01/07/2017: Witness for Truth

Witness for Truth

A Tanzanian girl goes to school to learn a trade, but finds a treasure of far greater value.

“If you go to that church even once, I will put you on the bus and school will be over for you.” Grandfather snarled. “Nobody will become a Seventh-day Adventist in my house!”

Albina

Albina

Albina lowered her head. “I am ready to give up school and go back home if that is what it takes for me to follow my convictions. My decision is based on what I have been reading in the Bible, not my school.”

Evenings full of Bible study had prepared Albina for this confrontation. Weeks back, when she had attended the satellite Bible seminar hosted at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, an angry priest had forced a pledge from her that she would never enter the church again. “You were baptized in our denomination and that is enough for you!” the priest had shouted. Albina’s grandparents, owners of the local bar, had let her know that the priest’s displeasure could mean the end of their business. Under pressure, Albina capitulated.

Yet something had begun in Albina’s heart. She had come to Eden Valley to learn to sew, knit sweaters and weave baskets so that she could go home and help her widowed mother survive—but she had begun to find something even more valuable than these skills. In her second-year reading class, she and the other students had been reading the final 18 chapters of The Great Controversy. Surprised to learn that God’s Law is still binding, Albina wanted to see it in the Bible. She had read her Bible evening after evening while her grandparents kept busy selling alcohol. The next day she would come to class full of questions. With the other girls in the class, she had begun to pray, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Psalm 119:18.

Albina and a friend at Eden Valley.

Albina and a friend at Eden Valley

Now Albina knew that she wanted to follow what Jesus taught in the Bible. “This is the way; walk ye in it,” a still, small voice seemed to whisper in her ear. “Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you.” “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” Isaiah 30:21; Deuteronomy 5:33; John 14:15.
At last, Albina again told her grandparents that whatever the consequence, she was going to follow the God of the Bible. When she promised to help her grandmother with the Saturday chores on Friday, her grandparents gave in. April 16, 2016, Albina came to church for the first time. We praised the Lord!

When the diocese called upon Albina to explain her desertion, she stated that she had read in the Bible many things that were opposite to what she had been taught in their church, and that she had chosen the church that obeys God’s Word. Stunned, the priest granted his permission for Albina to change her confession.

September 10, 2016, Albina was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist along with 17 other Eden Valley students. That day, she changed her name from Albina to Witness. The Lord has impressed our hearts to send her to Kibidula, our big sister ministry about six hours away, to attend a 5-month evangelism and health program that will ground her in the Bible and help her become a more efficient “Witness.” Please pray for her and the other students who have chosen Jesus, that they may witness for truth in this land of spiritual darkness!

Elisha and Nadege Vande Voort

This missionary couple operates Eden Valley Foster Care Mission in Mago, Tanzania. Contact: harvester2188@gmail.com