Some little children like to ride in big cars. Some little children like to visit big cities.

But 5-year-old Luca wasn’t impressed by big cars or big cities. His mother wanted to take him in a big car to Romania’s capital city, Bucharest. But it was a Monday morning, and he only wanted to go to his kindergarten.

Luca loves his Seventh-day Adventist kindergarten.

It wasn’t always that way. 

Mother first sent him to a public kindergarten when he was two years old. He didn’t like it at all. Luca was still wearing diapers because he wasn’t potty-trained. He still drank from a baby bottle because he hadn’t learned to use a cup. He wasn’t able to speak yet—he could only say, “Mm, mmm, mmm.”

Luca had bad days at the public kindergarten. Some teachers weren’t nice to him because they didn’t want to change his diapers. Others didn’t want to refill his baby bottle. And some didn’t understand what he meant when he said, “Mm, mmm, mmm.”

Mother was heartbroken when she found out about the unkind treatment. She went to the kindergarten principal and asked that the teachers be nicer to Luca. But the principal didn’t believe her and refused to do anything.

So, Mother looked for a new kindergarten. She visited many, but no one would accept her little boy. They said Luca had a learning challenge, and they didn’t have time to help him.

Mother grew desperate. She needed to work to earn money to feed Luca and herself, but she couldn’t work if she had to stay home with Luca all day.

Then, she found a Seventh-day Adventist kindergarten online. She went to meet the principal and pleaded for help. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she said, “Please accept my child into your kindergarten. I beg you from the bottom of my heart to help me.”

She explained that Luca did indeed have some learning challenges.

The principal saw Mother’s tears and heard the sincerity in her voice. 

“Okay,” the principal said. “Let’s try. This will be our first child with this kind of learning challenge. We haven’t taught any like him before, but we can try. We’ll make an effort.”

Mother, her cheeks wet with tears, smiled with relief. She pointed to a young woman standing beside her.

“My niece is here to help me enroll Luca in the school,” she explained.

Mother had never gone to school and couldn’t read or write. But her 20-year-old niece could, and she helped Mother complete the paperwork to enroll Luca in kindergarten.

A month later, on a bright September morning, Luca arrived at the Adventist kindergarten. He was thrilled to see the other children and to play with them. 

Mother came to take him home at lunchtime. 

“This is enough for one day,” she said. “I’ll bring you back tomorrow morning.”

But Luca didn’t want to go home. He wanted to stay and play more. Mother had to persuade him to leave. That had never happened before. He had always been ready to go anywhere with her. 

The next day, Luca stayed until 4 o’clock in the afternoon. His teacher said he was adjusting well. Mother was so happy!

As the weeks and months passed, Luca made big improvements. He stopped wearing diapers and learned to use the bathroom by himself. He stopped using the baby bottle and drank from a cup. He stopped saying, “Mm, mmm, mmm” and learned to speak. He even began to read and write. Mother was overjoyed. Luca was learning to do things that even she couldn’t do!

Luca was happy, too. He loved      kindergarten so much that he asked Mother to take him on Sabbaths and Sundays when it was closed. He couldn’t understand why Mother wanted to take him in a big car to the big city of Bucharest on a Monday morning. The trip lasted three and a half hours. He would have much rather spent the time at the kindergarten, playing with friends, learning English, taking piano lessons, and hearing stories about Jesus.

Mother explained that they needed to come to Bucharest to talk about the wonderful kindergarten that had changed his life. Then Luca understood. He didn’t mind the long trip or missing a day of school. He loved his kindergarten, and he wanted the whole world to know.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, also known as the Quarterly Mission Project Offering, will help two other schools teach more children and their families about Jesus.