A gripping, true story with enduring life lessons.

Nervous, naïve and overseas for the first time, Ian and Heather Reilly volunteer to teach in Samoa, but instead spend days battling a devastating cyclone.

Emerging to a shattered world without power, water, and running out of food, they prepare lessons by candlelight, and struggle to teach indigenous teenagers by “chalk and talk”. They find the oppressive climate conspires with mystifying cultural behaviour to outwit and outlast their every effort, and they lack the superhuman effort necessary to achieve anything enduring.

Journeying with them, readers lurch from comedy to tragedy, as ordinary, relatable people (flawed, vulnerable and sometimes frightened) contextualise their faith, facing impossible value conflicts, in confrontation with violence, suffering and suicide.

Stripped to bare basics and immersing us into a lived experience, we feel the sweat on our face, tears in our eyes, and hear Jesus speak ancient wisdom into our present moment, that God’s beauty, goodness and truth can shine in poverty, hardship, and despair.

ENCOUNTER is more than a great story exploring the confluence of culture and world view. It challenges deeply held beliefs about indigenous cultures, our understanding of justice, colonialism, identity, poverty, overseas aid and economic development.

Culture shock in a page turner.
Life lessons in a ripping yarn.

Reader feedback

“I felt like I was there …”

“… gut wrenching and very beautiful”

“I’ve never thought about it that way before …”

About the author
Telling the story of ENCOUNTER has been on Ian Reilly’s heart for more than 30 years, drawing on a lifetime of creative work as an innovative engineer, entrepreneur, teacher, visual artist, and poet. Born in Barcaldine, Queensland, and raised on a small sheep farm in rural Victoria, Ian studied engineering at the University of Melbourne before designing equipment for the Australian Army and volunteering as a science teacher in Samoa. He later completed a postgraduate degree in appropriate technology, focusing on renewable energy for developing countries. His cross-cultural experience fueled a career in international consulting and product innovation, developing world-first technologies for both startups and global corporations across Europe, North America, and Asia. In 2014, he founded the agri-tech startup Agersens, launching the world’s first virtual fence for cattle, and exited the company in 2021 through its sale to Gallagher. Now retired, Ian devotes his time to writing, painting, and mentoring, creating portraits and landscapes in various media. A lifelong Christian, he worships with his wife Heather at Donvale Presbyterian Church in Melbourne, where they live and enjoy life with their two adult daughters, Rosemary and Elizabeth.