LAST CUCUMBER on the VINE: The Story of Adriaan van der Bijls and the Redemption of the Nduga People

by Richard Reichert, Lorraine Willems, Arie Verduijn (Foreword)

The life of Adriaan van der Bijl is the story of a twentieth century zealous pioneer missionary with a passionate yearning to reach the Nduga tribespeople hidden in the interior mountainous region of Papua, Indonesia. The Nduga people lived in constant fear of the evil spirits, fear of the enemy and fear of death which defaced the beauty of the race. Curses crippled their lifestyle. They believed that they had lost their chance of enjoying eternal life. The message of eternal life brought an overwhelming acceptance of God’s wonderful Good News which liberated them from their slavery to sin into magnificent liberty in Christ. Adriaan helped them build 7 airstrips, assisted in training pastors and joined them on numerous evangelistic trips that took him through the length and width of Nduga land. He helped construct churches, schools, and clinics and supported in organizing the training of teachers, leaders and medical workers. Today there are over 90 village churches and 30 medical clinics spread over a terrain of 75 miles in convocations of thousands of Christ followers. Adriaan and his wife Mijo raised four children in this amazing and challenging world. In spite aircraft accidents and natural disasters, weather and mountains, drought, copper fever that brought the multinationals, tribal outbursts and malaria Adriaan lived successfully through them all. It was a sad day when his beloved wife, Mijo, died among the people she loved so dearly. They called her Ninmin, meaning “with us “and said, ‘she was with us in life and now in death she is still with us.’ Mijo never lost her focus or her love for Mapnduma and her desire to live there. A few of his final years were engaged against the back drop of a fierce independence movement, a debilitating cult that overwhelmed the church, a severe drought that claimed many lives and an international incident that had consumed and depleted Adriaan's health. . The finality of his departure was very hard on the Nduga’s and Adriaan. But through it all Adriaan kept his sights on the promise that God is building His Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. One of the last words the Ndugas expressed is still riveted in his memory and reassures him in the tough times. “It is hard to say good bye, but just as long as they don’t take Jesus with them we will be OK.”

368 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017