09/01/2024
This mission story from India is for Sabbath, January 13.
Unexpected Education
By Andrew McChesney
Abhishek was 3 years old when his parents began looking for a school for him in central India.
Father asked friends for a recommendation for a good school that didn’t cost too much. Mother asked neighbors for ideas about a school for Abhishek. The parents were poor, but they were determined that their son would get a good education.
Someone suggested a Seventh-day Adventist school that was located near their home.
Father and Mother didn’t wait.
The next day, they came searching for the school.
It was a Saturday, and they expected to find the school open.
“Please take us to the school principal,” Father asked a guard standing at the school’s gate.
The guard guided Father and Mother to a church located on the same compound as the school.
Father and Mother were surprised to see people worshipping inside the church. They realized that the school was closed. But they didn’t want to leave.
Father and Mother went inside the church and sat down and waited.
The Sabbath worship service was in progress. There are many languages in India. But the church service was in their native tongue, and they understood everything that was said.
Soon came the time for the sermon, and the pastor stood up to speak. He preached about the Sabbath.
Father and Mother were surprised a second time. They were Christians, but they had never heard that the Bible teaches that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath. Suddenly, they understood why the school was closed on Saturday. The school kept the biblical teaching not to work on the seventh day of the week. Father and Mother wanted to know more. After the worship service, they asked the pastor to teach them what the Bible says about the Sabbath. The pastor invited the couple to Bible studies.
As Father and Mother studied the Bible with the pastor, Abhishek entered kindergarten at the school. He also studied the Bible in kindergarten