A colorful flyer lying on the table caught a little girl’s attention.

“Where did it come from?” asked the little girl, whose name was Ebenezer.

Father said several men had stopped by their home in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The men had invited the family to evangelistic meetings to learn more about Jesus, and the flyer was the invitation to go to the meetings that evening. 

Ebenezer wanted to know more about Jesus, and she hoped that Father would go. 

She waited, but Father didn’t go that evening. She waited the next day, but Father didn’t go. 

On the third day, she decided to go by herself to see what was happening.

Ebenezer liked the meeting at a church very much. At school, she learned that a family consists of a father, a mother, and children. But at the church, she learned that there is another family called the family of God. 

She wondered to herself, “Can I also be part of the family of God?”

At home, she told Father, “You should also go. They are teaching good things.”

Ebenezer thought that Father would go with her the next day. But he didn’t, and Ebenezer went to the church by herself.

That evening, she learned to her surprise that the family of God is sometimes persecuted.

At home, she told Father, “The first day I learned that we could belong to the family of God. But now I’m surprised to learn that we can be persecuted for being part of the family of God. Can you explain that to me?”

Father asked Ebenezer to imagine that she was the president of a country. 

“Some people will love you, but your enemies will hate you and try to send bad people to do bad things to you,” he said. “Likewise, if you belong to the family of Jesus, some people will love you but your enemies will hate you and try to do bad things to you.”

The next day, Ebenezer convinced Father to go with her to church. 

But Mother refused. She said Father had some bad habits and she would only go if he gave them up. 

“Then I’ll know that it’s the true church,” she said.

Father wasn’t sure about the preacher at first, but he was impressed that the preacher supported everything that he said with the Bible. 

At the end of the meetings, the preacher asked who wanted to give their hearts to Jesus in baptism. 

Ebenezer hoped that Father would stand up, but he didn’t.

At home, she asked, “Why didn’t you stand up?”

He replied, “I have many questions. If they’re answered, I’ll be baptized.”

But he began to give up his bad habits.

When the church held another two weeks of evangelistic meetings. Ebenezer told Father, “You’d better not miss any of these meetings.”

Father went, and Mother joined him and Ebenezer. She was impressed that Father had given up his bad habits. She wondered if the Seventh-day Adventist Church was the true church. 

At the second round of meetings, Father thought long and hard about baptism. 

Then the preacher said, “If Jesus came tonight, would you be ready to go with Him?”

Father wanted to be ready to meet Jesus. Mother also wanted to be ready. 

At the end of the meetings, both of them were baptized.

Ebenezer was so happy! She felt like her life was now perfect. At home, she was part of a family with a wonderful father and mother. At church, she was part of the wonderful family of God. “We are happy to be part of the family of God,” she said.

One of the mission projects for this quarter is the opening of a media center with Hope Channel, Adventist World Radio, a social media evangelistic center, and a French-language call center in Ebenezer’s hometown of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this project, many people in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the French-speaking world will be invited to become part of the family of God. Thank you for giving generously to this important project.