Tia didn’t say anything more. She wanted to talk with the people, but she was shy and didn’t know what else to say.
To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, December 24.
By Andrew McChesney
T
ia is 13 years old and lives in Australia.
One day, the mother of one of Tia’s school friends asked if she would like to help prepare a special meal for needy people.
Tia thought to herself, “Why not?”
So, Tia and two friends, 14-year-old Eleora and 10-year-old Bella, showed up at a Seventh-day Adventist church after school.
Tia was very busy. First, she helped place tablecloths and decorations on the tables. Then she went to the church kitchen, where she chopped a whole bunch of lettuce, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes to make a super-big salad. Then she helped bake peach cobbler for dessert.
Tia and her two friends worked hard for an hour and a half. They chatted merrily as they worked. It was fun! Then people began to arrive to eat at 5:30 p.m.
Tia said hello to people as they entered the dining hall.
“Hi,” Tia said to an old woman walking with a walker.
“Hello, dear,” the old woman replied.
“Hi,” Tia said to an old man walking with a cane.
“Hello, young lady,” the old man replied.
Tia didn’t say anything more. She wanted to talk with the people, but she was shy and didn’t know what else to say.
“Hi,” Tia said to a mother with a little girl.
“Hi,” Tia said to the little girl, who looked even more shy than her.
Soon the dining hall was filled with more than 100 hungry people.
Tia watched as people started to eat her salad of lettuce, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. She watched as some tasted the dessert of peach cobbler. She worried that there were so many people in the dining hall that there might not be enough salad and peach cobbler for everyone. But there was enough for everyone. There was even enough for her!
“Would you like to eat?” one of the adult volunteers asked her.
Tia and her friends happily ate salad and peach cobbler in the yard outside the church building. They didn’t sit at a table inside because they wanted to make sure that there was enough room for all the other people to eat comfortably.
Tia felt good. It was fun to set the tables. It was fun to help prepare the food. It was fun to say “hi” to the people at the meal. It was fun to eat. But most of all it was fun to help other people.
After that first meal, Tia started to volunteer to help prepare special meals for needy people every month. She said every girl and boy should consider volunteering to help needy people.
“It’s really fun and, if you are allowed to and able to, it is really fun and interesting and fun to do,” she said. “I think Jesus wants us to invite people in and serve them because He was always interacting with people.”
Thank you for your mission offering that helps spread the love of Jesus.
