Page 221 - Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman

Appendix: The Road to Ethiopia
pamphlet on baptism. During this interlude, the Lord prepared me by sending into my life perhaps the most gifted teacher I have ever known—an English teacher. She transformed me from an F-- student to at least an average one. To her, and to the Lord who sent her, I will always be grateful.
The Stage is Set
In the winter of 1966, Ovid Peterson, a sixteen-year-
old Norwegian, took to the high seas. His parents were missionaries in Argentina. In his desire to support their work, he decided to work on a grain ship headed for the port of Beaumont, Texas. When the ship arrived at the port, the sailors were given leave for three days.
That Wednesday night, Ovid walked into our church service. He was the first Norwegian I had ever met.
Once again, I experienced the unexplainable work of God. Although I only knew Ovid for a seventy-two-hour period, during that time the Lord baptized me with a godly love for him. Never had I met a young man with such simplicity and purity of heart. He would walk in the ports of the world alone, searching for people to whom he could witness. When his ship would dock in a port, the sailors would all head for the houses of prostitution, that is, all except Ovid. Ovid would walk around, looking for drunk ards in the gutters. He would pull them out of the gut ters, hold them in his arms, and tell them as best he could, "Jesus Kristus is coming soon."
God used Ovid to inspire me to write the pamphlet on baptism. As dedicated as he was, I stillfelt compelled by the Lord to explaintohimthewayofGodmoreperfect ly. I felt burdened by the Spirit to explain the importance
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