Better Than Toys

By Andrew McChesney

Several friends gathered around Mariah at school on Monday.

“What are you doing after school?” one asked.

Image © Pacific Press

“Can we come over to your house to play?” said another.

Mariah shook her head. “I have so much to do today,” she said

Nine-year-old Mariah was a busy girl in Pond Inlet, a small town located on an isolated island in the Canadian Arctic. Every weekday she went to school and did her homework. She also helped her parents around the house. On Sabbath, her family read the Bible and watched online sermons at home.

But Mariah’s friends really wanted to play with her. On Tuesday, the children gathered around her again, and on Thursday and Friday.

“But when can we come over to your house to play?” a friend asked.

“How about Saturday?” said another. “You must have time on Saturday.”

Mariah’s eyes lit up. She did have free time on Saturday. “You can come over to my house and join our Bible study on Saturday,” she said.

Her friends looked confused. They had never read the Bible. But they wanted to spend time with Mariah, so they agreed to come over on Saturday.

On Sabbath, a few friends showed up at Mariah’s house. As Mariah read from the Bible, they looked confused. They had never heard about the God of the Bible. They again looked confused with Father turned on an online sermon. They had never heard a sermon, and they did not understand the Adventist preacher. Afterward, they asked Mariah to explain.

“What did he mean when he said that?” one asked.

“Or what about when he spoke about that?” said another.

Mariah tried to explain the sermon and to simplify it. When she finished, her friends seemed to understand what she was attempting to say.

At school on Monday, several classmates asked Mariah’s friends what they had done at Mariah’s house on Saturday. “We read about God in the Bible,” answered one. “And we watched an interesting sermon,” said another.

The classmates also had never read the Bible or watched a sermon, and they wanted to know more. Mariah’s friends explained what they had learned. Mariah smiled as she listened. She felt good. This was better than playing with toys. She would welcome her classmates into her home every Sabbath.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a church and community services center to share God in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where Mariah lives. Thank you for planning a generous offering.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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