The Leaky Roof

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randmother Brigitte loves her house in Germany.

Her parents built the house before she was born. It was a small house with one kitchen, one big bedroom, and one very small bedroom.

When Grandmother Brigitte was little, she slept in the small bedroom, and her parents slept in the big one.

When she grew up and married, she and her husband didn’t have enough money to buy their own house. So, they stayed in the big bedroom, and her parents moved into the small bedroom.

Then, Brigitte became a mother with two children. Now there were four people in the big bedroom. Her parents, now grandparents, still lived in the small bedroom.

There was barely enough space for everyone to fit inside the little house! Three years passed. Everyone thought it was time to build a bigger house.

So, two more bedrooms were added to the house. The little house became a larger house.

Even though the house was bigger, the rooms quickly filled up. Two more children were born.

As the children grew older, the family needed more space. So, they removed the roof from the house and built a comfortable loft where the children could sleep in the space between the ceiling and the new roof. Everyone liked the new roof. The builders promised that the roof would last for many, many years.

Twenty years passed. The four children grew up and moved into their own homes. Brigitte grew older and became a grandmother. The house grew old and needed a new roof. The hot sun caused cracks to form in the roof. When it rained or snowed, water leaked into the house.

Grandmother Brigitte desperately needed a new roof. She found out that a new roof would cost a lot of money.

Around that time, Grandmother Brigitte heard about a wonderful mission project at church. Money was being collected to tell people in another country that Jesus is coming soon.

Grandmother Brigitte wanted to give money to the mission project. But, she thought, I can’t give any money because I need a new roof.

Still, Grandmother Brigitte wanted to give money to the mission project. She thought, God will give me a new roof even if I give my money to the mission project.

She gave her money to the mission project.

A few days later, a letter arrived from the German government. Because Grandmother Brigitte had retired and no longer worked, the government sent money every month to help her buy food and other important things. But this was an unexpected letter.

Grandmother Brigitte opened the letter and read, “We just found out that we have to give you this additional payment.” Inside the letter was the exact amount of money that she needed for the new roof!

Grandmother Brigitte was so happy. She loved her house in Germany, and now she could live in it for many more years.

“The money was a great miracle,” Grandmother Brigitte said. “I thank God for it.” 

Thank you for your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that went for a mission project in Grandmother Brigitte’s homeland of Germany in 2020. Germany has sent many Seventh-day Adventist missionaries around the world. The offering will help them send even more by renovating an Adventist academy where missionaries are trained.