André grew up in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk. At school, he became friends with a boy named Pavel. Pavel was different from the other students at the school. He was a Christian, but not like Orthodox Christians who went to church on Sundays. Pavel was a Seventh-day Adventist Christian who went to church on Saturdays.

Since Andre wasn’t any kind of Christian, he didn’t care about when or where people went to church. He and Pavel were just friends.

Pavel and Andre went to school together for many years. After they finished high school, they both planned to go to the city of Lviv to study at the Lviv National Academy of Arts.

In order to get into this school, all students had to take a test, so Pavel and Andre went together to take the academy’s entrance exam. After finishing the test, the two friends decided to explore the campus

Life-Impacting Decision

As they were walking around the school, the boys noticed a large sign on an announcement board. There was going to be a special air show commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Ukrainian Air Force’s 14th Air Corps. The event would be held at Sknyliv Airfield, just six kilometers (3.7 miles) from central Lviv. Andre and Pavel were excited! They really wanted to go see the fast jets and amazing acrobatics at the air show!

But all of a sudden Pavel became quiet. He had noticed the date of the air show: July 27, 2002. Realizing that day was a Sabbath, he decided that he would not be going to the air show after all.

Turning to his friend, Pavel asked, “Andre, I’m going to church on July 27, would you like to come with me?”

Now it was Andre’s turn to think. He really wanted to go to the air show, but he could see that his friend was really serious about going to church, and he became curious about why Pavel would rather go to church instead of the air show. He decided to accept his friend’s invitation.

That Sabbath the two boys went to church and spent the whole day there having a wonderful time with many other young people.

Terrible Disaster

What Pavel and Andre didn’t know was that while they were at church, the worst air show disaster in history was happening at the nearby air show. Just before 1:00 p.m. a very fast military jet, flown by two experienced pilots, crashed and exploded into the crowd of spectators. Seventy-seven people died. Another 100 people had to go to the hospital because they were badly hurt. Another 443 people were hurt but did not go to the hospital.

When Andre heard the news the next day, he was shocked. “If I had gone to the air show instead of going to church with Pavel, I could have died or been really hurt!” Andre became friends with many young people at the Adventist church, and after one year he decided to be baptized.

Later Andre wanted to become a pastor and help other young people to learn about the truth of Jesus. He is now a student at the Adventist university in Bucha, where he is studying to become a pastor.

By bringing your Thirteenth Sabbath Mission Offering to Sabbath School, you will help many more children and young people learn about Jesus and His wonderful Sabbath. Thank you!