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Mission
YOUTH & ADULT
2019 • QUARTER 1 • SOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN DIVISION
AdventistMission.org
Contents
O n the Cover: Eight-year-old Lethabo Masienyne convinced his mother to go to church on
Sabbath after attending an Adventist school in Botswana. Read story, page 6.
BOTSWANA 20 Falling for Jesus | March 2
4 Pulled Over by Helicopter | Jan. 5 22 Trouble With Pork | March 9
6 “Mommy, Please Go” | Jan. 12 24 Friendship Is the Secret | March 16
MOZAMBIQUE ANGOLA
8 Out of Darkness | Jan. 19 26 Saving Angola | March 23
10 Finding a Sabbath Church | Jan. 26
ZIMBABWE
12 Armed With the Bible | Feb. 2
28 Thirteenth Sabbath: Casting Out Demons
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | March 30
14 Worrisome Dreams | Feb. 9 35 Future Thirteenth Sabbath Projects
16 Man With Three Wives | Feb. 16 35 Leader’s Resources
18 Risking All for Sabbath | Feb. 23 36 Map
= stories of special interest to teens
Yo u r O f f e r i n g s a t W o r k
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
Three years ago, part of the Thirteenth
Sabbath Offering funded Eastern © 2019 General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists ® • All rights reserved
Gate Primary School in Francistown, 12501 Old Columbia Pike,
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6601
Botswana. See stories on pages 4-7. 1-800-648-5824 • AdventistMission.org
2
D e a r S a b b a t h S c h o o l L e a d e r, Andrew McChesney
Editor
This quarter we feature the Southern orphanage will be built from
Africa-Indian Ocean Division, which scratch, while Mozambique
oversees the Seventh-day Adventist Adventist University will receive funds
Church’s work in Angola, Botswana, to expand its most popular department,
Malawi, Mozambique, São Tomé food and nutrition. About 250 of the
and Príncipe, South Africa, Zambia, university’s 350 students are majoring in
Zimbabwe, and seven Indian Ocean island- food and nutrition, and I saw that the
nations, including Comoros, Madagascar, classrooms and laboratory are packed.
Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, Rodrigues, In São Tomé and Príncipe, I heard
and Seychelles. story after story about people struggling
The region is home to 193 million people, with alcohol and drug addictions, and the
including 3.7 million Adventists. That’s a planned alcohol and drug rehabilitation
ratio of one Adventist for 51 people. facility promises to be a much-needed
This quarter’s seven Thirteenth Sabbath “center of influence” in the capital city.
projects are in two Portuguese-speaking We have dozens of churches on the island,
countries on opposite sides of the continent: but many meet in crowded basements and
Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. rundown structures. Local church leaders
In Mozambique, the school and told me that a new church building is
needed to better reach to the middle class.
The children’s project is especially
Opportunities exciting. I met a boy who loves the Bible
and reads it with great interest every day
The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering
at school. With longing eyes, he told me
this quarter will assist two countries:
that he wished he had his own Bible to
MOZAMBIQUE read at home. We can make ownership of
• Expand food and nutrition department at a Bible a reality for thousands of children
Mozambique Adventist University, Beira
this quarter.
• Establish an orphanage for children who
lost parents to HIV/AIDS, Nampula Special Features
• Construct an elementary school, Milange This quarterly contains just a sample
of mission stories from the Southern
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
• Set up an alcohol and drug rehabilitation Africa-Indian Ocean Division. For more
center, São Tomé great stories, visit bit.ly/sid-archive. At
• Build a new church, São Tomé this link, you can also search for stories by
• Construct an auditorium for K-12 school, country and theme.
São Tomé If you have found especially effective
AdventistMission.org
ways to share mission stories, please let
Children’s Project: Portuguese Bibles
for children from needy families in me know at mcchesneya@gc.adventist.
Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe org. Thank you for encouraging others to
be mission minded!
3
Pulled Over by Helicopter
BOTSWANA | January 5
Ke n a o p e Ke n a o p e , 5 0
Botswana, a motorist stopped by the
police is supposed to approach the police
vehicle. Kenaope, wearing a suit and tie
after attending a church meeting, had
never been stopped by a helicopter, and
he wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to
walk over to it.
Two police officers alighted from the
helicopter, and they met Kenaope on a
patch of dry grass beside the road.
“Sir, we are stopping you,” one
officer said.
Kenaope didn’t know what to say. His
K enaope Kenaope, leader of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in
Botswana, didn’t give a second thought
mouth went dry. But he managed to force
out two words: “For what?”
“We’re stopping you because you are
to the police helicopter that buzzed speeding,” the officer said.
his car as he sped between the African
country’s two largest cities. Driving Too Fast
But the helicopter swung low a second The officer was speaking the truth.
time and roared past him. Kenaope had left Francistown in
Kenaope wondered whether the police northern Botswana to make the 270-
were in pursuit of a criminal, perhaps a mile (435-kilometer) drive south to the
man on foot whom he had seen walking capital, Gaborone, in the late afternoon.
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
along the highway a few minutes earlier. In Francistown, he had attended a key
Then the helicopter raced ahead of the church meeting about the opening of
car and slowly descended to the ground. the Adventist Church’s first elementary
Kenaope’s heart began to pound, and he school in northern Botswana. Eager
stepped on the brakes. to return home, he had set the car’s
The helicopter touched down near cruise control to 95 miles per hour (150
Kenaope’s stopped car, the thundering kilometers per hour)—a full 20 miles per
blades flinging a whirlwind of dust and hour (30 kilometers per hour) over the
grass over the vehicle. speed limit.
Moments later, the rotors stopped Kenaope handed his driver’s license
and Kenaope stepped out of his car. In to the police officers. He felt deep
4
forgiveness,” Kenaope said. “I noticed that
Stor y Tips this thing, forgiveness, which we take for
B OT S WA N A
granted, is very important. I got it from
Pronounce Kenaope as: ken-a-OH-pay the police, and I am asking God to help
Watch Kenaope Kenaope at the link: bit. me give it to other people.”
ly/Kenaope-Kenaope Being stopped by a police helicopter
Find photos for this story at the link: for speeding isn’t common in Botswana.
bit.ly/fb-mq But it is even more rare to be stopped
and forgiven.
Mission Post “Landing a helicopter and then letting
In 1962, the first Adventist school in me go was a waste of their time and
Botswana opened in the small village of energy,” said Kenaope, president of the
Ramokgoname, 40 miles (65 kilometers) Adventist Church’s Botswana Union
from Palapye. Conference. “For me, this is not easy
Botswana has 228 churches and to explain. Being forgiven was as big a
companies, and 44,554 members. With surprise as being stopped.”
a population of 2,226,000, there is one Kenaope, 50, recounted the 2017
Adventist for every 50 people in Botswana. incident while driving an Adventist
Mission writer on the Gaborone-
embarrassment. Cars stopped on both Francistown highway for a visit to Eastern
sides of the road, and their occupants Gate Primary School, a project funded by
strained to see what was happening. a Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2015.
Kenaope detected a flicker of recognition A police helicopter hovering overhead
cross the face of the second police triggered the memory.
officer. He knew Kenaope, perhaps from “Up to now, when I see a helicopter,
his occasional appearances on national I become nervous, check my speed, and
television or his popular seminars at a think, ‘I hope that it is not coming for
police academy. me,’” Kenaope said. “But then I remember
The first officer spoke. “Where are you sweet forgiveness—and I drive responsibly,
going?” he asked. so I don’t repeat the same mistake.”
“Gaborone,” Kenaope replied.
“Be careful,” the officer said and handed The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering
back the driver’s license. “You can go.” in fourth quarter 2015 helped open
Kenaope couldn’t believe his ears. the Eastern Gate Primary School in
The officer looked at Kenaope and then Francistown in January 2017, a full
glanced over at his car, covered with dirt year ahead of schedule. This is the first
and grass from the helicopter. “We’re sorry Adventist elementary school in northern
for making the car dirty,” he said. Botswana, giving the church a total of
three elementary schools and two high
AdventistMission.org
Sweet Forgiveness schools in the country. Thank you for your
Shame and relief washed over Kenaope. mission offering.
He was free.
“At that moment, I felt the value of By Andrew McChesney
5BOTSWANA | January 12
“Mommy,
Please Go”
Lethabo Masienyne, 8
B ig changes have been happening in
a Botswanan family’s home since the
mother sent her eight-year-old son to the
other students in Francistown, the second-
largest city in Botswana with a population
of about 90,000. After three years,
Seventh-day Adventist elementary school however, he was struggling with reading
in Francistown. and math, and his worried mother decided
The boy, Lethabo, now insists that his to enroll him at Eastern Gate Primary
parents pray before meals. He asks for School. She had heard about the school
prayer when he gets up in the morning and from a mother who planned to send her
when he goes to bed in the evening. He daughter there. In addition, she wanted
begs his mother to go with him to church her son to learn about God.
on Sabbath. “I was not raised in a Christian family,
The requests initially shocked his but I want to raise my kids in a Christian
mother, Gomolemo, who was not raised family,” she said. “A lot of events are
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
in a Christian home. But she couldn’t happening in the world. We need to
be happier. “I just want to thank God know God.”
for bringing me and my kids here,” she Because of his poor reading and math
said after Sabbath worship services at the skills, Lethabo was asked to repeat the
Eastern Gate Primary School, where her third grade at the Adventist school. His
son attends third grade. mother noticed a drastic improvement in
Her young daughter goes to the church’s his studies in just a few months.
Place of Love preschool up the street. “Now my son can do everything
How did the mother end up in church? alone,” she said. “He can read, and he’s
Lethabo completed the first three grades a star in math. Math and Bible are his
in a privately run home school with 10 favorite subjects.”
6you need to go to church so the pastor can
Stor y Tips pray for you to get well.”
B OT S WA N A
“Those words touched me,” his
Pronounce Lethabo as: le-TA-bo mother said.
Pronounce Gomolemo as: Finally, she agreed to go to church.
kho-mo-LE-MO But she didn’t feel well the next Sabbath
Watch Lethabo and Gomolemo at the morning, and a church worker came to
link: bit.ly/Gomolemo-Masienyne the house to pick up her children. Before
Find photos for this story at the link:
leaving, Lethabo turned to his mother.
bit.ly/fb-mq “Mommy, can you please go with us?”
he said. “Why are you staying behind? Just
Mission Post go. If you go, the pastor will pray for you,
and you will be healed.”
Kanye Adventist Hospital has 168 beds The words cut to his mother’s heart.
and provides medical care to 40,000
inpatients and 108,000 outpatients
“Next Saturday, we will be together,”
annually. Around 1,200 babies are born she promised. “I will go to church.”
in the hospital each year. That is how she ended up at the school
on Sabbath.
In 1984, Botswana Union Conference
divided into two conferences: the North “My son loves God. That is very good,”
Botswana Conference and the South she said. “I think God sent him to us to
Botswana Conference. show us the light.”
This Sabbath was the first day in four
months that she hadn’t experienced
morning sickness—an improvement not
lost on her son, who stood nearby as his
Lethabo especially loves the Bible. mother spoke.
Tears come to his eyes when he hears “Praying is very good,” he told her.
stories about Jesus in school. “You’re no longer vomiting.”
“This boy is very close to God,” his His mother smiled. “Thank you, my son,”
mother said. “Every morning, every she said. “I will keep coming to church.”
evening, every meal—we pray. He Part of a 2015 Thirteenth Sabbath
encourages us. Every Sabbath, he and his Offering funded the construction of Eastern
sister come to church. Sometimes I just Gate Primary School, the first Adventist
drop them off, and he says, ‘Mommy, you elementary school in northern Botswana.
know what? You need to come to church.” Thank you for your mission offerings that
His mother didn’t come to church, helped build the school—and brought a
so Lethabo decided to make it a matter little boy’s mother to church.
of prayer. For four months, his mother “I thank God to have this school,”
suffered severe morning sickness. Every the mother said. “I really wish God
AdventistMission.org
day, he told his schoolteacher, “You know, would provide them with everything
Teacher, my Mommy is not well. She is that they need.”
vomiting every day. Can we pray for her?”
At home, he told his mother, “Mommy, By Andrew McChesney
7MOZAMBIQUE | January 19
Out of
Darkness
A t i j a J a m a l Ca m i n e t e , 5 7
Adventist church in Nampula.
One Sabbath, she accepted his
invitation to go to church. Sabbath School
opened with the hymn, “When the Roll
Is Called Up Yonder,” and Atija listened,
transfixed, as a six-year-old girl standing
nearby sang in a clear, sweet voice.
A tija first heard about the Seventh-
day Adventist Church as an eight-
year-old girl visiting her grandmother
“I was touched when I heard her voice,
and I felt something happen to my heart,”
she said.
in a village some distance from her From that day, she decided to stay in
home in Nampula, a major city in the Adventist Church.
Mozambique where 80 percent of the In northern Mozambique, tradition
population is Muslim. requires consultations with family elders
A church elder stopped her as she before making major decisions, so Atija
walked by an Adventist church and went with her husband to visit her aunt,
invited her inside for a meal. After she Carmen. The aunt had raised her, and she
ate, the elder invited her to stay for also was a witch doctor.
a sermon. Atija still remembers the Aunt Carmen listened to Atija’s request
sermon vividly. The preacher spoke to become an Adventist and said, “Go
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
about Matthew 24 and described how talk about this with your mother.”
Jesus would raise the dead at His second Atija’s mother, a widow, told her, “I
coming. Atija’s young heart was touched. didn’t raise you. Go talk with your uncle.”
A month earlier, she had lost a four-year- Uncle Candido refused give his
old sister, Muanacha, to anemia. permission. He vowed never to visit her
“Listening to the preacher, I believed again if she were baptized.
that would be able to touch my dear sister The words frightened Atija, but she
again,” Atija said. went ahead with the baptism. She and her
Seven years passed and, at the age of 15, husband were baptized the same day. No
she married a man who had been raised in family members attended.
a Sunday-keeping home but attended an Atija, meanwhile, gave birth to a boy,
8Dionisio, and he fell seriously ill. Atija
refused to take him to her aunt or any Stor y Tips
other witch doctor for treatment.
Pronounce Atija as: a-TI-zha
Uncle Candido showed up at Atija’s
door one evening with a spear. Pronounce Nampula as: nam-POO-la
“I’m waiting for this child to die,” he Pronounce Muanacha as: mwon-ASHA
M O Z A M B I Q U E
said. “When this child dies, I’m going to
impale you in the neck.” Pronounce Candido as: can-DEED-o
Two days passed. The baby refused to eat Watch Atija at the link:
and grew weaker. Atija and her husband bit.ly/Atija-Caminete
tearfully prayed. On the third day, the baby Find photos for this story at the link:
began to nurse, and a hospital examination bit.ly/fb-mq
showed he would be fine.
The uncle went home with his spear. Mission Post
“We saw that the devil had been
defeated,” Atija said. “I believe that my A church publishing house, Casa
Publicadora do Indico, operates in
son was so sick that he would have died. Mozambique’s capital, Maputo.
But by God’s grace, he lived.”
In 1937, 1,500 people attended the first
The healing amazed one of Atija’s camp meeting. They were timid and
sisters, and she joined the Adventist suspicious but listened. However, when
church. A year later, Atija’s brother and Webster tried to take photographs, they
another sister were baptized. Then Atija’s fled into the bush. In 1939, the first
converts were baptized.
mother was baptized and, sometime later,
Aunt Carmen followed suit. “On the day
of her baptism, the pastor put her under
the water three times,” Atija said.
When the aunt emerged from the water themselves to Christ and are now church
the first time, she began screaming words members,” Atija said. “I praise the Lord
that no one could understand. The pastor because the same family who opposed me
and said I was wrong are now Seventh-
took one look at her and said, “Let’s
day Adventists.”
baptize her again.”
Today, Atija is 57 and an active
When she came up the second time,
pastor’s wife. Her husband, Lazaro,
she continued to scream the torrent of
completed ministerial studies and serves
incomprehensible words. The evil spirit
as a pastor in Nampula.
left after the third immersion, Atija said.
Aunt Carmen is now a church deaconess.
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
Uncle Candido, who had vowed never Sabbath Offering will help build an
to visit if Atija were baptized, entered orphanage for children who lost parents
AdventistMission.org
her home after his wife’s baptism. He to HIV/AIDS in Nampula. Thank you for
announced that he also wanted to be your mission offering.
baptized. He died a year after his baptism.
“My whole family has surrendered By Andrew McChesney
9Finding a Sabbath Church
MOZAMBIQUE | January 26
Ivaldo da Conceicao Nazare, 23
that they confess to him or risk being
ejected from the church.
“We must confess sins only to the
Lord,” the students replied.
The bishop banished the students from
the church.
The 30 students read in the Bible
that early Christians worshipped on
the seventh day, but they didn’t know
of anyone who kept the Sabbath in
Nampula. The group ended up splitting,
H igh school student Ivaldo had every with some students joining evangelical
intention of becoming a priest. churches and others converting to Islam.
He diligently studied the catechism Ivaldo’s parents had some influence with
and taught in his church in Nampula, their church, and their son was allowed to
Mozambique’s third-largest city with a return but not become a priest.
population of half a million. He prepared One Sunday, Ivaldo was speaking about
to move to the capital, Maputo, for his the Sabbath at church when a woman
training to be a priest. spoke up. “You know, there is a church that
But then he compared the catechism keeps the Sabbath in Nampula,” she said.
with the Bible as he prepared to teach Ivaldo excitedly called his 30 friends
about the Ten Commandments one to announce the news. Many of them,
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
Sunday. He saw that the Bible’s teachings however, were no longer interested.
were quite different. Only Ivaldo and three friends went to
He asked a priest to explain the Seventh-day Adventist church the
the discrepancies, but the priest next Sabbath.
couldn’t answer. Five months later, Ivaldo was baptized.
At his high school, Ivaldo formed a When he told his parents about his
social group of 30 students to count the decision, his mother said she already
differences between the Bible and the knew. “I noticed that your behavior has
church’s teachings. The students’ work changed a lot,” she said. “You started
alarmed the bishop, who declared that talking about the Bible all the time.”
their research was a sin and demanded Father was furious and threatened to
10said. “The neighbors even forbade their
Stor y Tips children from talking to me.”
He lived with his grandmother for
Pronounce Ivaldo as: ee-VALD-o
a year. Then Father sent a message
Pronounce Nampula as: nam-POO-la asking forgiveness and inviting him to
return home.
Watch Ivaldo at the link:
M O Z A M B I Q U E
bit.ly/Ivaldo-Nazare Father tried to help Ivaldo get into a
university, but classes were on Saturdays
Find photos for this story at the link: so Ivaldo wouldn’t go. The father arranged
bit.ly/fb-mq
a job with a government agency, but the
job interview fell on Sabbath.
Fa s t Fa c t s Father was angry. “I don’t understand
Mozambique has some of the world’s
what you want in life,” he said. “I’m trying
richest coral reefs. More than 1,200 to help you, but you are losing many
species of fish have been identified in the opportunities because of the Sabbath.
coastal waters of Mozambique. Don’t expect me to help you anymore.”
There are 147 airports in Mozambique, Ivaldo started working as a freelance
although only 22 have paved runways. journalist and used his income to put
himself through journalism school. He
worked for several radio and television
companies, but no one would hire him full
time because of the Sabbath.
disown him. “If you go to the Adventist But Ivaldo, now 23, is not despairing.
church next Sabbath, I will throw you and Through his influence, 10 young people
all your clothes out of the house,” he said. have joined the Adventist Church.
Ivaldo went to church the next In addition, three younger brothers
Sabbath, and Father ordered him out have started attending the church, and
of the house. His mother, however, his mother wants to join. Father has
convinced Father to back down. threatened divorce.
Still, Father refused to support Ivaldo in “I’m praying for my mother and hope that
any way, including with his high school fees. she will become an Adventist,” he said. “I’m
“I’m not going to spend any money praying that my father will at least allow the
on you anymore unless it is to buy your rest of the family to attend church.”
coffin,” he said.
Ivaldo received food from his mother, Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
and church members provided money for Offering will help build an orphanage for
school fees and other expenses. children who lost parents to HIV/AIDS in
AdventistMission.org
Seeing that Ivaldo was prospering, Ivaldo’s hometown, Nampula. Thank you
Father’s wrath grew. He told the neighbors for your mission offering.
that his son had HIV and other illnesses.
“People began to shun me,” Ivaldo By Andrew McChesney
11Armed With a Bible
MOZAMBIQUE | February 2
Moises Francisco Pelembe, 32
who kept a Bible on his bed. When Moises
woke up, he saw the Bible. When he went
to bed, he saw the Bible. This troubled
him. He had always thought that the
Bible was only for pastors and old people,
not for young people like him.
One day, Moises asked the soldier why
he had the Bible.
Moises joined Mozambique’s military
after flunking out of school. His “I’m a Christian,” the young man replied.
“Do you believe in God?” Moises said.
father hoped the military would stop him
from drinking alcohol and using drugs. The soldier confirmed that he did and
Not long after joining, Moises met a shared John 3:16, which says, “For God
so loved the world that He gave his only
Seventh-day Adventist named Alfredo in
begotten Son, that whoever believes
the military cafeteria. “I was impressed by
in Him should not perish but have
his lifestyle,” Moises said. “He took food
everlasting life” (NKJV).
from his plate and gave it to me.”
Moises asked to borrow the Bible. As
Alfredo paid careful attention to what he read, he began to believe in God. His
he ate, and he refused a popular fish
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
father was delighted with his son’s new
that he deemed unclean. Moises quickly faith and presented him with a Bible as
realized that Alfredo’s preferences meant a gift.
more food for him. When the military police training
“Every time they prepared this fish, I sat ended, Moises returned to his military
with him because I knew he would give it unit to work as a military police officer.
to me,” he said. “He was kind to me.” Back at the unit, a Sunday-keeping
After dining together for two weeks, soldier saw Moises reading the Bible and
Moises was transferred to another location said, “I know a group that studies the
for military police training. In the Bible at 6 p.m. every day. I can take you to
barracks, he was placed beside a soldier the group if you wish.”
12That evening, Moises accompanied
the soldier to the Bible study group but Stor y Tips
left confused. Seeing his confusion, the
Pronounce Moises as: moi-ZAY-ish
soldier said, “I know about another group
that meets at 6 p.m. I can take you there Moises means Moses in Portuguese, the
tomorrow, but I don’t like them.” most commonly spoken language of
Mozambique
M O Z A M B I Q U E
“Why don’t you like them?” Moises asked.
“Because they talk about my church,” Watch Moises at the link:
he said. bit.ly/Moises-Pelembe
The next evening, Moises attended Find photos for this story at the link:
an Adventist Bible study. Moises was bit.ly/fb-mq
stunned to learned that the group leader
had been baptized after studying the Fa s t Fa c t s
Bible with Alfredo—his food-giving
friend in the cafeteria. Maputo in Mozambique is known as the
City of Acacias because of the acacia
The Bible study focused on Malachi trees commonly found along its avenues.
3:8, where the Lord says, “Will a man rob
The diet of people in the countryside is
God? Yet you have robbed me! But you based on the cassava root, which can be
say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In baked, dried, or mashed into porridge.
tithes and offerings.”
Literacy in Mozambique is very low. The
Moises had never given tithe, and the latest statistics indicate that total adult
words pierced his heart. He returned literacy rate is 54 percent.
the next evening and learned about the
seventh-day Sabbath. That night, he wept
Mozambique Adventist University.
in bed. A fellow military police officer
Today, Moises is 32 years old and
noticed him sobbing. “Who beat you?” he completing his third year of theology
said. “We’ll get him back.” studies at the university. “My father sent
What the officer didn’t know was that me to the military with a plan to change
Moises hadn’t been beaten by a person but my behavior,” he said. “But I see that
by the Word of God. God had a bigger plan. God wanted me to
The next Sabbath, Moises joined become a Christian.”
his new friends for the nine-mile
(14-kilometer) walk to the nearest Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
Adventist church. He returned tithe for Sabbath Offering will help fund the
the first time. After that, he attended expansion of Mozambique Adventist
church every Sabbath and was baptized at University, where Moises studies. In
the age of 22, just two years after joining addition, part of the offering will provide
the military. Bibles to children in Mozambique whose
AdventistMission.org
After military service, Moises worked parents can’t afford to buy them. Thank
in the police force but quit over Sabbath you for your mission offering.
conflicts. He then went door to door as
a literature evangelist and enrolled at By Andrew McChesney
13SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | Feb. 9
Worrisome
Dreams
Antonio Jose Abreu, 45
A ntonio’s life was a mess.
In a short period of time, he married
his first-ever girlfriend, had an affair with
to mean that trouble is looming. A dream
with the local safou fruit means a family
member will die.
another woman, and lost his job as a Antonio didn’t dream about floods or
customs police officer in São Tomé, capital fruit. Instead, he had a dream in which he
of the island nation of São Tomé and was carrying a backpack on his shoulders
Príncipe off the West African coast. and standing before two sets of stairs. One
A year passed, and he landed a job at a set of stairs was wide, and the other was
brewery. He tried to make up with his wife, narrow. He discovered that he could climb
but she refused, and they got divorced. the wide stairs with the backpack, but he
Then his father died. couldn’t get up the narrow stairs.
Antonio began to drink heavily.
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
Then he had another dream. In this
He moved in with another woman, dream, he was walking toward a door when
Alcina, and they had two boys and a girl. suddenly a woman blocked his path with
“Life was complicated,” he said. “I drank a large rock. Antonio couldn’t push aside
a lot, and there wasn’t enough money for the rock, but he found a narrow opening
my family.” that he could squeeze through. Entering
Making life even more complicated, the opening, he saw a cave with a pool of
Antonio started to have dreams—strange water. Someone stood there, pointing at
dreams that he didn’t understand. In the water.
São Tomé, people pay close attention to Antonio woke up baffled after
dreams. A dream about a flood is believed each dream.
14He didn’t understand the dreams,
but it seemed to him that God was Stor y Tips
revealing something.
One day, Antonio was working at the Pronounce São Tomé and Príncipe as:
SOW toe-MAY and PRIN-si-pay
home of his boss, the brewery owner,
and a neighbor invited him to attend an Pronounce Alcina as: AL-seen-a
evangelistic meeting at the local Seventh- Watch Antonio at the link:
day Adventist church. Antonio accepted. bit.ly/Antonio-Abreu
That evening, he was shocked to hear
Find photos for this story at the link:
the pastor read Matthew 7:13, 14, where
bit.ly/fb-mq
Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for
wide is the gate and broad is the way that
leads to destruction, and there are many Fa s t Fa c t s
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate São Tomé and Príncipe is comprised of
and difficult is the way which leads to life, two volcanic islands off the coast of West
and there are few who find it” (NKJV). Africa in the Gulf of Guinea and is one
Antonio returned the next evening to of Africa’s smallest countries. São Tomé
is six times larger than Príncipe.
hear more.
“As I kept going to the meetings, The island of Sao Tome was named
after Saint Thomas by the Portuguese
I realized that I needed to remove
explorers who arrived at the island on
everything to get through the narrow the saint’s feast day.
opening in the stone. I needed to remove
Cacao is the main crop of the island
everything in my life to take the narrow
nation and represents 95 percent of the
stairs,” he said. country’s export. Other export crops
He understood that the backpack include copra, palm kernels, and coffee.
represented the burdens weighing him
The cuisine of São Tomé and Príncipe is
down in life, and the pool of water based on tropical root crops, plantains,
symbolized baptism. bananas, and fish. The vegetables mainly
“To get baptized, I needed to remove consist of indigenous greens that are
everything in my life that I was a slave cooked in red palm oil.
to,” he said.
After Bible studies, Antonio and his
wife were baptized—and officially married.
Today, Antonio is 45 and works as a
cashier at a small wood-working business.
He also is a deacon at the church where
he attended the evangelistic meetings.
Life is no longer complicated for him. and alcohol rehabilitation facility—a
“I am happy, and I thank God for every- “center of influence”—in São Tomé to
AdventistMission.org
thing that He has given to us,” he said. help people like Antonio quit drinking.
Thank you for your mission offering.
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
Sabbath Offering will help build a drug By Andrew McChesney
15Man With Three Wives
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | Feb. 16
Ca r l o s F r e i t a s , 4 8
issue, Edite had a priest baptize the baby
without Carlos’ knowledge.
When Carlos learned about the
baptism, he left Edite and found a second
common-law wife, Maria.
Edite, however, wasn’t ready to give up
Carlos had three wives in São Tomé,
capital of the island nation of on the relationship and kept calling Carlos.
“So, I ended up with two wives,”
São Tomé and Príncipe off the West
African coast. Carlos said.
He and seven brothers grew up in Then he found a third woman and
the home of a Seventh-day Adventist began dating her. They moved in together
grandmother. But he and his siblings and had a child.
Carlos wound up with five children with
drifted away from the church after their
his first wife, four children with his second
grandmother died.
wife, and one child with his third wife.
When he was 21, Carlos moved in with
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
As Carlos split his time between his
his Sunday-keeping common-law wife, three families, his first wife grew lonely
Edite, and they had a baby daughter. and befriended an Adventist couple. She
An argument soon erupted. On the started attending church with them and
island, it is customary to put earrings on was baptized.
a newborn girl to supposedly protect her Carlos, meanwhile, was working for
from harm. Although Carlos no longer Voice of America, a U.S. government-
went to church, he was opposed to funded news broadcaster, and had little
jewelry and asked Edite not to pierce their interest in God. But he accepted an
daughter’s ears. invitation from Edite to attend the
As the couple heatedly discussed the baptism of two daughters one Sabbath.
16Their teenage daughters sang a hymn
from the church platform that made him Stor y Tips
weep. He remembered attending church
Pronounce São Tomé and Príncipe as:
as a child, and he hid his face so people SOW toe-MAY and PRIN-si-pay
wouldn’t see the tears. After that day, he
started attending church with his first wife. Pronounce Edite: ee-DEE-TEE
When his second wife, Maria, learned Watch Carlos at the link:
that he was going to church, she accused bit.ly/Carlos-Freitas
him of planning to abandon her. Find photos for this story at the link:
“Adventists don’t allow couples to live bit.ly/fb-mq
together without marriage, and this means Read more about Carlos next week.
you are planning to get married to Edite,”
she said.
Mission Post
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
Carlos denied going to church to
look for marriage. “I went to look for Adventists began work on São Tomé
salvation,” he said. “You also need to be Island with the arrival of José Freire, a
Portuguese colporteur, in 1936. In 1938,
saved. Please attend church with me.” he settled as a missionary, and in February
Maria started attending church. Every 1939 the first baptisms were conducted.
Sabbath, Carlos picked up his first wife and
An elementary school was opened in
drove her to church. Then he drove his 1946 (with Capitolina Grave as its first
second wife to another church. He took teacher). It had an average attendance
turns worshipping with his two wives. of 250 students. It was closed by the
Around this time, his third wife left Communist government in 1975.
him for another man and things got really Originally São Tomé and Príncipe
complicated. Carlos wondered which Mission was under the Angola Union
woman to marry. Mission, but it is now attached
directly to the Southern Africa-Indian
Carlos prayed and fasted every Sabbath Ocean Division.
for two months. Increasingly, he felt
impressed to marry his first wife, but he
longed for confirmation from the Bible. understood. Carlos married Edite on Dec.
One day, he opened his Bible and prayed, 29, 2013, and later was baptized.
“Help me to find the answer in the Bible.” “Then I started having a new life,” he
He looked down and saw the book of said. “Now I am a new creation, prepared
Malachi. His eye then fell on Malachi to go anywhere to tell the world what God
2:14, which says, “The Lord has been has done for me.”
witness between you and the wife of
your youth, with whom you have dealt Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
treacherously; yet she is your companion Offering will help construct a much-needed
AdventistMission.org
and your wife by covenant.” (NKJV). church in São Tomé. Thank you for your
The second wife was devastated mission offering.
by Carlos’s decision to commit to his
first wife. They wept together, but she By Andrew McChesney
17Risking All for Sabbath
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | Feb. 23
Ca r l o s F r e i t a s , 4 8
“This is the first time that someone has
challenged me over the Sabbath at work,”
he said.
That was the end of the discussion.
The supervisor never asked Carlos to
work on Saturdays again.
Then the supervisor left.
A fter baptism, Carlos told his supervisor
that he could no longer work Saturdays
at Voice of America, a U.S. government-
Carlos, a father of 10, worked as an
electrician for the broadcaster. One of his
duties was to unload boat shipments of fuel
funded news broadcaster. for the broadcaster’s power generator. The
The supervisor, a U.S. citizen, looked at boat docked on Thursdays, and he and
Carlos quizzically. several coworkers would begin unloading
“Sabbath-keeping is an Old the fuel immediately. They always finished
Testament law,” he said, “Christians the task on Friday.
follow the New Testament.” Then one day the boat docked on Friday,
Carlos went to his home in São Tomé, a day late.
the capital of the small island nation of Carlos didn’t bother appealing to his
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
São Tomé and Príncipe, and made a list of new supervisor, a native of São Tomé and a
Sabbath references in the New Testament. devout Sunday-keeper. Instead he went to
He handed the list to his supervisor the his manager, a U.S. citizen.
next day. The manager promptly denied his
“The Sabbath is in the New Testament request to leave work by 5:30 p.m. Friday.
and needs to be kept,” he said. “But I have a commitment with God,”
“Is that your final decision?” the Carlos said.
supervisor asked. “It’s up to you to decide,” the
“Yes, my decision is to keep the Sabbath manager said.
because anything else would be a sin.” Carlos locked himself in the bathroom
The supervisor shook his hand. and prayed. It wasn’t easy to find a good
18A few days later, another coworker
Stor y Tips provided more details about the manager’s
thinking. It turned out that the manager
Pronounce São Tomé and Príncipe as:
SOW toe-MAY and PRIN-si-pay had secretly planned to allow Carlos
to leave at 5:30 but the boat’s engines
Watch Carlos at the link: had flooded before he could announce
bit.ly/Carlos-Freitas his decision. As a result of the incident,
Find photos for this story at the link: nobody could work on Sabbath.
bit.ly/fb-mq Unbeknown to Carlos, a company
Read more about Carlos last week. security guard had been observing him for
some time, wondering what would happen
if he stuck to his Sabbath convictions.
job in São Tomé, and Carlos thought, When the guard saw how God had
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
“What will happen to my family? What intervened with the boat, he exclaimed to
will I tell them?” He didn’t want to be Carlos, “Your God is great!”
fired, but even more he wanted to honor The guard started attending the
God. He decided to work until 5:30 p.m. Adventist church.
and leave. Carlos has never had another
Shortly before 5:30 p.m., the boat’s Sabbath conflict.
engines flooded. Carlos and his coworkers “God is good to all who trust Him,”
fought to resolve the problem, but matters said Carlos. “I have had some challenges
only grew worse. Finally, the men came that I thought were impossible to solve,
ashore, where the manager was waiting. but then everything was solved without
“The situation is really bad,” a coworker me doing anything.”
said. “There is no way that we can unload Many people in his country of 200,000
the fuel this weekend.” people don’t know the Sabbath. More than
The manager didn’t say a word. Carlos half of the population are Roman Catholic,
went home for the Sabbath. while the Adventist Church only has about
All weekend, Carlos dreaded facing 8,000 members worshipping in 13 churches
the manager on Monday. He worried that and 56 companies.
Carlos loves to share his Sabbath story.
he would be blamed for the flooding.
“That is my duty now—to tell other
On Monday, the manager didn’t say a
people my experience and what I have
thing. He also remained silent on Tuesday
found in the Bible,” he said. “My desire is
and Wednesday. A week passed, and he
to do everything that I can to spread the
still didn’t say anything.
word of God.”
Then a coworker said to Carlos, “Do
you know what the manager said about
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
the boat? He said that what happened was Offering will help construct a much-needed
AdventistMission.org
the hand of God.” church building in São Tomé. Thank you
Carlos couldn’t believe it. At home, he for your mission offering.
and his wife thanked God for protecting
his job. By Andrew McChesney
19Falling for Jesus
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | March 2
Co n s t â n c i o Tr i s t e A f o n s o , 5 1
Six months later, however, he returned
to his old ways. Constâncio’s wife was
C onstâncio fell seven feet (two meters) furious. Although she wasn’t baptized, she
onto his head before he managed to
quit drinking and accept Jesus.
liked the new man that he had become.
She scolded him, saying, “Adventists
Constâncio, a farmer with two young don’t do those things, and you
children, was intrigued when a group shouldn’t either.”
of Seventh-day Adventists arrived for a She forbade him from sleeping in their
camping trip at his mountaintop village on bed until he quit.
São Tomé and Príncipe. Constâncio was displeased with her
He began to watch them even more decision, and he studied the Bible for more
closely after a woman camper asked him, information about the Christian lifestyle.
“Do you notice anything different about us?” He stopped at Isaiah 55:2, which says,
He noticed that the Adventists didn’t “Why do you spend money for what is
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
drink or smoke. not bread, and your wages for what does
After the campers left, he wanted to not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat
learn more about the Adventist Church what is good, and let your soul delight itself
and began to follow a church member who in abundance” (NJKV).
gave Bible studies in people’s homes. Soon Constâncio thought to himself, “Why
he asked the district pastor to be baptized. am I spending money for what is not bread
“First, you need to surrender your life and I’m still not satisfied?”
to God so He can help you overcome He prayed for several weeks for God to
drinking and smoking,” the pastor said. help him overcome his addictions. But
Constâncio gave up those habits and even as he prayed, he kept buying alcohol
was baptized. and tobacco.
20around Constâncio, and they quickly
Stor y Tips ascertained that he had fallen from the
porch. They declared that he must have
Pronounce Constâncio as:
kon-STAN-see-o
been pushed off by the devil.
An uproar broke out at the thought
Pronounce São Tomé and Príncipe as: that the devil was in the village, and
SOW toe-MAY and PRIN-si-pay
the people debated how to protect
Watch Constâncio at the link: themselves. They decided that
bit.ly/Constancio-Afonso-2 Constâncio needed to be cleansed. So,
Find photos for this story at the link: the villagers frantically urinated in
bit.ly/fb-mq each other’s cupped hands and tossed
the liquid on Constâncio. When they
Fa s t Fa c t s finished, several men carried him home.
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
São Tomé and Príncipe has the second- In the morning, several friends invited
smallest population of any African Constâncio to have a drink. Rubbing his
country after Seychelles. sore head, he refused, saying, “I will no
Malaria is the most common and the longer drink or smoke.”
most dangerous disease prevalent on And he never has.
the islands. “My desire to drink and smoke was
gone,” he said in an interview at the
One night, he drunkenly climbed the village’s Adventist church, where he serves
ladder to his home. Like many villagers, as an elder. “It was an answer to prayer.”
he and his family lived in a traditional Today, a third of the village’s
wooden house on stilts. His wife, seven- population of 200 are baptized
year-old son, and four-year-old daughter Adventists, and church attendance swells
were sound asleep when he arrived. to 120 people on Sabbaths. Among them
After turning a few times in his bed, are Constâncio’s wife, children, and
five former alcoholics who have been
Constâncio realized that he hadn’t washed
converted through his influence.
his feet, which were especially muddy after
“I tell my story to help others who
a rainy day. He stumbled outside onto the
have the same challenges,” he said. “The
house’s wooden porch. As he bent over to
community where I live has many people
wash his feet, he lost his balance and fell
who drink and are ashamed to come to
head-first to the ground, seven feet below.
church. I tell them, ‘I used to be like you.
His head crashed into the damp earth,
You can quit, too, with God’s help.’”
barely missing a rock and creating a small,
round crater.
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
The family dog began to howl. The wife Sabbath Offering will help build a drug
and children scurried outside to check on and alcohol rehabilitation center in São
AdventistMission.org
the dog and found Constâncio lying on the Tomé to help people quit drinking. Thank
ground, unhurt, but in a drunken stupor. you for your mission offering.
The wife called for help.
Soon, a crowd of neighbors gathered By Andrew McChesney
21SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | Mach 9
Trouble
With Pork
Gilson Neto, 29
Ask a male teenager to share this coming to church, he suggested that we
first-person account. study the Bible together in the evenings
instead. After several weeks, I decided to
A neighbor told me about the Seventh-
day Adventist Church when I was
17. I wasn’t interested because I loved to
skip a day of work to go to church.
At the church, I met many of my
neighbors, and they were thrilled to see me.
eat pork and Adventists don’t eat pork. But this created a problem for me. I
Then someone invited me to attend couldn’t take another day off work on
an evangelistic series on the other side of Sabbath. But all my neighbors had seen
São Tomé, capital of the island nation of
me at church and would ask me where I
São Tomé and Príncipe. I went to every
was going if they saw me headed to work
meeting and wrote down my name to
on Sabbath.
receive more information.
The next Sabbath, I took a long,
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
Before I knew it, my neighbor told me
that his church had received my name roundabout route to work so no one
and invited me to go with him to church would see me. But I still ran into a church
on Sabbath for more information. I was member, and he asked where I was going.
shocked and asked him, “How did my “To cut my hair,” I lied.
name get to your church when I wrote it My conscience troubled me all day.
on a piece of paper across town?” After work, I took the long way home
I didn’t go to church with him because again and met more church members, who
I had to work on Saturdays. I was a were returning home from church. “Why
construction worker. didn’t you go to church today?” they asked.
When my neighbor saw that I wasn’t I admitted that I had gone to work.
22From that day, I decided to stop
working on Saturdays. Soon I lost my job. Stor y Tips
No one in my family was Adventist,
and my parents were angry that I was no Pronounce Gilson as: JILL-son
longer working. My mother cooked food Pronounce São Tomé and Príncipe as:
that I couldn’t eat. She added pork to SOW toe-MAY and PRIN-si-pay
everything: rice, soup, and side dishes. Watch Gilson at the link:
I still loved pork, but I refused to eat it. bit.ly/Gilson-Neto
Many times, I went to bed hungry.
Find photos for this story at the link:
“Why are you going to this church that bit.ly/fb-mq
doesn’t eat pork?” my mother said.
“Why don’t you work on Saturday?” my
father said.
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
My seven brothers watched my
predicament silently.
Nine months later, I was baptized.
The pastor gave a welcome sermon to family members have joined the church.
new church members, and one woman My father even attended a few times
declared that we would immediately before he was paralyzed by a stroke.
face spiritual challenges because of our Today, I work for the only Adventist
decision. I said, “That can’t be. I already
school in São Tomé. I teach children how
have many challenges.”
to do gardening and grow vegetables.
But she spoke the truth. When I told
my parents that I had gotten baptized, I’m also married. I fell in love with the
they kicked me out of the home. I wept younger sister of the woman who gave
because I didn’t know where to go. For me food during my darkest period. We
two months, I left the house before my have a one-year-old daughter.
parents woke up and returned after they A Bible promise that inspires me to
were asleep. remain faithful is Psalms 125:1, which
A woman who was baptized on the says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like
same day as me gave me food to eat. I Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but
walked around during the day. There was abides forever” (NKJV).
nothing to do, and I had no job. I cried
The person who trusts in God will be
and prayed, “God, help me to become
stronger in my faith and to find a job.” like Mount Zion and abide forever.
After a while, a Taiwanese
agricultural company hired me to assist Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
with a project, and I was able to give Offering will help the only Seventh-
some of my salary to my parents. That day Adventist school on São Tomé and
AdventistMission.org
helped restore our relationship. Príncipe construct an auditorium. Thank
Then God worked a huge miracle. Five you for your mission offering.
of my seven brothers became Adventists.
Then two cousins were baptized. In all, 10 By Gilson Neto, as told to Andrew McChesney
23Friendship Is the Secret
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE | March 16
Vi t a l i n a M e n d e s Mo r e i r a , 5 7
them to a nearby river to wash every
week. When the woman’s doctor forbade
her from wading into the river for health
Something went terribly wrong as
Vitalina prepared to give birth to reasons, she summoned other church
members to take over the laundry work.
her second child in São Tomé and
Príncipe, a tiny island nation off the Vitalina was grateful for the assistance,
coast of West Africa. but she felt uncomfortable.
She began to bleed heavily, and doctors “I was shy because I wasn’t Adventist,”
mistakenly gave her the wrong type of she said. “I couldn’t understand why they
would wash clothes for me.”
blood during a blood transfusion. The
She gave the women only some clothes
baby boy was born safely, but Vitalina
for washing and hid the rest in a room. For
suffered a severe infection in her legs. To
two weeks, she told her visitors, “That’s it.
save her life, doctors amputated both legs.
Adventist Mission Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division
I don’t have many clothes this week.”
Vitalina was just 19. The Adventist women couldn’t believe
When she returned home from the it, and they searched her house. They
hospital nine months later, she found found the pile of dirty clothes in a corner
that her husband had moved in with and washed them.
another woman. Vitalina prayed for God to help her
Depression overwhelmed her, and she survive. After a while, she secured an
considered suicide. old, hand-operated sewing machine and
Then an elderly Seventh-day Adventist taught herself to cut fabric and make
friend started visiting. The woman pants. Her business flourished, and she
gathered Vitalina’s dirty clothes and took had five more children with her husband,
24convinced seven people to go with her to
Stor y Tips the Adventist church, located two miles
(three kilometers) away. Vitalina paid
Pronounce Vitalina as: vi-TAL-eena their bus fare for weeks. All seven people
Pronounce São Tomé and Príncipe as: are now baptized church members.
SOW toe-MAY and PRIN-si-pay Vitalina also organized a Bible study
group outside her home, and six people
Watch Vitalina at the link:
bit.ly/Vitalina-Moreira were baptized.
Soon, 40 people were baptized, including
Find photos for this story at the link: two of her children, and church leaders
bit.ly/fb-mq
drafted plans to open a church in her
neighborhood. Lacking funds to buy land,
Fa s t Fa c t s the church accepted an offer from Vitalina
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
The country is home to the world’s to build a temporary structure outside her
smallest ibis (the São Tomé ibis) and house. The wooden church building was
the world’s largest sunbird (the giant constructed in September 2017.
sunbird), as well as several species of “I’m so happy to see the church at
giant Begonias.
my front door,” Vitalina said, seated on
a couch in her living room. “But even
who periodically visited. Then her more than that, I’m happy to see so many
husband died. people converted.”
A church member discussed the Bible Vitalina said that the secret to leading
with Vitalina, but she wasn’t interested. others to Christ is being a friend.
She didn’t want to change her diet. “It is difficult to lead people to God
Then an Adventist pastor led a two- without friendship,” she said. “I make
week evangelistic series. friends with those in the community and
“When I went to the evangelistic series, invite them to church.”
I began to realize the wonderful things Her favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:33,
that God had done in my life,” Vitalina where Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom
said. “He answered my prayers to learn of God and His righteousness, and all these
a way to make money with the sewing things shall be added to you” (NKJV).
machine. This is one of the reasons that I “This verse encourages me because it
accepted the gospel.” says if I put God first, He will give me
Vitalina attended every night and was everything that I need,” she said. “And
baptized. Eager to share her newfound He has.”
faith, she told her personal testimony to
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
everyone who would listen.
Offering will help construct a church in
“Look at me,” she told people who
São Tomé, where most members meet
AdventistMission.org
stopped by her home. “God is working
in basements and dilapidated structures.
in me, and I’m able to work. God is Thank you for your mission offering.
wonderful, and you need to trust Him.”
Through such conversations, Vitalina By Andrew McChesney
25You can also read
