Everything about the church was unusual and strange to Joon-woo. He didn’t understand many of the words that he heard from the Bible. He didn’t get along well with the other children. But because he wanted to study at the Adventist school, he came back to church the next Sabbath and then the next.
One day, Yeseo brought her own lunch again because the cafeteria was serving pork. The children looked at her strangely as usual, and several teased her. She explained again that she was a Seventh-day Adventist.
The next day, one of the girls said that she couldn’t go. Her parents had told her that she was too busy. But the other girl and the boy said that their parents had given them permission to go.
Haon and Sion were waiting for Jesus to come and take His children to heaven. Jooyoung had never heard that Jesus would come and take people to heaven. Haon and Sion wanted their friend to know and love Jesus. They began praying every night for her and her family to know Him. The girls couldn’t bear the thought of not playing with their dear friend in heaven.
“You also would be different today if you knew God,” Auntie said. “If you had faith and went to church, you could teach your children to be kind to other kids and not be mean like those kids at your school. I want you to come to church with me.”
Ee-un felt sad. She had looked forward to going with Saleng. She had thought that God had answered her prayer. But she was not discouraged. She decided to keep on praying and to keep on inviting her classmates.
The boy saw the startled expression on his teacher’s face. He knew that his answer did not come from the textbook. He had read the textbook. But he also had read the Bible at an afterschool program at the Seventh-day Adventist church. He believed that the Bible was more correct than his textbook.
Now Anar didn’t walk and talk like the other boys and girls at the school. For him, it was difficult to put one foot in front of the other. He has cerebral palsy. Part of his brain didn’t grow normally while he was still a baby inside his mother. As a result, when he walked, he sometimes stumbled. He also didn’t talk as quickly as his classmates.
He bent over on the bench, one hand clutching his stomach, which hurt. He closed his eyes and prayed, “Our dear Lord, thank You for always being with me. Thank You for always hearing me. Please hear me now. Help me to have friends who don’t tease me. Help me to have friends who are a good influence. Amen.”
She told Mom, and Mom spoke with the school principal. A security camera in Ninjin’s classroom had recorded the whole thing. Ninjin watched the video recording. It showed Ninjin leaving the classroom to go to the restroom. It showed several girls rubbing glue all over her chair. Ninjin could see their faces.
She remembered how her best friend had asked her to get baptized. She wondered, “Am I getting baptized because Enkhjin asked me?” She remembered how her cousin had asked her to get baptized. She wondered, “Am I getting baptized because the other Enkhjin asked me?”She remembered how Mom had suggested that she wait.
He didn’t know when he would be able to go home, but he believed that God would heal him. He decided to keep praying. When he woke up the next day, he immediately prayed, “God please heal me quickly. I want to start walking on my own.