Johana walked along the neatly paved sidewalk that wound around several tall glass buildings. She slowed as she walked past the fountain that splashed near the walkway, then she hurried on to her school just ahead. She climbed the steps and entered the tall doorway. A teacher smiled and welcomed her before Johana ran up the stairs to her classroom.

Johana’s family had just moved to Prague [prahg], the capital city of the Czech Republic, so her parents could teach at the Adventist school in the city. The city is so much bigger than the one where she grew up, and at first Johana was afraid that she wouldn’t have a special friend. But she’s glad that she can attend the Adventist school.

A Special Friend

When she first arrived in Prague, Johana prayed that God would send her a special friend. And one day at the church she met Sara. The girls became instant friends. “I knew God had answered my prayers,” Johana says. “But what was even neater was that Sara too had just moved to Prague. Sara told me that she also had been praying for a Christian friend. So God answered both our prayers with each other!”

The girls both enjoy art, and they like to make artistic things together. While they work on a craft they like to talk about school and their friends.

Sara told Johana that in her public school some of the children use bad words and take Jesus’ name in vain. She tells the children that they shouldn’t use Jesus’ name that way. Sara wants them to think about how God feels when He hears them taking Jesus’ name in vain.

The girls often talk about problems they face, then they pray about the problems together. “I think God sent Sara to me as a special gift,” Johana says. “It’s neat that Sara believes that too. It’s really special to have a Christian friend in a new and scary city.”

The girls like to roller-skate on a special skating path in a park near Johana’s apartment. And in winter they’ll make snowpeople, have friendly snowball fights, and go sledding together. “It’s fun having a special friend to play with and pray with,” Johana says.

Johana’s School

Johana likes her new school. She likes that her parents teach there, but she’s especially glad that she can attend an Adventist school instead of a public school such as the one she used to attend. “My teachers tell us to be kind and respectful to one another and to not say bad things or try to play tricks on others. If a student does something unkind, the teachers talk to them and remind them that in this school kindness matters. I think we all learn better when everyone is kind and helpful to one another.”

Sara also likes that they have special Bible classes when they can learn about God and study stories in the Bible. “This week we studied about how God created the world,” Johana says. “Some of the children are not from Christian homes, and they don’t know about Creation. They think the world evolved over millions of years. I’m glad that I can help explain things from the Bible that they don’t understand. That’s part of being kind to others.”

Johana talks to some of the children who don’t know Jesus well. She explains what she can to them and invites them to attend church with her and learn even more about Jesus.

Johana would like to encourage all of us to tell others—children and adults alike—about Jesus. She would tell them that God will help them when they have problems; they just have to ask. “That’s what prayer is about,” she says. “I would tell them how God answered my prayer—the one for a best friend—and He will answer their prayers as well.”

We all can tell others about Jesus in school, as we play, and when we meet people on the street. And when we give our mission offering, we’re helping people we may never meet learn to love God too.