The Seed Planters

Aaron and Alan are twins. They live in Bangalore, in central India. They are seed planters; they plant seeds of faith in the hearts of their teachers and classmates.

Aaron and Alan are twins. They live in Bangalore, in central India. They are seed planters; they plant seeds of faith in the hearts of their teachers and classmates. Seed planting comes naturally to the boys, for they see their parents sharing their faith all the time. 

The brothers attend a Christian school, but it’s not Adventist. They are always looking for opportunities to share God’s love with fellow students and even their teachers.

Sabbath Classes

“Sometimes when a holiday falls during the week, the school makes it up by holding classes on Saturday,” Alan says. “We are new in the school, so our teachers don’t know yet that we’re Adventists. They don’t know what Adventists believe. 

“The first time we missed a class on a Saturday, our teacher asked us the next Monday why we weren’t in school on Saturday. We explained that we’re Adventists and worship God on His true Sabbath. The teacher accepted our reason, but we thought that maybe she didn’t really understand. So we began praying for a way to tell her more about what Adventists believe.”

The Hidden Paper

Aaron and Alan play the piano and violin. A few weeks later their teacher asked them to be in charge of music for an all-school worship. She asked them to choose some songs from the hymnbook that they could play for song service. The brothers chose songs that they felt would bless everyone in the Christian school. 

“We printed a page of information on the Sabbath and on Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and slipped it into the hymnbook,” Aaron said. “We wanted our teacher to find it when she opened the hymnbook. We took the hymnbook to her the next morning. During the day we prayed that she would find the piece of paper and read it. After school that day we returned to our teacher’s class to pick up the hymnbook.” 

Alan went to the teacher to get the hymnbook and noticed that the paper was still inside. Disappointed, he wondered whether the teacher had even seen the paper. But as he walked toward the door, the teacher called him back. “May I have the paper in the hymn book?” she asked. Alan smiled broadly and gave her the paper. 

Aaron was waiting outside the room, praying while Alan went in to get the hymnbook. Alan came out wearing a big smile on his face. The brothers rejoiced that the teacher was interested to know more about the Sabbath and Seventh-day Adventists. 

Stand for the Sabbath

Recently an exam was scheduled for Sabbath, and Aaron and Alan didn’t go to school to take the test. The next Monday the school director called the brothers into her office to ask why they hadn’t been in class to take the exam. Aaron and Alan explained the Sabbath to her and told her that they never attend school on Saturdays, no matter what the reason. 

The director thought for a moment and then asked, “What if the national exam comes on a Saturday? Will you come to take the exam then?”

“No, ma’am,” the brothers said in unison. “We won’t take the exam if it falls on Sabbath, even if it means we miss an entire year of school!”

“And what if someday your employer tells you that you must work on Saturdays? Will you obey?” she asked

Again the brothers said no. “We’d just look for another job,” Alan said. “God honors those who honor Him, and He will help us find a job if we refuse to dishonor His Sabbath.” 

“Our Sabbath is that important to us,” Aaron added.

After the brothers missed the exam on Sabbath, one of their classmates asked why they hadn’t been in class. Alan explained the Sabbath from Genesis to the New Testament. “It was a casual conversation,” Alan says, smiling. “I was just planting some seeds of faith.”

Alan and Aaron are dropping seeds of faith along their pathway every day. We can do that too just by being kind and telling others that Jesus loves them. We can share our faith by giving our mission offering every week in Sabbath School too.