STORY
Darlene Deibler Rose
During World War II, Darlene Deibler, a young American missionary to New Guinea, was captured by the Japanese military, separated from her new husband, and sent to a Japanese prison camp for women and children. When she and her husband were separated, he called out to her to remember that God promised He would never leave them nor forsake them. Darlene had no idea that was the last time she would ever see her young husband, but she would hang onto his words and to faith in God’s promises.
She was sent to a prison camp called Kempili, which was run by a hard man named Mr. Yamaji. Through her hard work and unceasing testimony during her time at the camp, Mr. Yamaji grew to like and trust Darlene. Later, Darlene was falsely accused of being a spy and, along with two missionary friends, was transferred to a much harsher camp deep in the jungles of New Guinea. Darlene was forced to live in a dark cell in deplorable conditions, surviving on a handful of bug-infested rice a day. Her weight plummeted to 80 pounds. She was often interrogated and tortured, yet through sickness, despair, and starvation she continued to cling to God’s promises.
In her book, she recounts a time she watched, from her high cell window, a fellow prisoner subtly make her way to the camp fence, which was covered in thick vines. A hand shot through from the opposite side, holding a bunch of bananas. The prisoner snatched them and hid them in her sarong before casually walking back. Darlene, exhausted from holding herself up to watch, was starving. Collapsed on the floor, all she could think about was having a banana, so she prayed: “Lord, I’m not asking you for a whole bunch of bananas like that woman has. I just want one banana. Lord, just one banana.” But knowing the cruel guards, and the punishments for locals who helped prisoners, she knew there would be no banana for her.
The next morning, Darlene heard the click of guards’ heels in the hall outside her cell. From past experience, she knew that guards outside her door often meant new cruelty. She prayed for strength as the door unlocked—and to her shock, she was greeted by the smiling face of Mr. Yamaji, her old friend from Kampili. Tears filled his eyes at her emaciated form. Without a word, he turned and berated the two officers who had mistreated her. Later he returned to her cell to ask if she had any messages for her friends at Kampili. She told him, “Please tell them that I’m all right. I’m still trusting the Lord. They’ll understand what I mean, and I believe you do too.”
A few hours later, a guard unlocked her door and with a sweeping gesture laid at Darlene’s feet bananas—lots and lots of bananas, all from Mr. Yamaji. In utter amazement, she counted 92 bananas. She prayed, confessing her unbelief that God could meet her needs, and thanking Him for His good provision. She later wrote that God answered back to her, “That’s what I delight to do, the exceeding, abundant, above anything you ask or think.” And she knew in those moments that nothing is impossible to her God.
Darlene was freed at the end of the war. She returned to the States to recover, but knew God was calling her back to New Guinea. Eventually, she did return, and spent the next 30 years serving, teaching, preaching, building landing strips, delivering babies, and leading people to Christ. To read more of this woman’s incredible story, read her book Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose.
