Shining Lights

Abilasha comes from a Hindu family living in the northwest area of Sri Lanka. Her family didn’t like Christians, and tried not to be around them. Abilasha’s father liked alcoholic drinks, which made life at home and school very difficult. Because of this, Abilasha begged her mother to let her go to school somewhere else.

Abilasha had an uncle who was a Seventh-day Adventist and he would sometimes visit the family. Each time he came, he talked about an Adventist school called Lakpahana (“Light of Sri Lanka”). He explained what a good school it was, and described its beautiful rural setting on a coconut plantation.

After hearing about Lakpahana many times, Abilasha’s mother decided that Abilasha should go to school there, even though their family didn’t like Christians or the God that the Christians worshiped. So Abilasha made the journey from her home in Puttalam on the northwest coast, to the center of the country, where the school is located.

A Change of Scenery

Once she arrived on campus, Abilasha loved the beautiful and peaceful setting of Lakpahana. There where she was introduced to the God of heaven and began to experience His love. She went to the worship services and became more interested in knowing God. Then she began to study the Bible for herself. She especially liked Psalm 23 and Psalm 115, which often help her when she is having problems.

Abilasha also likes to pray and prays for her family. She was especially happy to learn that her father is doing much better now. She is thankful to the Lord that she is getting good grades in school, and she hopes to one day become a doctor.

Abilasha enjoys helping with a branch Sabbath School near her school, and especially likes telling Bible stories to the children and teaching them songs about Jesus and His love. She’s been helping at the branch Sabbath School for a year, and is looking forward to continuing.

Branching Out

One of the teachers at Lakpahana, Teacher Manjula, also helps at the branch Sabbath School. One day she noticed that in a nearby village the people seemed lonely and worried, and they felt that no one cared about them. She could see that they needed to learn about Jesus and so began holding a branch Sabbath School there. The group sang with the children and with whoever else came.

They noticed that a blind man was coming to their meetings. He enjoyed the songs so much, and two weeks after he started coming, he brought his mother to the meetings. He felt included in the singing and asked the branch Sabbath School team to record their music so he could listen and sing any time he wanted.

The Neighbor Children

Right in front of where they were holding this branch Sabbath School lived a family that was having problems. There was a lot of arguing and fighting in this family, and no one was happy, including the two children.

One day the two children saw that the branch Sabbath School was meeting right across from their house. At first the children watched from their window, then from their doorway, and then from their front porch. Finally, they felt comfortable enough to join the group. The children soaked up all of the songs and stories that were shared during the meetings in front of their house. They began to feel loved and safe and started smiling and singing with the other children.

Teacher Manjula and her team are certain that Jesus led them to start a branch Sabbath School right in front of this home. Happily, the boy and girl are now studying at Lakpahana because of this branch Sabbath School. Teacher Manjula encourages everyone to share God’s love with whomever He leads them to.