Songs and Soap

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, November 11.

By Andrew McChesney

I

t was a very special Sabbath in the African country of Cameroon.

Actually, it was a very special Sabbath all around the world. You see, it was the third Sabbath of May. Do you know what is so special about the third Sabbath of May? The third Sabbath of May is World Adventurer Day — a day when Adventurers around the world celebrate being Adventurers.

What does it mean to be an Adventurer?

Ketsia and the other Adventurers in her club spent some time thinking about that question.

“What does it mean to be an Adventurer?” they wondered. “Does it mean reading and memorizing the Bible? Does it mean earning honors? Does it mean gathering for fun activities?”

They agreed that those were all important things. But there was something even more important. They decided that being an Adventurer means helping others. It means helping people in need, just as Jesus would do if He were walking on earth today. It means being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Ketsia and her friends decided to celebrate World Adventurer Day by visiting children who didn’t have any parents. Those children were orphans.

On Sabbath afternoon, Ketsia and 14 other Adventurers went with a grown-up Master Guide to the orphanage where 20 orphans lived. The orphans knew that the Adventurers were coming, and they eagerly met them in a big room of the orphanage.

The Adventurers stood on one side of the room and introduced themselves to the orphans. When Ketsia’s turn came, she smiled and said, “My name is Ketsia, and I’m 9 years old. I’m a Seventh-day Adventist and an Adventurer.” The youngest Adventurer was 7 years old, and the oldest was 11. They all said that they were Adventists and Adventurers.

Then the orphans introduced themselves. The youngest child was 3, and the oldest was 18. None of them were Adventists or Adventurers. But they were curious to know more about Adventists and Adventurers.

When the introductions were over, the Master Guide motioned for the Adventurers to stand together.

“We are going to sing some songs,” he said.

Ketsia and the other Adventurers enthusiastically sang about Jesus. They clapped their hands with some songs and made motions with their hands with others.

When the Adventurers finished singing a dozen songs, the orphans asked them to sing them again. They had liked what they had seen and heard.

The Adventurers sang the songs again, and the orphans listened with bright smiles.

Then the Master Guide preached a short sermon. He told the orphans that even though they didn’t have any parents, they had a heavenly Father who was always ready to help them. He finished the sermon by praying for the orphans.

Then came the moment that Ketsia had been waiting for. It was time to pass out gifts. Ketsia and the other Adventurers had brought square bars of brown soap to give to the orphans. The soap was good for taking baths and washing clothes. The orphans didn’t have their own soap, and they sometimes had to take baths and wash clothes without any at all.

Ketsia handed two square bars of brown soap to a 6-year-old girl. The little orphan smiled broadly. She was so happy!

“Thank you!” she exclaimed as she accepted the gift.

When Ketsia saw the girl’s smile and heard her gratitude, she also felt happy. She was happy that she and the other Adventurers had been able to share songs and soap with the orphans.

After the visit, the Master Guide took the Adventurers to their homes.

“It was an amazing Sabbath,” Ketsia said. “My wish is to have that experience of helping people in need again.”

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a Seventh-day Adventist school in Ketsia’s home country of Cameroon where children will learn to help others just like Jesus. Thank you for planning a generous offering next month.