Fired for the Sabbath

By Aurora Carlos Justino

I grew up in Nampula, Mozambique’s third-largest city where 80 percent of the population is Muslim.

Image © Pacific Press

I didn’t feel comfortable with the faith of my mother, who got divorced when I was small. Something in my mind kept telling me that I should examine Christianity to find peace in my heart.

One day, I told my mother about my desire.

“Mommy, I want to be a Christian”, I told her.

My mother said, “If you want to be a Christian, don’t call me ‘Mommy’. anymore. You will no longer be my daughter”.

Her words frightened me. I stopped going to her place of worship. I didn’t go to any place of worship. I wanted to see how Mother would react.

When Mother saw that I wasn’t worshipping at all, she said, “Fine, you can go look for a Christian church”.

I was so happy! But I didn’t immediately start looking for a church because I was drinking and going to parties.

One day, a young man approached me on the street.

“Do you know that God loves you?” he said.

“Yes”, I said.

“You must leave all your sins”, he said.

Those words bothered me.

The man introduced himself as Armando and invited me to his church nearby.

After we parted ways, however, I couldn’t remember the name of the church. A month later, I looked around the neighborhood and learned that the only local church was Seventh-day Adventist. The pastor at the church, Eleuterio Marage, didn’t know Armando, but he offered me Bible studies. Three months later, I was baptized.

Life became difficult immediately. The restaurant where I worked scheduled me to work on Saturday, and I thought, “If I don’t work on Sabbath, then I won’t have any work. If I don’t have a job, how will my mother and younger sister survive because I am the only one taking care of them?”

After wondering what to so for a month, I read Jesus’. promise in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV).

I quit my job.

My mother was upset initially, but God has provided. One of my three older brothers has stepped in to support my mother and sister.

But what has impressed me the most is how drastically my thinking has changed. I have a peace that I never had before. I thank my Lord for changing my life. I am now 22, and I haven’t been able to find a full-time job. But by God’s grace I have led four people to baptism over the past year.

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

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