A Happy Heart

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, January 10.

By Louisa Terebo

Mrs. Terebo was walking home from work when she heard something beautiful. It was music—people were singing hymns through loudspeakers in her neighborhood. As she listened, a song about trusting Jesus touched her heart.

She wanted to know where the music was coming from, who was singing, and why they were gathered, but she was in a hurry and had to get to work.

Mrs. Terebo was a busy mother of two children. She used to work as a cashier and was now a manager at a furniture store. Every day, she passed the same speakers, and every day, she heard the singing and someone preaching from the Bible. Still, she never stopped to listen for long.

One day, Mrs. Terebo found out where the singing and preaching came from—a special Bible meeting. Her neighbor Meke wanted her to go with her, but Mrs. Terebo kindly said, “No, thank you. I’m too busy.” Later, another neighbor Fiafia invited her. Again, Mrs. Terebo shook her head and replied, “I don’t have the time.”

However, Mrs. Terebo was curious about what was happening at the meetings. So, she decided to go on the weekend, when she had more free time.

When she arrived, the preacher and his family welcomed her with warm smiles. Everyone was so friendly. She felt right at home.

At the meetings, Mrs. Terebo began to understand the Bible better. She loved learning that God wasn’t far away—that He wanted to be close to here through worship every day and be her best friend.

After six months of learning and growing in her faith, Mrs. Terebo made a big decision. She chose to be baptized! She was one of the first five people in Wallis to join the Adventist Church.

She was so happy. But her journey wasn’t always easy.

Some of her family didn’t understand and called her mean names. But she stayed kind and tried to explain what she had learned from the Bible.

Then, something even harder happened. Mrs. Terebo had a stroke and had to leave her island to get medical help in New Caledonia and later in Australia. It was a scary time, but she kept trusting God. She kept reading the Bible and praying.

Mrs. Terebo never gave up her faith. Seventeen years later, she’s still best friends with God and looks forward to the day when Jesus comes again.

Mrs. Terebo is also excited about something special: a new center of influence will be built near her home! She hopes it will help more people in Wallis learn about God—just like she did.

She thanks you for helping to make this happen through your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering!

Your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, also known as the Quarterly Mission Project Offering, will have a big impact on the lives of people like Mrs. Terebo. It will help build a center of influence in Wallis, which will help Adventists make friends with the people in the New Caledonia Mission area.