To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, August 27.

By Andrew McChesney

J

ulia has loved reading the Bible for as long as she can remember.

Again and again, she read that Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, became a small, helpless baby in a manger in Bethlehem. She read that Jesus healed people and taught them about God’s love. She read that Jesus loved people so much that He died on the cross. She read that Jesus rose from the dead after three days and returned to heaven to be crowned King of the Universe. She read that Jesus will return soon to take His people to live with Him forever.

Julia’s love for the Bible caught the attention of church leaders in her hometown of Santos, Brazil. One of them, Mr. Gilberto, thought that the little girl would make a great preacher.

“Julia,” he said, “let’s study the Bible together so you can learn how to preach.”

Julia felt a little scared about the idea of preaching in front of people. But she agreed to study the Bible with Mr. Gilberto. After studying for some time, Julia prepared her first sermon. He first listener was her dear grandmother, who was thrilled to hear her speak.

Then Julia spoke at church. She felt a little scared standing in front of all the people. As she spoke, she looked only at two people: Grandmother and Mr. Gilberto.

But as time passed, Julia felt more and more comfortable speaking in front of people, and preaching became easier.

With the arrival of COVID-19, all churches closed in Brazil. Julia couldn’t preach anymore. Even so, she wasn’t discouraged. She continued to read the Bible. She felt certain that she would have another opportunity to speak about Jesus.

The opportunity came on Easter week.

In Brazil, Easter is a big holiday, but many people do not know the reason for Easter. They do not know that Easter celebrates Jesus’ resurrection. The pastor of Julia’s church asked her if she would preach about the reason for Easter from the Bible. She would preach every day for a special online Easter week of prayer.

Julia had never preached from home before. She felt like she needed a pulpit. As she looked around the house, her eyes fell on Grandmother’s ironing board.

With Grandmother’s permission, Julia took the clothes off the ironing board and carried it into the living room. Then she covered the ironing board with a large, red towel. In front of the ironing board, she taped a special Easter poster from her church. Then, every night for a week, Julia spoke from behind the ironing board about the reason for Easter. Many people’s hearts were touched by her message.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a new church in Julia’s hometown of Santos, Brazil. Thank you for planning a generous offering on September 24.