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

By Andrew McChesney

Erickson has a story that few people have heard. He told part of the story to his mother. He told the whole story to his wife. His three young daughters have never heard the story. His late father never heard the story. Erickson, who is a pastor and Seventh-day Adventist leader in Costa Rica, has been reluctant to share his story over fears that people wouldn’t believe him. But after hearing a number of incredible testimonies as he helped Adventist Mission collect stories for this Mission quarterly in Costa Rica, he told his story to Adventist Mission. So, this Sabbath, you will be among the first to hear his whole story. The story changed his life. The story caused him to become a Seventh-day Adventist.

There were only two schools in the town where Erickson grew up in Guatemala: a public school and an Adventist school.

Father sent Erickson to public school for first grade, but the boy didn’t see his teacher for the entire year. The teacher was in training, the school principal explained. The principal sometimes came to the first-grade classroom to hand out assignments. But no one taught reading, math, or spelling to the children that year. Fortunately, Erickson had learned those subjects in kindergarten, so he was able to complete the occasional homework assignments. But many of his classmates failed first grade.

Father was disgusted with the public school system after that year, and he moved his son to the Adventist school for second grade. That was where he learned about God.

Before going to sleep at night, Erickson knelt beside his bed to pray.

“God, help me to make good decisions in my life,” he prayed. “Help me in school. Help my family and especially my father.”

The family was poor. Father worked as a bus driver far from home, and Erickson only saw him a few times every year. Despite their poverty, Father always managed to find funds to pay for Erickson’s education at the Adventist school.

As Erickson prayed at night, he wished that he could see Father more often.

“Protect the bus and Mother so she can earn some money for our needs,” he
prayed. “Amen.”

One night, when Erickson was 11 or 12, he prayed and then stretched out on his bed in the dark room. His eyes were open, but he couldn’t see anything in the dark.

Suddenly, a bright but soft light appeared on the ceiling above his head. It was not the light bulb; Erickson had turned it off before praying. The light lit the room. Erickson wasn’t scared. He felt peaceful and relaxed.

Suddenly, a glowing being darted from the light to the floor. Erickson saw arms, legs, a body, and a head. But he couldn’t see eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, or any other facial features. The head was surrounded by a soft glow. The being knelt in the same place where the boy had just prayed beside the bed. He put his hands together and bowed his head.

Erickson watched, wondering what would happen next.

Erickson’s prayers usually lasted five or 10 minutes, but this prayer ended much more quickly. The being prayed for 60 to 90 seconds. Then he stood up and put one hand on Erickson’s head and the other on his chest. Joy filled Erickson’s heart. He imagined that he was seeing Jesus.

The being didn’t say anything. After touching the boy‘s head and chest for a few seconds, he rose back up to the soft light, still shining on the ceiling. Then the light went out, and the bedroom plunged back into darkness.

Peace and calm flooded over Erickson. He sensed only goodness in the room. He quickly fell asleep.

The next day, Erickson told Mother about the experience. He felt closer to Jesus than ever before.

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Several months later, Erickson had a dream about the Sabbath. He had attended a church on Sunday since he was a small child, and he continued to go to make his father happy. But after he had enrolled in the Adventist school, he also had started to go to the Adventist church on Sabbath.

In the dream, Erickson was standing in his father’s church during a worship service. Suddenly, statues of saints that lined the walls of the church began to move. Their arms moved, and their legs moved. Laughing, they chased the terrified boy around the church. Erickson could see other worshippers in the church, but they acted like nothing was out of the normal.