by FULGENCIO CHALUFOIA

I was a drunkard, and my drinking robbed me of everything. But a humble tailor helped me find my way back from the edge of hell.

I live in Mozambique. I kept my drinking a secret until I was married, hoping that I could stop. But I was powerless to stop. After we were married, my drinking only got worse. Sometimes I was so drunk I beat my wife, and she threatened to leave me.

I went to a witch doctor, but he could not help me conquer my addiction. Finally my wife had enough; she left me.

Desperate to stop drinking, 1 bought a Bible and began attending church. One Sunday on my way to church, I met a tailor working in his roadside shop. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"To church," I replied.

"Why are you going today?" he asked. "Yesterday was God's Sabbath day." Curious, I stopped. The tailor told me that God had the answer to my drinking problem and offered to teach me the Bible. The tailor could not read, but he knew the Bible. He sat down beside me, opened a notebook filled with Bible references, and pointed to one. "Look up this verse," he said. I found the Bible verses and read them. Then he explained what they meant.

We read many Bible texts, and the tailor explained each one to me. Finally he told me to read Exodus 20. I read the Ten Commandments, and suddenly I realized that the Bible was filled with new truths that I had never read before.

I asked the tailor what church he belonged to, and he told me the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He invited me to worship there the following Sabbath. I promised to be there as I continued on to my church to tell my friends what I had just learned.

The next Sabbath I found the Adventist church and worshiped there. In that church I found God's grace and the power to overcome alcohol and tobacco. It took some time, but with God's help, I never smoked or drank again.

My drinking had cost me everything-my job, my wife, my home. But God has given me my life back. I am happy in Jesus, and I have invited my friends to find Jesus as well. So far at least 15 of my friends have discovered God's truth and joined the Adventist church because I shared with them what God has done for me.

Actual Song

by SATURNINO SABALLA JR.

I am a SULAD, a student missionary, teaching in a newly opened village in Mindanao, Philippines. These villagers found God through a dream.

One night the datu (chief) dreamed that a Man dressed in white and carrying a big black book came to him. "Whoever obeys the commands written in this book will be my people," the Man said. Then he explained the importance of the Sabbath.

The datu called the villagers together and shared his dream. The people agreed that they would worship the creator God on His sacred day. On Saturday they gathered to worship in the only way they knew-chewing betel nut and talking to an unseen spirit.

Then a villager met an Adventist tailor while visiting town. The villager told the tailor about their new religion, which required them to worship on Saturday and related the chief's dream about the Man with a black book.

"I also am a Sabbath keeper!" the tailor said. "May I visit your village and worship with you?" The villager eagerly agreed.

The tailor and a lay worker set out on Friday for the six-hour hike to the village. They carried a large Bible. When they reached the village, they met the datu, who stared at the Bible. "This is the book I saw in my dream!" he said. "You must be Sabbath keepers too!"

The next morning the villagers gathered for worship followed by a feast of roasted pig and vegetables. Then the datu invited the visitors to speak at the afternoon meeting.

The lay worker read the Sabbath commandment from the Bible and explained how God wanted them to worship. The chief and villagers cheered in agreement. Then the lay worker explained God's other laws, laws of good health. He explained that the pig is a scavenger and is not fit for food, and that betel nut is a drug that God does not want His followers to use.

The datu again responded. "My dear people," he said. "This black book tells us many important things. We shall eat pig flesh no more. We shall use betel nut no more." The datu turned to the two men and invited them to teach them more. "We will gladly obey," he said.

In time every villager was baptized. Today SULAD missionaries are teaching the villagers to read the black book for themselves.

by HADJILYN PRECIADO

SULADS, student missionaries from Mountain View College, are assigned to teach and minister throughout southern Philippines. My assignment as a student missionary was to teach in a Manobo village in northeastern Mindanao. The village is a challenging climb up mountains and through thick jungle. Life is difficult in these places, but God encour-ages us as we spend a year serving Him.

At first teaching was difficult because many of our students were bigger and stronger than we were. But soon they realized that we meant business and cared about them. Soon the once-empty church came alive with young people who had strayed during the time that no teacher worked here. Many agreed to take Bible studies.

Datu Daging, the chief, wanted his people to learn to read, but he wanted nothing to do with God. Often he jeered as we studied the Bible with people. "This is nonsense!" he would say. "I have an abyan (a spirit who the people believe gives power to heal or protection from enemies). My abyan gives me all the help I need, so I don't need God in my life!" While others worshiped with us, the datu scoffed and boasted that his abyan, his god, was more powerful than God.

Then one night the datu told us he had a dream. A big man in white appeared to him. His face radiated calm and love. But the datu couldn't understand him and was about to talk to the being when he awoke. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the being stood before him. He pinched himself to wake up, and still the stranger stood looking at him.

Then the stranger spoke. "If you want to be saved in God's kingdom, you must worship God with the Sabbath keepers. They're God's true people who worship on His Sabbath. God is coming soon to take His children to heaven. So hurry! Your soul is precious to God."

Datu Daging bowed his head and considered the message he had heard. When he looked up, the stranger was gone.

That Sabbath Datu Daging was in church with his wife and children. He asked for Bible studies and was baptized recently in a regional rally. Datu Daging now is an active member of our little village church. Though we SULADS don't often see them, we know that angels have appeared to many who live in the mountains of the Philippines, assisting the SULADS missionaries in their work.

Your mission offerings support Adventist colleges and universities in the Philippines, which send missionaries throughout the Philippines and beyond to share God's love with those who have never heard. Thank you.

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by SAMUEL LABAG

When we pray we know that sometimes God answers Yes, sometimes No, and sometimes Wait. Recently God's answer to my urgent prayer was an instant Yes!

I work in Zamboanga, on the western edge of Mindanao, Philippines. One day I took a boat to a nearby island to deliver health magazines to stu-dents at a parochial high school. I visit schools, talk about the dangers of drugs, how to stop smoking, and other health-related topics; then I take orders for magazines that talk about these topics.

My visit to the school completed, I rushed to catch the last boat of the day. I hailed a tricycle taxi for the 10-minute ride to the dock, praying that the boat would not leave without me. But we arrived at the pier only to watch the boat sail away. The porters were sympathetic, but they suggested I find a place to stay overnight.

I can't stay overnight, I thought. I promised some money to another colporteur who must leave tonight for a distant island. He can't go without the money, and his next boat doesn't leave for a week. How will I get the money to him? And where will I stay tonight? As I stood on the pier and prayed fervently for a solution to my problems, I felt a calm assurance.

I opened my eyes to see the boat veer from its course. It made a huge U-turn and returned to the pier. The crew threw a rope down and called to me to grab onto the old tire tied to the end. I clutched the rope in one hand and my case in the other while the sailors pulled me onto the boat. Safely aboard, I realized that God had turned the boat around—for me. The engine roared, and we started out into the open sea just as another tricycle taxi loaded with passengers arrived at the pier. The occupants jumped out shouting and waving for the boat to stop. But the boat kept going.

As we sped toward the mainland, I thanked God for helping me keep my promise to my friend and for allowing me to be a part of His army, bringing truth to searching hearts.

I told my friend what had happened, and we rejoiced together in God's providence. Then I saw him off for his trip to the distant island to take God's word to another needy part of His kingdom.

Your mission offerings help support the literature work, bringing God's message of love to every corner of the world. Thank you for giving so that others can find Jesus.


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