“You are going to do what?” demanded Mitalyn’s husband.

“I’m going to become an Adventist,” she said as firmly as she could. Mitalyn knew that her husband, her neighbors, and almost everyone she knew would object to her decision. But she couldn’t wait any longer.

Mitalyn had grown up believing that Adventists were bad people who held false beliefs. Then her sister married an Adventist man. Mitalyn wondered who Adventists really were. So when her sister invited her to attend the evangelistic meetings, she agreed to go.

She heard only the final message of the series, but that message convinced her that this was the truth. She tried to get the message out of her mind, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Mitalyn couldn’t read, so she couldn’t prove or disprove what the pastor had said. But she sensed that the Holy Spirit was speaking to her.

The conviction was so strong that finally she gave in. When she told her husband that she wanted to become an Adventist, he was furious. He raised pigs, and it was Mitalyn’s job to feed them. He refused to allow her to attend the church on Sabbath, so she slipped away to attend midweek prayer meetings instead.

Then one day as she and her husband were talking about her desire to keep the Sabbath, Mitalyn saw a bright light and the words, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Although she had never learned to read, she knew what these words meant. “Enough,” she said, “I will become an Adventist.”

Mitalyn faced opposition from her family and her friends. Often she prayed, “Show me the way.”

Then one day several of her husband’s pigs escaped from the pen and were killed by dogs. The pigs that didn’t escape began dying in the pen. “God,” she prayed, “If You are behind this, save one pig from death.” Just one pig survived. When her husband learned what had happened to his pigs, he not only agreed to let Mitalyn worship on Sabbath; he began attending church with her.

Mitalyn and 8 of her 10 children have become Adventists. Her husband continues attending church with the family. Mitalyn has shared her faith in her home village; and several people, including a Protestant pastor, have become Adventists.

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Mitalyn Chura shares her faith on the island of Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
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