Global View
Surrounded by Fire S God protects in amazing ways.
tories are powerful. They are memorable. They inspire and move us, and they are meant for sharing. In this month’s Global View I would like to share with you an incredible story told to me by Pastor Geoffrey Mbwana, a general vice president here at the General Conference. It’s about a small group of Adventist youth who heard God calling them to reach people living in a very difficult and dangerous area. Despite the risks, these precious young people put their trust in the Lord and said, “I will go!” But before moving ahead, they spent much time in prayer, pleading for God to guide them. I believe you will be amazed and inspired by how God answered their prayers.
A RISKY MISSION
Along Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast lies a town of more than 8,000 inhabitants. The town is predominantly of a non-Christian faith, with more than 99 percent of its inhabitants belonging to that faith. It is known to be a highly superstitious town, causing many people to fear the town and its people. Several attempts were made over the years to introduce the townspeople to the three angels’ messages, but none was successful. In the year 2000, however, a group of young people from Adventist churches in a city some kilometers away dared to conduct an evangelistic series in this town. With some simple preparation they went to the town and rented a place to stay. Knowing the work before them was delicate and risky, they decided to spend two weeks in earnest prayer, pleading for God’s intervention for the salvation of the people there. Amazingly, a few days later they received permission from the town government to hold religious meetings. It then became public knowledge that young Adventists would be conducting meetings. The young people continued to pray earnestly, choosing to have their special prayer times early in the morning by the seashore, before the people of the town were awake. FIRE BY THE SEA
The young Adventists faithfully met by the sea every morning before dawn, crying to the Lord on behalf of the townspeople and for the meetings. One morning, unbeknownst to them, a few young people were sent by the town elders to go and kill these young Adventists before they started their meetings in town. They had learned that the Adventist youth started their day with prayers by the sea at 5:00 in the morning, and decided that
