By Merry Grace Baloria

I never thought that a single night would be the darkest in my life. It was during that darkest night that God showed me His marvelous light.

Heavy rain awakened me at 12:45 a.m. It was completely dark in the one-bedroom house that I shared with a missionary partner in Eastern Samar province. Only two weeks remained of our one-year term with 1000 Missionary Movement, and a big earthquake had left the area without power.

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I couldn’t see anything, but I heard strange noises. Grabbing a flashlight, I directed it toward the door. I couldn’t see anyone, but I felt certain that an intruder had entered. Shaking with fear, I knelt under the large mosquito net that covered my partner’s bed and mine. “Lord, please save us just like you saved Daniel and Joseph,” I prayed. “We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for You.”

I lay back on my bed and, trembling, repeated Psalms 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” (NKJV). I picked up the flashlight again. What I saw was beyond my imagination. It was horrible. I saw a man with red eyes and wet hair. He held a large bolo knife and was kneeling inside our mosquito net.

Terrified, I screamed at the top of my lungs. My partner awoke, and we shouted for help. The intruder lunged at us with the sharp, single-edged knife, and we tried to kick him away. Suddenly something hard hit me. I fell to the ground, pain sweeping over my body. “Lord, am I going to die?” I thought.

Hearing someone trying to open the house door, I cried, “Open the window!” When my partner and I heard the window being opened, we ran to it and leaped out. A neighbor saw my battered face and asked what had happened. When she heard about the attacker, she rushed home, fearful for her own children.

My partner and I walked barefoot in wet, deserted streets, calling for help. Everyone seemed to be asleep. Finally, someone took us to the hospital at 3 a.m. My partner had slight cuts on a hand and foot. I had a serious cut from my left eye to my jaw. A physician gave me many stiches and injections.

The happiest moment in that dark night came with the morning sun. As the sun rose, it seemed to be shining just for me. I smiled. I felt Jesus’ deep love. He had been with me from the beginning and would be with me until the end, the Shepherd watching over His sheep. The attacker was caught that morning, and he remains in prison. I was not discouraged. Eight months later, at the age of 22, I began a second year of service with 1000 Missionary Movement, this time in South Korea. I now am in my third year of service. I thank God for the experience. The Lord said in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” My outlook on life has changed. My life isn’t mine; it is God’s.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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