(NARRATED IN FIRST-PERSON)

When a friend asked me for a ride, something impressed me that I should bring my family along. While we were driving, a strong storm started that caused our wooden church building to collapse on top of my house! We thanked God that although our new Adventist church collapsed, by God’s protection, no one was harmed.

Just a few years ago, I was not an Adventist. I lived in an older house on this property that sits at the main intersection in town. In my community, there were some who struggled to find a hot meal in the winter. When Adventists first came, they brought food and compassion. A warm bowl of soup can be the perfect way into someone’s heart. They parked a shipping container in my yard where they could serve food and connect with our people.

Many of us felt they sincerely cared, so we listened to Bible stories that were filled with hope. Through their loving service, this group of Adventists won our hearts and we trusted them. In time some of us were baptized and we built a wooden church next to my house.

(narrator SOT)

0:00

“This is my house where the church plant activities happened over the last 10 years.”

0:10

“This is the foundation for the church we wanted to build. Unfortunately, it didn’t last because it was destroyed during the storm.”

0:30

“Over there, we had a shipping container. From it, we served hot meals during the winter for four to five years.”

In the beginning, most of the attendees were not Adventists. This is still somewhat true today. Only about half of the people who come for Sabbath services are baptized members. The other half come because they have seen how Seventh-day Adventists are committed to the peace and well-being of this community.

This active church also connects with young minds. Every week, the church takes in some 200 children for after-school care and tutoring. The children are served a daily meal. Many parents and children benefit from this free service provided by volunteers from the church and from the community.

(male - needs voice) starts at 0:34

“The children are doing better in school because of the activities of this church. The government school principal has expressed his gratitude to the Adventist Church even at public events.”

(use her image with the voice over it - She is the one picture here: EUD1906_ES_ROM_003)

Audio file: starts at 2:10 - 4:50

“We hope everyone will come to know God. We make public invitations for those who want to know more about us. We organize small groups to discuss the Bible with those who are interested. I like these activities, we are following Jesus’ method. We’re building relationships, identifying needs, and trying to help people. Then, we’re guiding them to God.”

I’m a builder by profession and after the wooden church collapsed, we dreamed of building God a new house for worship. Miraculously, God intervened to give us the land and the funds. Currently, 20 people are studying the Bible and two of them are ready for baptism.

We work hard to help those in need. In my spare time, I assist the less-privileged to have their own house. I hope someday they will see the love of God through me as we saw God’s love through the Adventists. I want to thank the volunteer pioneers and church planters who came here.