Home for a Boy

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, February 10.

By Andrew McChesney

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leven-year-old Sudip was frightened when Father suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the hospital in Nepal. What was wrong with Father? What would happen next?

The doctor carefully checked Father’s liver. It wasn’t working properly. The doctor carefully checked Father’s kidneys. They weren’t working properly. The doctor carefully checked Father’s lungs. They weren’t working properly. Then the doctor carefully checked Father’s heart. It wasn’t working properly.

“This is very bad,” the doctor said. “Father’s organs are failing because of his drinking.”

Father worked as a builder who built homes. But he also had drunk a lot of alcohol in his life. When he got off work, he drank. At home in the evening, he drank. Sometimes, when he woke up in the morning, he drank. Alcohol had poisoned his body, and he was in very bad shape.

Sudip wondered what would happen next. Mother also wondered what would happen next. Father was the only person who earned money in the family.

The doctor said he was doing all he could to help Father.

“We are doing the best that we can,” he said.

But the treatments didn’t help. Father’s liver stopped working. His kidneys stopped working. His lungs stopped working. Then his heart stopped working.

It was a very dark day for Sudip and Mother when Father died. Sudip cried and cried. Mother cried and cried.

Several days passed. Sudip stopped crying, but Mother kept on crying. She was worried about how she would feed Sudip. She was worried about who would pay for his school supplies and new clothes.

Sudip didn’t know how he could help Mother. He was only 11. So, he cried with her. There was nothing else he could do. Mother and son cried and cried.

Just when everything seemed hopeless, Mother heard about an orphanage where poor children could live and study. The orphanage was operated by Seventh-day Adventists from South Korea.

Mother had heard about Adventists many months earlier, and she had wanted to go to an Adventist church on Sabbath. But Father had forbidden her from going.

He had said to her, “My father was not a Christian, and my grandfather was not a Christian, and our ancestors were not Christians. We are not Christians. We worship our own god, and we will not go to a Christian church.”

But now Father was gone. The Adventist orphanage seemed like the only answer. Mother sent Sudip to the orphanage.

Two years have passed since Sudip arrived at the orphanage, and today he is a happy boy.

“I’m very happy because now I am growing up in a Christian orphanage,” he said. “I know who my Savior is, and I want to know more and more about Him. I want to become a pastor and serve the Lord for the rest of my life.”

Every day, Sudip prays and thanks God for His blessings.

Every Sabbath, Sudip goes to church. Mother also goes to church every Sabbath. But some of Father’s relatives are angry that Sudip and Mother are going to church. They are trying to persuade them to stop going to church.

“Please pray for my relatives,” Sudip said. “I hope and believe that one day they will come to God. Thank you for your prayers.”

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help establish a school where children like Sudip can study in Nepal. Thank you for planning a generous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering.