August 23 - Locked-Up Lucky

Eleven year old Lucky didn't
go to church in Zimbabwe.

No one in his family went to church.

One day, though, some friends invited
him to go to church with them on Sabbath.

Lucky went with them to the
Seventh day Adventist Church.

He liked it so much that he
invited his mom to go with him.

Lucky's mom went with him to church,
but she didn't like it very much.

At church, people worship God, but
Lucky's mom worshiped her ancestors

like many people in Zimbabwe.

Even though they were dead, she
thought she could talk to them.

During the sermon, she whispered to Lucky,

Do people in this church
disagree with my beliefs?

Yes, they do, Lucky whispered back.

His mom didn't say anything
more until they got home.

Then she yelled at Lucky. She yelled at
Lucky every day for the next few days.

Then she fell silent and
refused to talk to him.

Lucky kept going to church.

After three months, Lucky's
mom broke her silence.

You're not allowed to leave
the house on Saturday mornings,

she said.

Lucky's mom made sure
he didn't go to church.

She locked him in his bedroom and only
opened the door after church was over.

When Lucky's mom saw that
he still believed in God,

she decided that something
must be wrong with him.

She didn't understand why he didn't
want to worship ancestors like her.

She asked a traditional healer
who also worshiped ancestors

to come to the house to see
what was wrong with Lucky.

But Lucky didn't want to talk
to the traditional healer.

He ran to the bathroom
and locked the door.

Lucky's mom came to the door and yelled,

Why are you refusing to talk to the
healer to find out what is wrong with you?

From behind the door,

Lucky explained that the Bible
teaches that people cannot talk to

their dead ancestors.

When people die, they cannot hear or
talk because they are sleeping, he said.

Why do you want to force me to do
something that I'm not comfortable with?

Lucky spent the night in the bathroom.

Early in the morning, he opened the
door and crept back to his room.

Crawling under a blanket, he fell asleep.

But when his mom woke up and
saw him in bed, she yelled,

Why are you in my house
since you are a Christian?

Go to the Christians and stay with them.

The two didn't speak to each
other for the rest of the day.

The next day, Lucky promised that
he would stop going to church.

He was tired of fighting.

Lucky kept his promise for a year, but
friends kept inviting him to go to church,

and finally he went.
He didn't tell his mom.

Several years passed, and Lucky
graduated from eighth grade.

One of his friends planned to
go to an Adventist high school,

and he also wanted to go there.

He asked his mom for permission.

Lucky's mom wasn't sure
this was a good idea,

but Lucky convinced her that the
Adventist school had better teachers.

Only a month into the school year, Lucky
gave his heart to God and got baptized.

His mom was initially upset, but
after a while, she calmed down.

Then something amazing happened.

His mom became interested in God.

Lucky brought home a Bible from school
and they began to read it together.

Then he invited her to go
with him to church again.

Lucky's mom accepted his invitation,

and now she goes to church
with him every Sabbath.

Lucky is praying that she
will give her heart to God.

Lucky shared his love for God with his
mom through a Bible he borrowed from

an Adventist school in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Your thirteenth Sabbath
offering this quarter

may help other children also
share God with their parents.

Part of the offering will be
used to give adventurers' Bibles

to children in Zimbabwe and in the
other countries of Southern Africa.

Thank you for planning
a generous offering.