“A Big Change Happen in My Husband”: Perden Samson's Transformation at His Baptism

When missionaries arrived in Pohnpei in October 1976, Dersita Samson noticed them right away — and was not interested. “I thought they were going mountain climbing,” she recalled of first seeing the white-shirted elders. “All the white people are always hiking on the mountain.” Her first direct encounter came when her daughter asked her to help the missionaries fix a flat tire; Dersita prepared them a small meal, and was startled when the strangers knelt down to bless the food before eating. Each time the missionaries came, her husband Perden listened intently while Dersita left the room. Perden was soon baptized — one of the earliest converts in the Kolonia area, joining the Elias family in the waters of baptism on March 12, 1977.

The change in her husband's life converted Dersita more than any discussion could. “I saw a big change happen in my husband from the day he was baptized,” she testified. “He used to drink every weekend after work. But after he was baptized, he stopped going out all the time and spent more time at home on the weekends.”