When a mother and her three daughters arrived barefoot at Iolanda Xavier’s door in Belo Jardim, Brazil, they were looking for help. What they found instead was compassion, practical support, and a Christian witness that would change a life. Through a simple gift of sandals and food, the elderly Adventist woman opened the door to Bible study and, eventually, a new believer in Christ.
A mother with three little girls walked up the path to Iolanda’s home in Belo Jaridin, a Brazilian city of 80,000 people.
Iolanda saw them coming. She was standing at the door, giving rice and beans to a stranger who had stopped by to ask for food. Her house was located on a busy street, and people regularly came to the door to ask for help. She was sure that the approaching visitors also needed a hand, so she waited after the stranger left.
When the mother and girls reached the door, Iolanda’s eyes fell on the children’s feet.
“Why are your children barefoot?” she asked.
The woman explained that her 8-year-old daughter’s sandals had broken, so she had asked her 4- and 6-year-old daughters to remove their sandals so their older sister wouldn’t feel ashamed.
“I’ll get a pair of sandals and some food,” Iolanda said.
She disappeared into the house and returned a moment later with sandals for the 8-year-old girl and a snack of plain crackers, plain cookies, and cold water.
The little girls beamed with joy. “Can we call you Grandma?” one asked.
The mother was surprised at Iolanda’s kindness.
“Why are you doing this?” she said.
“I’m a Christian from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and we like to help people,” Iolanda said. “I sew clothes for children, and church members bring me many donations. So, I have lots of sandals and clothes.”
“I want to be part of this church,” the mother said. “I want to study the Bible with you.”
A year later, the mother was baptized and joined the Adventist Church.
Iolanda Xavier, an 86-year-old great-grandmother, believes that nothing is more important than obeying Jesus’ command, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20; NKJV).
“Mission is really important,” she said. “All of us were born of God to be missionaries.”
Part of last quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, also known as the Quarterly Mission Project Offering, went to open a church at Pernambucano Adventist Academy in Brazil’s state of Pernambuco, where Iolanda lives. Thank you for planning a generous offering for this quarter’s projects. Watch a YouTube video of Iolanda at: bit.ly/Iolanda-IS.
Gina Wahlen
is the editor of Adventist Mission’s Sabbath School mission quarterlies and Inside Stories
