What I Had Missed

On the screen before me was the Kona campus, a place I had not seen in a long time. Sitting at Banyan Tree Cafe, Daniel Blom showed me different parts of the campus that had changed so much since I was last there. It was a place I had deeply missed for years. Sometimes I would think, Maybe I’ll go back someday. But at some point, I had completely let go of that longing.

I even noticed a few familiar faces passing by in the background. Part of me wanted to greet them, but from my perspective, this conversation itself already felt like something long awaited finally coming to pass, so I wanted to stay fully present in the moment.

Daniel asked me to share about the ministry work in Guinea-Bissau — how I first ended up there, what kind of work I was doing, and who I was as a person.

The truth was, there had been another reason I had spent so much time trying to contact EBPN.

I wanted access to the audio Bible files they had already completed — recordings stored on SD cards. These were audio Bibles translated into various tribal languages spoken in Guinea-Bissau. Back in 2022, when I first received the Bible licensing approval, I had been told the recordings were not finished yet. But by 2023, they had already been completed.

Not only Kriol and Susu, but also languages like Biafada and Fula — the very languages spoken by many of the young people we knew there.

I knew how many adults in Guinea-Bissau could not read. And I kept thinking how incredible it would be if we could distribute those recordings through SD cards. That was why I wanted permission to use them. That was the reason I had spent so much effort trying to reach EBPN through different connections and introductions.

But Daniel’s first questions were not about logistics or ministry operations.

He wanted to know who I was. What was in my heart. What kind of dream God had given me.

Honestly, those are exactly the kinds of conversations I love most, so I shared freely and excitedly.

No matter where I go, those are always the stories I end up telling.

Even while taking part in something as significant as producing and distributing Bibles for an entire nation, I still do not understand much about the practical side of things. I had simply responded to God’s dream and watched Him work. Not only through the Bible project, but throughout my entire life.

Stories of how God moved whenever I responded to the dreams He placed before me.

So I told him about all of it — about how I was preparing to return to Guinea-Bissau again, how we were trying to make a documentary, and how honestly, even now, I still didn’t fully know what I was doing or how it would all come together.

Throughout the conversation, Daniel kept saying how moved he was. At first I wondered whether it was just the kind of enthusiastic expression Americans often use, but his eyes seemed sincere.

Then he said there was actually much more he wanted to talk about. He explained that there was a reason he had felt compelled to ask these questions, and a reason he believed he was hearing this story now. He asked if we could meet again the following week over Zoom.

He said he wanted to speak first with one of the leaders of EBPN before that next conversation.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

Thinking about the timeline for this Guinea-Bissau trip, there realistically wasn’t enough time to receive SD cards from the United States or organize anything substantial with the files. Even so, I was grateful for the meeting.

For a brief moment, through that Zoom screen, I caught the scent of Kona again.

And suddenly I realized something.

What I had truly missed was not the cafe where Daniel sat, nor the campus itself.

It was the people.

People who became excited together over a dream God had given — without first asking about finances, background, or qualifications.

That was what I had missed.