Amazing Alaskan Adventure

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, December 28.

By Andrew McChesney

M

atrona was excited about the big Sabbath adventure. She was going to travel by boat from her home in Bethel, Alaska, to an Alaska Native village where she would help to give a special Sabbath presentation to children. She was sure that it was going to be an especially fun Sabbath.

The rain was falling when Matrona boarded the motorboat with her mother and four friends from the Seventh-day Adventist church in Bethel. It was 9 o’clock in the morning, and they planned to arrive three hours later at the village on the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta.

But things didn’t go according to plan. After only 30 minutes, the boat got stuck on a sandbar in the middle of an enormous river.

Matrona and the others did everything that they could to get the boat unstuck from the sandbar. They got out of the boat and, standing on the sandbar, tried to push it back into the water. The boat remained stuck. They tried to pull the boat into the water. The boat remained stuck. They got back into the boat and swayed back and forth, hoping to shake the boat loose from the sandbar. The boat remained stuck. It was like they were on a tiny island, and they couldn’t get off it.

An hour passed.

Matrona and the others sang some songs. Surrounded by the huge river, no one could hear them for miles and miles. So, they sang songs like “In His Time” and “Over the Sea” at the top of their lungs.

When Matrona got tired of singing, she took selfies and photos of the boat and their surroundings with Mother’s cellphone.

Two hours passed.

Matrona started to feel hungry. She and the others ate sandwiches that they had packed for the trip. Matrona enjoyed mock tuna sandwiches made of chickpeas and onions on wholewheat bread. For dessert, she ate bread smeared with pink fireweed jelly. Fireweed jelly is made from pink Fireweed flowers and has an unusual flavor. It is sweet and sour, flowery and fruity. It tastes kind of like a mixture of strawberries and apricots.

After eating, Matrona began to feel a little discouraged. Their group had received special permission from the local Alaska Native authorities to give the children’s program at the village’s meeting house. It had been a long and complicated process. But now they were stuck on the sandbar and going nowhere.

“We went through all of that, and now we can’t go,” Matrona said to Mother.

Mother took her cellphone and called the woman at the village who had helped organize the visit.

“We are stuck on a sandbar,” she said.

“I hate it when that happens,” the woman replied.

The woman said they could still do the children’s program if they arrived by 5 p.m. After that, the children would be busy doing something else.

By now, three hours had passed since Matrona had left Bethel on the boat. The tide was coming in, and the water rose and rose. Suddenly, the boat broke free from the sandbar. It could move again!

Matrona listened as the grown-ups talked about what to do next. It would take two more hours to travel to the village. Matrona wondered if it was worth it. The grown-ups said they were willing to go.

“Let’s see what happens,” one said. “It’s worth trying.”

The boat arrived at the village exactly at 5 p.m.

Matrona and the others went to the meeting house to set up for the children’s program. Then they announced over the village loudspeaker that the children could come to the program.

“We are here for the advertised program,” Mother said over the loudspeaker. “We are sorry for being late. The program will last for one hour. Please come!”

More than 50 children flocked to the meeting house, and the building was completely full.

Matrona and the other visitors introduced themselves to the children. Then everyone sang happy songs about Jesus. Matrona operated a projector that put the words for the songs on a screen so the kids could follow along. After that, Mother told a short story about Jesus, and the kids did some fun crafts with modeling clay and puppets. Finally, Matrona helped pass out snacks. The kids were so excited to eat fresh fruit: red apples, green kiwis, yellow peaches, orange oranges, and purple grapes. Fruit does not grow anywhere near the village, so it was a special treat.

After the children’s program ended, Matrona climbed back into the boat. She was tired but very happy. It had been a big Sabbath adventure — and she couldn’t wait to do it again.

Part of your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering today will help share God’s love through Matrona’s church in Bethel, Alaska. Your offering also will help two other projects — in St. Louis, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland — in the North American Division. Thank you for giving a generous offering.