February 19 - Anita's Sabbath Adventure

Every Sabbath, the long trip to a new church was an adventure for Anita. Best of all, every Sabbath Anita got to worship God. Anita liked being a missionary kid!

"Happy Sabbath!"
A voice cut through the darkness.

Anita stirred in her bed.

"Rise and shine, Sunshine!"
her father said,

poking his head into the door
of Anita's bedroom.

It was 4:00 in the morning.

Anita's eyes popped open.

It was time to get up!

After breakfast, Anita put on
her favorite Sabbath dress.

Then she slipped
her bare feet into flip flops.

She gave her Sabbath shoes
to her mother to put in a bag.

Now she was ready for the trip to church.

Anita climbed into the backseat
of the family's white van.

Her father slid behind the wheel,

and Pastor Kamu took a seat beside him.

Anita's mother sat with her in the back,

and they were joined
by five university students.

Nearly every Sabbath,

her parents traveled
to new churches in Indonesia

to speak about Jesus.

At 5:00, the van left the campus
of Mount Klabat University,

the Seventh-day Adventist school
in Indonesia

where Anita's father and mother
were teaching as missionaries.

The sky was dark,
and few cars were on the street.

But her father still had
to be careful as he drove.

He steered around sleeping dogs

and sometimes had to stop for cows
that were crossing the road.

Anita slept on her mother's lap.

About an hour and a half later,

Anita awoke as the van came to a stop.

She liked this part of the trip to church.

She and the others
boarded a small motorboat,

and soon they were cruising on the ocean.

Anita looked across the dark blue water.

Light was just beginning to crack
on the horizon

as the sun rose.

Warm, humid air rushed against her cheeks

as the boat navigated gentle waves.

After an hour,
the boat docked on an island,

and the group transferred
to another boat for a 30-minute ride.

Then, they landed on yet another island

dotted with coconut trees
amid a lush green jungle.

Anita was glad
that she had worn her flip flops

and not her nice Sabbath shoes

because she liked feeling
the mud between her toes

as she walked along the trail.

About 45 minutes later,

Anita saw a small village
with a Seventh-day Adventist church.

Sabbath School would begin soon,

and the church
was already crowded with people.

The people greeted Anita
and the others with delight.

Grandfathers and grandmothers
smiled broadly.

Fathers and mothers beamed with joy.

They were so happy
to welcome the visitors.

They knew that it had taken effort
to reach their village.

Little children waved excitedly at Anita

and clustered around her.

A little girl ran up and pinched
the white skin of Anita's arm.

A little boy nervously reached out his arm

and tugged on her red hair.

The village children
had brown skin and black hair,

and this was their first time
seeing anyone who looked like Anita.

Inside the church,

her mother pulled
Anita's Sabbath shoes from the bag,

and Anita slipped them on.

Now she felt ready to worship God.

Later that afternoon,

Anita put her flip flops back on
for the long trip home.

She was tired but happy.

Every Sabbath, the long trip
to a new church was an adventure.

Best of all, every Sabbath,
Anita got to worship God.

Anita liked being a missionary kid!

This story happened nearly 40 years ago,

but missionary kids today
still make adventurous trips to church

thanks to your world mission offerings!