After the scare at her birth, Emmaculate seemed like a normal girl as she grew up in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. But when she was 3 years old, she began to have fits. Every once in a while, she would start to jump and couldn’t stop. As she jumped, she would bite her tongue. It hurt, but she still couldn’t stop. Then she would fall onto the ground and lay very still.
The trouble with Mom started when Angel was transferred to an Adventist school in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Mom hadn’t wanted Angel to study at the school. She had wanted the girl to go to a school that belonged to her church. But a friend of Dad had recommended the Adventist school, and Dad had insisted that Angel go there.
Sibusiso didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to say goodbye to his friends. But he saw Mom’s face and knew that he couldn’t argue. He might be able to refuse to go to church on Sunday, but he couldn’t refuse to go to the Adventist school.
Luccilla wanted to go to church again, and she waited for Abigail to invite her. But after church, Abigail didn’t say anything about going together the next Sabbath. Abigail didn’t say anything on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. By Wednesday, Luccilla couldn’t wait any longer.
When Mom saw that he still believed in God, she decided that something must be wrong with him. She didn’t understand why he didn’t want to worship dead ancestors like her. She asked a traditional healer who also worshiped dead ancestors to come to the house to see what was wrong with Lucky.
Then Mom felt sad. She wanted to be a good mother who cared for her son. But now her son looked like an orphan who had to go from family to family to eat lunch every Sabbath.
It was a very sad day for the little boy, Henry says when he tells the story. In one day, he lost his dad, his granddad, and his ability to walk.
It turned out that six of those girls also came from Adventist homes, but they were studying for the test. One of those girls said, “But God understands our situation. We need to pass the test.”
On Wednesday, he read the sermon nine more times. In the evening, Mom said he had done his best yet. But on Thursday, Mom told him not to read the sermon.
Dad began to cry. He was touched to hear that little Benjamin was so worried. He hadn’t spoken very much for the two weeks that he had been sick, but now he had something to say.
Tich felt uneasy. He would not be able to see much in the dark. There were no lights along the road. He had a small flashlight, but it wasn’t bright enough to light the whole road.
At that moment, Pastor Eduard heard another voice. The voice was soft and gentle. Yet he could hear it above the roar of the rain and wind. It said, “Tell the boat captain to connect the fuel hose to the other fuel tank.”