she said to him politely, “Tarjin, I thank you for your kind offer, but I do not want a man at this time.”
Tarjin shook his head and walked away without another word.
“I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings,” Mallory said.
“Don’t worry. You wouldn’t be any good for him anyway. I doubt if you could skin a reindeer if your life depended on it.”
Mallory laughed. “Well, I had my chance, and I turned it down. Thank you, Orva.”
Orva studied the slight form of the tall woman. “You’re not going to do any good here with your Jesus. You might as well go home.”
“I feel confident that this is where God wants me to be, so I’d like to stay awhile longer.”
****
A month had passed since Mallory had rejected Tarjin as her husband. She had run completely out of supplies and was reduced to living on charity, which meant eating nothing but reindeer milk and meat. She tried to help with the work as much as she could, but her contributions were rather pitiful.
Life there was monotonous and she became bored. She wrote letters, which she could not mail. She read her Bible. She wandered around in the darkness meeting the people andhad learned many names. She could now distinguish between them and had found out that the Lapps had a subtle sense of humor. She had also found out that they had the same problems as other people.
One day she asked Jagg if he thought people would come to a service if she planned one, and he shrugged his shoulders. “They’re free to come if they want.”
The service took place in the open, since there was no tent large enough for them all to meet inside. A group of some twenty people, mostly women and children, stood around her to listen. It felt strange to have a service in the dark, but with the light of a fire reflecting the snow, she could see everyone’s face.
“I’d like to tell you about a man named Jesus, who is my Savior,” she began. She had asked Lorge to interpret for her since some of the older people spoke no Norwegian, and he did so happily. She spoke for twenty minutes, and she saw no response at all.
Finally she felt a sense of despair. She had difficulty choosing her words, and she could not tell whether she was making any impression. She ended by saying, “Jesus is the Savior of the world, and He loves every one of you.” She focused on each individual face. “He loves everyone in the whole world.” She said a silent prayer as they looked blankly at her. “Do you have any questions?”
No one spoke for a time; then one woman turned and walked away, and the others quickly followed.
That night after supper, Lorge said, “That was good. I like to hear about Jesus.”
This was the only encouraging word Mallory had heard. She put her hand on the young boy’s shoulder and mustered a smile. “Thank you, Lorge. That’s kind of you.”
“They listened, and they will come back if you have another service, and maybe others will come with them. And you can tell us more about Jesus.”
“Do you think you might like to have Him as your friend?”
“Tell me some more about Him. Read to me again how He fed five thousand people with just a little bread and a couple of fish.”
“All right, Lorge. Come along.” She got her Norwegian Bible and read to him.
He followed her finger as she moved it along the printed page. “I wish I had a Bible,” he said when she came to the end of the story.
“You can have this one. I have another one.”
Lorge looked at her, startled. “Really?”
“Yes.”
He took the Bible and thumbed through it. He looked up with a thoughtful expression in his eyes. “Thank you. I call you the Jesus woman. That’s what the others call you too.”
Mallory smiled warmly. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather be called than the Jesus woman.”
****
More than once in the weeks that followed, Orva told Mallory she was doing no good there. And, indeed, it seemed that Orva was right. She held service after service, and
Tarjin shook his head and walked away without another word.
“I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings,” Mallory said.
“Don’t worry. You wouldn’t be any good for him anyway. I doubt if you could skin a reindeer if your life depended on it.”
Mallory laughed. “Well, I had my chance, and I turned it down. Thank you, Orva.”
Orva studied the slight form of the tall woman. “You’re not going to do any good here with your Jesus. You might as well go home.”
“I feel confident that this is where God wants me to be, so I’d like to stay awhile longer.”
****
A month had passed since Mallory had rejected Tarjin as her husband. She had run completely out of supplies and was reduced to living on charity, which meant eating nothing but reindeer milk and meat. She tried to help with the work as much as she could, but her contributions were rather pitiful.
Life there was monotonous and she became bored. She wrote letters, which she could not mail. She read her Bible. She wandered around in the darkness meeting the people andhad learned many names. She could now distinguish between them and had found out that the Lapps had a subtle sense of humor. She had also found out that they had the same problems as other people.
One day she asked Jagg if he thought people would come to a service if she planned one, and he shrugged his shoulders. “They’re free to come if they want.”
The service took place in the open, since there was no tent large enough for them all to meet inside. A group of some twenty people, mostly women and children, stood around her to listen. It felt strange to have a service in the dark, but with the light of a fire reflecting the snow, she could see everyone’s face.
“I’d like to tell you about a man named Jesus, who is my Savior,” she began. She had asked Lorge to interpret for her since some of the older people spoke no Norwegian, and he did so happily. She spoke for twenty minutes, and she saw no response at all.
Finally she felt a sense of despair. She had difficulty choosing her words, and she could not tell whether she was making any impression. She ended by saying, “Jesus is the Savior of the world, and He loves every one of you.” She focused on each individual face. “He loves everyone in the whole world.” She said a silent prayer as they looked blankly at her. “Do you have any questions?”
No one spoke for a time; then one woman turned and walked away, and the others quickly followed.
That night after supper, Lorge said, “That was good. I like to hear about Jesus.”
This was the only encouraging word Mallory had heard. She put her hand on the young boy’s shoulder and mustered a smile. “Thank you, Lorge. That’s kind of you.”
“They listened, and they will come back if you have another service, and maybe others will come with them. And you can tell us more about Jesus.”
“Do you think you might like to have Him as your friend?”
“Tell me some more about Him. Read to me again how He fed five thousand people with just a little bread and a couple of fish.”
“All right, Lorge. Come along.” She got her Norwegian Bible and read to him.
He followed her finger as she moved it along the printed page. “I wish I had a Bible,” he said when she came to the end of the story.
“You can have this one. I have another one.”
Lorge looked at her, startled. “Really?”
“Yes.”
He took the Bible and thumbed through it. He looked up with a thoughtful expression in his eyes. “Thank you. I call you the Jesus woman. That’s what the others call you too.”
Mallory smiled warmly. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather be called than the Jesus woman.”
****
More than once in the weeks that followed, Orva told Mallory she was doing no good there. And, indeed, it seemed that Orva was right. She held service after service, and
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