“Deep and Wide”

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, November 2.

By Andrew McChesney

F

aith was only 3 years old, but she knew what she liked to do more than anything else in the whole world.

She liked to go to “Deep and Wide.”

When she walked with Mother, they sometimes passed “Deep and Wide” on the street in their village of Savoonga in Alaska.

“Look,” Mother would say. “We are passing ‘Deep and Wide.’”

Faith would get so excited and begin to sing, “Deep and wide, deep and wide!” As she sang, she lowered her hands to show how deep was deep. Then stretched out her arms to show how wide was wide. She loved “Deep and Wide.”

On Friday nights, Faith couldn’t wait to go to bed so she could get up in the morning and go to “Deep and Wide.”

She knew it was time for bed when Mother said, “Daytime is to be awake, nighttime is for sleeping.”

Then Grandfather would say good night. “See you guys in the morning,” he would say. “Maybe I’ll make some pancakes.” Faith would smile with delight. Grandfather’s pancakes were her favorite breakfast.

She would snuggle in bed at 10 o’clock at night. It was a little difficult to fall sleep because her older sister was still up and wouldn’t go to bed until midnight. Many people go to bed quite late in Savoonga, and they also get up quite late in the morning.

Usually, Faith woke up at 9 o’clock on Sabbath mornings, and she would run to the kitchen to see if Grandfather was making pancakes. He always was!

Faith would put plates on the table for breakfast. Grandfather would say, “Get the maple syrup and butter ready, too.”

Then she would sit down with him and Grandmother to pray. First, they all would pray out loud together, saying, “God is good, God is great.” Then Grandfather would pray for the food. “Let us have health, strength, and self-humility,” he would say.

Faith loved taking the first, big bite of pancake. It was so good! Grandfather made pancakes with love, and they tasted magical.

Faith needed to be at “Deep and Wide” by 2 o’clock in the afternoon. That was when it started. It started in the afternoon because many kids and parents went to bed late at night and got up late in the morning.

As 2 p.m. drew near, Faith would climb onto Mother’s four-wheeler. Everyone walked or drove on four-wheelers in the village. On Sabbaths, Faith and Mother drove to “Deep and Wide.”

When they arrived, Faith was welcomed by a friendly woman who was not an Alaska Native like her and her family. Faith and everyone else called the woman by her first name, Elouise. She had moved to the village from far-away North Carolina to teach at “Deep and Wide” every Sabbath.

“Deep and Wide” began with singing. Elouise would lead Faith and the other children in singing songs about Jesus. But Faith always waited for one song in particular. Then it would happen. Elouise would say, “Next, we’re going to sing ‘Deep and Wide.’”

Faith would clap her hands with joy! Then she would sing with all her heart. She would lower her hands to show how deep was deep. She would stretch out her arms to show how wide was wide. She loved “Deep and Wide.”

After that, Elouise would pray and tell the children a Bible story. After the story, the children would do fun crafts, and Eloise would bring out a snack of apples or oranges. Eloise loved apples and oranges. They were a special treat because the fruit didn’t grow anywhere nearby and had to be flown into the village from far away.

After about an hour, “Deep and Wide” would finish, and it would be time for Faith to go home.

“Did you like Sabbath School?” Mother always asked as she took Faith by the hand.

Faith always nodded her head happily.

“I love ‘Deep and Wide’!” she said.

Today, Faith is 16 years old, and she has never lost her love for Sabbath School. It was in Sabbath School that she learned her favorite song, “Deep and Wide.” It was in Sabbath School that she learned about her Best Friend, Jesus. Not long ago, she gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized in “Deep and Wide,” the Seventh-day Adventist church in Savoonga.

Thank you for your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter that will help to share God’s “Deep and Wide” love in Alaska. Part of the offering will go to a project at the Seventh-day Adventist church in Bethel, Alaska.