Publisher's Synopsis
Beyond the end of the world, in a remote Papua valley surrounded by towering mountains, the Nduga tribespeople felt very much left out. They struggled while neigbouring tribes in other valleys had teachers who taught them how to write and read. The other tribes had medicine to take when they were sick. The other tribes were learning about the gospel story and eternal life.There's a little kopi fruit that grows in the Papua valleys that tastes like cucumber. It is a symbol of essential nourishment. For the Ndugas, the thought that there would be no fruit on the vine was a daily possibility. They lived with the stark reality that they may have picked the last cucumber on the vine.Then the Christian and Missionary Alliance assigned Adriaan van der Bijl and his team to help the Nduga people. Adriaan built airstrips, churches, schools, medical clinics. The team showed them how to care for their families, how to teach and preach. Today the Ndugas can look forward to serving as pastors, professors, medical workers, pilots, lawyers. The gospel message of a life-giving vine that never withers gives new meaning to their future. The vine is flourishing and showing signs of sprouting more shoots. God is producing abundant fruit for his Kingdom. What others say: "It's the Gospel story all over again! In the first chapter of Acts, God's messengers stepped into a world of multiple cultures, languages, and religions to tell people about Jesus. Amazing miracles happened, again and again!Fast forward from the first century to 1960. God called Adriaan and Mijo van der Bijl to be his messengers to a remote tribe living deep within the towering mountains of Papua, just as he chose Paul, Silas, Priscilla, and Aquila in the Book of Acts.When Adriaan and Mijo were appointed by the C&MA leadership to work with the Nduga (n-doo-gwah) tribespeople, God was already working miracles preparing the Ndugas to receive his joyful story. Adriaan and a team of four discovered that these people were hungry to learn about unending life. As the people listened to the gospel story, they realized that Jesus was the source of eternal life. It was the message they had been waiting for and a message that they eagerly shared with other tribal groups. Here begins a new chapter in the historical account of the Apostles of the Kingdom. This story about the transformation of the Nduga people will bless you as you read." -Rev. John D. Ellenberger"Last Cucumber on the Vine essential reading for those wanting to understand how to serve their generation well. In our comfort-loving, security-conscious world, the van der Bijl story represents their commitment and the commitment of their coworkers to give themselves wholeheartedly to God and his work. Their faithful witness away from the limelight and inundated with challenges and oppositions incarnated God's love for the Ndugas. In a day when we often forsake dreams because of our unwillingness to risk, Last Cucumber on the Vine is a reminder that God places us on this earth to write a distinctly personal script for our lives. Our times call for a new generation who long for a kind of forgotten courage to live intentionally and to generate our own God-given stories."- Dr. Charles A. Cook"Adriaan van der Bijl and his wife, Mijo, were presented with a bundle of sticks-a mantle of ministry to the Nduga mountain people. The question was, "Would they pick it up?" This book is a resounding yes. They have left a legacy of transformed lives and a courageous call to future generations. What is your bundle of sticks? Will you pick it up?"-Dr. David Hearn
