Praying to Go to School

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, September 21.

By Andrew McChesney

D

o you like going to school? Keya loved her school so much on the island of Dominica that she prayed and prayed to go to school after a terrible hurricane.

Keya didn’t always go to Ebenezer Seventh-day Adventist Primary School. For first grade, she was homeschooled by Mother. So, she was overjoyed when she heard that she would enter second grade in a real school.

“I’m going to a real school!” she exclaimed with joy.

Keya woke up very early on the first day of classes. She could barely contain her excitement, and she was grinning from ear to ear.

Nothing changed after that. Every day, she woke up, excited to go to school.

When summer came, she couldn’t wait to return to school to start third grade in the fall. When she finished third grade, she couldn’t wait to start fourth grade. She loved her school!

But something bad happened just a few days before school opened for fourth grade. A huge hurricane roared over the tiny island. The fierce winds destroyed streets. The fierce winds damaged bridges. The fierce winds ruined buildings. The fierce winds ripped the roof right off Keya’s school. Without a roof, water flooded the school, and desks and chairs were ruined. The school wasn’t safe for children, and it couldn’t open for classes. Making matters worse, no one knew when the school would be repaired.

Keya was very sad. She prayed, “Heavenly Father, You know all our problems, and we need a new school. Please allow us to get a new school.”

She prayed every night. Her classmates also prayed. The school’s teachers prayed.

Six weeks passed. Keya grew tired of sitting at home. She couldn’t go out because it wasn’t safe. Workers were trying to repair the streets, bridges, and buildings ruined by the hurricane. It seemed like everyone on the island was stuck at home.

Keya kept praying, “Heavenly Father, You know all our problems, and we need a new school. Please allow us to get a new school.”

Then, one afternoon, Father told Keya, “You can go to school.”

The public school had agreed to allow the children from the Adventist school to meet in its classrooms in the afternoons.

Keya was so happy! She would finally be able to leave the house. She would finally be able to see her friends again. She didn’t wait to go to bed to sleep to thank God.

“Thank You, God! Thank You, God!” she prayed.

On the first day at the borrowed school, Keya’s friends ran over to hug her. It was so nice!

The children studied at the public school for six months. Then the roof was finally repaired at the Adventist school, and they could move back. Keya was so happy!

Today, Keya has a new prayer. Like her, many children want to study at the Adventist school, but there isn’t enough room for them all. She is praying for God to help the school move to a bigger building.

She is praying, “Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that You will give us funds for a new school building. I thank You for everything that You give to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Keya knows that God hears her prayers, just like He did after the terrible hurricane. Her father, who is an architect, has designed a bigger school building, and part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help cover the cost of constructing it in Dominica’s capital, Roseau. Thank you for planning a generous offering next week.