August 21, 1981
DIANNA JOHNSON, 17 years old, buckled her seat belt. With a roar, the big jet was hurled down the runway. Her pulse quickened as the thrust of the turbos forced her still deeper into her seat. She closed her eyes. She was really going!
Airborne, she relaxed. Piles of cumulus clouds filled the horizon; the towers, pillars, and mountains of a kingdom where wishes come true. Dianna’s heart was light. Her wish had come true-her prayer had been answered. In Chicago, she would meet a missionary family enroute to the field. Together, they would fly to Papua New Guinea. Wewak was within her grasp!
When Dianna was 8 years old, she realized that she was a sinner and needed a Savior. In church one Sunday, she accepted the Lord. As she entered her teen years, she became active in Word of Life, Vacation Bible School, and teaching preschoolers at church. Her interests broadened and began to include missions. This was further strengthened by the staff and students at the New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson, Michigan, her hometown. Through them, Dianna heard of SUMMIT and felt it would be good training for missionary service. Her New Guinea trip would be her second opportunity to go abroad with the SUMMIT program.
Dianna felt God was leading her to Wewak, yet the money was not provided. People tried to discourage her. The odds were stacked against her, but she was determined that she would go anyway. With anxiety throbbing within her breast, she came to mini boot camp with $600 in her account. A balance of $2300 was due.
The deadline embraced her with greedy arms. The money had not come in. Through tear-filled eyes, she watched her New Guinea team march to the platform where, kneeling, they were commissioned. She was to be left behind!
She joined the Kentucky team, for which she had enough funds, and all made her feel welcome. There was a lot of time to think. Chipping mortar off used blocks was boring. At times, her thoughts wandered to the green grass of Wewak-there the work was more exciting! God Was chiseling away at her heart, teaching her to be content. She apologized for her attitude.
In her second week, it happened! The evening meeting was in progress. Cliff Baird asked Dianna to come to the platform. Surprise, then self-consciousness permeated her face as she made her way forward. Every eye was on her, every mind wondering what she had done. Cliff began talking about miracles. Dianna stood there, not knowing what to do or what to expect. Why is he using me as an example? She asked herself.
Cliff related how she had wanted to go to New Guinea, but the money had not come in. He told of her disappointment, tears, and the battles that had torn at her heart. He shared the work God was doing in her life, and then, with emotion eroding his own voice, he told Dianna that on Friday she would be on a plane for Papua New Guinea. Incredulity filled her face and silently poured from her open mouth. It can’t be true! Suspicious, her mind asked, Is this a joke?
She was in a dream, her mind was confused, and a mob of questions collided in her brain, fighting for answers. Haltingly, she expressed her thankfulness to God. She, who was unbelieving and unworthy, was on her way to Wewak! She left with tears of joy running down her cheeks.
She could not wait to call her parents. Hers were not the only eyes washing themselves with tears of repentance and joy. All saw their own unbelief. All felt unworthy to witness the goodness of God.
How did God do it? He spoke to hearts thousands of miles away. People who had appreciated the ministry of SUMMIT in the lives of their own children had heard of Dianna’s plight and wanted to help. A check was in the mail to pay for that which was lacking. The next day, they called again and said it was unfair to send Dianna without spending money-an additional $200 was on its way!
The pilot’s voice shattered Dianna’s reverie. The jet was approaching O’Hare International Airport. Above the exit, the “Fasten Your Seat Belt-No Smoking” sign shined brightly, but more brilliant was the light in Dianna’s heart. God’s love and care for her was lucid in the glow of answered prayer. Tomorrow, she would be in Papua New Guinea!
End
More Photos And Commentary
As printed in New Tribes Mission’s, Brown Gold magazine.
In writing Dianna’s story I interviewed her and did my best to put myself into her situation, hoping to convey the drama and emotion of the moment in her story letting. I let her read it before going to press, and she told me it was not the way she felt, but that she was content to stay in Kentucky with the team there for the summer. Maybe I missed it because of the “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” thing. I was ready to write it again. However, the SUMMIT leadership liked it the way it was, and after talking to Dianna sent it to press as written. I have no idea of what they said to her to change her mind. If I missed the emotions, I at least got the facts right!
I was flattered! I did not consider myself a writer. I wrote those stories, not for publication, but only to share some of my experiences with my very short list of supporters. At the time, the mission did not really have “writers” to fill the pages of their magazine. Most of it was gleamed from the prayer/news letters of their missionaries. That is how I got printed!
A year later, I drove from Baker City, Oregon to Cornettsville, Kentucky to join SUMMIT. I was told they would send me to write articles about the different teams that were being sent around the globe that summer. However, when I got there, the program was out of money, and the closest I got to the “end of the world” was Hazzard county, Kentucky.
Eastern Kentucky was one of the prettiest places I’ve ever lived. However, I think I experienced more culture shock there than I ever did in Bolivia. There was a shoot-out at the bottom of the mountain the first week I was there, something like the Hatfields and the McCoys. Law enforcement was frowned upon and stories of the locals taking the law in their own hands were prolific! The county dump seemed to be the East Fork of the Kentucky River, and the river bank at every pullout was littered with piles of garbage waiting for the next flood to wash it down stream.
People were polite, but it was obvious they considered me an outsider. My break came when the church pianist was sick one Sunday and they learned that I could play. I joined their choir for the Christmas cantata, and that helped, too! Once I had made some headway into the culture, I found the people warm, funny and caring, and when I moved to Florida, I missed them!
I spent six months in Kentucky. My bedroom and my office was, one in the same, where on the second story of this beautiful old building, first set of double windows on the left. I was probably in the best shape of my life during my six months there because almost every place I wanted to go on the property was up or down and I was soon able to walk almost anywhere without becoming winded!
Writings By Phil 
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