Unexpected Education

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, January 13.

By Andrew McChesney

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bhishek was 3 years old when his parents began looking for a school for him in central India.

Father asked friends for a recommendation for a good school that didn’t cost too much. Mother asked neighbors for ideas about a school for Abhishek. The parents were poor, but they were determined that their son would get a good education.

Someone suggested a Seventh-day Adventist school that was located near their home.

Father and Mother didn’t wait.

The next day, they came searching for the school.

It was a Saturday, and they expected to find the school open.

“Please take us to the school principal,” Father asked a guard standing at the school’s gate.

The guard guided Father and Mother to a church located on the same compound as the school.

Father and Mother were surprised to see people worshipping inside the church. They realized that the school was closed. But they didn’t want to leave.

Father and Mother went inside the church and sat down and waited.

The Sabbath worship service was in progress. There are many languages in India. But the church service was in their native tongue, and they understood everything that was said.

Soon came the time for the sermon, and the pastor stood up to speak. He preached about the Sabbath.

Father and Mother were surprised a second time. They were Christians, but they had never heard that the Bible teaches that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath. Suddenly, they understood why the school was closed on Saturday. The school kept the biblical teaching not to work on the seventh day of the week. Father and Mother wanted to know more. After the worship service, they asked the pastor to teach them what the Bible says about the Sabbath. The pastor invited the couple to Bible studies.

As Father and Mother studied the Bible with the pastor, Abhishek entered kindergarten at the school. He also studied the Bible in kindergarten. Every day, teachers told stories from the Bible. Abhishek especially liked the story of David and Goliath. He liked how a small boy defeated a giant with a single stone because the boy came in God’s name. David said, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45, NKJV).

Even though he was a small boy, Abhishek decided that he always wanted to go in the name of the Lord of hosts. Even though he was small, he knew that God would make him strong and give him victory over every giant in life.

As Abhishek and his parents learned from the Bible, life began to change in their home. The family started to keep the Sabbath. Then Father and Mother gave their hearts to Jesus.

As Abhishek grew older, he became involved in church activities. He was like the prophet Samuel as a child, happy to do whatever he was told for the church. He helped the deacons with their work, placing songbooks on the benches and overseeing the microphones.

Today, the family is established in their faith and growing in the Lord. Abhishek is 19 and a university student.

“I want to spread the gospel of Jesus and tell people that Jesus is coming soon,” he said.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help construct a high school at Abhishek’s school in Aurangabad, India. Thank you for planning a generous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on March 30.