By a SEND North worker — I was driving an older native woman to a town about an hour away. Very soon after we started our trip, I knew it would be difficult. To keep up the conversation, I asked some questions about her family, her occupation, her hobbies and dreams.

Her response: “Stop asking questions. It is not your business.”

So I decided to just drive and focus on getting safely to town. Then, to my surprise, she started to talk and wouldn’t stop. She told me how she hates white people because of what they did to her and her people.

Very unsure, I asked if all white people are so evil. She said, “No.”

I gained more courage and asked her if she thinks that I am evil. She said, “No.”

Very soon after, she was talking about “god.” She told me that I am a false teacher. She was very angry with me because I tried to tell her about forgiveness in Jesus Christ. “I don’t want to hear it; stop talking,” she said.

So I did. And while she kept on talking, I prayed. We were about 10 miles away from our destination when I noticed that she wasn’t so angry any more. She seemed like a different person. She started to talk about her fears. She said, “Darkness is in me; I am afraid of it. Sometimes I can’t sleep.”

I said to her that all bad things that have happened to her were, and are, very evil. I can’t even understand her pain, but I can understand the fear and darkness in her life. I told her how I lived in darkness and in fear, but Jesus, as I invited him into my life, gave me light and peace. She started to cry very bitterly. “I need Jesus’ light in me; I need his peace,” she said.

I stopped my car and read to her from the Bible. A few minutes later, she invited Jesus Christ into her life. God is at work!