To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, September 14.

By Andrew McChesney

Seven-year-old Kitona had a fiery temper.

At school, she sprang out of her chair when a passing boy lightly brushed against her leg. She raised her fists to fight and yelled, “He hit me!”

Teacher didn’t want any fights in her classroom, and she asked the boy what had happened.

“I only brushed against her leg as I walked by,” he said. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Other children agreed that he had not done anything to hurt Kitona.

Teacher tried to calm the angry girl.

“He accidentally brushed against you,” she said.

But Kitona refused to back down. Her fists were still clenched, and she was breathing heavily. She was sure that the boy had attacked her.

“He hit me!” she screamed.

This is how it was whenever Kitona lost her temper at Ebenezer Seventh-day Adventist Primary School on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. She did well on her schoolwork. The teachers called her brilliant. But she lacked self-control. If someone touched her or took something that belonged to her, she jumped out of her chair in a rage, ready to fight.

One day, a boy named Keron took a pencil off Kitona’s desk. He wanted to borrow it for his schoolwork.

Kitona was furious. She jumped to her feet, punched Keron in the face, and yelled, “Give it back!”

Keron didn’t like being punched in the face, and he swung back.

Soon the boy and girl were on the floor, trading blows.

Then the principal entered the classroom.

“Take your seats,” she ordered.

Keron immediately sat down at his desk. Kitona didn’t.

“Kitona, take your seat,” the principal said.

But Kitona wasn’t finished with the fight. Keron had hit her last, and she wanted to land the last blow.

She ran toward Keron.

But the principal stepped forward, blocking her path.

Kitona didn’t think that was fair. She had to give the last punch. In a rage, she began to hit the principal.

Kitona only calmed down after the teacher took Keron out of the classroom and she couldn’t see him anymore.

Then the principal called Kitona’s mother.

As punishment for hitting Keron and the principal, Kitona was suspended from school for three days.

Mother was in tears when she arrived for Kitona. She didn’t know what to do. The principal and other teachers cried with Mother. They also didn’t know what to do. They loved Kitona, but her temper seemed beyond control.

After talking over the matter, the principal and other teachers decided to shower the girl with love and patience. They also decided to pray.

Then something incredible happened. As weeks and months passed, Kitona became more patient, and the conflicts grew fewer. Finally, the conflicts stopped altogether. The girl once known for her fiery temper became known for being kind and courteous.

When Kitona graduated from school, she felt bad about the way she had acted. She remembered the love and patience that the teachers had shown her. She decided to do something to show her appreciation. She established a special prize called the “Kitona Theophile Refinement Award,” which is named after her. The prize is for girls and boys who, like her, once lacked self-control but later became kind and courteous. Every year, she presents the prize — which is a glass plaque — to the winning student.

“The love of teachers at Seventh-day Adventist schools are responsible for who I am today,” she said.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help Kitona’s elementary school, Ebenezer Seventh-day Adventist Primary School, expand with a new building in Dominica’s capital, Roseau. Thank you for planning to give a generous offering on September 28.