably 40 and never been married. She has a very special gift to be able to connect with the youth and young adults. She shared a story with me that touched my heart. She has given me permission to share it with you.
Naomi travels to the islands often to check out new educational opportunities and to see if she can help move the programs along. She was on Vanuatu two weeks ago working with a senior couple there that administer the programs. The Larsons were working with two young women who had just returned from their missions. They wanted to attend a hospitality school which prepares people to work in the resorts. There are huge resorts on each of these small islands so it is a good place for employment but they are all required to take this course. These two sisters had not completed high school though so they were required to return to their own island and participate in a bridging program which fills in the educational gaps. They were not looking forward to that at all. The one girl, Mary, would not be able to go to the school as her father had already arranged for her to marry a less-active member of the church upon her return. The Larsons said that they had tried everything and there was no way around the requirements.
For the rest of the day and that evening at her hotel Naomi was so concerned and pondered upon the situation and tried to find a way to solve it. She said that she plead with the Lord in prayer that he would offer a solution for her. She was reminded of the scripture that the Lord would send angels and that great things would come to pass. She slept well and awoke with a plan.
Naomi and the Larsons were to meet with some people at the hospitality school at 11 but she wanted to be early so they got there about 10. Upon arriving she walked into the office of the president and asked to speak to him. Fortunately she was able to. She mentioned the two women and he said that he was well aware of their situation but that his hands were tied. Naomi then asked if she could tell him about these two women. He agreed.
She then spent just about five minutes and told him about their missions, how they studied, what they did including street contacting, teaching, caring for themselves and managing their own finances etc. As he listened Naomi could see the spirit begin to soften not only his heart but also his very appearance. He said: I have a 3 week short program that we offer as a means to see if the students are ready for the main course work. I will put them in the course and if they do well I will admit them straight away in September.
After they completed their other work at the school they went back to the service center and found that one of the young women was waiting for them. She was thrilled and immediately tried to find Mary to tell her the news but they could not find her. There were things that needed to be taken care of the next morning but they just could not find her although they tried all day long. Returning to her hotel Naomi prayed to know how to find Mary. Not having any ideas she decided to take a walk around the area and maybe find a place to do some shopping. The immediate area around the hotel was all closed for the evening and she was just about ready to turn back when she thought oh way not walk some more. Still she passed only shops that were shut for the evening. In the distance she could see a Chinese shop that seemed to be open. She went in and was walking around when a young woman came out of the back room. It was Mary! As she told her the news Mary just wept because she knew she would not have to marry the man her father had chosen for her but she also knew that the prayer she had had in her heart all week had been answered.
Certainly the Lord sent an angel to help in Vanuatu and that angel was Naomi!
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