As a young girl living in Boone, Iowa, the cry of Darlene’s heart was, “Lord, I’d go anywhere for you, no matter what the cost!” This enthusiastic promise she made as a child was tested many times over her long life. 

Darlene McIntosh was born May 17, 1917. She was saved at the age of nine in the home of her parents. When she was thirteen years old, she dedicated her life to the cause of foreign missions during a revival meeting. 

During her training with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, she met a young man who also had his heart set on missions—particularly in the field of Dutch Indonesia. His name was Russell Deibler. The two were united in heart and in purpose, and soon they were united also in marriage.

Russell and Darlene Deibler had been married only one year when they arrived in the Netherlands East Indies in August 1938. They began work among the Kapauku people in New Guinea. Their peaceful efforts to preach the Gospel of peace were interrupted by the storm of war. The Japanese empire slowly and gradually began expanding its brutal influence among the islands of the Pacific.

The missionaries there waited, prayed, and closely followed the war news over the radio. The situation worsened as Japan continued its sweep of destruction. Although the Deiblers and several other missionaries sought refuge in a quiet mountain retreat, eventually all the men were taken by Japanese troops to a prison camp. Russell and Darlene were not even given time to say good-bye. As Darlene handed Russell a pillowcase of clothes and belongings, only then could Russell whisper a tender parting to his beloved: “Remember one thing, dear: God has said He would never leave us nor forsake us.”

The separation was painful. The words from Darlene’s childhood came back to her: “Lord, I’d go anywhere for You, no matter what the cost.” Was she truly willing to give up all? Through her tears, she prayed, “I meant it then, Lord, to the level of my understanding. With greater understanding I confirm to You tonight, it is still anywhere—I leave the costing to You.”

In a few months, women and children were gathered up also by the Japanese soldiers and taken to a prison camp called Kampili. It was a lonely spot surrounded by barbed wire and flooded rice fields. Once there, the women were divided among the eight barracks. The women were of all backgrounds and nationalities. Many had been torn from their husbands as Darlene had been. Fear of the unknown and grief over their parting from loved ones were the general feelings among the women at Kampili.

As evening fell that first day in the prison camp, Darlene began what became a regular practice in Barracks 8, where she was assigned. The imprisoned women gathered together, read a portion of Scripture, and then prayed together. This practice gave them strength and comfort in the next four years that they spent in Kampili. Separated from their homes and countries, isolated from the events happening around the world, and living daily under the heavy hand of a Japanese commander, the hope in God’s Word gave them courage to face every hardship.

Life settled into a routine of hard work at Kampili. The women were required to raise pigs and chickens for the Japanese, work in the camp gardens, labor as nurses in the camp hospital, cook the daily portions of food, sew uniforms for the Japanese soldiers, and even fell trees, clear land, and unload trucks. They worked long hours in both the hot sun and in the drenching rains. 

Darlene Deibler was placed in charge of Barracks 8, and she tried to ease the burden of the women and children under her care. She did this by rotating their duties each week. With the grinding labor, the days passed into weeks and months.

Meanwhile, Russell Deibler was still far away in a camp at Pare Pare. Darlene had not heard from him for over a year, yet she prayed for him every day. One day a truck arrived at Kampili from Pare Pare, and Darlene and several other women received wooden clogs made by their husbands! Darlene recognized on hers a scrap of material from Russell’s shirt. How she treasured these clogs! However, two months later she received a terrible blow—Russell had died in Pare Pare, and this news had been kept from her for three months. Her heart, pierced with grief, leaned more heavily upon the Lord Who had said, as Russell had told her in his parting words, that He would never leave her nor forsake her.

All the women knew of the Kempeitai, a Japanese operation of secret police that quelled resistance through cruel torture and interrogations. Whenever the black limousine of the secret police would pull into Kampili, its presence struck fear in the heart of every woman and child. Some women were taken away and never returned; the ones who did come back were broken and unwilling to speak of the experience. 

When two other American women were taken away by the Kempeitai, Darlene feared that it would not be long until it was her turn. Indeed, soon the black limousine came again, and this time it was for her. 

The Japanese were suspicious of the Americans being spies. Taken away by the Kempeitai, terror gripped Darlene’s heart. She was locked into a small stone cell, above which were written the words, “This person must die.” Day after day she endured intense interrogations. Finally, she was officially condemned to death as a spy. She became very sick with dysentery, malaria, and beriberi, a disease brought on by a deficiency of vitamin B1. She never knew which day would be her last. She was alone and afraid, still grieving the death of Russell and facing death herself at the hands of her enemies.

But the Lord was with her. Suffering greatly from sickness, she prayed for healing, and complete healing came. When in hunger, she prayed for just one banana to supplement her daily diet of dirty rice. One day the commander of Kampili came to visit her—and he brought her ninety-two bananas!

In the solitude of her cell, Darlene learned the value of memorized Scripture. Although the Kempeitai had taken away her Bible, they had not and could not take it out of her heart! Psalms 27 and 91 were especially precious to her. She would spend long hours going through the Hebrew alphabet, quoting the verses that began with each letter. Songs learned in her childhood now comforted her heart. 

One day, in the darkness of her cell, this verse from Hebrews 11 came to her mind: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” She realized then that her faith was not in feelings or moments of ecstasy, but in Jesus Christ Himself, Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Even when she did not feel His presence, He was just as faithful. She could put her trust in Him forever. She would continue to follow Him anywhere, whatever the cost!

The next morning, Darlene meticulously straightened her hair and ate the last of her ninety-two bananas. Suddenly, she was called away from her cell. She was led with the two other American women outside. It quickly became very clear that they were being led to their execution! As the Japanese officer began to unsheathe his sword, God intervened. Confusion suddenly broke out! The women were dragged away from the scene, placed in a car and driven back to Kampili. Mercifully, the Lord had delivered them from death.

When the war ended, the Lord once again delivered Darlene and the other women and children from the camp at Kampili. Darlene Deibler returned to the States and had a joyful reunion with her father, mother, and siblings. In spite of all her sufferings, she was determined to go back to “her people”—the people among whom she and Russell had labored. God blessed her, she remarried, and she was able to return with her new husband, missionary Jerry Rose. 

Jerry and Darlene Deibler Rose labored for many years in New Guinea and later Australia, rearing their two sons among the native people. Darlene Deibler Rose surely carried with her the rest of her life the lesson she had learned in the Japanese prison: “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Sources and Further Reference:

Rose, Darlene Deibler. Evidence Not Seen: A Study of Faith and Survival in a Japanese Prison Camp. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1990.