Inside Story for Friday 2nd of January 2026

By Vania Chew

An Australian woman took a second look at Thirteenth Sabbath mission projects when her church encouraged members to give more than whatever they had in their pockets on the last Sabbath of each quarter.

Image © Pacific Press

Marilene Stevenson remembered a time when church members baked cakes and grew vegetables and sold them to raise money for Sabbath School investment projects. She wondered if she could do something similar and give the money to the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, also known as the Quarterly Mission Project Offering.

Marilene didn’t have the time, or inclination, to bake cakes and grow vege­tables. However, she had started using a throat spray that she found helpful and had been recommending to others. When other people expressed interest in the spray, Marilene came up with the idea of buying it wholesale and reselling it. Any profit would go directly to the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering.

That first investment in throat spray spurred Marilene to seek more ways to raise money for mission.

“It really began with me buying stuff that I wanted,” she said. “But it turns out that the things that I like to buy are the things that other people want to buy, too; they just don’t have the time to go and buy them!”

Working with local farms and factories, Marilene was able to purchase healthy products at wholesale cost and sell them to family and friends at a cheaper rate than retail. She has sold exotic fruits, fresh tofu, and specialty vegan items over the years. She also has made floral arrangements and sold them for special occasions such as Mother’s Day.

“It gives me a real buzz,” she said. “I’m helping the people who I am selling to and, at the same time, raising money for a good cause.”

Since she began investing, Marilene has raised 300 to 600 Australian dollars (US$200 to $400) each quarter for Thirteenth Sabbath mission projects.

She encourages all church members to give generously to Thirteenth Sabbath projects, even if it requires an investment to give a little more.

“I hope that it will inspire others to do something more than just a token offering like I was doing,” she said. “God has truly blessed me with firsthand experience of His great faithfulness. How can I not want to share that?”

This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath mission projects are in the South Pacific Division, whose territory includes Marilene’s home country of Australia. Thank you for planning a generous offering on March 28.

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