Maria listened quietly to the sermon in the little Adventist church. She wanted to catch every word. As the service ended, Maria slipped out the door and started toward home. Immediately her heart began to feel the heaviness that had become her constant companion.
Edel entered his home looking like a sad puppy. “What’s wrong?” Mother asked.
Pure Heart* walked into her house clutching her stomach. Mother sighed, for she knew that Pure Heart had had another difficult day at school.
Ee and her sister, Kay Kay, live in Myanmar, also called Burma. Ee was only 4 when her father left the family. Mother couldn’t find work to support Ee and Kay Kay, so she had to travel to a far country to work.
Mai [my] lives in a jungle village in a country in southeastern Asia [locate southeastern Asia on a map]. We can’t say which country she lives in, but we can say that most of the people living there don’t know who Jesus is.
Once upon a time not very long ago I attended a camp meeting on an island far, far away. I spent time with the little children and taught them to sing many Sabbath School songs. One they especially liked was “Here is the way we walk to church, walk to church, walk to church. Here is the way we walk to church, every Sabbath morning.”
Angie loves Jesus, and she wants everyone to know that. She lives in Medan [meh-DAN], a large city in northern Sumatra, one of many islands that make up the country of Indonesia.
Who knows what an orphanage is? When you think of an orphanage, do you think of a sad place? YAPI is an orphanage on the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia. Sad events have brought the children to YAPI, but YAPI is a happy place. Let’s meet some of the children who live there.
Roy is 8 years old. He lives in Medan [meh-DAN], a large city on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Roy and his family live in a simple wooden house near a railroad track. Trains roar by almost every hour, and the noise is loud. But people have gotten used to it.
Pastor Sakul [SAH-kool] and his wife moved to a house in a new neighborhood in Manado, Indonesia. They wanted to make friends with the neighbors, but everyone stayed in their own courtyards and kept their strong metal gates locked to protect their homes from thieves. Pastor Sakul and his wife prayed that God would help them find someone in their neighborhood with whom they could share their love for Jesus.
Cecilia lives in eastern Indonesia. More than anything, Cecilia wanted to attend an Adventist school, but her father couldn’t afford the tuition. Cecilia often asked God to help her go to the Adventist school. He answered her prayer in an unusual way.
Indonesia
Catherine and Elisha* sat in the wooden pew of their small-town church on Sabbath morning. Their fingers tightly clutched coins they had brought for the mission offering. It was the Adventist Church’s first special mission offering, and it would help build a mission ship.