MALAWI
The Twist in the Story
J Ricky Oliveras, Office of Adventist Mission
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ohn was a bright student living in Malawi, a country in southern Africa. When he was a young teenager, he was handpicked by local leaders of his faith to study at a school in Zanzibar, Tanzania. There, he would learn how to enter territories where there were no adherents to his faith and create new followers. This was a high honor for John, and it made his father proud. John diligently applied himself to his studies in Tanzania. He learned a lot about his religion and a lot about Christianity because, in his work, he would interact regularly with Christians. When John’s training was complete, the school leaders advised him to return to Malawi and become thoroughly acquainted with the King James Version of the Bible. They knew that many Christians favored this version, and to convert Christians, John would need to understand why they believed as they did. In Malawi, John enrolled at the Luwazi Seventh-day Adventist Mission school. He joined an Adventist Youth group and met a Seventh-day Adventist pastor who helped him understand Adventist beliefs. All the while, he sent reports back to the religious leaders in Tanzania.
After three years of studying at the Adventist school, John felt that he finally understood the Bible. But instead of using this knowledge to convert Christians to his faith, John gave his heart to Jesus and was baptized. He stopped sending reports to Tanzania. When John’s father learned he had become a Christian, he was furious. He had sent his son to Tanzania so that he would be highly respected when he returned. “It would have been a privilege for him to say, ‘My son has gone to a higher position,’” John said. “When he heard that I became a Seventh-day Adventist, it came like a blow.” John’s father rejected him, but John had become a child of God, and he dedicated his life to sharing His love with others, especially those of his former faith. Adventist Church leaders noticed John’s gift for ministry and selected him to become a Global Mission pioneer. John laughed as he shared the twist of circumstances that led him to be, once again, trained to go into unentered areas and create new followers! Only this time, he was making disciples for Jesus. John ministered for 10 years as a Global Mission pioneer, following Christ’s method of ministry
