To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, January 28.

By Andrew McChesney

D

eus was born into a very poor family in Tanzania. His parents were so poor that they could not buy notebooks and pencils for him to go to school. Deus felt embarrassed to show up in school without a notebook and a pencil. He couldn’t do his homework without a notebook and a pencil. When he was in the fifth grade, he decided that he didn’t want to go to school anymore. He dropped out of school.

Around the same time, Father and Mother decided that they couldn’t afford to take care of Deus. They send him away to live with his grandparents.

Grandfather took a special interest in the little boy. He loved Deus and wanted him to succeed in life. He wanted Deus to go to school. He especially wanted Deus to know about the God of heaven.

Grandfather looked around and found a school not too far from the house. But Deus didn’t want to return to school. He would rather play with other boys or even work than to sit in the classroom. Grandfather, however, kept encouraging him.

“My grandson,” he said, day after day, “it would be good for you to go back to school. There are so many important things that you need to learn.”

While Grandfather was encouraging Deus to go back to school, he also taught him about God. Hour after hour, Grandfather told the boy interesting stories from the Bible. He spoke about how God created the world and Adam and Eve in six days and rested on the seventh day. He spoke about how Adam and Eve sinned and sin entered the world. He spoke about Noah and the Flood, Abraham and Isaac, and Moses leading the Israelites through the Red Sea and to the Promised Land. He spoke about Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross so Deus could be saved from sin and live with Him forever. Grandfather taught Deus how to pray.

After a long time, Deus agreed to go back to school.

Deus didn’t like school at first, but then he began to enjoy going. Even more than school, though, he really enjoyed listening to Grandfather tell Bible stories. After a while, He started to read the Bible on his own. He shared what he had learned in Sabbath School.

After a while, someone asked Deus to preach on Sabbath. The boy who once didn’t like to go to school and didn’t know anything about God stood up in front of the church and preached about his love for God. Grandfather was so happy!

After that Sabbath, Deus was asked to preach again and again. He happily spoke about his great love for God. No sooner had he started preaching than some boys began to tease him. They called him “pastor.”

“Hello, Pastor Deus!” said one, with a smile.

“How are you today, Pastor Deus?” said another.

Deus was not annoyed by the teasing. Being called “pastor” made him think all the more seriously about his plans in life. He did not feel like he deserved to be called “pastor.” But after a while, he decided that God was calling him to become a pastor.

Today, Deus is studying to become a pastor at the University of Arusha, a Seventh-day Adventist university, in Tanzania.

He is so glad that Grandfather encouraged him to go to school and, most importantly, taught him about God.

“I thank God for using my Grandpa to pave the way for me to become a pastor,” he says.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help build a new building at the University of Arusha so more students like Deus will have a place to study. Thank you for planning a generous offering.