Mission Quarterlies

A Family Affair

Rwanda

For Charity and Natasha, sharing God’s love is a family affair. Everyone gets involved.

Charity and Natasha are sisters, and they live in Rwanda in eastern Africa [Locate Rwanda on a map.] For Charity and Natasha, sharing God’s love is a family affair. Everyone gets involved.

Charity is 10 years old. She remembers when she was involved in a serious automobile accident and then seconds later another car almost hit her while she still lay dazed on the road. “When I think of the day that I could have died,” she says, “I want to tell others about Jesus.”

And she does. During breaks at school Charity talks to her classmates about the great things Jesus did in Bible times and explains that He can do great things in their lives too. She tells them that Jesus is her Savior and invites them to let Jesus be their Savior, too. Then she invites them to attend church with her family.

Charity is happy when her friends come to church. “I introduce them to my teacher and some of the other children, so they’ll feel welcome. I also share my Sabbath School lesson with them so they’ll know what the lesson topic is,” she says. “This helps them feel that they are part of the class.”

Pauline Shares the Good News

One girl Charity invited is her friend Pauline, who now comes to church regularly. A few months ago Pauline invited her mother to attend church with her. Charity’s mother talks about God with Pauline’s mother, and that helped Pauline’s mother choose to worship God. Now Pauline’s mother regularly attends church with Pauline. She’s studying the Bible on her own so she can find answers to questions about God.

Recently Pauline’s mom asked Charity’s father to call Pauline’s father and invite him to come to church. The two fathers have talked on the telephone several times. “The whole family is involved in sharing God’s love with my friend and her family,” Charity says. “My dad talks to Pauline’s dad about the Sabbath and what that means. Pauline’s dad told my dad that one day he would come to church with Pauline. I’m praying for Pauline and her family. I know how important it is to me that my family loves God and worships Him as a family. And I want that for my friend, too.”

Natasha Shares her Faith

Natasha is Charity’s younger sister. She’s determined not to be left out when it comes to sharing God’s love.

“I tell my friends at school about Jesus,” Natasha says. “I invite them to come to church with me. If they want to come, I ask my mom to get permission from their mother. If they live near us, we take them to church with us. Sometimes my friends spend the whole Sabbath day with us.”

So far four of Natasha’s friends have come to church with the family. Natasha invited her cousins to come, and they did. “Their dad has come to church a few times too, but their mom hasn’t come yet,” Natasha says. “We pray for them and for their parents. We want them all to worship Jesus together.”

A Family Affair

Charity and Natasha’s parents are happy that the girls invite their friends to church.

They want their friends and cousins to learn about God and love Jesus as they do. “I want my friends to be in heaven with me when Jesus comes,” Natasha says. “I want to urge all the children in Sabbath School today to invite their friends to Sabbath School,” she adds. “That way more children can learn about God.”

Charity agrees. “Children around the world can invite their friends to Sabbath School, and in this way they can share God’s love with many other children. God wants them to share His love with everyone they meet. Invite your friends to church. You might be surprised. They may come—and bring their families.”

Boys and girls, let’s share God’s love with someone this week and try to invite someone to come with us to Sabbath School next week. That’s one way to tell the world that Jesus loves them.


    A Family Affair

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    Fast Facts

    • Rwanda lies directly north of Burundi and between Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    • Rwanda is a hilly country with farms on all but the most rugged land. During the growing season Rwanda looks much like a green patchwork quilt has been tossed across the landscape. Of the more than 561,000 people living in the Solomon Islands, nearly 47,000, or one person in every 12, is a Seventh-day Adventist.

    • The equator runs just north of Rwanda, but because of the country’s elevation, it maintains a temperate climate year round.

    • The capital and largest city is Kigali, with a population of more than 1 million.


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