Gilbert Fimaka woke up on a Sunday with a strong desire to go to church.  

The 22-year-old medical missionary shared his longing with his roommate, a fellow medical missionary. The two young men were just wrapping up a three-week mission trip in rural Zambia. 

“I’m thinking about visiting a church here,” Gilbert said. “I’d like to share the Word of God and also tell them about the seventh-day Sabbath.” 

Then he laughed. His roommate also laughed. The idea seemed preposterous. But in his heart, Gilbert wanted to go. So, he went. 

As he entered the closest church, he felt nervous. He knew that he couldn’t just say, “This is not the day of worship.”  

To his surprise, the church members quickly made him feel at home. Many recognized him from his medical work, and they welcomed him warmly. They even gave him a seat of honor with the church leaders. 

Then it was time for the sermon. To Gilbert’s surprise, he was invited to preach. He felt humbled as he approached the pulpit, but he was scared to talk about the Sabbath. So, he opened his Bible to the book of Job.  

As Gilbert spoke, he heard a voice say, “Talk about the Sabbath.” He ignored it and continued preaching. The voice spoke a second time. When the voice spoke a third time, Gilbert turned in his Bible to Leviticus 23:3 and read, “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings” (NKJV). Then he read Matthew 28:1 and Genesis 2:1-3.  

“The seventh day does not fall on a Sunday but on a Saturday, so the true day of worship is not Sunday but Saturday,” he said. 

When he finished the sermon, a church leader stood up and announced, “I will stop worshiping on Sunday and only worship on Saturday.” 

As people left the church, many talked loudly. Some were weeping. “We didn’t know that we were worshiping on the wrong day,” said one. “From now on, we will worship on Saturday,” said another. 

A short time later, the church leader was baptized in a Seventh-day Adventist church, and many other church members begun studying the Bible in preparation for baptism. 

This mission story illustrates the “Mission For All” objective of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go” strategic plan, which says in part, “Christ mingled, showed sympathy, ministered to needs, won confidence, then invited people to follow Him. The goal is to take a genuine interest in people, leading them to Christ and inviting them to unite with the Seventh-day Adventist Church as disciples of Christ who make disciples.” Read more at IWillGo.org.